I have to say, I really had a nice time on Friday night going to Emeril Lagasse's book signing with my Dad. He has been a big Emeril fan since his show first came on the air. So when we were in the supermarket a couple weeks ago and saw a flyer saying that Emeril was coming, my Dad didn't need much convincing to go. This was the first book signing I have ever been to so I didn't know what to expect in terms of how long we would have to wait to meet him. When we pulled in the parking lot we were both shocked, but just like everyone else, we found a parking spot and got in line. Despite the wind and chilly air, it was really nice to just relax and listen to people around us chat while we waited.
It also gave me an opportunity to take a few photos since we weren't able to inside the store. I brought my camera with me so I could take a photo of my Dad with Emeril when he signed our book. The camera weighs approximately two pounds with the lens. Two pounds doesn't sound like much, but hang it around your neck and it feels like 50 pounds after two hours of standing in one spot lol. So, I felt satisfied that I got a few nice photos at dusk and bringing the camera wasn't a waste of time. They told us that the reason we couldn't take photos inside was because of the long line waiting as it would slow things down too much. Emeril's 'people' told the store manager that he can sign about 400 books per hour (questionable I think) ...wouldn't want to lose that pace I guess, right? Another rule his PR people had was that he would not be able to sign any books that weren't purchased at this store. This meant that all of the people who brought copies of the book that they purchased elsewhere couldn't get his signature after waiting all that time in line. Or, they could buy another book of course.
I felt so bad for a woman who was in line behind me. She had just come down after working all day and had two copies of the book. She spent $50 on them at Borders when the book was released earlier this month. She had been in line for almost an hour before she found out that they couldn't be signed. The thing is, she called the store on Thursday to find out the times for the book signing and also asked that since she had two books already, could she bring them to be signed and she was told yes. Apparently the store's employees didn't know the rules set by Emeril's 'PR people'. She told the store manager that she had asked first, but he said there was nothing he could do. What I thought was really nice was another woman who was in line near her heard the whole thing and offered to buy one of the books from her. This would allow her to buy a new book without spending more money and have at least one signed copy. The woman nicely declined and was so frustrated with the whole situation that she got out of line and went home. It goes to show that there are still some nice people in this world.
And now, some photos from the night:
This was when we first got in line. This line was just to get inside the store, then there was a second shorter line to meet Emeril.
Getting darker
Dusk
Sorry about the blur...I still haven't mastered taking photos in low-light.
This unfortunately was as close to a picture of Emeril as I was going to take that night. There was a sign up once we got to the front of the line that said we couldn't take photos during the book signing. I had already envisioned the picture hanging on my wall...Emeril with my Dad, big smile on his face. There went that plan. This cardboard cutout will do I suppose ;)
At last, the book!
