You’ve probably seen the commercials that say “Diamonds are forever.” Get a diamond ring or necklace for your lovely lady and she will feel that she will be loved forever. Hmmm…that shiny rock may last forever but the love may be a little iffier. Liz Taylor comes to mind. She had one big rock or an array of big sparkly rocks.. She should stay married until at least the year 4000.

When I was in junior high, my mom let me wear her diamond ring to school. I thought I was something pretty darn special. Carl, my hubby and partner for 29 years, gave me a Zercon ring that he got in a magazine for 75 cents. Yes that was cents. It was fun to wear and is now long gone. All so fleeting. “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” I wonder when that started. Why are diamonds so special? Is it because they are hard to get and they are expensive? Everyone is attracted to shiny objects but diamonds seem to hold a weight that other shiny objects don’t. [Factual Note: In Chinese, the character for 'yong' (go figure on what the tone is) means both "forever" and "diamond." So I guess diamonds are forever! Anyway, back to the story - Kyle]
Something very poignant happened a few years ago. I was taking my neighbor and friend, Erma Lee, out for her 100th birthday. Yes that was 100. [You can imagine how fun it was to get a $100 bill on her birthday. . . ok, I'll stop - Kyle] Her vision was razor sharp and her hearing about gone. She talked very loud. We had a table with a window overlooking the water at the Santa Cruz wharf. We were looking at the water and Erma exclaimed, “Look at all the diamonds!” There were diamonds glistening all over the water as the sun shone down. That will be with me forever. It’s right in front of my eyes if I look. How rich are we.