TIME and TIME AGAIN-( guest blogger, Jeff Volan)

Yet another guy seems to know more about jewelry and…women then I might  have given him credit for. (and is a pretty good writer for a business entrepreneur) So with my data on my crashed computer “just” recovered–and deadlines keeping me up all night–I am turning one more week’s post over to another guest blogger. But, hey..if you are having  as much fun reading the guys as I am, please feel free to write in and ask for more!

Guest Blogger-Jeff Volan

ID Bracelet

BINGO, my Mom seemed to shout as she rounded up another well to do Jewish widower. Marv was my second stepfather and he popped the question on the first date!  Seriously? Another new Dad already? I can’t completely recall, but my Mom must have been a real looker. However I do remember Marv. Medium height and build and a bit on the geeky, nerdy side, he drove a Lincoln Continental, when they were huge and made of solid Pennsylvania steel.

It didn’t take long for Mom to become used to the finer things. Tickets to the NYC Ballet, Symphony and Opera were weekly ventures, which I managed to stay out of. Instead, she dragged me on all day shopping sprees and out for high noon tea. But as a thirteen year-old boy, I knew I had better things to do, like play football and kiss as many girls as possible. It was the age of the I.D. Bracelet and the presentation to the opposite sex represented that we were “going steady”. It took a lot of thought before offering this hunk of metal, with my name etched into it in CAPITAL letters, with a heavy duty chain that slide into the end until it clicked shut. The standard practice was to get it back after the inevitable break up three weeks to a month later.

Around the same time I began asking girls to go steady, I also began to observe how deeply Marv cared for my Mother and I learned a few things about women. A couple of times a week, he’d show up with flowers “just because” and quite often strolled through the front door with jewelry. Once with Marv in NYC, I stared blindly into the cases in a small shop where silver, gold, diamonds and gems were displayed.  This was all new to me,   big time stuff with big time price tags. While in the store I was struck by a girl around the same age as me. She was playing with a large heart shaped pendant set with two beautiful Ceylon sapphires that were the color of her eyes. The girl, like the pendant, was perfectly arranged, dazzling yet spoke silently and mesmerized me.  Although surrounded by precious gems, I so wished I had my ID bracelet with me. I would have wrapped it around her wrist right then and there, without a second thought.  We began to share some smiles then stories, and with the counter person looking on  the girl handed me the pendant dangling from a chain. It had texture, substance and character. It felt like I was touching something much more than just a necklace. As the girl and I exchanged names and continued to talk and laugh, I finally understood Marv’s instant proposal to my mother. And,I quickly leaned over and kissed her.

  

I’ve traveled to a few places since my younger years, from the gold souks in Dubai to hunting for fresh pearls under the sea. I once wore a Saint Christopher around my neck, until it completed its promise to protect me. These medallions only work once, so I didn’t push my luck. It remains somewhere in a country far, far away.

 

Today, I stand with no watch, no ring, no bracelet or anything (and sound a bit like a Dr. Suess rhyme) but I can attest to the power of adornment. Recently while visiting my Mom, she showed me some of her jewelry collection. An eclectic mix that she received as gifts and even a few self purchased pieces. She told me stories that went with each and I could see in her eyes that these were much more than material possessions. This jewelry was a part of her life and her history: cameos past down from my grandmother and a vintage fob watch owned by my great grandfather. It was a great opportunity to get to know my Mom a bit better.

 

During our visit, my mom was still dragging me shopping, and I saw her walking towards me on the street — the girl who had held the pendant in the store 39 years before.  I could never forget her or how she captured me the first time. And, she is still most beautiful, still has the prettiest “sapphire” eyes I’ve ever seen. She remembered me too, hugged me warmly, like no time had passed, and in that moment, spoke to me silently.  I felt mesmerized all over again.