A Friendly Ring
“The only way to have a friend is to be one.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ah…High School. While I know for some, High School may not have been the best of times, I like to think that for most, it brings good memories. Now, why am I bringing up high school? Well, because in an odd sort of way, thanks to a girl, or I should say lady, that went to high school 6 years before I was even born, I met a super sweet person whom I now proudly call friend.
One Saturday morning like many others, I was out and about doing my usual Garage Sale ritual shopping, and came across some jewelry. Nothing fancy, just some silver rings and ear rings. From among this little handful of treasures, there was one ring that little did I know, would be amongst the best little treasures I have ever found.
To anybody else, it really is just a girl’s high school graduation gold ring. It has the standard semi-precious stone in the middle with the words “Notre Dame” on the top, and “High School” on the bottom. Inside, or underneath the stone depending on your perspective, when you look carefully and when the light hits it JUST right, you can see the school’s crest—an open book with olive branches at either side, and the words “Virtus et Scientia” in raised letters on each of the open pages. And on the sides you will find the year 1971.
Something unique about this ring, which I’ve never seen on any other similar rings, is when you flip it and look at its underside. There you will find a very tiny, but striking curious image of the Virgin Mary. It really stands out! And engraved inside the band are the initials “JRG”.
And now to the good part! After giving it some thought, I decided to put the ring up on eBay. About a week later, I get a message from a lady asking me something most intriguing.
This wonderful, sweet, and most curious lady whom we’ll call Dorothea, inquired about where had I come across this neat little piece of finger jewelry. I explained to her that I had purchased it from a young man whom was currently renting the house from his aunt. While there, he was helping her sell some stuff, and the jewelry had actually belonged to her. Here’s her initial message:
“Hi, just wondering how you came across this ring. I believe it may be my sister’s, she was taken from us last year. I see you are in Texas but we are from New Jersey. ...just wondering...I would buy it but don't have that kind of money... “J” always said she lost her ring at the Jersey shore...funny how it could have ended up in Texas isn't it?...”
What ensued from there was a most exiting and interesting conversation and not just about her sister’s ring, but also about many other things in each other’s lives. And yes, we both tried very hard to figure out if it was actually her ring, but there was just no way to do so.
At one point, I offered the ring to Dorothea for free because I truly felt it was meant for her, and to be honest, some things are just much more important than money. She declined and said the ring’s purpose had already been fulfilled—for us to meet and become friends! After our whole ordeal and many emails later, I decided to keep the ring as a memento of our friendship.
Do you have any cool, sweet and amazing friends with interesting stories about how you met? I’d love to hear about it! Please feel free to share your stories below.
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