July, 2003:
a tale of two rings

Some objects stand alone. The meaning they hold for us is significant enough that no explanation is necessary. These aren't the sort of objects which we misplace or lose. We don't consider parting with them - and thus there's no need to tell their story in preparation toward parting with them.

Other objects are probably easier to lose than they are to hold on to, or to remember where we kept them (which was probably someplace that seemed, at the time, very logical). These objects tell a story, but more often than not it's a story that it's hard to get anyone to listen to.

And sometimes, objects of the first and of the second sort intersect, each giving additional meaning to the other. The first, of course, doesn't really need this, but the significance that the second holds for us is enhanced through its connection to the first. And so it is with these two objects - my wedding ring, and a small white plastic bead, and an event that joined them together.


The date is easy to remember - it's because of the date that there's a story at all. It was our wedding anniversary, July 15. We planned to go out to dinner, and leave the boys with a baby sitter. Eitan was four, Nadav two.

Shortly before we were about to leave, Nadav succeeded in placing the plastic bead into his nose. I don't remember that he'd been playing with it, but apparently he had. Since it had a hole in the middle it didn't obstruct his breathing. Frankly, it didn't seem to bother him at all. But it certainly wasn't the sort of thing you leave in a child's nose.

A finger wasn't exactly helpful. It might do a good job at picking a nose, but getting out a stuck object demanded a more delicate tool. The nurses on the kibbutz tried to be helpful, but when they didn't succeed, they suggested that we take Nadav to the hospital where someone with more experience and better tools could solve the problem.

And that's what we did. Instead of taking Tzippi to dinner I took Nadav to the hospital. There we had a short wait - even with a foreign object in his nose Nadav seemed to be fine, partly proud of his achievement, partly confused over all the fuss. When a doctor got around to seeing him he promptly found the proper tool, and within about a minute the bead was out of Nadav's nose and in my pocket.

All this took place seven years ago. Just after it happened I scanned the bead and stored it on my hard drive. The bead itself I kept wrapped in a napkin for quite a while - perhaps a few years. Somewhere along the line I lost track of it. It's most probably still in our house, but I wouldn't know where to start looking for it. The only way I'll find it is most probably to look for something else. The ring, by the way, is always on my finger.


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