In March 1967 my mother took me to the local jewelry store, and I drew a winning ticket for a diamond. A real diamond! I can’t remember what size it was or what it was worth in dollars, but I grew to know its real value with the passage of time.

We decided to have it set into a ring for my father, who never had a wedding ring because when my parents married they had no money. We had the single diamond placed into a heavy gold band to match the large hands my father had. That ring was the first piece of real jewelry my father ever owned. My father was a very hardworking man; He took great pride in the business he had created by himself in manufacturing aerospace fasteners.

A few months later our house was robbed and the thieves stole my father’s wedding ring. We were all so despondent over this that my mother went out and purchased a new wedding ring for my father. She purchased a ring with three diamonds placed horizontally into a heavy gold band, with an inscription placed on the inside of the ring “To Bill with love Virginia”. He wore the ring every weekend when he wasn’t working on industrial machines.

After my father died, I gained possession of the ring. I felt incredible joy when I saw it again. It kept me connected to him. I wore that ring on a chain around my neck for seven years, holding on to it for dear life as I watched his former business crumble into ashes.

Before I left the United States to go to live in Antigua, I gave my father’s wedding ring to my best friend Kerry. A voice inside of me kept telling me to leave this ring with him. Kerry had been my best friend and done so much for me I left him the thing I cherished the most to connect him to my history and me.

When I had to leave Antigua to take up residence in the Dominican Republic, the last thing I did was put all of my parents’ jewelry and my jewelry in a plastic box in my fireproof file cabinet.

When I opened the file cabinet a couple of months later, I found someone had stolen all of my family’s jewelry. I was heartbroken.

I called Kerry and told him about the theft, “Thieves steal more than possessions; they steal memories.” I asked him if he would mind sending me my father’s ring. Kerry said, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll send it right away. I have kept it in my pocket since the day you gave it to me. It’s always been safe.”

The moment the ring arrived at my apartment, by Federal Express International, I called Kerry, “I can’t thank you enough for saving this for me. If I had not left this ring with you I would have nothing left of my father. I’m glad I listened to the voice inside of me telling me to leave this ring with you.”

He told me, “Maybe the ring will bring you the luck it has brought me over these years.”

I am reminded of my father’s strength, intelligence and endurance every time I touch his ring, which I wear around my neck on a chain. It is not the ring itself that brings me such comfort but rather the circle of love, of family, of friendship it represents. The best of life is wrapped in a circle. A circle of love.

Cherokee Bille – http://www.cherokeebillie.com

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