The "The Saga of the Class Ring" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Talking to Carol about any jewelry she might have that we can sell for cash.  Good time to sell anything that is gold, since it is bringing top price.  We started talking about the last time we sold some of our gold items for cash.  Back when we were strapped for money that was needed to buy groceries and clothes for our family.  Things were tight for a few years when we started our family.  I decided to sell my two class rings that I had.  My high school ring and my college ring.  The college ring had very little sentimental value attached to it.  I graduated a year after the date on it, since I took a teaching job before I graduated from college and until I had all the necessary credits needed to graduate the date on my ring wasn't the same as my graduation year.  So, I added that to the small pile of items we were going to sell.  My high school ring was a different story, but still didn't hold very much sentimental meaning to me.  My dad was a jeweler and when I asked for a class ring for Christmas during my senior year of high school he said he would get it for me.  I didn't realize he was going to buy it from a different manufacturer than the school used for class rings.  So, on Christmas I opened my gift and the ring fit perfect.  Loved it.  Probably one of the most valuable presents I had ever received for Christmas.  Then, when I went back to school after vacation and saw some of the new rings that my classmates had received, I took my off.  They looked totally different and I just knew that someone would make a comment about where I got my cheap ring.  Not the "official" ring like everyone else had.  But, my ring had a solid body to it instead of the hollow top like the one everyone else had.  Never told my mom and dad about it and I wore it to all family functions and places that I knew there would be no classmates with rings in attendance.  Told them that I thought I better not wear it to school because I might lose it or damage it during gym class.  Well, I dug the ring out and placed it on the table with the rest of the items for sale.  Took them to a traveling show that allegedly gave top prices for gold.  Didn't know any better and didn't care to ask my dad about it for fear he would find out I was selling my class ring he bought for me.  Did get a hefty price for the two rings and some necklaces that Carol had added and we had some great meals for a few weeks.  Funny, but I never missed either ring. How about you.  You know where class ring is?  Did you ever get a class ring in high school.  Kids today probably would rather have the latest digital phone or notebook instead of a class ring.  The popularity of the class ring isn't the same as it was in the last half of the 1900s.  Maybe someday it will be rediscovered and become popular once again.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.