Christmas Memories Pt. 2

Nipper Bookends

Another moment of surprise for me on Christmas morning is captured in the picture you see to the left.

The pair of little white dogs that are cast iron bookends. They are sculptures of "Nipper" the little dog in the logo that used to be on RCA records.

If you're over 40 years old you know what I'm talking about. If you're under 40 go "Google" the name "Nipper" and you'll see what I'm talking about.

The hand and red shirt to the left, halfway in the picture, belong to my sister-in-law, Theresa. She was the mastermind behind this surprise.

As you can tell from the smile on my face I am rather pleased to have these little puppies. You see I'm holding them for the first time. But it's not the first time I'd seen them. Here's the story behind the surprise Christmas gift. A story that took 4 months to unfold.

Back in the summer, sometime in August, while I was walking my own two "nippers", Dory & Angel, through the part of our little town that's home to a series of antique shops I saw the Nipper bookends on display on top of a roll top desk near the windows of one of the stores.

The shop was owned by a local woman who was rather elderly and delicate health. Because of her condition the hours she open her shop were limited to Saturday mornings between 8 & noon.

From the moment I saw the cast iron doggies I wanted them. They represent 2 of my favorite things, dogs and music. I worked during the store's limited hours so I had to find someone to inquire about the items for me. I didn't want to ask Paula to to get up and go out of the house early on her only day of the week to sleep in just to ask about a pair of bookends I might not be able to afford.

So I decided to ask my sister-in-law, who always an early riser, to go to the antique shop and find out how much the little Nippers cost. She told me she'd to it. That Saturday passed and I didn't hear anything from Theresa about the bookends. I figured she'd forgotten about it and would ask her to try and remember for the next Saturday.

Well, when I walked past that same window again the next time the bookends were gone. I was really disappointed. Who knows how long they had been sitting there waiting for someone to buy them? Then, it figures, as soon as I notice them they get gone. I lamented the fact that even though I really wanted them I would never see the Nipper bookends again.

Now, what I didn't know was that Theresa, who knows everybody or knows someone who knows everybody (she reminds me a lot of my mom in that aspect) knew the woman who owned the antique store.

That same Saturday I asked her to inquire about them she called the store owner and told her to put the bookends aside for her she wanted them.

To make a long story short Theresa kept the Nipper bookends for 3 months, wrapped them in December, put them under the tree, and, much to my delight as you can see, surprised me with them on Christmas.

The doggies now sit on a bookshelf in my living room guarding a bunch of new DVDs I yet to watch. Every time I look at them from now on I'll always remember what a great Christmas surprise they were. Thanks to my favorite sister-in-law, Theresa.