A Simple Little Band Of Gold

"I've never wanted wealth untold
My life has one design
A simple little band of gold
To prove that you are mine."

Chances are good I was influenced by Don Cherry's hit song, Band of Gold, back in the mid-50's when I was a young teen. Or maybe it was because of my mother's wedding rings, but when the time came for Kenny and me to pick out wedding rings in 1961, I wanted something simple. Amazingly, considering Mom and Dad were married in 1937 and styles had changed, the jeweler in Lenox still had a set of rings very similar to Mom's. That's what I wanted. They cost less than $40.00. But Kenny had his mind made up that he was going to spend $100.00 for my rings. So, even though it wasn't huge, I got a diamond engagement ring with a band that matched the designs on either side of the diamond.
When my son Doug and Diane were getting married I gave them my wedding rings to use. Their marriage lasted even a shorter period of time than mine to Kenny had. I don't know what happened to that set of rings. I once saw Diane get mad at Doug and throw a necklace he had given her into the lake, so I have an idea of what probably happened to my first set of wedding rings.

"Don't want the world to have an hold
For fame is not my line
Just want a little band of gold
To prove that you are mine."

I had better luck convincing Denny that I did not want a diamond engagement ring but he still wanted to get me some kind of ring.

We settled on a black star sapphire set in gold. Star sapphires are usually blue or red, but I wanted a black one. My wedding ring was a plain gold band.

My ring looked similar to this one. After Denny and I divorced I put the rings in my jewelry box to save for Kari someday. I never got to give them to her though because one weekend while we were gone they were stolen, along with my high school class ring.

A few days ago one of those articles in the Lifestyle section of my online homepage caught my eye: "The Right Engagement Ring For Your Zodiac Sign". Well, of course I had to find out what the right design was for me! "Scorpio, you're an intense person all around. You tend to favor dark colors like black and red. Look for rubies to jazz up the design of your ring." Now it didn't say what the main stone was, but it looks black to me. Which is what got me thinking about my former wedding rings.

"Some sail away to Araby and other lands of mystery
But all the wonders that they see will never tempt me.

Their memories will soon grow cold
But till the end of time
There'll be a little band of gold
To prove that you are mine."

Third time has been charm for me. Bud and I married with plain gold bands. Mine is the thin style I like. I swore to never take it off and fought hard to keep it on when I had my shoulder surgery, finally capitulating. Mom wore her wedding ring even after she was widowed. Her gold band was so thin by the time she died.

"I've never wanted wealth untold
But till the end of time
There'll be a little band of gold
To prove that you are mine."

To me there has always been something very romantic about a simple little band of gold.