Firefighter Pledges Troth to Fair Lady at Yuletide Banquet

The knight put on his chain mail, donned his armor and mounted his white steed. He was preparing to ride off to see his beloved and propose on Christmas Day.

This scene took place neither in medieval times nor an idyllic forest. It was Friday, in a parking lot in Van Nuys.

But the romantic impulse was real.

The knight-for-a-day was Randy Laur, 49, who has been a firefighter with the Los Angeles Fire Department for 27 years. He is now captain of a station in an industrial area near Van Nuys Airport.

Laur, who lives in Newbury Park, decided he wanted to do something out of the ordinary when he proposed to his girlfriend, Kristy Taylor, 44. One of the men at the station had a horse, and that led to the idea of staging the knightly gallantry.

The men convinced a local movie rental house to let them borrow costumes used in the film “First Knight.” They prepared short speeches in pseudo-Olde English.

“It was just a goofy idea we had,” said Laur, as he stood in front of the station, shifting from one foot to the other as he waited for the horse to arrive. In one of the station’s large garages, an unsuspecting Taylor was eating dinner with dozens of others seated at long tables--the firehouse traditionally hosts a potluck dinner on Christmas Day for firefighters and their families.

Was he a little bit afraid that Taylor might, after all this pomp and ceremony, say no?

“No, not at all,” he said quickly. Then, he stopped rocking back and forth.

“I guess you always run that risk,” he said with a smile. “But I don’t think that will happen. She has never pushed for this, but I think she will be happy.”

The horse trailer finally arrived and pulled behind the station to stay out of sight. As the docile horse, Royal, was fitted with a saddle, he eagerly nudged the pockets of visitors, looking for carrots.

Laur and his “attendants” suited up. Just before mounting the horse, he repeated, “This is really a goofy idea.”

Two of his costumed companions entered the garage with broad flourishes. Most in the crowd were clearly surprised, but none more than Taylor when they referred to her as the “Fair Lady of Newbury,” and brought her forward.

Just then, Royal plodded grandly into view, Laur in the saddle.

Weighed down by the costume finery, it took Laur a while to dismount and bend to one knee before Taylor, who stared at him with her hand over her mouth, speechless.

“Fair lady, will you be my wife?”

Even with her hand over her mouth, it was easy to see that Taylor was smiling broadly. But she still seemed unable to speak. She nodded several times and finally managed a whispered, “Yes.”

Then, as she hugged her knight and the crowd cheered, Taylor burst into tears, still smiling.

“Oh my God,” she said later. “I had no idea he would do this today.”

After about 10 minutes of hugs, kisses and congratulations all around, it was back to business.

“I have to get out of this outfit,” Laur said, “in case we get an emergency.”