Charm Bracelet

CHARM BRACELET

- Joy Krauthammer

A jewelled DRUM is on my gold charm bracelet that I wore as a teenager. Not only is there a drum, but there is also a TAMBOURINE.  This bracelet foretold my adult passion and percussion profession.

In Spain, I remember buying the tiny tambourine with teensy kinetic jingles when I was 18 years old and studying art and Spanish at Universidad de Madrid. I was truly attracted to tambourines and the flamenco dancers.  Alegria con sangria is how I introduced myself (and sometimes still do).  'Joy with fruit wine' that was served in las cuevas / the caves. In las cuevas, I loved drinking fruity sangria dramatically poured from on high into goblets.

Returning to America, I stopped in Paris and bought myself another souvenir, a gold Eiffel Tower for my charm bracelet. No emotion there.

I think my parents bought me the jeweled drum charm, a conga drum with a mother of pearl drum head, during their trip to Jamaica or the Virgin Islands. Or did I buy it for myself after the Spain trip when I took a college winter break to Puerto Rico and Saint Thomas, a nearby island?

I did buy an 'Ernest Borel' watch on the Virgin Islands. I really liked the kinetic Borel Cocktail Kaleidoscope watch because the face dial was constantly changing with a hynotic psychedelic kaleidoscope effect. Hmm, maybe today it would be called meditational. For years I loved wearing my fun Borel and wore out many authentic narrow black leather watch bands.

Looking back on the gold charm bracelet after decades of not seeing it, I am in awe that even as a teen, the charms that I bought for myself reflected my later professional passion, percussion. I am a performing spiritual percussioinist.

The other charms include a telephone from my Uncle Israel because I was always on the phone; a sweet sixteen charm for my 16th birthday; a cloisonne' ladybug because I guess it was cute (and I still like and photograph ladybugs); a tiny disk with my engraved name; a basket of pearls for my birthstone, and a disk with pearls and a stone. A heart locket had contained friend's picture when I was 12 years. Maybe Stuie Edelstein's cute portrait is still inside. I didn't look. 

I have another charm that never made it onto the bracelet. When my beloved maternal grandmother, Ethel, z'l, died, each grandchild was given a personalized gold charm that Grandma had worn on her bracelet-- a child's head with a grandchild's name engraved. Grandma had lots of charms of girls and boys. I dearly loved my grandma. She loved showing off her grandchildren, blood and honorary.

Lastly, a Mogen Dovid / Star of David charm * was a gift from a paternal grandfather, 'Hyman' Elchanan Chayyim, z'l, whom I'd never met, knew nothing about, nor had communicated with, but once when I was 16 or 17. (He died shortlly after.) On the phone, he spoke a few Yiddish words to me, and my mother translated them for me. I wrote him a thank you note and he wrote back to me with his friend translating. The grandfather sent money to my mother and asked her to purchase a gift, a Jewish symbol for me. (And one for my younger sister.) This was my first Mogen Dovid. I wish I could have known my paternal grandparents, Hyman and Fraydl, z'l, from Poland, and my maternal grandfather, Abraham, z'l, from Russia who died when I was a baby of six months. I have been to the cemetery grave of my paternal grandparents in CA and to the graves of my maternal grandparents in GA.

In retrospect that is very sad that there was alienation between my father, z'l, and his orthodox father who lived on the other coast.  When my dad's sister had for a short time married out of the religion, the father sat shiva and this rejection forever upset my father. (How can families do that to each other?)

My memories of loved ones I have known are golden. They are the charms in my heart.

~ ~ ~

PS
* My younger sister reminds me that our grandfather, z'l, through my parents, gifted us Ten Commandments charms, and not the Mogen Dovid.

Joy's 10 Commandments charm on chain

 that I loved wearing as a teen.

Magnified

~

At age 18 on my charm bracelet, I had a tambourine (from my studies in Spain) and a drum!! and Eiffel tower (from Paris visit) and Star and ladybug. Some things always remain in my heart and take a while to manifest.  The jingles move! © Joy Krauthammer
Studied art at Universidad de Madrid and got in trouble with gendarmes when caught photographing Generalisimo Franciso Franco. Trouble also when partying with toreadors in Avila. oy