Thursday, April 21, 2011

What’s That Goose Doing In Your Office?

Often when visitors come to my office they walk in and observe, “This isn’t an office. It’s an aquarium!” They aren’t far off except that the fish are not alive, but carved figures I have collected them from all over the world.

Lately visitors ignore the fish figures and want to know about the goose. It’s a noble bird that sits at a place of honor in the middle of my desk. Her name is Odette and her story that begins some years ago when our friends, John and Nota McGreevey invited Jane and me to join them on a barge cruse on the Canal du Midi that winds its way from Bordeaux to Toulouse.

It was autumn in France and I was back in a country I love. I first came to France as a soldier in World War Two. Now I was back as a tourist. It was autumn and the plane trees along the canal were golden yellow. The food on the barge was superlative and the scenery was magical. The canal wound it s way through small villages and farmland. Each view was memorable and unique.

It was at a small village along the canal where I came upon my first Toulouse goose. It was a gorgeous creature with gray feathers laced with whiter and its expressive eyes were huge and brown. Our guide from the barge pointed out that it was still young but later it would be force fed copious amounts of grain until its liver was huge and then the goose would be slaughtered and its liver made into pate, or as the guide described it “a culinary delight.”

And the guide said all these dreadful things right in front of the poor goose, and when she leaned forward toward me and looked at me with those big brown eyes I could tell that she had heard and understood every word.

That was when the inspiration came to write ODETTE, A GOOSE OF TOULOUSE. In the book Odette is destined to die for her liver, but because she is endowed with a special gift she saves her own life in a most surprising way.

The book is illustrated by the students in Judith Victoria Hensley’s 6th Grade class at Wallins Elementary and Junior High School in Wallins Creek, Kentucky. Judith Hensley is a teacher, writer, and photographer and under her guidance her pupils have created illustrations that are original, artful, and at times quite innocent and at other time most sophisticated. As far as I know this is the first time a book has been illustrated by school children.

“ODETTE, A GOOSE OF TOULOUSE” is available from Amazon.com as well as Barnes and Noble.com. It can be ordered through your local bookstore or directly from the publisher at:

BearManor Media
P. O. Box 1129
Duncan, OK. 73534-1129
Phone: 580-252-3547

Have a good read, and if you own a goose = be kind!

28 comments:

  1. thanks for yr blog, always love hearing from you!!
    Have a great Easter,,
    SM

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  2. Tell us more please--and also any memories of Easter!

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  3. Hello Earl, I sure missed reading your blog! Where have you been? Hope everything is okay :) We all love you & miss you! Take good care of yourself. God Bless your heart!
    Lisa V

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  4. Would love to hear of your memories of Easter! Happy Easter to you and your family :)

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  5. Hi Earl!

    Descriptive writing & sounds a magical place! looking fwd to the next installment!

    & small world! Up here in Corvallis, Oregon, my friend Heidi is taking a college writing class with a Linda Elin Hamner who said she's also relation thru her husband (2nd cousin!)

    If you'd ever like to speak to a small group of us writing students up here in whatever form, we'd be thrilled!

    All best & have a great Easter!
    Jon Bono & Heidi Sterling- Corvallis, OR.

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  6. I love reading your stories, Earl. Had not heard from you for quite awhile. Hope you are okay! Take care....and yes, I do take care of geese. :) Is your book in the Kindle form through Amazon?

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  7. Hi Earl , I will be sure to check out your new book, but now I feel guilty about eating pate. Hope you and all your family have a wonderful Easter,
    God Bless. Kellie

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  8. Hi Earl,
    I am new to your blogs, but not to your stories, I am a 47 y/o female who has been a huge fan since my teen years. The Waltons fast became my family since I have never had a close family. I now watch them daily again since the series are back on Ins. I LOVE your stories and can't wait to hear your blogs. I hope you have an awsome Easter and I know Pate will not be on your menu! God Bless

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  9. Loved the story of how the book came about...& what a wonderful idea having illustrations done by the children! I will definitely check that out. I too am a long time fan...still watching the Waltons of course. Reminds me a lot of my own family especially my Grandfather. Watching is almost like taking a trip back when he was still with us.
    Glad I stumbled upon your blog a year or so back..its nice hearing your happenings & writings again. Have a wonderful Easter. ~KellyRae Huber

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  10. Love this! We have a family of geese at our pond. They are so beautiful.

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  11. I still love watching The Waltons, and love to hear your voice at the end, I ALWAYS get a lump in my throat! I'll have to get the Odette book! Happy Easter!

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  12. Thank you Mr. Hamner. Cannot wait to read. Hoping to see final Waltons reunion special: This one set in the early to mid 1970s. Could you please write one, one more time to bring it all full circle? I just know it would be great! Take care & God Bless
    Jon Winquist
    Happy Easter!

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  13. I watched as many as I could of the Walton programs on Hallmark this past Saturday. What a good day to catch up with this dear family. For about 2 years, I found nothing of the Waltons on tv. Then INSP came along. Thank you so much. Now, GMS and Hallmark also carry the shows during the day. I am thrilled. Of course, I cannot watch all of them. But, I catch them whenever I can. I love the reunion shows, but I would also like to hear about "your real family" and how they are doing. God bless!

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  14. ODETTE, A GOOSE OF TOULOUSE -- what a lovely and enchanting story it promises to be. Thank you, Mr. Hamner, for your shared memories, writings, families, friends, and places that have been a part of our lives these many years.

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  15. Mr. Hamner,
    My wife and I have always been Waltons fans and after seeing the marathon this weekend, I decided to reread The Homecoming on Saturday. Better than I remembered and now as a father more meaningful. I am so glad I rediscovered your work and have been able to introduce it to my sons (including the new book.) Thank you for telling such wonderful and timeless stories.

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  16. Dear Mr. Hamner,

    This book sounds like a delight! Thanks for sharing it here ~ will look for it soon! So good to hear from you. Hope to hear more soon!

    Blessings to you and your family,
    Katie

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  17. p.s. Thank you for your service to our country during WWII!!! We are grateful!

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  18. May I create a Walton's fan site? I was thinking about a website with pictures, quotes, video clips etc. I web design as a pure hobby not for any type of profit. I believe in what the Walton's stood for their wholesomeness and values. I wish there was more shows and people like the Walton's I wish I had friends like them. Thank you in advance for your consideration. Have a blessed weekend and thank you greatly for what you brought to the world. You have immensely blessed us with your words.

    Sincerely
    Mark Vass

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  19. My email is vassclan@gmail.com if you would like to message me back.

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  20. Dear Earl,

    thank you so much for sharing your memories with us. I am sure this book is a wonderful one. I just found it on amazon.de so I am able to order it in Germany. I mentioned your new book on our website www.rockfish-river.com.

    I am glad you like France so much. It is a wonderful and beautiful country and I also had made a cruse on the petit rhone in south france ( Camargue ). By the way, I would never eat the liver of a goose :-)) !

    Warm regards from Germany,
    Dagmar

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  21. please take a moment to look at this short film. it claims to be "original". clearly, it is not.
    http://vimeo.com/19735822

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  22. Hi, Earl. It was fun to be across the hall from you. Hope you are well.

    Jim - jamespiechocki@sbcglobal.net

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  23. Always blessed to stop by here. Last week, I visited the mountains of Virginia. The beauty grand, as always!

    I hope and pray your knees are not causing you too much pain and are allowing you to do the things you love.

    Blessings and prayers,

    Andrea Bowling Perdue

    http://arise2write.blogspot.com
    http://andrealuvsallgodscreatures.blogspot.com

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  24. I love your work. I was watching reruns of "The Waltons" when I decided to read more about you on the Internet. I've known a man for years, who I think is your brother-in-law, John from Tampa. I have always enjoyed listening to his stories of growing up, and watching yours.

    I am happy to see you are so active and are continuing to write and travel. You are an inspiration. I look forward to reading your books that I have missed. Thank you.

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  25. well I still watch The Waltons 2x a day sometimes3! I love all the characters...remind me so much of my childhood in Southern Ohio...when life was simple but fun.But my favorite story is when they all went to the mountain to see Grandpa's grave..yes I have the kleenex right beside me and grandma says you will live in our hearts forever. now wiping my nose.

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    1. I WATCH IT TOO BUT IT EVIDENTLY IS DIFFERENT FROM THE 'GROWN UP" JOHN BOY OF SOME OF HIS OTHER WORKS...FOUL LANGUAGE IN ONE PLACE.

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  26. NOT WILD ABOUT THE FOUL LANGUAGE IN ONE OF THESE. IN THE WALTONS, THEY DID NOT USE THIS KIND OF LANGUAGE AND I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT YOU USED THIS IN YOUR WRITINGS ABOUT PEOPLE. I DO WATCH THE WALTONS BUT TO HEAR THE AUTHOR USE WORDS HE WAS NEVER TAUGHT AT HOME TO USE, IS DISAPPOINTING.

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  27. Happy Thanksgiving,from an old fishing friend from British Columbia!
    Joe Debodt ,my friend, and one of your fishing guides wish you well and often think of the fun we had during your visit to Haki pass in search of the big salmon.

    Dalton Smith

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