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The Ghosts of Christmas Trees Past: Seven Sidewalk Disposal Styles

Will Etling takes us on a visual tour of the funniest, saddest, and most inventive methods of Christmas tree disposal on Southland sidewalks.

By Patrick James,
Patrick James
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Will Etling
Will Etling
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Jan 18, 2011

All photos and captions by Will Etling.

trashartphotographychristmasconsumptioncitieschristmas treeswill etlingpollution and waste

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Though the proposal didn’t happen on air, the heartfelt clip quickly circulated across social media, touching viewers everywhere. In the video, Orti introduces the segment, saying, "And a big surprise today for one Channel 8 Eyewitness news reporter when her longtime boyfriend showed up to propose to her," reading from the teleprompter in the studio. Right on cue, Johnny stepped onto the set, dropped to one knee, and proposed, leaving Orti and the studio staff in awe as the moment unfolded in front of them.

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"Will you marry me?" Johnny earnestly asked. "Oh my god, yes. This is so embarrassing," Orti said as she accepted Johnny's proposal, laughing while she cried happy tears. The staff in the studio helped Johnny set up his proposal and some of them looked at the loving couple with smiles on their faces. The couple kissed and hugged, and Johnny even revealed a huge engagement cake. The video was later shared by a Reddit user u/ash_jisasa.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Reacting to the proposal u/Critical-Art-9277 wrote, "She got the surprise of her life without actually knowing what she was doing, wonderful, she's so happy." u/Alternative-Peak-486 noted, "I love how this shows how much she was just reading her lines without comprehension and you can see the understanding dawning on her face." u/ericlikesyou mentioned, "Just a friendly reminder, this woman's fiancee probably knew she liked things like this and that's why he did it (good job dude). Do not assume every person wants this kind of proposal in public or at work, that is some fairytale non-existent reality." u/LegendaryOutlaw added, "Sounds like she wasn't live on air, she said it was a 'run-through' which is just a rehearsal. So he DID do it in front of most of her co-workers, but at least she didn't cry on live TV."

Fast forward to 2024, Orti gave birth to their son Enzo on September 9, 2024, and shared her joy on Facebook. "He’s here! Some of you out there did think he’d come early, well, he was two weeks ahead of schedule! Say hello to Enzo! We’re smitten with the little dude and we’re all healthy and happy, albeit sleep-deprived. I’m so overwhelmed with how kind everybody has been throughout my pregnancy journey on air- I so appreciate the kind words and encouragement, both here online and in person! Thank you," she wrote in the caption of her post where she shared the pictures of her infant.

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