The Owl goes to Alaska

The Owl took us on the road this weekend. We signed books in Oregon City and manned a booth at Lewis Elementary's juried bazaar this weekend. And we did that all at the same time! Well, our "staff" helped us be in two places at once. Pat took the very attractive owl post which he designed from a wooly stuffed owl (unreal) that we've had for a long time, and Bobbie and I took an owlskin remnant to our signing. Just kidding. It's not really owlskin; it's just an acrylic piece of cloth that looks like owl feathers that I leaped over rounders and customers at JoAnn Fabrics to get my hands on. So we were all decked out and turned ourselves into booksellers. We actually sold quite a few.
Next to making the money, the best thing about being in sales is the scope and sequence (old teacher term) of all the people we met and got to talk to. Nearly everyone has an owl story-we heard many. Nearly everyone has a story about kids and books-we heard lots. But only two people said they bought the book to read to their aging parents. One woman has a mother way lost in Alzheimer's who likes to be read to at bed time. She bought the book for her. Another couple has aging parents (dad 96 and mom way up in the 80's!) who bought the book not necessarily for the elders but because they live among owls on 44 acres nearby. So, of course, we got to talking about our own old Mom who passed at the age of 88.
And, by happy chance, my dear friend and ex-student Sarah called from Alaska where she and her husband, also a friend and ex-student, are stationed. We chatted and talked and I told her about the book. She sincerely wanted one, so I posted one north this morning.
Lo and behold, then there was a comment on this blog from yet another ex-student and friend who is in Fairbanks teaching and making music. So he's somehow connected to the bird and the blog. I love it. And how fortunate I am to have connected with the three of them all because and in spite of owls.
And by the way, Steve and whoever else has tried to visit my website, you noticed you couldn't find it. Simple reason: I built it for free and when I ran out of know-how, I let it expire. Another friend promises to help me get that up and running maybe during Winter Break. It's probably the logical way for this blog to morph into a more business-like sort of venue. Who knows? I'll just keep having fun with this until the next best thing comes along.
Thanks for all the interest in the book. We are starting to meet our first and original goal of sharing this remarkable story. If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, check the first post or two on this blog. That should bring you up to speed.