Losing and Finding Diamond Rings

I read a marvellous story the other day. A woman threw some trash in to her trash-can and never realized that her diamond ring fell in as well. It was only after the bags had been removed that she realized her ring was gone and that the only place it could've been was in the trash-bag. She rushed down to the local refuse sorting facility and explained to the manager what had happened. He took her in to an enormous sorting room where all the rubbish of that day was lying on the floor ready to be sorted. She immediately began the unenviable task of sorting through the heap of trash. Eventually, after what seemed like hours, she recognised a piece of her own refuse and knew she was close. Suddenly, there it was, in all its brilliance, lying on the cement floor. She had finally found it - indescribable joy and reward for her supreme feat of persistence.  

Reading this story I was reminded of how my mother lost her diamond ring. My father and her were spending their honeymoon at a resort on the Vaal river. One afternoon they decided to go rowing. Because my mother was worried that the oar might dislodge her ring from her finger, she asked my father to place it in his shirt pocket, which he duly did. After some time it became so hot that my father removed his shirt and placed it under my mother's seat. Just as the sun was setting, my father called to my mother to pass him his shirt. Forgetting about her ring, she picked up the shirt and tossed it at him.  A sudden little "plop" sound brought a look of horror to her face. The ring had fallen in to the river.

Sadly, it was never recovered and I always wondered why my dad, the hero, never dived in after it. Only when I was older did I realize the futility of such an action. African rivers are notoriously muddy and dangerous. To have done so would have been an act of madness.

One ring found, the other lost. Both stories reminded me of that overworked little phrase, "You can do anything you want."  Really! Sometimes you can persist and achieve the almost impossible, but there are times and circumstances when there's just no chance of you ever achieving it, and to try is simply futile and a waste of time, in spite of its value. I think, in life, the trick is to know the difference.