Bangles and Memories ~ 1974-1975

I love my bangle bracelets that jingle and ting-ting along with my movements. I love the look of several jangly bracelets on other women too. Women from India can pull off the look of 15+ bangles on one wrist. I have a friend that has the most beautiful wrists and forearms. She wears several slender bangles, thin bangles and the really thick ones that you have to put on sideways.

A young lady friend of mine makes jewelry. When she told me, I was extremely excited because now, I could actually get bracelets that fit over my wide hands. Typically, off the rack bangles don't fit over my hands. This is probably why I like the look of them on other women so much -- because I rarely find any that fit me. So when my young-jewelry-making friend told me about her business, I placed an order for three. Then, I went to a craft store and found some baubles and trinkets and gems that I wanted to have made in jingly bracelets. I placed another order. Then another...

I'm happy with the jingly ting-ting sounds that my bracelets make. My Lola Mom used to wear gold bangles on her wrists and a slender chain anklet with a tiny charm on her ankle. She would jingle and ting away while she cooked. We could hear her bangles while she puttered around the house. My favorite sound was when she was in the garden.... it was the sounds of the neighborhood, the birds, her laughter and her bangles. Tiny clink-clink and ting-ting, jingling quietly in the thick Pacific heat, under the shade of her exotic trees, plants and flowers.

Two of my Aunties also wore bangly bracelets. They usually were gold or silver. Not the fake stuff, but the real silver and gold. I clearly remember them sitting there in the Pacific heat, drinking wine out of a slender glass and their bangles clinking when they lifted the glass to their lips. The contrast of the silver and gold metal against their Pacific tanned skin was beautiful. In the background Otis Reding was probably singing: ".... sitting' in the evening sun...."

When I hear the quiet jingle of my bracelets, I sometimes think of Lola Mom and my Aunties. When I hear my bangles clink against my desk while I'm at work, I notice that sometimes little girls will look towards the sound and tell me that my bracelets are pretty. I remember being that small; looking at my Lola Mom's bracelets and telling her the same thing... and it brings me peace. I hope it does for you too!