Enjoy...

Dahl dubbed these creatures “gremlins,” and, the next year, Walt Disney decided to publish an illustrated book of Dahl’s work (his very first children’s book) and turn it into an animated film. Though the film was never made and the book only published in a run of 5,000 now-rare copies, Dahl’s work left us with his invented words that are part of our every day life now: “gremlin” and “widget” - his name for gremlin younglings, the little cogs in the works. The story gave us another word, too, but one that only a few people remember: fifinella. That was Dahl’s word for the female gremlins.

“Fifi” has been part of my life as long as I can remember. And my mom liked to give out pins and patches with the she-gremlin’s likeness to family and friends to commemorate Important Life Moments. I remember her giving me a Fifinella pin when I moved to Moscow back in 1989 - just a little good luck from the Greatest Generation. When I moved back from Moscow, my sister Nurse Rachet had found a little machine embroidery shop in our local mall in Moline, Illinois where the seamstress was willing to scan and program Fifinella into her machine. I now have this rockin' denim jacket with Fifi embroidered in a wide circle on the back - I wear a set of Mom's sweetheart wings on the collar. It's just a neat connection to a bygone era, and to my mom.
So, in honor of my friend going out on tour, taking a big step and having an Important Life Moment, I sent him a little Fifinella lapel pin. I figure a little good luck can't be a bad thing, and it's always smart to remind the gremlins whose side they're supposed to be on!
1 comment:
This was fascinating. I learned something totally new. I also liked that you gave your friend the pin to have with them.
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