SMALL THINGS – (4/27-5/1 2020) Dominique Shatkin
When I picture my dad in my head, one of the most prominent images I have is of his right hand. It sounds like such an insignificant part of him, but I would stare at it for hours as a child because I was so drawn to his pinky ring. I would ask him if I could try on the bulky gold band with the initials “SCS” carved on it, but I was rarely allowed since he was so protective over it. I knew it belonged to my brother, Sam, but as I got older I continued to learn about the ring itself, and who my brother was. I was a year old when he passed away, so my only knowledge of him is through photos and the stories that my dad tells me. I remember one day when my dad lost it, since it was the first time I had seen him cry the way he did. “It’s all I have left of him.” It was then that I realized the significance of the ring, and I searched and searched until I found it in a crevice in his bedroom. As my dad gets older, and his hands become more dainty, the ring often falls off. It’s gotten to the point where he no longer wears it so instead it sits on his bedside table. And as he gets older, he still checks to make sure the ring is there, while I check on him to make sure his blood pressure isn’t too low, or that he is able to walk down the stairs ok. Recently, he had a health scare and we had to call the ambulance. While they were helping him onto the stretcher, I ran upstairs and grabbed the ring. As I waited until I was able to talk Anthology 6
248