Tradition!

I got my school ring back from the jewelers today, I finally admitted that my knuckles were never going to get smaller, so I had them make my high school ring larger.  The jeweler polished the ring as well; it looks brand new.  It was so astonishingly new looking that I checked for my initials and graduating year, even though I know that this particular ring has not been made since 1979.  I felt fifteen again, though neither my hands, nor the rest of me, look it. 

I went to a prep school; started in Kindergarten and completed all thirteen years through high school.  We were told in lower school (K-6) that if we were not good students we would be held back a year or expelled; I was always a little terrified.  I flunked lunch in first grade (I have the report card to prove it) but I guess that didn't count.

My class missed middle school, they eliminated it as we entered seventh grade and brought it back as we entered ninth grade.  I was in Upper School at the age of twelve and treated to all of the freedoms that Upper School entailed. I never got into any real trouble, through I certainly could have. There was an incident when a full box of Ohio blue-tip matches in  my book-bag spontaneously combusted, but the fire was oxygen starved and therefore contained to the box; thank goodness for my heavy math and science books.

We had a lot of traditions in the school.  They started in Lower School with responsibilities allotted to children by grade.  Sixth graders had the most duties, including reading the red words (Jesus' spoken words were printed in red) in the New Testament during Friday assemblies in the Study Hall. They stopped the Bible reading just as I entered sixth grade; I really liked the red ink, I was disappointed. Sixth graders also produced The Sundial, our Lower School literary journal, which was mimeographed. Sixth graders laid out the magazine and ran the mimeo machine with the help of Mrs. Dohler. It was awesome!

Upper School had the best traditions; ones that deepened the glue of experience which binds our graduates together.  In Tenth grade we received our class rings.  Ours were made by a local jeweler: we had the choice of sterling silver for $18.00; gold, yellow or white, 10K  for $56.00 or 14K  for $72.00.  We could get our name or initials, and class year engraved inside for a small amount per letter and number (sorry to say, I don't remember how much each letter was).  Mine is 10K gold;  14K was too expensive and for a person who works with her hands (I was already very active in the arts) it was too soft.  I still have the box in which my ring was handed to me. 

When we got our rings, having written new words to The Beach Boys' Song: Little Surfer - now known as our "Ring Song," we dressed all in blue, sang the song to the school in assembly, and tossed blue candies to everybody.  The truly critical part of the day was that the ring must be turned by others that same day.  The number of people turning the ring, must equal the year of your graduation.  I needed 77 people to turn it. Each person turns the ring three times and makes wish with each turn; a wish for themselves, a wish for the school and a wish for the ring recipient.  If you don't get the correct number of turns, it is bad luck.  I got all 77 turns times three, by 3 PM.   

The tradition is still practiced at my school, though it has become much more elaborate and therefore less unifying. I love traditions because they accentuate the common experience across years of people going through the same paces. Tradition is about unity and I am strongly in favor of unity, not uniformity, unity; traditions must be chosen wisely.  Ring day occurs in the Sophomore year to make the students feel a connection to the school and to each other before graduation; it is very effective, which is why so many of us still wear our rings.

Today with this shiny new looking ring, I felt like asking people to turn it and I am still singing in my head, to the tune of Surfer Girl:

Ooooooooo oo ooo ooooo oo oooooo

We just got ours, they just came

We're so pleased we can't explain,

So we're asking you to turn our rings,

Turn our rings, won't you please turn our rings?

We have waited for today,

Now it's here what can we say?

Will you turn them, will you turn our rings?

Turn our rings, won't you please turn our rings?

The Lower School says we're atrocious

Mrs. Balant thinks we're through

But through it all th,ough we're obnoxious

We're still proud we're the Class of Blue

So we say from us to you,

Will you make our dreams come true?

Will you turn them, will you turn our rings

Turn our rings, won't you please turn our rings?

Ooooooooo oo ooo ooooo oo oooooo

Ooooooooo oo ooo ooooo oo oooooo