Ralph Brandt

Nominated by his wife, Robbie Brandt

I met Ralph in the church choir when he was 70. Two weeks after, we began seeing each other my former college roommate came to visit, and I took her to the outer islands.

Ralph met us at baggage claim on our return, wearing a chauffeur's hat and holding a sign saying "Beautiful Southern Women."

That was my first clue to the personality of this funny and creative guy who writes scripts for the Barbershoppers. At the end of our first year he presented me with a scrapbook full of ticket stubs, greeting cards, pictures, theater programs, the entire story of everywhere we had been and everything we had done.

After a sunset wedding in Kona, our honeymoon consisted of a trip to the International SPEBQSA (Barbershop) Convention in Nashville, his idea, followed by a week of rafting the Salmon River in Idaho, my idea. He can't swim.

Two years later he took me rafting through the Grand Canyon because he knew that was a dream I'd given up. (And I am now a bigger barbershop quartet fan than he is.)

Every Friday he sits down with TGIF and highlights activities for the week. We walk the two miles to the Halekulani for a sunset mai tai so often they know us.

As my Christmas present one year he went with me to my favorite shop, sat in a chair, and commented as I tried on everything in the store, helping me choose. At the end of each of our six years, I've gotten another scrapbook.

This is romance!

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