Page 80 - Writes of Passage
P. 80
from DANNY THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD
I was glad my father was an eye-smiler. It meant he never gave me a fake smile because, it’s impossible to make your eyes twinkle if you aren’t feeling twinkly yourself. A mouth-smile is different. You can fake a mouth-smile any time you want, simply by moving your lips. I’ve also learned that a real mouth-smile always has an eye-smile to go with it. So watch out, I say, when someone smiles at you but his eyes stay the same. It’s sure to be bogus.
Roald Dahl
Danny the Champion of the World is my favourite Roald Dahl book. Because it shows you what makes a wonderful parent. In Danny’s case his single parent is his father, but the same principles apply to fathers and mothers. They should be sparky not stodgy, as Dahl has it. But also they have to be – as Danny’s father is – always on the side of their child.
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