I’m no stranger to the tattoo needle, but I’d much rather express my devotion by wearing a ring on a necklace, a nightstand, (or just in my heart!), then by always looking like I just took off a cheap costume jewelry ring.

And, once again, we take a tour through the wonderful land of Just How Is This Your Business, Anyway? – and we marvel at the denizens as they accost people in marriages not their own, providing profuse, if unwanted, advice to the actual participants therein. Religious reasons, professional reasons, safety reasons, health reasons, discomfort reasons, plain old personal preference – really, what does it matter to anyone else except the two people getting married? I’m just astonished at how the choices of two people suddenly become a free-for-all. If it was just a matter of nice, easygoing conversations about “Look how different people have different customs! Isn’t that interesting?” – okay, I’m as curious as the next person, and maybe more so; you don’t become an actor or a re-enactor without being interested in different customs; unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the spirit in which most of these conversations are conducted. They seem to be a little closer to the investigations of the Spanish Inquisition, and its search for heretics, and I’m all for reminding other folks that it’s not their concern.

As far as I was concerned, the intent and the words were what mattered most. I love my rings. Then again, I wear a lot of rings and love decking myself out in jewelry. Mr. Twistie doesn’t like to wear any jewelry (other than the Liverpool FC pin he wears on his hat, not because he likes footie, but because he has a soft spot in his heart for Liverpool as the birthplace of The Beatles). He also works with electricity a lot. A ring could be actively dangerous for him.

Neither one of us can deal with needles, so tattoos weren’t an option for us. But I say personal adornment is just that: a very personal decision. gold rings, silver rings, platinum or titanium rings, tattoo rings, or no rings at all, I still feel it’s the intent behind the act of marrying that’s most important. If that’s sincere, then what does it matter how you choose to symbolize it (or not) publicly? If it isn’t sincere, then whatever symbol you choose is just as hollow as the marriage, anyway.

Just because one person regrets his decision, apparently because celebrities he isn’t wild about made the same choice, well, I don’t see why his fear of being part of a trend should influence my personal preferences. I may have absolutely zero use for Howard Stern, but I wouldn’t let the fact that he has a tattoo ring change my mind if I wanted one.