European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 23, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse To my r nov or b set m. Divorcee Linda Howell watches her wedding ring go flying after smashing it at a ceremony witnessed by ring bearer Frank Elkin left and Greg Gilbert. Freedom rings jewelry for the divorced by Eddie Pells the associated press o you take this divorce 1 do. With this ring i a smash a celebrate my Freedom. D with a whack of a 4-Pound sledgehammer and Tammy Wynette s div or be twanging in the background Linda Howell reduced her wedding ring to an. Unrecognizable mess of Gold Silver and cubic Zirconia. Howell wigged Champagne and thought about her plans. Make the mess into a Pendant earrings yes a Pendant. So much for tradition. For Howell a 38-year-old nurse the ceremony was a cathartic Way to Start Over following her divorce. And it brought jeweler Lynn Albuquerque n.m., some business. Peters is the founder of Freedom rings jewelry for the divorced which makes custom jewelry out of wedding rings. Women often select earrings pendants and bracelets. Men like Golf Ball markers. The fee Range won t take much from those Alimony payments. Peters Calls the venture her Quot artistic contribution to the recycling others a refreshing Way to handle a painful situation. In addition to the re formed jewelry smashers get a signed divorce certificate ritual for untying the knot Here Are excerpts from the divorce ceremony developed by Lynn Peters. You Are to be charged with the following duties a to have and to hold anyone you Damn Well please. A to enjoy life to its fullest. A to experience the pleasures you be heretofore Only dreamed of. A to recover emotionally financially and sexually. A to regain your rightful place among the Serene and satisfied. A a to remember that being naked does not mean being alone. To symbolize this transition we will release any remaining ties to your past by transforming your ring a a which represents that past a into a Token of your new beginning. Now take the Hammer. Stop for a moment to consider the transformation that is about to begin your new life. Ready a with this swing let Freedom ring a the associated press and a mini reception with Champagne and music. Peters friends serve As ring and Hammer bearers. The Hammer is placed in a music Box of sorts. When opened the faint twinkling of the wedding March cascades out of the silk lined Container which is quickly shut so the smashing can begin. Quot it s like a release Quot said Howell who split with her husband after a 14-year marriage a she said receiving the divorce papers in the mail did t feel like the real thing. Quot you have a ceremony when you get married but when you get divorced it s Peters Felt the same Way after she and her husband divorced in 1988. Quot i never Felt like there was closure Quot Peters said. Quot so i threw a party sort of like a wedding Celebration in but what to do with the ring Peters said she thought about going to a Pawn shop or giving it away but her experience As a jeweler gave her a better Quot i thought i be never really made a custom piece of jewelry for myself Quot a she said. Quot so i took the Diamond out took a sledgehammer to the band and transformed Peters old band is now a Pendant emblazoned with the company a logo a a wedding ring with a slash through it. She wears it on her Collar along with a Button Thal reads Quot i miss my a husband but my aim is James Dobson a we have an adopted child who came to us when he was 2 years old. He was so abused during those first years that my husband and i cannot Jet ourselves punish him even when he deserves it. We also feel we done to have the right to discipline him since we Are not his real parents Are we doing right in a afraid you Are making a mistake commonly committed by the parents of adopted children. They pity their youngsters too much to control them. They feel that life has already been too harsh with the Little ones and they must not make things worse by disciplining them. These guilt Laden attitudes can Lead to unfortunate consequences. Transplanted children have the same needs for guidance and discipline As those remaining with their biological parents. One of the surest ways to make a child feel insecure is to treat him As though he is different. If the parents View him As an unfortunate Waif to be shielded he will see himself that Way. Parents of sick and deformed children Are also Likely to find discipline harder to implement. A child with a withered Arm or some non fatal illness can become a Little terror simply because the usual behavioural boundaries Are not established by his parents. It must be remembered that the need to be controlled and governed is almost Universal in childhood this need is not eliminated by other problems and difficulties in life. In some cases the desire for boundaries is maximized brother troubles for it is through Loving control that parents express personal Worth to a child. Q l what about Good natured teasing and joking within the family is it harmful to laugh and kid each other v the most healthy families Are those that can laugh together and i certainly done to think our egos should be so fragile that we All have to walk on cracked eggs around each other. However even innocent humor can be painful when one child is always the object of jokes. When one of your children has an embarrassing feature such As bed wetting thumb sucking stuttering or a striking physical flaw the other members of the family should be encouraged to tread softly on the exposed nerves of that child. Also one should not ridicule a child for his size whether he is a Small boy or a Large girl. There is nothing funny about that subject. Here is a guiding principle that should help it is. Wise not to tease a child about the features he is also defending outside the Home. And when he asks for any joke to end his wishes should be honoured. Or. James c. Dobson is president of focus on the family an organization dedicated to preserving the Home. Correspondence should to sent to him at focus on the family . Box 444, Colorado Springs Colo. 30903. Saturday july 23, 1 994 the stars and stripes 15
