Read About It

I'm still a bit in "catch-up" mode, in terms of things I wanted to blather about here. So pardon me while I dredge the ole memory banks for an event a few weeks past...

Not long after we had returned from our vacation*, MLW and I traveled into the city with the mini-Beach Ghost because the man who created her name (detailed here) was going to be signing copies of his latest book.

I sensed we might be in for a rough time, since I knew the store where the signing was to be held was by no means spacious. Although the author had originally been booked at another, larger store, the mentally deficient person in charge of events at the chain-to-remain-nameless had booked a "bigger" author there, so our author got bumped to the backup venue. And, in a move that I thought was particularly unsavvy, they offered up bracelets for the limited seating on the day of the signing--at 1 pm. This is perfect for college students or people who worked in a five-block radius. Who do they think is going to be dropping the ducats in their stores?

But I digress.

The store was, as dreaded, completely mobbed. We arrived around 6:30 and the throng of people (who were crowded to one side of a magazine rack that bisected the space lengthwise) was already so deep that I had to stand on tiptoe just to see the podium. The baby, who probably wasn't at all cognizant of the significance of the event, got tired of sitting in her car seat almost immediately. We put her on the floor, where she proceeded to pull out as many magazines as she could get her hands on.

Twice while we waited for 7 to roll around, the little miss had to have her diapers changed. The first time, one of the other geeks on line made the unfortunate error in judgement of asking whether we couldn't just take the baby to the bathroom. MLW, who was already using her coat in order to protect the under-30s from the sight of a wet diaper, set him straight in short order. I don't recall if he was around for the poopy di-dee.

The talk began soon after 7, and--since the A/V was as well prepped as the rest of the event--we could only hear bits and pieces, and those only when we strained to listen. The talk didn't last too long, nor did the Q&A session that followed. But then came the signing.

The baby, while well-behaved, required pretty much constant attention in order not to go into Meltdown Mode; MLW and I traded off the duty, which got much easier when we had moved past the magazine racks and into some open space.

By the time we got to him, the author was clearly becoming tired (evidently he had flown in the same day), and I was frazzled and sweaty (it was unseasonably warm and the store--of course--didn't have the air conditioning on). Still, he smiled when we took a group photo, was quite friendly with the mini-BG, and personalized a book for her and for my father (who has read the first book in the series and is hooked). When we walked out the door of the store, it was 9:30. The baby was asleep before we hit the tunnel.

Was it worth it? Absolutely--but I don't think we'll be going when the next book comes out.

* - MLW, upon reading my entry on the subject, was under the impression that I hadn't enjoyed myself whilst vacationing. Far from it--I get to do days upon days of nothing far too infrequently. The Caribbean wouldn't have been on my short list of places to vacation, but I sure as heck aren't going to turn down a trip either.