Five Silver Rings

• Lori Palminteri
• Uncategorized
• February 14, 2025

For as long as I live, the phrase “five golden rings,” like from the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” will remind me of my grandpa Vincent Palminteri. Growing up, it was tradition for my dad’s side of the family, a large Catholic Italian family, to gather on Christmas Eve. There are many musicians in the family, so after dinner, we’d all gather around to sing Christmas Carols with my Aunt on Piano, Uncles on guitar or percussion, various cousins playing instruments they were learning in school, while everyone else sang. My Uncle Vinny, one of the music teachers in the family, disbursed sheet music to all.

The “Twelve Days of Christmas” we sang last before some bloke dressed as Santa (usually one of the older female cousins boyfriend) came to hand out presents to the younger ones. For that song, we’d be paired up and each pair were given a day to sing. It changed every year, except for Grandpa who always had “five golden rings” and would belt with glory. Yes, it was a rather wholesome and simple time.

For many years now I usually wear five rings. Right now, they happen to all be silver, though it changes. Sometimes, people ask me if they mean anything and I usually say that I like them, without further explanation. Which isn’t untrue, but they do have a further meaning to me.

I wear a ring for each of the five members of my immediate family, including myself.

The rings that “represent” my sister, brother and dad I haven’t switched out in years. For my brother, it’s a ring with a breaking wave. Mitch is (annoyingly) the best surfer I know. Together, we’ve surfed countless waves. Waves are temperamental, like people. But ultimately, they are symbol of strength and fun.

On the same finger, is the ring to represent Lisa, my sister. This one has a pattern of triangular sparkling multi-gleam blue opals. Though opal is actually my mom’s birthstone, for the rings on my hand this represents Lisa. She is more feminine than me, so it fits that the ring for her is my most girly. Lisa, who is a mother of two, is the rock of her family. She is overly generous, and would give you the shirt off her back, or the jewelry off her body, if you needed it.

The ring that represents my Dad also has triangle pattern with turquoise stones. My Dad used to work for the railroad and he found it on the tracks when I was just a kid and gave it to me. Back then, it was too big for me to wear, but I saved it until adulthood when it fit me. Turquoise is meant to symbolize protection, which feels perfect for my Dad, who’s priority has always been the safety and well being of his family.

I have multiple rings that represent my Mom, and they are the ones I change out the most. A couple of them are heirlooms, from her great Aunt or that were hers when she was young. These ones I wear less frequently as I don’t want to lose them. Currently, the ring for my Mom is a sun either rising or setting on the water. An apropos symbol as my mom has always been the brightest light in the sky for me. She is the sun, and I the moon (my mom has given me various moon jewelry through the years as well).

Finally, there’s the ring for me. At present, it’s a thin band that is also shaped like a wave (not as detailed as the one for “Mitch”). I found this ring in Hawaii on the side of the road on the North Shore when I got out from surfing and it just happened to fit me perfect. I especially like rings that fit me so well, I can wear them while surfing and not worry about losing them.

At all times, my family is carried and represented via these silver bands on my hands. Because even though I’m a unique person, no one has shaped me more than my siblings and parents. They are always a part of me. Furthermore, I travel a lot and you never know if you’re going to be in the wilderness and hunted by a werewolf, in which case it’s good to have silver you can melt into a bullet to kill the beast. And when you do, you can say something like, “THIS IS FOR MY FAMILY.”

And that’s why you should always wear silver jewelry. Werewolves.