The "The Ring That Binds...But, It Must Be On The Finger!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Lounging on the beach on Antigua with my wife Carol and our friends Jere and Just Sue.  Temperature was in the low 90s and the water felt good that fateful day.  Sometime in the afternoon we all entered the water to cool off and enjoy a conversation about where we would have our evening meal.  After about 30 minutes of water time, we all headed back to the lounge chairs for a bit of reading or perhaps an afternoon nap.  As we all exited the ocean, Jere noticed he was missing his wedding ring.  After a futile search in the ocean, we gave up.  The following day we took a trip into the capital of the island, St. Johns, for some exploration and shopping.  Wasn't long before Jere showed me his new wedding ring.  He had worn his first wedding ring on his left hand for close to 50 years before it became dislodged while in the water.  Pretty traumatic experience for anyone, let alone the ring given to you by your high school sweetheart and mother of your two sons.  I felt for Jere, but there was nothing I could do at the time.  He felt a need to put another ring on that finger as soon as he could and our trip into St. Johns gave him that opportunity.  So, why do we wear wedding rings in the first place.  I know they are a time-honored tradition and are the ultimate symbol of love and devotion, but why don't we get our wife's name tattooed on our finger instead?  Couldn't lose that!  

Rings made of wood were used at one time.

Well, I began reading about wedding rings and found that they date back thousands of years to ancient Egypt.  The original rings were extremely simple compared to today's standards and made of materials such as hemp or leather, but were in the shape of a circle.  The circle is a symbol of eternity, since it has no ending.  And, why is the ring worn on the third finger of the left hand?  Well, it is said that there is a vein in that finger that goes right from the heart to that finger.  Known as the vena amores and is a bunch of crap, but the legend still lives on in the name of love.  In ancient Greece and Rome, the ring was usually part of the dowry suite.  The ring was seen as a pledge of fidelity before the union was official.  So, today the wedding ring remains a common tradition.  The more I read the more I found about wedding rings.  Things such as:

1. In Ireland, a common style of wedding ring features an ornate crown-topped heart which is a symbol of friendship, love and loyalty.
2. In Turkey, puzzle rings are the traditional wedding ring which has interlocking pieces and can be hard to put back together if removed.
3. In India, it's common for married women to wear toe rings.
4. Engagement rings are still popular with diamonds as the choice of stone.  Other choices may be aquamarine which represents courage and communication or sapphire which represents loyalty.
5. A pearl engagement ring is rumored to be bad luck since it is shaped like a tear.

The crown-topped heart ring from Ireland.

So, when Jere found his ring-finger bare after a romp in the ocean, he became upset, since it was a symbol of Sue's love and everlasting friendship and he just couldn't stand not to have it on his finger.  His new ring looks the same to me, but to him it still reminds him of the day that he and Sue said "I do."  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

PS - While talking to Jere recently about this story, he told me that his new ring is actually the third ring he has worn, having lost his original ring many years ago.  Wow, just when you thought you knew everything about the story you were writing, something new pops up and you have to change the story.  But...I have decided not to make any changes to my story, since in my mind he's only on his second wedding ring...to the same young women, Pam...no wait, it's Marilyn...no, that's not correct, it's Sue!  

While looking for photos to illustrate my story, I came across this photograph.
I believe this girl has her wedding ring on the wrong hand.  Am I correct?