The Ring

The ring is either white gold or platinum. The setting has a lacy design similar to my grandmother’s diamond engagement ring which makes me think platinum. Anchored into this setting is a cobalt blue stone. Lapis. On top resides the Masonic emblem in yellow gold. The ring looks very tiny, much like a child’s ring. The smoothness of the Masonic emblem contrasts with the texture of the lacy design. It speaks of safety and protection.

I was given this ring prior to a bus trip to Young Harris College, a summer orientation program. “Always wear this ring when traveling. You will be protected. A Mason will always come to your rescue.” I did wear the ring until I married. I wore it on bus trips back and forth from Tampa to Young Harris. I wore it when traveling by plane to West Virginia to visit relatives. I was never bothered. I was never afraid.

The ring was given to my mother when she went off to college in 1928. She traveled by train back and forth from Charleston to Huntington, home of what is now Marshall University.

When I was ten, my aunt took me on the train from Charleston to Huntington because, “By the time you are old enough to travel alone, the train may be extinct.” They weren’t extinct, but in the deep South, Florida, they were hard to find. As an adult, I’ve taken the train from Tallahassee to Demming, NM. I traveled around southern India by train. We traveled at night because it was cooler. No air-conditioning. Food could be purchased on the train, whenever it stopped in a large village. Food was eaten in the sleeping compartment. The sleeping compartment always had four bunks, two upper and two lower. One side was reserved for males and the other for females. An interesting arrangement.

In writing this piece, I have memories of feeling charmed in tricky situations. Was it the ring? I don’t remember if I wore it all the time. As I reflect on the spirit of the ring, I wonder why I didn’t pass this on to my own daughter when she went to college. First, she was an accomplished traveler, flying alone since she was four. All the Masons in the family had died off. The zeitgeist was that women didn’t need men to protect them. By the time she graduated from college, she had been all over Europe and into Africa, giving her the attitude of world traveler.

I was a child of flight, not train, so riding trains is a treat for me. The narrow gauge railroad from Whitehorse to Skagway, Alaska was breathtaking. This person, who avoids heights, hung by one arm and two feet, outside between cars photographing the vistas from the mountain heights. No fear.

I have a yearning to take the train from Florida, now leaves Jacksonville rather than Tallahassee, to Seattle. Will it be more expensive than flying? Yes, but far less hassle, and superb scenery. Time is no object. The food is excellent.