Wolfgang Hampel - and Betty MacDonald fan club fans,
we celebrated 70th anniversary of Betty MacDonald's golden The Egg and I.
We asked in which languages The Egg and I has been translated?
You can win our new Betty MacDonald documentary.
The Egg and I belongs to the most successful books ever.
First published by the J. B. Lippincott Company on October 3, 1945, The Egg and I received laudatory reviews and soon appeared on the best-seller list.
The book was a blockbuster success as a novel, being reprinted on a nearly monthly basis for the next two years.
On September 12, 1946, the specially-bound one-millionth copy of the book was presented to MacDonald by Washington Governor Monrad Wallgren at a luncheon in Seattle.
Anita, I'm one of your many fans.
Many greetings to Eartha Kitt II.
You are a dream team. Thank you so much for sharing the photo of you and
Eartha in your living-room. It's so cute.
I admire your Betty
MacDonald Fan Club story about Betty MacDonald, Robert Heskett, Donald
MacDonald, Darsie Bard, Sydney Bard, Gammy, Mary Bard Jensen, Clyde R.
Jensen, Sydney Cleveland Bard, Mary Alice Bard, Dorothea Darsie Bard
Goldsmith, Alison Bard Burnett, Jerry Keil, Joan MacDonald Keil, Madge
Baldwin, Don Woodfin, Perry Woodfin, Mike Gordon, Ma and Pa Kettle,
Nancy and Plum, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Ma and Pa Kettle and many others.
It's the best
Betty MacDonald fan club story ever beside Wolfgang Hampel's Betty
MacDonald and Ma and Pa Kettle biography and his magical Betty MacDonald
Interviews.
Björn: I have a surprise. My parents visited the
Northwest in the sixties. Both are huge Betty MacDonald Fans and they
went to Vashon of course and they met ........
Mary Bard Jensen,
Clyde Reynolds Jensen, Cleve Bard and Mary Alice Bard. We have many
photos of the family and my father filmed them with his camera. So you
can see and hear the Bard family. I'm going to present this at the next
Betty MacDonald Fan Club Meeting.
Mary Bard Jensen is very funny, indeed but you'll enjoy Clyde Jensen, Cleve and Mary Alice Bard as well. A wonderful family!
Björn,
we can't wait to see the Mary Bard Jensen, Clyde R. Jensen, Cleve Bard
and Mary Alice Bard interviews filmed by your father. Did Mary Bard
Jensen share any info about the story of Sandra, which Betty MacDonald
mentioned in her book Anybody can do anything?
We would like to learn
more about Mary Bard's book published in the thirties. We know so much
more about it after reading Anita's Top Betty MacDonald Fan Club story.
Anita also tells the exciting story of Dorita Hess. Betty MacDonald
describes this rather strange lady in Anybody can do anything. Did Mary
Bard Jensen, Clyde R. Jensen, Cleve Bard and Mary Alice Bard mention her
in the interviews?
Björn, excuse my many questions, please but
it's so great to have the opportunity to see all the members of the Bard
family. I'm overwhelmed. It's such a great feeling.
I hope we'll be
able to see these interviews and the filmed Betty MacDonald interview
at the next Betty MacDonald Fan Club meeting.
Jens: Wolfgang
Hampel's Betty MacDonald and Ma and Pa Kettle biography and Betty
MacDonald interviews have fans in 40 countries. I bet there will be many
more fans in the future.
Isn' t this amazing? Wolfgang Hampel and
Alison Bard Burnett are born humorists. Both delight their fans from all
over the world.
I'd love to have a Wolfgang Hampel CD and DVD with his
very funny poems and stories. What about a book? We adore Wolfgang
Hampel's high humor and wit in Betty MacDonald and Ma and Pa Kettle
biography and his wonderful Betty MacDonald interviews.
Jens, it doesn't amaze me at all.
As you wrote Alison Bard Burnett and Wolfgang Hampel are born humorists. I heard many more Alison Bard Burnett interviews by Wolfgang Hampel will be published in the future. Come on, please. Do it! This couple is so funny. I can listen to them a million times without getting tired. Pure Bard and Hampel magic.
Wonderful story
tellers, world painters, great entertainers. Alison Bard Burnett and
Wolfgang Hampel share it with Betty MacDonald Fans from all over the
world.
By the way I don't like poems so much but Wolfgang Hampel's
satirical poems are as witty and charming as his Betty MacDonald and Ma
and Pa Kettle biography and Betty MacDonald Interviews. Wolfgang
Hampel's very funny stories about everyday life make us laugh aloud.
I
heard one of the next Betty MacDonald Fan Club Newsletter stories are
about our beloved Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honor members.
My family and I are crazy about Mr. Tigerli - our unique trouble shooter!
Our unique Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honor members are outstanding artists and writers.
Let's go to the bookstore and enjoy a new breakfast with Brad and Nick.
I'd like to purchase a house on very beautiful Vashon Island.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Yours,
Ari and David
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
Could Europe’s refugee crisis be the undoing of Angela Merkel?
Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, attends a news conference at the Chancellery in Berlin on Feb. 1. (Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg)
But German Chancellor Angela Merkel is suffering a harsh reversal of fortune, confronting a political backlash that is isolating her both at home and across Europe. As Merkel is pushed into a corner on migrant policy, political pundits are sounding a once-unthinkable alarm, warning that her job may be at risk if she does not quickly change course.
“I don’t think there is any question anymore,” said Werner J. Patzelt, a political analyst at Technical University Dresden. “Angela Merkel is really in trouble.”
For Merkel, the bad news just keeps getting worse. In the aftermath of attacks in Cologne on New Year’s Eve — in which asylum-seekers allegedly assaulted dozens of German women — a new poll found that 40 percent of respondents now want her to resign. Rebel lawmakers in her ruling coalition are openly criticizing her. The head of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria — formerly a staunch ally — is even threatening to sue the government if it does not curb the influx.
A new German poll says 81 percent of those asked think the government mishandled the refugee crisis and Merkel’s approval rating has fallen to 46 percent, the lowest since August, 2011.
Known for ruling by opinion poll, Merkel has seemed to backtrack on aspects of her open-door policy in recent days — insisting, for instance, that most people seeking refuge in Germany should go back home after peace comes to countries such as Syria and Iraq.
Her cabinet on Wednesday backed new measures aimed at delaying refugees from bringing in close relatives for 2 years and declaring three North African countries as ‘safe,’ making it far harder for asylum seekers from those countries to win refugee status
But she is still mostly sticking to her guns and refusing to close Germany’s doors. It is presenting a chancellor who first came to power when George W. Bush was still the U.S. president with one of the toughest choices of her decade-long tenure: whether to keep holding up the banner of humanitarianism or to be politically expedient.
“Merkel has become a prisoner of her own politics,” said Jürgen Falter, a political scientist at Mainz University. He added, “I think the likelihood is about 60 percent that her policies don’t work out and she throws in the towel.”
It is an unusually tight spot for the Iron Chancellor, a woman who rose to be the de facto leader of Europe by driving hard bargains on rescues for bankrupt Greece. In the process, she elevated Germany to the zenith of its post-World War II power.
But the refugee crisis has damaged her profoundly, underscoring the high price of compassion in a risk-averse world. A nation whose World War II past made it fully aware of the dangers of xenophobia, modern Germany was leading by example in the 21st century, becoming a beacon of hope for desperate foreigners fleeing war and poverty. Merkel staked her job on upholding what she likes to call “European values” — in effect, that the progressive people of wealthy Europe should not turn their backs on the human right to sanctuary for Syrians, Iraqis and others.
But she has run into serious stumbling blocks. The attacks in Cologne did not help her cause, nor did the November massacre in Paris that occurred after militants entered Europe disguised as migrants. Additionally, a large percentage of the new comers, it turns out, were not really escaping war at all — but seeking to leverage German kindness to build lives away from places such as North Africa, the Balkans and Pakistan.
She also erred by effectively promising her countrymen something that she has thus far been unable to deliver: A pledge that other nations in Europe would take in more migrants and start to share Germany’s burden.
Instead of pitching in, countries across Europe are barring their doors. A voluntary European program to legally resettle refugees has failed, with nations mostly refusing to accept newcomers from the Middle East and elsewhere.
In fact, both publicly and privately, European politicians long opposed to welcoming refugees are reveling in the schadenfreude of Merkel’s comeuppance. Last week, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka announced that a bloc of anti-refugee nations — also including Hungary, Poland and Slovakia — would hold their own meeting ahead of a key E.U. summit in February to discuss alternative solutions to the crisis. Suggesting Berlin has gone too soft, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico scoffed that migrants have become a “protected species” in Germany.
Meanwhile, the EU finally approved a key $3 billion deal on Wednesday in which Turkey would crack down on the human traffickers ferrying thousands of migrants to Europe via Greece every week. But Turkish demands for more money raises questions about how quickly change may happen on the ground.
Add it all together, and Merkel is in a precarious spot. If she sticks to her principles, it means Germany stands virtually alone in Europe as a haven for migrants. That is a burden that the Germans — initially welcoming to the waves of refugees — are increasingly reluctant to shoulder.
Yet Merkel also can take stock in a few things going in her favor. Wolfgang Schäuble, her famously strict finance minister, has been floated by some as a possible successor. But insiders say he may be reluctant to steal the job from Merkel and is not obviously angling for the post. And given her still formidable influence, any move by her critics for a no-confidence vote in Parliament remains an uphill battle for now.
However, if her Christian Democrats score a resounding defeat in the March local elections, the pressure on Merkel to change course or step aside could grow to a clamor. But the question then would be whether Merkel is willing to go as far as closing German borders — something that could put a nail in the coffin of the open-border policies once hailed as the single largest accomplishment of the European Union.
“She is extremely worried about the state of the public mood, but she also sees a bigger picture,” said Stefan Kornelius, foreign editor of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. “It feels like she is fighting for the European soul.”
Stephanie Kirchner in Berlin and Karla Adam in London contributed to this report.
Read more Fear and paranoia lead Finns to form vigilante groups that ‘protect women’ from asylum seekers
German chancellor pledges crackdown on criminal asylum seekers
European countries agree to strict new steps to secure borders
Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Betty MacDonald Fan Club proudly presents:
The amazing, very witty, charming, intelligent story written by our brilliant Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honor Member - artist and writer Letizia Mancino.
WHEN YOU DREAM, DREAM BIG
Copyright 2011/2015 by Letizia Mancino
All rights reserved
Translated by D. Tsiaprakas
Betty, I love you! Your books „Anybody can do anything“ and „Onions in the Stew“ are really outstanding! I take them into my hand, and at a stone's throw I am right away in America ! Columbus and the egg: The great discovery!
Your bestseller „The Egg and I“ the greatest discovery. And you and I! I know America: It's true what you are writing: That's America: Absolutely right! No, even to the least detail! The landscape and the passion: Do you know the country where pistols blossom? Brava, Betty, you are describing the Americans vividly, genuinely, insufferably, brushed upon paper. If I like to read your works? To read doesn't even express it! I can even hear and see everything: Nature, culture, subculture.
America has almost remained unchanged! O those cool Americans! Calculating, stockmarket, Wall Street, the financial crisis (even back in 1930), the gamblers, the bankruptcy of companies! The swarming of dodgers and cheaters. People left without money. Dispair und hunger! A terrible „Worst Case“ (when I knew but little English I thought it is sausage with cheese).
Still how impressive is the ability to adaptone self of the Americans: They know how to enjoy life, acrobats of survival! In the twinkle of an eye they achieved to adapt themselves and effect the work of pioneers: In the morning you are a cleaningwoman, in the evening a brothel woman! No problem!
„The insufficient, here it's becoming an event; The indescribable, here it's done;“ Mary Bard Jensen, your sister, was the treasure trove of procuring work: My word, what a power woman with unlimited imagination! She has recommended you everywhere: Betty can do everything, also write novels! Go ahead, sister, hurry up! The editor wants to see your manuscripts! Up to that point you had not written a single line! Wow! And if still everything goes wrong? No problem: When you dream, dream big!
Just look, you have become famous.The Egg and I You know that, Betty? I'll slip into „The Egg and I“ and come and be your guest! I want to get to know your chickens. I hate chickens! I'm a chickens slave from North America! O Betty, without these damned animals, no chance of you becoming famous! „The Egg and I“ you would never have written! How many readers you have made happy!
Your book is so amusing! Your witty fine (almost nasty) remarks about your family members and roundabout neighbours made me laugh so much! You have been born into a special family: Comfort was not desired: I can't but be amazed: What did your father say to your mother? After tomorrow I am going to work elsewhere: Thousands of miles away...He sent her a telegram: LEAVING FOR TWO YEARS ON THURSDAY FOR MEXICO CITY STOP GET READY IF YOU WANT TO COME ALONG – That was on Monday. Mother wired back: SHALL BE READY, and so she was.That's America! Improvisation, change, adventure. You show no weakness: Let's go! Your descriptions, Betty, about the tremendous happenings in nature have deeply frightened me.
Continent America, I'm terrified by you! I feel so small and threatened like a tiny fly before an enormous flyswatter! Your novel is very many-sided! The reader may use it even as a cook book! „The Egg and I“ starts straight away with a recipe: „Next to the wisdom that lamb meat doesn't taste good unless it has been roasted with garlic“. Do you enjoy the American food?
O Betty, it's too fatty for me and I hate garlic! (Betty is presently cooking lunch for Bob. She's continually talking to „STOVE“: STOVE is Bob's rival; in the beginning I thought it was being himself). She turns round and says: Well, so no garlic for you. No lamb either, Betty. I don't eat any meat! I'd actually prefer only fried eggs. Betty, let me make them myself. Then you try it!
Blow! „STOVE“ out of order! I don't succeed in turning it on! Damned! It's got more of a mind of its own than „STOVE“ of my friend, Hilde Domin! Bob's coming! He must eat directly! „Men eat anything, the swines! Says your grandmother Gammy“. Is it true? Do you like my chickens? Bob asked me without introducing himself. Yes, Bob (rude) I love them! I'm vegetarian. Do you want to clean the henhouse with me tomorrow? A, you're always getting up so early at four o'clock! Bob, that's not a job for me! He looked at me disdainfully! A Roman cissy! You need a reeducation at once! Help, Bob's attacking me! I rather change the novel immediately and move to the „Island“!
