Meet my Pai

Since we are having a guest of honor this Christmas, I thought it was just fitting that I introduce you to my dad!!! If you read my post about my grandparents, you will know that he is the first of four children born to a Jewish German refugee who came to settle (and marry) in Portugal.

My parents married very young, and by the time he was 27 he already had 4 children (two more to follow later on...)!!

My dad began working with his father's toy business very early, and started a company which became the largest toy wholesale distributor in Portugal. Eventually the business expanded to sportswear. For many years he held the Portuguese representation of international brands such as Mattell, Adidas, Ocean Pacific, Puma, Speedo, O'neill and Nintendo, just to name a few. He has been in business for over 50 years and has built a very successfull career!!

In his younger years he was also a professional handball player, and his team won the national championships many times!! He is the second from left top row... Between his toy business and his sports, he was always on the road!!

Shortly after the military coup in 1974 that ended a long dictatorship in Portugal, came my dad's political endeavours. He became a city hall member and served in the Lisbon City Hall in one form or another (even as interim president for 3 years) for over 30 years.... For a period of time he also became a member and vice-president of the Portuguese Parlament.

Unfortunately many strains in his relationship with my mom led them to separate after 45 years of marriage.... Very sad!

We only get to see my family in Portugal every other year, and the last time we spent Christmas with him was six years ago!!! So you can imagine how excited and anxious we all are for this visit!!!