So it was all a joke. Except the sandwiches are real. And basically everything else.
After getting relentlessly mocked for her story in the Post yesterday about making her boyfriend 300 sandwiches so that he’ll propose to her, New York Post reporter Stephanie Smith is back to explain that it was just a “lighthearted joke between boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“I met a guy. I made a sandwich. I started a blog,” Ms. Smith wrote today. “And I enraged feminists everywhere.”
For some reason, none of the “feminists everywhere” who she enraged (or anyone else, for that matter) picked up on the fact that it was all a joke.
“Some people read into the article too literally — they truly think that if I get to 299 sandwiches, there could actually be a moment there where Eric may say, ‘Eh, you didn’t make enough steak sandwiches. I’m not sure you deserve a ring!'” Ms. Smith wrote today.
“We both started from an obviously tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek joke,” said boyfriend Eric, (presumably through a mouthful of sandwich). “I find it nothing short of hilarious and kind of sad that so many people missed that!”
Maybe nobody picked up on the joke because of the story’s headline: “I’m 124 Sandwiches Away From An Engagement Ring.” Or maybe it had something to do with the way that Ms. Smith explained the genesis of the sandwich-making project.
Each morning, he would ask, “Honey, how long you have been awake?”
“About 15 minutes,” I’d reply.
“You’ve been up for 15 minutes and you haven’t made me a sandwich?”
To him, sandwiches are like kisses or hugs. Or sex. “Sandwiches are love,” he says. “Especially when you make them. You can’t get a sandwich with love from the deli.”
So one morning, she gave in and made him a turkey and swiss on wheat.
“Babes, this is delicious!” he exclaimed.
As he finished that last bite, he made an unexpected declaration of how much he loved me and that sandwich: “Honey, you’re 300 sandwiches away from an engagement ring!”
I paused.
Was our happily ever after as simple as making him a few sandwiches?
So Ms. Smith did what any sane person would do: she bought a domain name and a Nikon DSLR and began making her boyfriend sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert (and blogging about it). And then wrote about it in the Post.
Why does everyone take an article seriously? It’s just a fun joke that Ms. Smith is totally carrying through on.
“This project is not about me promoting myself as some gourmet chef, nor a desperate plot to win Eric’s love — or a movie deal or Internet fame,” Ms. Smith wrote.
Although isn’t that exactly what it sounds like? Or maybe Ms. Smith is just hoping for a book deal.
