A Happy Ending

Americans are great people. If you watch the daytime talk shows, or absorb too much of the nightly news broadcast, you may think that everything has gone to hell in a hand basket. That is not yet quite the case. Americans, as a whole, are a good and decent people. We work hard, play hard and look after each other. Sure there are segments of our society that morally ambivalent, but they remain fringe elements that receive more attention than deserved.

Case in point - I quit smoking a year and a half ago and have really put on some weight, it has gotten to the point where my wedding ring no longer fits my ring finger. V and I designed our rings and had them made by a friend who happens to be a jeweler in the Dallas area. For the wedding (mentioned in earlier posts), I was wearing my ring on my pinkie finger. It was a little loose, but not too bad.

I bet you can guess where this story is going.

When we were just about home, I noticed that my ring was not on my finger. Chit. It was gone. We searched the truck hoping it fell off when I reached into my pocket for the phone, or when I was messing with the kids, but no luck.

The last place I remember the ring being on my finger was in a restaurant in Childress Texas. When I washed my hands, I made sure it did not slip off into the sink, and that is the last I remember having it. When we left the restaurant, I had lifted my grandson into the truck and did some rearranging of things in the back seat. Maybe it fell off there.

This morning I made a list of every place we stopped after that and got on the phone. I first called the restaurant, thinking that this was an exhibition in futility. A waitress answered the phone, I gave her my name and asked if anyone had found a men's wedding ring. She handed me off to the manager. The manager asked me to describe the ring and to make a long story short, they had it. A customer found it in the parking lot and turned it in.

To the person who found and turned in my wedding band, thank you very much. This could not have been replaced and I appreciate your thoughtfulness.

To the folks at Dawson's Family Restaurant, thank you again for your help in getting my ring back. That was my second visit to your restaurant, and it will not be the last.

If you happen to be traveling through Childress Texas, stop by Dawson's Family Restaurant for a great meal with good folks (they do an excellent breakfast and are a favorite of the locals and out of town hunters).