A Three-carrot Ring is Hard to Find
Some 50 years ago I was in the Newark (NJ) airport, preparing for a flight to Florida to visit the person whom, I was determined, would eventually be my wife. I was still in law school at the time and we knew that the formal engagement would be delayed as she lived in Florida and I was a student in New York. There was no way that I could afford a ring at that moment, but I wanted to make an impression.
Somehow it didn’t seem enough to be fashionably attired in the manner of the day, tweed jacket, shirt and tie and Bermuda shorts with knee-length socks. (For a brief time in the 60’s, I had a Nehru-type jacket and, also, a turtle-neck shirt which I wore with a sport jacket and medallion! As long as I am baring my soul, there was, also, the period of the leisure suit.)
In any event, while killing time and strolling among the stores at the airport, I saw the answer to my prayers: funny, sentimental, inexpensive and guaranteed to impress my soon-to-be-fianc�©e. Did I say, inexpensive?
At the counter was a rack of toy rings, gold colored and adjustable, with three orange carrots on the top. The carrots were about 3/8 ” in length, orange with a green leafy top. They sat proudly on top of the band and had a degree of elegance. The cost was, as I recall, 59 Ã?¢. There was another version, with four carrots, at a slightly added cost, but I felt that a three-carrot ring was just the perfect gift.
I purchased the ring, went to Florida, and was immediately given assurance that, in lieu of a three-karat ring, my gift was more than satisfactory.
(Lest anyone, females especially, be concerned, when we were finally formally engaged, the ring was full of karats.)
Sometime in the past half-century, the ring has been lost. I have, over the past several years searched E-Bay, Google and all of the major and minor search engines, obtained the names and addresses of toy and novelty importers, dealers, and wholesalers, in the United States, Great Britain, China and Australia. I have written organizers of fairs and trade shows and operators of flea markets throughout the country and in western Europe. All in all, I have sent 275 e-mails and letters, looking for this ring. I have found similar rings, with carrots 1 – Ã?½ inch in length that are attached at one end to the ring and some that are more elaborate and are “embedded” in the top of the ring itself; but the ring I am seeking has three small plastic carrots affixed to the top of the ring.
(I have been added to the mailing lists of many unsavory groups, but that’s another story.)
I want, no, need, this ring. We will have been married 50 years in 2008 and, from my past experience, it is never too early to search for a suitable and sentimental gift!.
If anyone can direct me to any vendor or source for this item, I would greatly appreciate your kindness and gladly share a celebratory glass of champagne!
