Today we had a true adventure: meeting Sarah Palin and Piper in South Carolina! As you can see, Leia Rose wrote Piper a nice letter and bought some nice WNC related white-squirrel gifts for Piper as well. Oh, there's a LONG story to go with this, so if you'd like to know more, read the story below.
I left.
I left WITHOUT my letter to Sarah Palin. Or the book wrapped that I was supposed to give her. Or the inscription in that book. OR Leia's present to Piper wrapped. And the picture Leia made for Piper still lay on the floor. : / Still, I picked Leia up at school and we drove down there.
We got to the store and obtained our purple wristbands and mentioned the gifts we had for Sarah and Piper, which we were met with, "Oh, well we have a box here that will be given directly to Sarah, but you are not allowed to give anything to her. Anything you are holding will be confiscated. You have exactly one hour to get them into this box." What!?!
I had 60 minutes to get everything together. (Yes, we both said a prayer while I paniced.) I thought I would start with Piper's gift, since Leia did such a good job getting it together in the first place. I thought it would be smooth sailing. I was wrong. To begin at the beginning with Leia's Piper gift, Leia chose to give Piper everything white squirrel oriented. Why? Because as I told Leia, "Even if Piper has everything, she won't have this." White squirrels are very specific to our area, so we got Piper a large white squirrel stuffed animal, a baby white squirrel stuffed animal, as well as a personalized white squirrel Christmas ornament (not to mention the letter Leia wrote which was three pages long and very hard for her). I put Leia's letter in the envelope with a photo and our Christmas letter and tried to forget about the special drawing we left at home. When I went to put baby squirrel in his place, POP, his right eye popped off! In its place was a tiny black dot instead of the big button eye. For goodness sake! There I was, with police lining up beside me to begin the Palin security, literally biting the head of this little squirrel trying to take it's OTHER eye off, so at least it would look uniform. Unfortunately, even with my biggest chomp, the other eye wouldn't budge so we were off to Walgreens for some superglue to solve the problem.
Then came my own gift dilemma. Oh I had a WONDERFUL original idea! I got a wonderful Yup'ik Eskimo children's book called "Mamma, Do You Love Me?" in honor of Todd (Sarah's husband) being 1/2 Yup'ik. I planned to give it to the family to read to Trig (their young son born with downs syndrome). I planned to inscribe the inside of the book and stick our new family address lable on there to make sure they knew it was from us. Yeah, forgot the address labels. Oh, I had a WONDERFUL letter originally written and typed on the computer. Want to hear it?
Dear Sarah and the entire Palin clan,
Well, I have been meaning to do this for the last few years now and finally got around to it. Such is the life of a busy Mamma Grizzly, eh? J I have SO enjoyed learning about you and your family in Sarah Palin’s Alaska! You’d think that, after reading your first two books and watching your commentary on Fox I wouldn’t be hungry for more. LOL. Here I was expecting to learn all about the Alaskan Wilderness, little did I know I (along with the rest of the world) was going to get to know the Palin family as well. What a blessing!
Ever since the birth of Trig, and your beautiful, vivid, and compassionate description of the experience in your first book, Sarah, I have wanted to send you this little story to read to your children (and maybe share with your future grandkids as well). I think Trig (and Tripp) will enjoy it and maybe even Piper, who is just about the same age as my oldest. I realize, Todd, that you are actually of Yup’ik decent instead of Inuit, but I figured the idea behind the book would work just as well. I get great joy in thinking of the etomology of the word “Yup’ik” itself, Todd, as it means “real people.” So you are, Palins. So you are.
Gonna stay clear of politics right now, Sarah, because we’re on the same exact side all the time anyway, so t here’s absolutely nothing to contest. Needless to say, your story and your family itself have inspired us. No need for any reply, just know that if you are ever in the lower-48 and in the South, at that, and if you would like to vacation in a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains (a different experience for you guys, I’m sure), you are always welcome to come, stay, have dinner, just hang out, or whatever. Meanwhile, you can read our Christmas letter and at least see what some of your far-away fans look like.
We know you guys like the outdoors, so if you come in the summer, we’ve got lots of awesome stuff to do: tubing, hiking, driving along the parkway, biking, etc. You name it, we got it, … and different than that of Alaska. And I can’t get over we did exactly the same low-key thing over July 4th! Family fireworks over the lake! J
Thanks for sharing your lives with us, Palins! God bless you!
Love,
Noelle (and family)
Yeah, forgot it. So I bought a crappy card at Walgreens and proceeded to write the crappiest letter I have ever written. : / Oh well, with five minutes left, it had to do. I ripped an old address label off an envelope, scrawled something inside the book and rushed into the store with the stuff. At least we got it all in with a few seconds to spare.
At this point, we felt vindicated because, even if we did all this traveleing and waited in the coming line and DIDN'T get to meet these people, at least they would get our gifts. Before I left I was handed the "Stand By Guidelines" which I shoved into my pocket.
As people were already lining up in the coveted "red wristband" line (which I heard #1 actually slept outside the store on Tuesday night to obtain), we headed to Panera Bread for some lunch, and while there, I stopped wondering things like, "Hmmm, I wonder how I should tell her to personalize them." and "Hmmm, I wonder if I can take pictures?" Because reading the guidelines did away with all that. Here they are (and no, I couldn't believe it either):
1. Please keep receipt with book because you will need to show your Books-A-Million receipt on the day of the event.
2. Max. 2 copies of America by Heart per wristband will be signed. No personalization. No memorabilia or additional items will be signed.
3. Please arrive prior to 5PM (event starts at 6) on Friday, 12/3. If you arrive after 5:15, you will lose your place in line and will be placed at the end of the line.
4. Every person with a wristband must have a copy of America by Heart in order to enter the line. If you have a wristband and no book you will not be allowed in line.
5. No photos/video of any kind in the signing area.
6. Please leave all bags, purses, backpacks and etc. at home or in your car. You will be required to hand over cell phones, cameras, keys and any personal items before reaching the signing table. No items besides copies of America by Heart are allowed in the signing area.
7. Personal items will be given back immediately after you exit the signing area. Books-A-Million is not responsible for any lost or stolen items.
8. After you leave teh signing area, you may not receive your exact copy of America by Heart back. As a result, please do not place any personal items, bookmarks or notes in your book so that you don't risk losing them.
9. Books-A-Million will be closed to the public on Friday, 12/3 from 2pm on.
The Stand-By guidelines had the added joy of "no one with a purple stand-by bracelet will be guaranteed a signature." Supposedly the guidelines are so strict because at her last signing someone threw an orange from a balcony and hit her.
When we got back to the store at 3pm, the "red bracelet" line and the "purple bracelet" line had already started to form. Us "purple-braceleters" were banished to a vacant lot by the portapotties. Amid Books-A-Million employees yelling at us through a megaphone that "NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO HAVE THIER HANDS IN THEIR POCKETS AND ALL CELL PHONES AND CAMERAS WILL BE CONFISCATED," ...
We waited in the freezing temps for five hours. So here I have to say something about my dearest little Leia Rose who patiently waited for this long to go and meet Sarah and Piper with me. And only once, ONCE, mind you, did she saunter over to me and whisper, "Mamma, I'm kinda wishin' that I didn't want to do this." Ha! I hear ya! She was SUCH a good girl, that I can't say enough about how proud I was of her. (And yet so conflicted about not bringing Annie. No, she'll never had this experience, but Annie's also four years old. There was a really good chance that Annie would have a tantrum right when we got up to Sarah Palin. I couldn't handle that.)
But actually, we were lucky, we were dressed in down for the weather. A few people by us didn't even have coats. : / Why they refused ours again and again, I'll never know. Finally, around 8pm, we moved from the purple line to the red line (which was vacant because all those people were inside or filing out already). Then we began to get tidbits of information: Piper and Willow were attending the event as well, she was signing fast so we were pretty much assured to get in, ... and suddenly we were being asked for multiple televisoin interviews. One for Spartanburg and one for Fox 21. The irony is, I was so excited that I forgot how to spell my last name, my email address, and my age too. Ha! I also had an asthma attack when we found out Piper was there. It was just better than we could have hoped for!
I can't remember all that I said in the TV interview, but I know one line was that "I wanted to thank Sarah for being pro-life both in politics and in practice. Her dedication of her book says it all, 'For Trig: I'm glad you're here.'" Leia, of course, said she wanted to meet Piper. I caught at least one of the TV clips and my parents caught the other. The one I saw was us standing in the line.
Finally, the lady standing beside me (who thought I was a hoot) FINALLY agreed to let me run to my car and get her an extra coat. Little did I know that the line started filing in immediately after I left! They were at the door when I got back, and we almost didn't get in at all!
Suddenly we were all scorching HOT, but happy to be inside with Sarah Palin's personal music blasting in our ears. I literally mean blasting, in that she brought her own personal sound system which was playing four consecutive CDs (unmanned) right in the middle of the line. Literally. I mean they were labled "Sarah Palin 1" "Sarah Palin 2" in her own handwriting! I could have reached right out and stole them! But I didn't of course. I did, however, note many of the selections. They were absolutely all country, which surprised me for some reason. I recongnized the Dixie Chicks, Shania Twain, and some others (including, of all things, "Hell Yeah!"). I was floored that we had such similar taste in music.
Turns out that the plan was to let all of us "stand-byers" in from the beginning. And as we weaved around the rows of the bookstore, we started to get more and more excited because we were getting closer to the grand prize. It was weaving through the rows that I realized the disparity in regards to the amount of time we would have with Sarah. "I think we're going to have about 30 seconds. ... Hmmmm, no, I think it's more like 20 seconds. ... Hmmmm, no, I think we're really only going to have 10 seconds." The latter was the reality. Due to the heavy security, we could only actually see Sarah when we were only about five people away. She was smiling and talking to everyone who came down the line (and I have a distinct memory of wondering how in the heck she was standing it in there with a leather jacket and scarf on)! Suddenly it was our turn.
I knew just what I was going to say first which was, "Well, Merry Christmas, Mamma Grizzly!" Sarah laughed (as she signed our books), and said, "Well Merry Christmas to you too!" Then she looked over at Leia and said, "And who is this?" Leia, my brave little girl, said, "My name is Leia Rose. I'm a fan of Piper's." I then told Sarah that Leia was hoping to meet Piper and "is she around here somewhere?" Sarah smiled, and looked all around her for us. When Piper couldn't be found Sarah said, "Oh, she's around here somewhere, probably in one of the isles of books. Go looking around here for her, and if you can't find her, go and stand next to my security at the exit, okay?" We thanked her, ... and our turn was most definitely over, but I stopped and turned back, because I HAD to say what I had come there to say which was, "Sarah, I want to thank you for being on the side of life." She dropped the book she was signing, reached out to shake my hand, looked into my eyes and said, "God bless you!"
Okay, so now we were on a mission to find Piper. We looked in all of the rows. No Piper. We got to the security guys by the door and told them what Sarah said. They told us to go ahead and wait here. The policeman at the door told us that the secret service has to move the kids around the store periodically for their added security. Suddenly I felt really out of place standing there with all of my coats and signed books, looking right at the box that held our gifts to Sarah, ... and I started to wonder if she would really get them after all. The first thing we tried was going up to the front of the store and asking the manager to page Piper (which I can't believe they let us do). Suddenly, "Piper Palin to the front please. Piper Palin to the front" was heard over the loud speaker, but due to Sarah's sound system, they couldn't hear it back there. By this time, the last fans having their books signed had left the store. It was only about 8:30PM, and Sarah was supposed to be signing books until 9. (Later I would realize that they HAD to hang out there until after 9 because of the timing of security.) So there we were standing there with the secret service, the local police, and the staff of the bookstore. The different staff members became enamoured with Leia and all tried to take their turns going back there to see if they could find Piper. Finally, the manager came to us and said, "Piper's back in the family-only area. You know, I just don't think this is going to work, I'm afraid. They're about to head out. BUT miracles sometimes happen."
At that exact moment, a female police officer came running over to us and knelt down to Leia saying, "Well, do you want to meet Piper? Grab your gift to her and come ON!" With the staff looking on, we lliterally RAN back to the family only area with security where Willow was taking some candid photos of everything that was going on. I saw Sarah in the back, and there was piper standing with her black and white checked coat on ready to head out. She turned around and saw Leia Rose. Suddenly both Piper and Leia (who are BOTH known for their confidence and independence, by the way) got pretty shy. Piper was shocked that someone had brought HER a gift! She smiled and took Leia's present. I was proud of Leia Rose who introduced herself and said, "I was really hoping that we could be pen pals." Piper nodded, and then they immediately started talking about the episode of Sarah Palin's Alaska where Piper got to see the bears from her fishing boat. Then the conversation turned to our state (because of the obvious white-squirrel nature of the present Leia gave) and Leia was telling Piper a little bit about where we live. They talked for a while longer, and I remember joking with Piper about some of her adventures on the show. Still, I was very aware that we were the ONLY people allowed back there that weren't family or security and I did NOT want to overstay our welcome. Eventually, we said thank you and that it was nice to meet Piper, and then we headed back on out. I got back to my coats and books that I had left at the front of the store and realized that, if I had thought of it, Piper could have signed them, too. Damn.
Still, what an adventure! Now, if Leia and Piper actually become pen pals, ... well, that'll be our NEXT adventure! Ha!
Just a couple of ways that Leia Rose kept herself occupied during the long wait time today!
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