Anyone who has been following this blog for a few months knows that I have attempted, on many occasions, to get the attention of the folks at Oprah. All I want is for my Olive fly fishing books to be considered for inclusion in Oprah’s Reading List for Kids. I realize there’s no guarantee that even if the books were reviewed that they would be deemed worthy of inclusion. However, without Olive at least having been seen by the folks at Oprah’s empire, the chances of being included on the list are non-existent.
And so I began a weekly email campaign in which I wrote to Oprah for several weeks. Not surprisingly, I never heard from anyone even remotely associated with the Oprah show. Not so much as a generic reply to acknowledge receipt of my messages. Chalk it up to a dream being unfulfilled. A voice in my head told me to move on. Get over it, right? Well stubbornness perseverance being one of the messages in the Olive books, I didn’t give up so easily.
I posted a few different blog articles thinking that Oprah might find them while surfing the internet in the evenings. When content is published into the internets, it sticks around forever. In light of that fact I’m still hoping to see her gravatar show up in my comments section. I have not lost all hope, yet.
In Part I I posted a brief mission statement and also linked to some articles about Oprah’s fly fishing adventure in Yosemite National Park last summer. To date it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
I wrote about the benefits of fishing in Part II, which tied in nicely with the reason behind Oprah’s great camping adventure, which was intended to open peoples’ eyes to the benefits of getting outside and exploring our natural resources. No eyes seem to have found my article, yet.
Part III was written immediately after I saw the episode of Oprah’s introduction to fly fishing. I wanted to strike while the iron was still hot. It was as if there was a hatch coming off and I wanted my fly on the water in case the fish were looking up. The fish didn’t seem to be biting.
By the time I wrote Part IV, I was clearly getting desperate. I created an Xtranormal animation about a dream-like encounter with Oprah along the banks of a river, with fly rod in hand. Do dreams come true? This one didn’t. Not yet, anyway.
I’d all but given up hopes of a miracle when I wrote Part V. A chance discovery that Oprah was exploring the power of miracles hit home. I felt that it was Olive’s destiny to miraculously be discovered by Oprah. But there was no miracle. Yet.
Which brings us to the present. Wearing her best poker face, Olive has sidled up to the Oprah poker table one final time. The last bet has been placed and Olive is hoping her final hand is a winner. There’s one more chance for a dream to come true—for a miracle to happen…
Last Call for Harpo Hook-Ups!
Here’s what it’s all about, according to Oprah’s website:
“Last Call for Harpo Hook-ups! If you have a dream you need help making come true we are here to hook you up. Maybe there someone you’ve always wanted to meet or something you’ve always wanted to do? Is there a job you desperately want or an exciting event you would love to experience? Is there one moment you feel could absolutely change your life? Perhaps you or someone you know has been through something difficult or done something extraordinary that makes you deserving of a Harpo hook-up, please let us know! The Oprah Winfrey Show is looking for one last group of viewers in desperate need of a hook up. Please only write to us if you are willing to share your story on National Television.”
I think Olive’s chances are about as good as they’ve ever been, and as good as they’re ever going to get. With the reference to “hook-ups” it’s clear that at least Oprah is thinking about fishing. Maybe she’ll finally get hooked on Olive.
Oprah, I submitted my plea for a miracle. Please, don’t crush Olive’s dreams.
