The Ring

Last week my wife found an old emerald ring that she had back in high school. She put it on. It was a little tight, but it fit. It looked really pretty and made her happy.

She showed it to me when I got home. "Should your finger be all red and swollen like that?" "Probably not." "Oh goodie... nice ring, though."

I wound up having to cut the ring off her finger. She found a "How to cut off a ring with a Dremel" video on youtube. We watched it before making the attempt. It was a bonding moment.

"Let's do this over the sink." "Why?" "So that if one of us bleeds, we at least do it where there's a drain."

I got very strict "Do not cut off my finger!" instructions before we began. I was a little hurt that she thought I needed to be told that.

Now, here's a simple physics lesson. Friction produces heat (I told you it was simple). A Dremel blade can produce a lot of heat VERY quickly. The first half-second of cutting time went smoothly. I thought to myself, "This is actually gonna work with no problems!" Instantly, the shouting started. "HOT! OW! HOT!"

We eventually settled on using a plastic fork as the spacer between ring and flesh. It dissipated much less heat. And no one bled! I was pretty convinced that one of us would bleed, and that it would somehow be me.

I shared my success with P-Ziddy. "Success" never feels like success for very long after you share it with P-Ziddy.

P-Ziddy: At least you were close to water
P-Ziddy: Just don't drop the Dremel in the sink.
P-Ziddy: Or you would create a whole different situation.
P-Ziddy: "I wonder if stainless steel still conducts... ZZZZZZOT!"

Honestly, I might have dropped it in the water on purpose if I knew it was going to make a "ZOT" noise. I've missed out, I think.

We'll get the ring repaired soon so my wife can wear it again. It really was a pretty ring.

Naturally, as soon as I started sharing the story with P-Ziddy, he knew where it would wind up...

Jeff: I still can't believe she has 10 fingers.
P-Ziddy: Now there's a two-fer blog post
P-Ziddy: The cutting
P-Ziddy: And "The Return of the Ring"
P-Ziddy: Forged in the fires of Mount Doom. Repaired by the Israeli man at the mall.

Soon you will be whole again, my Precious...