This charm is dedicated to my father, Gil, who also happens to be celebrating his birthday today. I designed the charm as a top since my Dad has a fabulous collection of spinning top toys:
My father, who often comes across as very serious (degrees in law and music, a European upbringing, and years spent teaching as a professor in academia certainly foster that image), has a very impish side as well. He has played his share of practical jokes on his family, and I never tire of hearing of the funny escapades he had with his Portuguese nephews and nieces when they were little.
One of my favorite stories?
One summer when the family was traveling to the south of Portugal to vacation, he stationed each little nephew and niece at one of the windows in the train compartment. When the train rolled into the stations along the way, he coached them all to yell out the windows to each other (in Portuguese), “Oh no! you spilled the wine!”, “Pass the chicken!”, and other such rowdy comments. Like this, he insured that the family had the entire train compartment to themselves for the trip!
Happy Birthday!
Comments