“The Ring” by Doug Fincher

October 1, 2018 - In 1995, Pam and I made a quick trip to the spectacular Lost Maples State Park in the Texas Hill Country near Bandera, Texas. Even though the park is known for its abundant wild­flowers, steep canyon walls and scenic Sabinal River, it is chiefly known for its bright fall Maple trees.

As we entered The Park, we were stunned by the gorgeous maples on our way to a lookout point. As we were admiring the colorful surroundings, my diamond ring (my ring that Pam gave me) felt loose on my finger and I asked her to put it in her pocket. After an hour’s walk in the park, we were discussing which route to take home when Pam said, “Hey, let’s drive to Kerrville and eat at Billy Gene’s Restaurant… you know… the one on The Guadalupe River.” As we parked at the restaurant, I asked Pam to hand me my ring. As she was fumbling through her pockets, she exclaimed, “Oh, no…its gone!” “I must have pulled it out with my car keys when we left The Park!”

“We’re 50 miles from the Park, the sun will be setting soon, and we’d probably never find where we parked!”, I lamented. “No…no…let’s go,” Pam insisted. And off we went… driving directly into the blinding sun... racing around hairpin curves… barely missing the deer that fed along the highway. Finally as we bounced and bumped our truck back into the Park, Pam shouted, “That’s the placel!” and she frantically ran up the hill, she glanced down at her feet and hollered out, ”Here it is… right at my feet!”?

As we parked again at Billy Gene’s Restaurant that evening, Pam sighed, “Aww… it’s so dark that we won’t see the ducks in the river.” “What a shame… what a shame”, I chuckled…

“But just look at my beautiful ring!”