Friday, December 4, 2015

Betty MacDonald and a wonderful Christmas gift

xmas1

Betty MacDonald fan club fans,

 Betty MacDonald fan club newsletter December does not only include photos of Betty MacDonald's homemade Christmas cards.

We'll have a wonderful Betty MacDonald fan club Christmas gift for you. 

You can also see many cards of Betty MacDonald's family and friends, for example from Betty MacDonald's daughter Joan MacDonald Keil, Betty MacDonald's grandchildren, Betty MacDonald's sister Alison Bard Burnett, Betty MacDonald's friend Monica Sone and many more very interesting items.

Join our new Betty MacDonald fan club contest, please. 

You can order our new Betty MacDonald and Alison Bard Burnett CD and DVD!

DVD and CD are different. You can see Betty MacDonald, her sister Alison Bard Burnett and other family members and friends in front of the camera for the first time! 
 
We can offer you new wonderful Betty MacDonald Fan Club Items and a new Betty MacDonald and Alison Bard Burnett CD and DVD. 


Alison Bard Burnett shares the most interesting stories about Mary, Betty and the Bard family.
CD and DVD interviews are different ones.

New  Betty MacDonald documentary will be very interesting with many new interviews.

Alison Bard Burnett and other Betty MacDonald fan club honor members will be included in Wolfgang Hampel's new project Vita Magica.

More exciting news about Betty MacDonald's filmed interview will come soon. 

Enjoy a wonderful  breakfast with Brad and Nick, please.

 Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli needs strong nerves for his many girl friends and the very complicated political affairs.

Wishing you a very nice Friday,


 Tina

Vita Magica

Betty MacDonald fan club

Betty MacDonald forum  

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )

Wolfgang Hampel - Monica Sone - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( French )

Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University 

Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel 

Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD
  
Betty MacDonald fan club items 

Betty MacDonald fan club items  - comments

Betty MacDonald fan club - The Stove and I 

Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund 


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WRC News uploaded a new video.
April 28, 2014 ·
Uwaga! Kiełbasa jedzie!
smile emoticon
See Translation


so cute
www.bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/


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Bobbi Jo Zboravan uploaded a new video.
July 13 ·
Fred's first hee haw.
very cold
www.bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/


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1,256,881 Views
Crăciunul uploaded a new video: Desene Donald Duck si Chip and Dale.
November 27 at 6:50pm ·
Săptămâna viitoare vine Moș Nicolae! Să îl așteptăm cu niște desene de poveste!
See Translation


very smart
www.bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/


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1,598,998 Views
Funniest And Craziest Vine uploaded a new video.
December 1 at 4:50pm ·
Smart bird smile emoticon
More LIKE----> Funniest And Craziest Vine

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4,470,394 Views
Great British Christmas uploaded a new video.
September 4 ·
Great news! Santa has just left his man-cave up north and is headed home to prepare for Christmas!
Share with friends and family, let's help him along!
Calligraphy - really great
www.bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/


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23,518,594 Views
artFido - fetching art uploaded a new video.
October 19 ·
There's a reason this video has been viewed 25 million times! Calligraphy with the master, Seb Lester!
www.artFido.com/popular-art
Blue Jay Bird Bath
www.bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/


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84,769 Views
The world of birds uploaded a new video: Blue Jay Bird Bath.
November 17 at 9:27pm · Edited ·
Blue Jay Bird Bath
Join us>> The world of birds


Horses in Winter
www.bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/


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396,173 Views
~Despre Cai~ (~About Horses~) uploaded a new video: Snow!!Yupy!
February 7 · Edited ·
~Look,snow!
~Hei,zapada!
See Translation



Enjoy the season
www.bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/
so cute
www.bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/


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182,013 Views
Liam the leprechaun uploaded a new video: Cuteness Level Over 9000 Vine By: Best Animal Vines.
December 1 at 3:35am ·

Cuteness Level Over 9000 Vine By: Best Animal Vines


Lots of snow
www.bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/
 
Lena Sidorova

November 30 at 7:45pm · 

I hope this winter will be a lot of snow.....


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Thursday, December 3, 2015

Betty MacDonald and her homemade Christmas cards

victorian_christmas

Betty MacDonald fan club fans,

 very exciting Betty MacDonald fan club news!

Would you  love to see one of Betty MacDonald's  homemade Christmas cards (even the ones she got in trouble for copying at work!) 

Would you?

You will!!!!

Betty MacDonald fan club research team Anita and Eartha Kitt II are going to  share their new outstanding Betty MacDonald fan club research results.

Thanks a million dearest Anita and Eartha Kitt II. 


You'll be able to see several ones of Betty MacDonald's unique colourful Christmas cards in Betty MacDonald fan club newsletter December.


Several Betty MacDonald fan club Christmas surprises are waiting for you during December. 

Enjoy a wonderful  breakfast with Brad and Nick, please.

Take care,

Max


 Vita Magica

Betty MacDonald fan club

Betty MacDonald forum  

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )

Wolfgang Hampel - Monica Sone - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( French )

Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University 

Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel 

Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD
  
Betty MacDonald fan club items 

Betty MacDonald fan club items  - comments

Betty MacDonald fan club - The Stove and I 

Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund

Linde Lund shared •*Secret Garden *•'s photo.
Enjoy your cozy home with lots of postive and grateful thoughts www.bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/
Melitta Ressar Romantik..See Translation
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 23 hrs
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Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Christmas with Betty MacDonald and her grandmother Gammy

The Yard and Wash-House - Carl Larsson

Betty MacDonald fan club fans,

Britta and her Betty MacDonald fan club team are working on the new Betty MacDonald fan club item 'Christmas with Gammy'. 

Betty MacDonald's unique Grandmother Gammy will entertain you with very exciting and witty stories incld. golden memories and comments of Betty MacDonald and her family - never publsihed before. 

A new golden Betty MacDonald fan club treasure! 

Join our new Betty MacDonald fan club contest, please. 

You can order our new Betty MacDonald and Alison Bard Burnett CD and DVD!

DVD and CD are different. You can see Betty MacDonald, her sister Alison Bard Burnett and other family members and friends in front of the camera for the first time! 
 
We can offer you new wonderful Betty MacDonald Fan Club Items and a new Betty MacDonald and Alison Bard Burnett CD and DVD. 

More exciting news about Betty MacDonald's filmed interview will come soon. 
 
Anne Elizabeth Campbell Bard was born March 26, 1907 in Boulder, Colorado, the second child of Sydney and Darsie Bard. Betsy and her three sisters and brother had an adventurous, somewhat unconventional childhood owing to the strong and creative personalities of their parents and Darsie's mother, "Gammy," and the many lessons in independence they survived gracefully. ( see story Betty and Gammy written by Wolfgang Hampel published by Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Interviews with Betty MacDonald and her sister Alison Bard published on CD/DVD . The interviews on CD and DVD are different )

When Betsy was 12 her father died of pneumonia, but the family's strong relationships and optimism remained intact through this sorrow and the ensuing financial trials.
Betsy (who later preferred the nickname Betty) said that for the Bard children, there were really only two household rules: "We were expected to be polite and to tell the truth, no matter how appalling. "Apart from that, the Bard children did as they pleased and went forth into the world with well-defined personalities, acutely-developed senses of humor and adventure, and a remarkable zest for life.

Betty married at 20 and went to live on a chicken ranch in the Olympic mountains. Her experiences there are chronicled in her first book, The Egg and I . ( see books The Kettles' Million Dollar Egg, The Egg and Betty, The Tragic end of Robert Eugene Heskett by Wolfgang Hampel published by BMC)

Life in such isolation and hardship palled after 4 years and she returned with her two small daughters to her Seattle family just as the Depression hit. The amazing stories of their survival and triumph are related in Anybody Can Do Anything. Betty and her family had a wonderful friend who supported them during this very difficult time.
( see Betty and Mike by Wolfgang Hampel published by BMC 2009 and Wolfgang Hampel's interview with Alison Bard published by BMC )
Alison Bard tells some delightful treasure stories about this wonderful friend.
 
But Betty's career as a businesswoman was cut short when she contracted pulmonary tuberculosis and entered Firlands, an endowed sanitorium north of Seattle. Lying flat on one's back for 8 1/2 months doesn't seem the stuff of which humor can be made, but Betty did indeed spin gold out of straw, in The Plague and I.
( see Betty MacDonald's illness written by Wolfgang Hampel and published by BMC and comments of Betty MacDonald's family and friends incl. Betty MacDonald's wonderful friend Kimi )

After her recovery, Betty married Donald MacDonald and they moved their family to Vashon Island, leading an idyllic and interesting existence as portrayed in Onions in the Stew. While on Vashon Betty also wrote her works for children: the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series and Nancy and Plum.

Betty and her husband bought a ranch near Carmel, but illness forced her to move back to Seattle. She died of cancer at the age of 50 on February 7, 1958. ( see Betty MacDonald's illness by Wolfgang Hampel, published by BMC  and Wolfgang Hampel's interview with Alison Bard, published by BMC  )

Why is Betty's writing so beloved among so many people all over the world? 
The first and most obvious reason is that it's hilarious - sharp, sometimes irreverent. vivid and unexpected. Betty manages to find humor everywhere: on the early morning streetcar, in a hospital ward, in a home with two cranky adolescents, in job situations from farm work to secretarial duties. To read Betty's writing is to laugh -- often out loud, in public places, whether you want to or not. She has a terrific eye for the absurd and can paint a striking and side-splitting word picture in a few succinct strokes.

But Betty fans also love her optimism, her strength, her intense love for her family, her times of self-doubt, and the zest with which she approaches all of life and relishes simple pleasures. ( see many comments of Betty MacDonald Fans in books, stories and interviews with Betty MacDonald's family and friends published by BMC  )

Betty's indomitable sister Mary Bard, whom we encounter in all four books but meet most vividly in Anybody Can Do Anything, also went on to write (her first book is dedicated to Betty, "Who Egged Me On"). Mary's books, The Doctor Wears Three Faces, Forty-Odd, Just Be Yourself, and the children's series Best Friends, are also much beloved by Betty fans who find themselves quickly becoming Mary fans as well. ( see Wolfgang Hampel's interviews with Alison Bard)

Alison Bard Burnett shares the most interesting stories about Mary, Betty and the Bard family.
CD and DVD interviews are different ones.

New  Betty MacDonald documentary will be very interesting with many new interviews.

Alison Bard Burnett and other Betty MacDonald fan club honor members will be included in Wolfgang Hampel's new project Vita Magica.

Enjoy a wonderful  breakfast with Brad and Nick, please.

 Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli needs strong nerves for his many girl friends and the very complicated political affairs.

Good guy we believe in you!!!!!!!!


Yours,

Pieter

Vita Magica

Betty MacDonald fan club

Betty MacDonald forum  

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )

Wolfgang Hampel - Monica Sone - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( French )

Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University 

Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel 

Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD
  
Betty MacDonald fan club items 

Betty MacDonald fan club items  - comments

Betty MacDonald fan club - The Stove and I 

Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund 

We wish you a very nice December with lots of unique moments.

 www.bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/

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Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Christmas with Betty MacDonald

File:Carl Larsson Brita as Iduna.jpg


Betty MacDonald fan club fans,

welcome December! 

There are very exciting Betty MacDonald fan club news!
 
We'll have some very interesting Betty MacDonald fan club contests.

Not to forget the most important Betty MacDonald fan club info. 

Very beloved and unique Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Mr. Tigerli will be back as a special Betty MacDonald fan club Christmas surprise.

Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel is going to share some of his very witty and satirical poems in Betty MacDonald fan club Xmas letter.

Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund is going to interview some outstanding artists and writers for Betty MacDonald fan club blog and newsletter.

Astrid and her Betty MacDonald fan club team are writing on the story ' Christmas with Betty MacDonald '. 

You shouldn't miss reading this diary.

Take care folks and enjoy the season,


Mats 


Vita Magica

Betty MacDonald fan club

Betty MacDonald forum  

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University

Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel 

Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD

Betty MacDonald fan club items 

Betty MacDonald fan club items  - comments

Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund 
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Betty MacDonald, Monica Sone, Wolfgang Hampel and a meeting in Seattle

Nisei Daughter





Betty MacDonald fan club fans,

Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Monica Sone ( Kimi in Betty MacDonald's The Plague and I )  is the author of Nisei Daughter.

Monica Sone and her family had run a hotel in Seattle before Executive Order 9066 sent all West Coast Japanese Americans into exile.

With charm, humor, and deep understanding, a Japanese American woman tells how it was to grow up on Seattle's waterfront in the 1930s and to be subjected to "relocation" dring World War II. Along with some 120,000 other persons of Japanese ancestry-77,000 of whom were U.S. citizens-she and her family were uprooted from their home and imprisoned in a camp.

In this book, first published in 1953, she provides a unique personal account of these experiences.

"Monica Sone's account of life in the relocation camps is both fair and unsparing. It is also deeply touching, and occasionally hilarious."-New York Herald Tribune

"The deepest impression that this unaffected, honest little story made on me was of smiling courage."-San Francisco Chronicle

Wolfgang Hampel, Monica Sone's friend -  author of Betty MacDonald biography and winner of first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award - wrote:

Copyright 2011 by Wolfgang Hampel

Dearest Monica,

I was rereading your book Nisei Daughter and I have to tell you that I agree with your many international fans. I wished I could read many more books written by great author and unique personality Monica Sone.

I also agree with the New York Herald Tribune review of Nisei Daughter: Monica Sone's account of life in the relocation camps is both fair and unsparing. It is also deeply touching, and occasionally hilarious.

Yes, that's it! Deeply touching, also occassionally hilarious! When I'm reading your great book ( Nisei Daughter belong to the VERY few books I'm reading over and over again ) I'm really deeply touched. I'm with you and your great family. I adore your outstanding book and even much more I adore your unique personality. You are a genius but very human and warm with a deep understanding and a golden heart.

The first time I heard your very warm voice I was lost. To me it's the most beautiful voice in the whole world. Voice and personality fit together in just a perfect way.

Thanks a million for your friendship.

Although we are far away you and your family are always in our thoughts. 

All our love,

Wolfgang


Betty MacDonald fan club honor member Monica Sone will be included in Wolfgang Hampel's new project 'Vita Magica'. 

Yours,

Martine





Betty MacDonald fan club fans,

we share a very special gift by beloved and very popular Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honor member Letizia Mancino.

We know you'll enjoy it as much as we do.

Thanks a Million, dear Letizia Mancino.

You are an outstanding writer and artist.

We are so proud and happy to have you with us.

Letizia writes: One should not underestimate Wolfgang Hampel’s talent in speedily mobilizing Betty MacDonald’s friends.

We agree. Thank you so much dear Wolfgang Hampel for doing this. You founded Betty MacDonald Fan Club with four members.

Now we have members in 40 countries around the world. A dream came true.

Mary Holmes did an excellent job in translating this great story. 

Thank you so much dear Mary Holmes. 

We are really very grateful.

All the best to Letizia, Wolfgang and Mary and to all Betty MacDonald Fan Club fans from all over the world!

Lenard 

Vita Magica

Betty MacDonald fan club

Betty MacDonald forum  

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )

Wolfgang Hampel - Monica Sone - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English ) 

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( French )

Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University 

Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel 

Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD
  
Betty MacDonald fan club items 

Betty MacDonald fan club items  - comments

Betty MacDonald fan club - The Stove and I 

Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund 
 


Following in Betty’s footsteps in Seattle:

or some small talk with Betty

Copyright 2011/2015 by Letizia Mancino
All rights reserved
translated by Mary Holmes


We were going to Canada in the summer. “When we are in Edmonton”, I said to Christoph Cremer, “let’s make a quick trip to Seattle”. And that’s how it happened. At Edmonton Airport we climbed into a plane and two hours later we landed in the city where Betty had lived. I was so happy to be in Seattle at last and to be able to trace Betty’s tracks!

Wolfgang Hampel had told Betty’s friends about our arrival.
They were happy to plan a small marathon through the town and it’s surroundings with us. We only had a few days free. One should not underestimate Wolfgang’s talent in speedily mobilizing Betty’s friends, even though it was holiday time. E-mails flew backwards and forwards between Heidelberg and Seattle, and soon a well prepared itinerary was ready for us. Shortly before my departure Wolfgang handed me several parcels, presents for Betty MacDonald's friends. I rushed to pack the heavy gifts in my luggage but because of the extra weight had to throw out a pair of pajamas!

After we had landed we took a taxi to the Hotel in downtown Seattle. I was so curious to see everything. I turned my head in all directions like one of the hungry hens from Betty’s farm searching for food! Fortunately it was quite a short journey otherwise I would have lost my head like a loose screw!
Our hotel room was on the 22nd floor and looked directly out onto the 16-lane highway. There might have been even more than 16 but it made me too giddy to count! It was like a glimpse of hell! “And is this Seattle?” I asked myself. I was horrified! The cars racing by were enough to drive one mad. The traffic roared by day and night.
We immediately contacted Betty MacDonald's friends and let them know we had arrived and they confirmed the times when we should see them.

On the next morning I planned my first excursion tracing Betty’s tracks. I spread out the map of Seattle. “Oh dear” I realized “the Olympic Peninsula is much too far away for me to get there.”
Betty nodded to me! “Very difficult, Letizia, without a car.”

“But I so much wanted to see your chicken farm”

“My chickens are no longer there and you can admire the mountains from a distance”


But I wanted to go there. I left the hotel and walked to the waterfront where the State Ferry terminal is. Mamma mia, the streets in Seattle are so steep! I couldn’t prevent my feet from running down the hill. Why hadn’t I asked for brakes to be fixed on my shoes? I looked at the drivers. How incredibly good they must be to accelerate away from the red traffic lights. The people were walking uphill towards me as briskly as agile salmon. Good heavens, these Americans! I tried to keep my balance. The force of gravity is relentless. I grasped hold of objects where I could and staggered down.
In Canada a friend had warned me that in Seattle I would see a lot of people with crutches.

Betty laughed. “ It’s not surprising, Letizia, walking salmon don’t fall directly into the soft mouth of a bear!”
“ Betty, stop making these gruesome remarks. We are not in Firlands!”

I went further. Like a small deranged ant at the foot of a palace monster I came to a tunnel. The noise was unbearable. On the motorway, “The Alaskan Way Viaduct”, cars, busses and trucks were driving at the speed of light right over my head. They puffed out their poisonous gas into the open balconies and cultivated terraces of the luxurious sky- scrapers without a thought in the world. America! You are crazy!
“Betty, are all people in Seattle deaf? Or is it perhaps a privilege for wealthy people to be able to enjoy having cars so near to their eyes and noses to save them from boredom?”

“When the fog democratically allows everything to disappear into nothing, it makes a bit of a change, Letizia”

“ Your irony is incorrigible, Betty, but tell me, Seattle is meant to be a beautiful city, But where?”
I had at last reached the State Ferry terminal.

“No Madam, the ferry for Vashon Island doesn’t start from here,” one of the men in the ticket office tells me. ”Take a buss and go to the ferry terminal in West Seattle.”
Betty explained to me “The island lies in Puget Sound and not in Elliott Bay! It is opposite the airport. You must have seen it when you were landing!”
“Betty, when I am landing I shut my eyes and pray!”

It’s time for lunch. The weather is beautiful and warm. Who said to me that it always rains here?
“Sure to be some envious man who wanted to frighten you away from coming to Seattle. The city is really beautiful, you’ll see. Stay by the waterfront, choose the best restaurant with a view of Elliott Bay and enjoy it.”
“Thank you Betty!”
I find a table on the terrace of “Elliott’s Oyster House”. The view of the island is wonderful. It lies quietly in the sun like a green fleecy cushion on the blue water.
Betty plays with my words:
“Vashon Island is a big cushion, even bigger than Bainbridge which you see in front of your eyes, Letizia. The islands look similar. They have well kept houses and beautiful gardens”.

I relax during this introduction, “Bainbridge” you are Vashon Island, and order a mineral water.

“At one time the hotel belonging to the parents of Monica Sone stood on the waterfront.”
“Oh, of your friend Kimi!” Unfortunately I forget to ask Betty exactly where it was.

My mind wanders and I think of my mountain hike back to the hotel! “Why is there no donkey for tourists?” Betty laughs:

“I’m sure you can walk back to the hotel. “Letizia can do everything.””

“Yes, Betty, I am my own donkey!”
But I don’t remember that San Francisco is so steep. It doesn’t matter, I sit and wait. The waiter comes and brings me the menu. I almost fall off my chair!
“ What, you have geoduck on the menu! I have to try it” (I confess I hate the look of geoduck meat. Betty’s recipe with the pieces made me feel quite sick – I must try Betty’s favourite dish!)
“Proof that you love me!” said Betty enthusiastically “ Isn’t the way to the heart through the stomach?”

I order the geoduck. The waiter looks at me. He would have liked to recommend oysters.
“Geoduck no good for you!”
Had he perhaps read my deepest thoughts? Fate! Then no geoduck. “No good for me.”
“Neither geoduck nor tuberculosis in Seattle” whispered Betty in my ear!
“Oh Betty, my best friend, you take such good care of me!”

I order salmon with salad.

“Which salmon? Those that swim in water or those that run through Seattle?”

“Betty, I believe you want me to have a taste of your black humour.”

“Enjoy it then, Letizia.”
During lunch we talked about tuberculosis, and that quite spoilt our appetite.
“Have you read my book “The Plague and I”?”

“Oh Betty, I’ve started to read it twice but both times I felt so sad I had to stop again!”

“But why?” asked Betty “Nearly everybody has tuberculosis! I recovered very quickly and put on 20 pounds! There was no talk of me wasting away! What did you think of my jokes in the book?”

“Those would have been a good reason for choosing another sanitorium. I would have been afraid of becoming a victim of your humour! You would have certainly given me a nickname! You always thought up such amusing names!” Betty laughed.

“You’re right. I would have called you “Roman nose”. I would have said to Urbi and Orbi “ Early this morning “Roman nose” was brought here. She speaks broken English, doesn’t eat geoduck but she does love cats.”

“Oh Betty, I would have felt so ashamed to cough. To cough in your presence, how embarrassing! You would have talked about how I coughed, how many coughs!”

“It depends on that “how”, Letizia!”

“Please, leave Goethe quotations out of it. You have certainly learnt from the Indians how to differentiate between noises. It’s incredible how you can distinguish between so many sorts of cough! At least 10!”

“So few?”

”And also your descriptions of the patients and the nurses were pitiless. An artistic revenge! The smallest pimple on their face didn’t escape your notice! Amazing.”

“ I was also pitiless to myself. Don’t forget my irony against myself!”

Betty was silent. She was thinking about Kimi, the “Princess” from Japan! No, she had only written good things about her best friend, Monica Sone, in her book “The Plague and I”. A deep friendship had started in the hospital. The pearl that developed from the illness.
“Isn’t it wonderful, Betty, that an unknown seed can make its way into a mollusk in the sea and develop into a beautiful jewel?” Betty is paying attention.

“Betty, the friendship between you and Monica reminds me of Goethe’s poem “Gingo-Biloba”. You must know it?” Betty nods and I begin to recite it:


The leaf of this Eastern tree
Which has been entrusted to my garden
Offers a feast of secret significance,
For the edification of the initiate.

Is it one living thing.
That has become divided within itself?
Are these two who have chosen each other,
So that we know them as one?

The friendship with Monica is like the wonderful gingo-biloba leaf, the tree from the east. Betty was touched. There was a deep feeling of trust between us.
“Our friendship never broke up, partly because she was in distress, endangered by the deadly illness. We understood and supplemented each other. We were like one lung with two lobes, one from the east and one from the west!”
“A beautiful picture, Betty. You were like two red gingo-biloba leaves!”

Betty was sad and said ” Monica, although Japanese, before she really knew me felt she was also an American. But she was interned in America, Letizia, during the second world war. Isn’t that terrible?”

“Betty, I never knew her personally. I have only seen her on a video, but what dignity in her face, and she speaks and moves so gracefully!”

“Fate could not change her”

“Yes, Betty, like the gingo-biloba tree in Hiroshima. It was the only tree that blossomed again after the atom bomb!”

The bill came and I paid at once. In America one is urged away from the table when one has finished eating. If one wants to go on chatting one has to order something else.
“That’s why all those people gossiping at the tables are so fat!” Betty remarks. “Haven’t you seen how many massively obese people walk around in the streets of America. Like dustbins that have never been emptied!” With this typically unsentimental remark Betty ended our conversation.

Ciao! I so enjoyed the talk; the humour, the irony and the empathy. I waved to her and now I too felt like moving! I take a lovely walk along the waterfront.

Now I am back in Heidelberg and when I think about how Betty’s “Princessin” left this world on September 5th and that in August I was speaking about her with Betty in Seattle I feel very sad. The readers who knew her well (we feel that every author and hero of a book is nearer to us than our fleeting neighbours next door) yes we, who thought of her as immortal, cannot believe that even she would die after 92 years. How unforeseen and unexpected that her death should come four days after her birthday on September 1th. On September 5th I was on my way to Turkey, once again in seventh heaven, looking back on the unforgettable days in Seattle. I was flying from west to east towards the rising sun.

        Roses for Monica Sone


•*Secret Garden *•'s photo.
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Monday, November 30, 2015

Betty MacDonald and Mark Twain's birthday


“The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.” -- Mark Twain


Betty MacDonald fan club fans, 

Mark Twain would celebrate his 180th birtday today.

I agree with Mark Twain that laughter is most important in our life and it's strong like a weapon.

Therefore Betty MacDonald and Mark Twain belong to my favourite authors. 

Betty MacDonald Fan Club fans from all over the World are very interested in Wolfgang Hampel's interviews, stories and poems.

You'll be able to read some of Wolfgang Hampel's new satirical stories and poems in our  Betty MacDonald Fan Club newsletter. It'll be available in December. 

Wolfgang Hampel is journalist, author, artist and poet.

He is the winner of the first Betty MacDonald Memorial Award.

Wolfgang Hampel founded Betty MacDonald Fan Club and Betty MacDonald Society in 1983.

Betty MacDonald Fan Club has members in 40 countries.

Wolfgang Hampel visited all the places where Betty MacDonald and her family lived.

Wolfgang Hampel's new Betty MacDonald documentary of Betty MacDonald's life in Boulder, Butte, Seattle, Laurelhurst, Chimacum, Vashon Island, Carmel and Carmel Valley is really fascinating. My personal favourites are scenes of Betty's and Don's life in Carmel and Carmel Valley.

Wolfgang Hampel, author of Betty MacDonald Biography, interviewed Betty MacDonald's family and friends and many other famous artists and writers, for example Astrid Lindgren, Truman Capote, J. K. Rowling, Maurice Sendak, David Guterson, Donna Leon, Ingrid Noll, Marie Marcks, William Cumming, Walt Woodward and Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honour Members Monica Sone, Letizia Mancino, Darsie Beck and Gwen Grant. 

Wolfgang Hampel is also very well known for his satirical poems and stories.

We are going to share Wolfgang Hampel's work with many fans from all over the world who adore his Betty MacDonald Biography and unique Betty MacDonald Interviews. 

Wolfgang Hampel's newest literary project is Vita Magica.

Viele Betty MacDonald Fan Club Fans aus der ganzen Welt sind sehr an Wolfgang Hampels Interviews, Geschichten und Gedichten interessiert.

Sie können einige von Wolfgang Hampels neuen satirischen Geschichten und Gedichten im nächsten Betty MacDonald Fan Club Magazin lesen.

Wolfgang Hampel ist Journalist, Autor, Künstler und Poet.

Er ist der Träger des ersten Betty MacDonald Gedächtnispreises. 

Wie wir alle wissen gründete Wolfgang Hampel 1983 den Betty MacDonald Fan Club und die Betty MacDonald Society.

Der Betty MacDonald Fan Club hat Mitglieder in 40 Ländern.
Wolfgang Hampel besuchte alle Orte wo Betty MacDonald und ihre Familie lebte.

Wolfgang Hampels neue Betty MacDonald Dokumentation über Betty MacDonalds Leben in Boulder, Butte, Seattle, Laurelhurst, Chimacum, Vashon, Carmel und Carmel Valley ist wirklich faszinierend. Ein Höhepunkt sind Szenen von Bettys und Dons Leben in Carmel und Carmel Valley.  


Wolfgang Hampel, Autor der Betty MacDonald Biografie, interviewte Betty MacDonalds Familie und Freunde und viele andere berühmte Künstler und Schriftsteller, z.B. Astrid Lindgren,  Truman Capote, J. K. Rowling, Maurice Sendak, Donna Leon, David Guterson, Marie Marcks,  Ingrid Noll, William Cumming, Walt Woodward und Betty MacDonald Fan Club Ehrenmitglieder Monica Sone, Letizia Mancino, Darsie Beck und Gwen Grant.

Wolfgang Hampel ist auch sehr bekannt für seine satirischen Gedichte und Geschichten. 

Wir werden Wolfgang Hampels Werk den vielen Fans aus aller Welt vorstellen, die seine Betty MacDonald Biografie und die einzigartigen Betty MacDonald Interviews schätzen. 

Wolfgang Hampels neues literarisches Projekt ist Vita Magica.

Thomas

Vita Magica

Betty MacDonald fan club

Betty MacDonald forum  

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )

Wolfgang Hampel - Monica Sone - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English )

Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( French )

Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University 

Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel 

Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD

Betty MacDonald fan club items 

Betty MacDonald fan club items  - comments

Betty MacDonald fan club - The Stove and I 

Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund 


Betty MacDonald loved in Germany

Axel Schappei The Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber June 16, 1983

Go into any ordinary German bookstore and ask for former Islander, Betty MacDonald's paperbacks and you'll be handed - at least - three books: Die Insel und ich ( Onions in the Stew ), Das Ei und ich ( The egg and I ) Betty kann alles (Anybody can do anything).

Scholars in the Pegasus German courses on the Island may notice that the German titles of Betty MacDonald's famous autobiographical novels have been translated appropriatley.
Betty would like them. Betty MacDonald, who lived on Vashon Island, is tremendously popular in Germany. She once was one of the most well known and widely read novelists in the United States. But would you guess that more than two million paperbacks and hard-cover books of Betty MacDonald have been published and sold in Germany during the last 30 years? 

Her bestseller The Egg and I reached about half a million in July 1981. From March 1964 until October 1980, 107000 copies of Anybody can do anything were sold in 12 editions. Onions in the Stew - her novel about living on the Rock - sold 103000 copies from May 1964 until September 1980, also in 12 editions. "She is incredibly successful, really, not only her novels. Her books for children like Nancy and Plum or the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle-Stories still belong to the most successful childrens' books after all those years," says Wolfgang Hampel, who is so convinced about Betty MacDonald. 

He simply loves Betty MacDonald and her books: "She's so homorous, her stories about everyday-life's and awkward situations are just incomparable. It's like a good friend taking you be the hand and leading through her life." 

That's why Wolfgang Hampel and four other German Betty Fans plan to launch an extensive exhibition about Betty MacDonald, her life and her work.

Originally they wanted to open the exhibit on February 7, 1983, 25th anniversary of Betty MacDonald's death. But the five friends didn't manage to get enough exhibits together. "We're still looking for pictures, photographs, letters - in short all sorts of personal mementoes about Betty. Our exhibition has been planned for the last few years and we have written zillions of letters and bought hundreds of books, here in Germany, Europe and from the States," explains Wolfgang Hampel.They tried to get further information about their preferred author from American publishing companies. "Some didn't answer and others know less than we did already! It was like finding the different pieces of a jigsaw-puzzle without knowing what it will look like in the end." 

Why all this activity?"We think that Betty MacDonald is such a fascinating person that many people here should know more about her . Apart from our endeavors to our exhibition together we've also been in contact with publishers to convince them that a new edition of Nancy and Plum would find its readers still today.

Betty MacDonald's readers come from all ages and social groups," says Wolfgang Hampel. Of course he and his friends know that Vashon is the Onions in the Stew Island and they also know that Vashon is part of the Pacific Northwest and - more specifically - of Puget Sound. So imagine their amusement when some publishing firms told them that Vashon is somewhere up to Alaska. 

Actually, Wolfgang Hampel knows quiete a lot about the Rock, though he's never been here. All his information comes from Betty MacDonald's Onions in the Stew. So he's got the idea of the terrific view of Mount Rainier, and he also knows about her coyness.

Wolfgang Hampel has a pretty good impression about the house where Betty lived with her folks. "What we dearly need for our exhibition are pictures of the Island, books all sort of visuals to show people here in what a beautiful scenery Betty lived. So people can understand that she simply had to write books like that in such a fascinating rural enviroment.

Wolfgang would be grateful for any help he could get from the Island. "Really, the most substantial help came from Vashon so far. We got some great personal impressions about Betty from Islanders who knew her."Wolfgang is amazed about the friendliness and amount of help and encouragement that reached him from the Rock. Still it's a long way until the exhibition is ready. 

Anyone with anything they'd like to send for the planned exhibition can write to Wolfgang Hampel. 









Schlossbeleuchtung Heidelberg 




Mark Twain is born



Samuel Clemens, later known as Mark Twain, is born in Florida, Missouri, on this day in 1835.
Clemens was apprenticed to a printer at age 13 and later worked for his older brother, who established the Hannibal Journal. In 1857, the Keokuk Daily Post commissioned him to write a series of comic travel letters, but after writing five he decided to become a steamboat captain instead. He signed on as a pilot’s apprentice in 1857 and received his pilot’s license in 1859, when he was 23.
Clemens piloted boats for two years, until the Civil War halted steamboat traffic. During his time as a pilot, he picked up the term “Mark Twain,” a boatman’s call noting that the river was only two fathoms deep, the minimum depth for safe navigation. When Clemens returned to writing in 1861, working for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, he wrote a humorous travel letter signed by “Mark Twain” and continued to use the pseudonym for nearly 50 years.
In 1864, he moved to San Francisco to work as a reporter. There, he wrote the story that made him famous: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.
In 1866, he traveled to Hawaii as a correspondent for the Sacramento Union. Next, he traveled the world writing accounts for papers in California and New York, which he later published the popular book The Innocents Abroad (1869). In 1870, Clemens married the daughter of a wealthy New York coal merchant and settled in Hartford, Connecticut, where he continued to write travel accounts and lecture. In 1875, his novel Tom Sawyer was published, followed by Life on the Mississippi (1883) and his masterpiece Huckleberry Finn (1885). Bad investments left Clemens bankrupt after the publication of Huckleberry Finn, but he won back his financial standing with his next three books–Pudd’Nhead Wilson (1894), Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (1895), and Following the Equator (1897). In 1903, he and his family moved to Italy, where his wife died. Her death left him sad and bitter, and his work, while still humorous, grew distinctly darker. He died in 1910.
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