As mentioned previously, by the time my Big Kid and I had returned from our little lunch, the line had started to take shape. I called Kaye (the nice lady that watched my place in a non-existent line earlier in the day so that I could potty!) and told her that there was more than 10 people in line now. Five of those ten people was our little group! It seemed like no time at all until the line had outgrown the tape that was on the floor.
We sat and talked and watched the line. And then I decided that as it was nearing 4pm, it was time for Starbucks! My big kid and I took a journey down to the other end of the mall for our necessary poison of choice, Big kid: a hot chocolate, mine: a mocha frappuccino, MK's: some crazy concoction that I had to repeat the whole time I walked down there so as to not forget. We were caffeinated and happy. And that line it was a-growin!
Have you ever seen such a happy Big Kid? A 6 year old girl that had been waiting and sitting since 10 am and it was near 4 o'clock? Seriously! This is one amazing girl!
At 4:30, as promised, it was ticket time! Sure, there were jokes about some crazy lady and her daughter that showed up at 10 am to wait for a book signing that was not scheduled to start until 6 pm, tickets to not be handed out until just before. Jokes about how they should be sent to the back of the line that was now near 250 people long. Oh they joke. But let's see who's laughing now?
That would be us! This is my lovely group that was finally seated in proper chairs just in front of the podium where Ree would be in a few short hours! Front Row Baby!
See that girl? The Big Kid with the amazing smile on her face and still posing at nearly 5 o' clock? After 7 count them SEVEN hours, yes I said HOURS of waiting. Goodness, this girl really loves her some PW!
This is the Big Kid and her Golden Ticket. Ticket Number 1 or in this case 690020 (she still has it!). It was the consensus among the group that after such a long wait, the Big Kid would get her own ticket to get her book signed. It was also the consensus that she would get THE ticket! The very first one! And boy, oh boy, did that ever lift her spirits and make her heart sing in joy! She was ready! Ready to give Ree this (and those clips she was holding in the previous photo):
While we were waiting, Miles (the employee in charge of the tickets and set up) was overly astonished by the number of people that showed up (and continued to show up!). He had said that the employees were taking bets in the back and that the high bet was 250 people would attend. That was laughable since he had already given out nearly 350 tickets. He stopped giving out tickets and said that there was going to be a "will call" time at the end for those without tickets. I was sure glad that we didn't fall into that category! He had tried to joke that Ree's plane was delayed. We all put him in check rather quickly. Being a blogger, Ree had already posted that she was, in fact, in Portland, and not leaving her bathrobe or her hotel room until it was time to go to the book signing. These are just things that we know.
During his preparations, Miles said that he needed to set the microphone height and asked us if anyone had a clue as to how tall Ree was. About 20 people shouted, "Five Foot Nine!" Again, Miles was astonished. I guess he just didn't understand how this blogging thing really works. He asked if anyone was close to her height and MK suggested I go up there! ME! Set the Microphone stand height for Ree! WOW! Well I took my Five Foot Eight self up there. And then stood on my very highest tippy toes, as we all knew that Ree would NOT be wearing flats!
We continued to sit and wait, the Big Kid and I doing a count down. She took turns asking me and MK when it was going to be 6 o' clock. And 6 o' clock came and went. Miles announced that Ree was running late. He joked that her limo broke down and she would be arriving by helicopter. The Big Kid thought that was amazing, she got even more excited!
And then it happened! Cheers from the back of the crowd! She had come through the back entrance, throwing off everyone. Miles was waiting for her at the front entrance to Powell's and that is when this happened....
To Be Continued...
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