"Can you believe that guy who stole that 91 year old lady's ring from the hospital? From her hospital bed! He should be hung (deleted from here were some choice and perhaps inappropriate suggestions on how exactly to do that) ... She was 91. She must have been married for almost 60 or 70 years. I mean I was only married for 40 years and my husband died 12 years ago, but the groove on my finger from the ring is still there." Said a woman to the lady at the till in a coffee shop.
I didn't think it was such a big deal when I saw it on the front page - I mean, yes it's terrible. But then again I've never had a ring for 70 years on my finger. Sometimes I love to hear what makes people so irate, because it gives me another perspective on what might matter outside of my small circle of existence and experience.70 years is a long time to wear a ring. Fads come and go. Clothing styles change. But the ring stays, and hopefully so does the relationship. I hope it was a big deal. I hope the ring was more than a piece of jewelry.
Sometimes I think about material things that last longer than we do.. and when I'm feeling particularly curious and make-believe, I ask them questions. "What happened here? Where have you been? What have you done?" (They never talk back, so the conversation never lasts very long). Imagine the stories that ring could tell. Of faithfulness, the hand that held it, acts of kindness, or even acts of anger or bravery.
Good thing we can remember and objects don't have to hold our memories for us. But it's back to work for me. It's just that coffee shops have such interesting conversations happening in them.
I didn't think it was such a big deal when I saw it on the front page - I mean, yes it's terrible. But then again I've never had a ring for 70 years on my finger. Sometimes I love to hear what makes people so irate, because it gives me another perspective on what might matter outside of my small circle of existence and experience.70 years is a long time to wear a ring. Fads come and go. Clothing styles change. But the ring stays, and hopefully so does the relationship. I hope it was a big deal. I hope the ring was more than a piece of jewelry.
Sometimes I think about material things that last longer than we do.. and when I'm feeling particularly curious and make-believe, I ask them questions. "What happened here? Where have you been? What have you done?" (They never talk back, so the conversation never lasts very long). Imagine the stories that ring could tell. Of faithfulness, the hand that held it, acts of kindness, or even acts of anger or bravery.
Good thing we can remember and objects don't have to hold our memories for us. But it's back to work for me. It's just that coffee shops have such interesting conversations happening in them.
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