Melissa Dohme, a young nurse who, in 2012, was stabbed 32 times and left for dead by her estranged boyfriend, threw out the first pitch at a Tampa Bay Rays game on Monday night — and got a surprise on-field marriage proposal from the paramedic who saved her life.

 

Since her miraculous recovery from the brutal attack, Dohme has been an active and vocal advocate for victims of domestic violence.

The Tampa Bay baseball team recognized Dohme’s admirable community service by giving her first-pitch honors prior to the Rays-Yankees game on Monday.

As she strode out to the pitcher’s mound wearing flashy cowboy boots, the public address announcer introduced Dohme to the 10,000 fans at Tropicana Field.

But, then he made a surprise announcement. Her boyfriend, Cameron Hill, would present her with the official baseball.



This was no ordinary ball, however. It was marked in bold red ink with the phrase, “Will you marry me.”

Then Hill went down on one knee, pulled out a small black box that contained a diamond engagement ring, and asked Dohme for her hand in marriage. The startled 23-year-old said “Yes” and the couple embraced.



The Tampa fans cheered wildly, and then Dohme confidently threw out the first pitch, with her new fiancé handling the catching duties.

The sheer joy of the moment is a far cry from the terror Dohme experienced in January of 2012. Her estranged boyfriend stabbed her 32 times and left her bleeding — and nearly dead — on the sidewalk in front of her St. Petersburg home. He had become enraged when she broke off their relationship.



Paramedic Hill was a first responder that fateful day and Dohme credits him with having saved her life, according to the Tampa Tribune.

As Dohme was airlifted from the scene, Hill knew he would see her again. It was a “sixth sense,” he told the Tampa Bay Times.

"When I look back on that night, I can't think of it as all bad anymore because I met Cameron," she said. "He's the one I've been waiting for. My fairy tale."

Dohme’s determined recovery impressed her doctors. Even though she flat-lined four times during her three-week stay in the hospital and suffered nerve damage on one side of her face, she walked from the medical facility under her own power.

Hill supported Dohme’s recovery efforts and even sat next to her in the courtroom as her abuser, in October 2013, was sentenced to life in prison.

The two began to date and have been a couple ever since.

Dohme believes that God saved her life so she could advocate on behalf of girls and women in abusive relationships. “I’m alive for a reason and I was given this purpose to be an advocate against domestic violence,” she said.

Dohme and Hill have not set a wedding date.

Check out the video of how the scene played out on Monday night in Tampa Bay.


Images courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays; Facebook; TampaBay.com.

With a hammer price of $30.4 million, the 25.59-carat, pigeon-blood-red “Sunrise Ruby” obliterated two auction records at Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels sale in Geneva last night.



The winning bid, which was more than $12 million above Sotheby’s high estimate of $18 million, set a new auction mark for the highest price ever paid for a ruby. The Sunrise Ruby also established a new high water mark for the highest price-per-carat ever paid at auction for a ruby.

As the evening's final lot — Lot 502 — was announced, the room was abuzz with excitement as a dark-haired model in a black dress neared the podium wearing the Sunrise Ruby on the ring finger of her right hand. Onlookers watched the drama unfold in real-time via a video feed on the Sothebys.com website.



Bidding for the Sunrise Ruby started at 11 million Swiss francs (about $11.8 million) and moved steadily upward during a seven-minute battle between two phone bidders. One of the anonymous phone bidders prevailed with an offer of 25 million francs. (The final price was 28.5 million francs, which included the Buyer's Premium of 13%.)

"A new record price for a ruby," proclaimed David Bennett, the chairman of Sotheby's international jewelry division, as he brought down the hammer to applause.



The final price of the Sunrise Ruby eclipsed the previous record holder — the $8.6 million Graff Ruby — by an astonishing $18.3 million. The Graff Ruby was expected to retain its record for the highest price-per-carat ever paid at auction for a ruby ($997,727), but that record was crushed by the Sunrise Ruby, which ended up netting $1.19 million per carat.

Sotheby’s had described the Sunrise Ruby as a superb and extremely rare ruby and diamond ring by Cartier. The cushion-shaped ruby is set between two shield-shaped white diamonds weighing 2.47 carats and 2.70 carats, respectively.

A grading report by Gübelin stated that rubies of this quality are generally found in small crystals. “Based on our records,” the report noted, “we can conclude that a natural ruby from Burma of this size and color is extremely rare. Thus, the described gemstone with its combination of outstanding characteristics can be considered a unique treasure of nature.”

Other high-profile lots at the Sotheby’s Geneva auction included the “The Historic Pink” diamond and the “Ivresse” diamond necklace.



The Historic Pink, a fancy vivid pink diamond weighing 8.72 carats, fetched $15.94 million. That result was in the middle range of the pre-sale $13.65 million to $17.5 million estimate. The center diamond was once the property of heiress and philanthropist Huguette Clark and weighed 9 carats before it was re-polished. The pink diamond is also believed to have been part of the jewelry collection of Princess Mathilde Bonaparte, niece of France's Emperor Napoleon I.



With 190.77 carats of cascading round, pear-shaped and marquise-shaped diamonds, the “Ivresse” necklace by Cartier sold for $7.27 million. This was on the low end of Sotheby’s pre-sale estimate of $6 million to $10 million.

Credits: Getty Images; Sothebys.com.

This beautifully polished calcite bracelet looks like a contemporary design, but it was actually made by our prehistoric human ancestors — the Denisovans — 40,000 years ago.



That’s the claim of Anatoly Derevyanko, Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography in Novosibirsk, part of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

“The bracelet is stunning,” Derevyanko told the Siberian Times. “In bright sunlight it reflects the sun rays; at night by the fire it casts a deep shade of green.”



Besides having an eye for beauty and aesthetics, the Denisovans were skilled artisans and far more advanced than previously believed, noted Derevyanko. The 8mm round hole in the bracelet, for example, reveals that they were adept at using advanced tools, in this case a boring implement that was likely a high-rotation drill. They also showed advanced grinding and polishing skills.

“The skills of its creator were perfect,” added Irina Salnikova, head of the Museum of History and Culture of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East in Novosibirsk. “Initially we thought that it was made by Neanderthals or modern humans, but it turned out that the master was Denisovan, at least in our opinion.”



The bracelet — which is believed to be the world’s oldest piece of jewelry crafted of stone — was discovered in the Denisova Cave, a famous archaeological site located in southwestern Siberia, in the Altai Mountains near the border with China and Mongolia.

Among the unique items previously discovered in the cave were remains from woolly mammoths and woolly rhinos. Also unearthed were the finger bone and two teeth from a juvenile female Denisovan, a now-extinct human species that was believed to be physically similar to Neanderthals.

Derevyanko also noted that chlorite is not found in the vicinity of the cave. The material is believed to have come from a source at least 125 miles away, which possibly reveals how valued the “imported” material was at the time.



The scientist also believes that the calcite bracelet was originally fashioned with other adornments, including some soft organic material, such as a leather strap that included a heavy charm.

The calcite bracelet is on display at the Museum of History and Culture of the Peoples of Siberia and the Far East in Novosibirsk.

Jewelry photos and graphics: Vera Salnitskaya, Anatoly Derevyanko, Mikhail Shunkov and Anastasia Abdulmanova via Siberian Times. Cave photo via Wikimedia Commons.

In last night’s $100,000 episode of America’s Funniest Home Videos, a recently engaged young woman tries repeatedly to get her mom to notice her new diamond ring — going so far as to put her hand right in her mom’s face — but all the mom can focus on are her daughter’s earrings and outfit. After nearly a half-minute of cluelessness, the mom finally catches on — and her over-the-top reaction is hilarious.



Although it did not win the top prize, the “Oblivious Engagement” clip was a $10,000 winner from earlier in the 25th season of AFV, and competed last night with eight other clips. AFV awards three $100,000 prizes per season. The show’s weekly viewership is approximately six million.

Moms often dream about their daughters getting engaged, but the mom in the clip is so oblivious to her daughter’s clear intentions to show off her ring that all we can do as viewers is to share the young woman’s frustrations, shake our heads and let out a belly laugh.

Here’s how the scene unfolds in 45 hilarious seconds…

“Look at you!” the mom exclaims, as if she hasn’t seen her daughter in a while.

The daughter extends her left hand to her mom and tells her she intends to paint her nails tonight.



But the mom doesn’t look at her hand at all. Instead, she steps toward her daughter and excitedly says, “Look at your earrings! Where did you get these?”

The daughter doesn’t answer. She raises her left hand near her face so the ring is in clear view, but her mom still doesn't see it. The young woman glances at the camera as if to say, “Mom just doesn’t get it.”

Then the cameraman — presumably her dad — says, “Your nails. What about your nails?”

“I forgot to paint my nails,” the daughter says, hoping to draw her mom’s attention back to her hand.

“Oh, that doesn’t matter,” says the mom.

With her daughter's hand now dangling six inches from her face, the mom steps forward — to adjust her daughter’s outfit.



The daughter extends her left hand one more time, and now her mom freezes with surprise.



Then the mom lets out the type of scream usually reserved for horror movie heroines. For the next 20 seconds, the mom goes through a series of spasms and contortions, punctuated by shrieks of joy. Finally, she gives her daughter a well-deserved hug.



AFV previewed “Oblivious Engagement” on its YouTube channel a week ago and it quickly went viral, netting more than one million views and garnering coverage on sites as diverse as buzzfeed.com and goodhousekeeping.com.



In its 25 seasons to date, America's Funniest Home Videos has given away more than $13 million in prize money and evaluated more than a million video clips from home viewers. Although host Tom Bergeron will not be continuing his run with the show, AFV has been renewed for its 26th season. ABC has yet to reveal who Bergeron’s replacement will be.

If you didn’t see the video on last night’s show, please check it out here… If you did see it, it’s worth watching again. Enjoy!


Images: Screen captures via YouTube.com/America's Funniest Home Videos

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you memorable songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today's featured song, "On the Horizon," is a tribute to the legendary and unforgettable Ben E. King, who passed away last week at the age of 76.



In this 1961 ballad written by King in collaboration with the prolific team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the soulful baritone sings about being at the shore and spotting a solid gold ship gleaming in the distance...

King croons, "On the horizon out where the ocean greets the sky / On the horizon I saw a ship go sailing by / This was the ship that I'd often dreamed of / A ship made of gold with a golden sail above / This was the ship that I dreamed would someday bring my love."

The gold ship with golden sail symbolizes something glorious for King — his ship of dreams. Later in the song, it's revealed that although the ship was a vision, his lover was not. He sings, "It kept comin' closer and closer I swear / Closer and closer 'til I woke up and found you there."



King is best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me," a song that was a top-10 hit when it was released in 1961, and again 1986 when it was used as the theme of a blockbuster movie of the same name. "On the Horizon" is best known as the B-side of King's iconic hit.

Neat trivia: The original writing credits for "Stand by Me" and "On the Horizon" went to Ben E. King and Elmo Glick, a pseudonym used by Leiber and Stoller.

Born Benjamin Earl Nelson in 1938, King adopted his stage name in 1960 after leaving his role as the lead singer of the Drifters and embarking on a solo career. One year later, King was peppering the airwaves with an impressive run of songs, including "Spanish Harlem," "Stand by Me" and "There Goes My Baby." "Stand by Me" would go on to be voted as one of the Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry of America. And riding on the B-side was "On the Horizon."

Please check out the majestic "On the Horizon," a simple and beautiful song interpreted by a unique talent who will be forever remembered as a pioneer of Rock and Roll...

"On the Horizon"
Written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Ben E. King. Performed by Ben E. King.

On the horizon out where the ocean greets the sky
On the horizon I saw a ship go sailing by
This was the ship that I'd often dreamed of
A ship made of gold with a golden sail above
This was the ship that I dreamed would someday bring my love

On the horizon out where the lonely seagulls cry
On the horizon my ship of dreams came sailing by
Sailing to me with this cargo so rare
It kept comin' closer and closer I swear
Closer and closer 'til I woke up and found you there

Oh, on the horizon, the horizon, the horizon


Credit: Getty Images; YouTube screen capture.

Moms from coast to coast should be delighted on Sunday because their families are expected to spend $4.3 billion on jewelry gifts for Mother's Day. This dollar amount represents an all-time high and is nearly 20% more than was spent on jewelry in 2014. What's more, 34.2% of shoppers said they would splurge on jewelry this year, up from 31.7% last year.



According to the National Retail Federation's 2015 Mother’s Day Spending Survey, total Mother's Day expenditures are expected to exceed $21 billion. Americans will spend an average of $172.63 on their moms, a $10 increase over 2014.

While jewelry certainly has the biggest "wow" factor of all Mother's Day gifts, flowers, gift cards and apparel are all expected to be strong categories.

More than two-thirds of those surveyed said that they would be buying flowers for Mom, which translates into $2.4 billion in sales. Two in five will give Mom a gift card ($2.2 billion), and more than a third will buy apparel items ($1.7 billion).

Other major spending categories include brunch ($3.8 billion), electronic items ($1.8 billion) and personal services, such as spa treatments ($1.5 billion).

Mother's Day greeting cards are still a gifting staple, with 80% of consumers reporting that they will buy a card for their moms. Total spending on cards will reach $786 million, according to the NRF.

The biggest spenders this Mother's Day are expected to be 25- to 34-year-olds ($244.32), compared to 18- to 24-year-olds, who plan to spend an average of $214.81.

A strong majority (62.5%) of consumers plan to purchase a gift for their mother or stepmother, while 23.2% will gift their wife, 9.8% will honor their daughter, 8.9% will shop for their sister and 7.4% will thrill their grandmothers.

“Mother’s Day is extremely unique and personal for millions of consumers, and families this year will look for different ways to enjoy their time with mom,” said analyst Pam Goodfellow of Prosper Insights & Analytics, which conducted the survey of 6,285 consumers for the NRF. “While some will splurge, others will search high and low for the perfect, practical gift, knowing that she likes any gift that comes from the heart.”

And we know that fine jewelry perfectly fits the bill.

Image: Bigstockphoto.com