Meeting Sarah Palin: After Action Report 12-04-09

This is the story of how my 9 year old daughter Maya and I got to meet Sarah Palin when she came to the Dallas area suburb of Plano promoting her best-selling book "Going Rogue". All the glory to God for putting events in place so that we were able to attend, since it seemed at first we'd missed out completely! (Apologies for the incorrect date stamps on the pics, I changed batteries and didn't realize I needed to fix the date!)

As a Sarah Palin supporter, I participate in both Free Republic and Team Sarah, and both were instrumental in this whole situation. I reported to a TS blog post (where people were reporting their experiences in meeting the governor) that we'd lost the Ebay auction we were participating in, and a kind soul there (R. turned out to be the winner by default when the original winner reneged) contacted me by email--he only needed one ticket, did we want the other one? As Maya said, "D'UH!!" so arrangements were made and we found ourselves with the answer to our prayers in our hands. :-)

The only logistical problem I had was what to do with my toddler twins the day of the book signing at Legacy, my husband couldn't get the day off, we don't have extended family in our neighborhood...which was solved when my sister in law offered to spend Thursday night and keep the twins all day Friday. Maya and I were then able to go to the bookstore very early in the am since I was worried about parking. There's a small garage across the street from the bookstore and not much else since it's in a cramped location.

Maya was a little bit grumpy when I woke her up around 3:30 am (we had a bit of a drive and wanted to be there by 4:30-5:00 to be sure to get nearby parking), but was still very excited about finally getting to meet Sarah Palin. She's loved the governor since last year when we all first heard her during the campaign, and wants to someday meet Piper and Trig. I wanted Maya to have a chance to meet such a positive role model and I was delighted God had given us the chance. Unfortunately for us, it was one of the first really cold mornings we'd had here in northern Texas, in fact, it had actually SNOWED at our home just 2 days earlier! And snow flurries were again being predicted for Friday morning. When we got in the van the temperature read in the low 30s...brrrr! We'd worn layered clothing and packed some warm blankets. As we pulled into the parking garage's street level floor (yay!) I saw several vehicles parked ahead of me. The Plano Police dept. (who did a WONDERFUL job that day) had already cordoned off the front of the bookstore area, and I could see people already lining up--it was a little before 5 am...as I literally turned off my van's engine, my cell phone beeped with a text message--it was R. saying he'd just gotten there and was #12 in line, would we like him to save 2 places for us next to him?? Again, Maya's response was "D'uh!" :-)

As we moved through the garage, one truck caught my eye, LOL:

I wore two home made badges on my coat(using duct tape and diaper pins, LOL)--

and one with a quote from JimRob from the day before:

I wanted Sarah to know how JimRob feels about her! :-)

I carried a couple of lawn chairs and my Amazon copy of "Going Rogue" (yes, I knew I couldn't get it signed) to read while we waited, since the store said people couldn't line up until 6 am, or get into the store until 9 am. The signing itself was scheduled for 11:00 am to 2 pm. That meant several hours out in the weather! It was an adventure for Maya, not so much for me. :-) (Although I must say those were the best porta-potties I'd ever been in! A heated trailer with stalls and running water, what a blessing!) Right behind us several more people started showing up in the line, everyone cold but really excited to be meeting Sarah Palin in person!!!

Maya's playing her Nintendo DS under the blanket here, trying to stay warm!

An employee was selling coffee before 6 am, we were still waiting outside the barricades at this point.

At 6 am people were allowed inside the barricade area after showing their tickets. We all moved quickly to the area where we would wait for the next 3 hours, right in front of the entrance. The barricades were arranged such that the line was serpentine, so more people could fit in the small area there. Gradually more and more people began showing up. Reporters came around and began interviewing people--Maya and I were interviewed by Channel 11/CBS News, Dallas Morning News, and several others while we waited. (I was tickled pink to see us in an online DMN video later, where the reporter from the DMN focused on my homemade FR badge!! :-) At one point, R.'s wife came and brought some of those chemical hand warmer thingies, which Maya loved and promptly stuck in her shoes, since she couldn't feel her toes, she said. Had some wonderful conversations about politics and teaching (I'm a retired teacher) with several of the ladies standing/sitting in line near us.

Where we were standing we had a wonderful view of a mini-stage the store had set up for Sarah to speak, but in the end she didn't address the crowd there.

We also had a visit from local conservative talk show host Mike Gallagher from KSKY AM, who got the crowd even MORE fired up than they were! He was a great cheerleader, and even chatted with me and Maya while he was waiting for some sound issues with the speakers to be fixed.

That's the DMN reporter standing with Mike.
After awhile a store employee came out and gave directions on how the signing would take place--

No going anywhere without your ticket!!

Ever get a song stuck in your head? I felt like Grandpa Joe in "Willy Wonka", singing "I've got a golden ticket!" in my head over and over again, LOL.

Around 8:30 or so I folded up our lawn chairs and took as much stuff as possible back to the van. The first 50 people in line were finally allowed to go in the store at 9:00 am. We followed the crowd up three flights of stairs until we were directed to a section near the windows overlooking the parking lot. Everyone began immediately pulling off their heavy coats since it was very warm inside the store! We then had 2 more hours to wait. I spent time trying to make myself more presentable and put on makeup and pulled back my hair :-) while Maya played games on her Nintendo. I chatted with R. and told him again how thankful we were that he'd thought of us needing a ticket. While we were waiting there, Maya noticed the section we were in front of--the global warming section!! She scoffed, and I went over and saw Al Goracle's crap prominently displayed--stuck another book in front of it (back cover out) and Maya pointed to it--it was another Al Gore book! So I put yet another book in front of both of them, LOL.

(We thought we'd have to turn over our ticket, so we had R. take this picture of us with it)

R.'s shirt says it all! :-)

Global warming crap.

More crap!

Looking down a level at waiting fans.

Maya got stuck in a looooooong bathroom line! She got tickled when she came back because they started letting ladies use the men's room!
From our vantage point, we were able to see the parking garage across the street and the crowd below us. We spotted 3 motorcycle cops riding around, moving people out of the garage--which had a direct view of the place where Governor Palin would be sitting. Kind of neat to see all three bikes lined up in a row on the different levels protecting all of us from wackos.

Looking at the crowd, you could see many people still outside although quite a few were already in the store. On the outside of the barricades was a small crowd with people trying to buy tickets (we were offered $500 for ours at one point) and there was a man holding a very large "Palin" sign over his head, cheering on the crowd.

(At this point I have my one complaint about the bookstore's handling of things. They'd told us repeatedly that we couldn't take anything into the signing area with us, that they would have some sort of 'checkout' area where we could drop things off and pick them up after meeting the governor. We waited nearby for two hours and they should have had everyone check things in *then*. Although when we'd first arrived an employee snatched my book out of our bag and brought me a claim ticket to pick it up later.)

Right around 11:00 we saw the crowd without tickets below start running toward the left side of the store and line up along the barricades--our line began spreading the news-"SHE'S HERE!!" and I managed to snag a few pictures and a little bit of video before Maya got in front of me for a look. I should have kept looking after the governor passed below us, apparently Todd Palin was walking a ways behind her with Trig, and I missed it! :-(

I heard comments about how beautiful she looked, how nice it was of her to sign things for those in the crowd, including the guy with the giant sign (on one of the news videos online, he mentions that he has a son in Iraq or Afghanistan). Then, as she entered the store you could hear cheers of "Sarah! Sarah!" as she made her way through--Maya grabbed the camera and ran over to the edge to take pictures. She came back with just one:

I asked Maya why she didn't get more pics--"Mom, even though she's wearing high heels, she walks FAST!!!" :-)

We thought maybe she'd head up the stairs, but turns out she took the elevator up to the third floor--there was a small open section on leaving the elevator, and the crowd upstairs cheered when she stepped out and waved--then cheered again when Todd stepped out with Trig and waved too! :-) Then they moved out of sight. We gathered all of our things up and got back in the line properly. We had a few more minutes to wait because there was a VIP line ahead of us...there were several people in wheelchairs and some people pushing strollers (which made me wish for a moment that I'd brought the twins with me!) who got to go through first. Then it was our turn!

Unfortunately, as we walked past the section where the checkout area was, an employee grabbed me by the arm and started pulling our coats and bag out of my hands! I grabbed Maya as the crowd started moving around behind me, jostling to get by--she hollered at them and told them to bring their stuff to be checked in so there was a little bit of a bottleneck for a minute or so. But then we were back on our way! An employee handed us a business card for the professional photographer who would be taking pictures of all of those meeting Gov. Palin.

Maya marveled at a pyramid of "Going Rogue" books on our right. There were several people ahead of us and the line was moving FAST...my goodness, it was moving fast! Then it was finally our turn!

It's amazing to watch the governor signing books, shaking hands, and talking to people all at the same time...almost automatically. But when Maya stopped in front of her, *she* stopped, leaned forward, and started asking Maya several questions: "Hi! What's your name?" "Maya." "How old are you?" (still signing books but totally focused on *my* daughter, amazing!)"9." "Oh, you're in third grade! Are you in any sports?" "Yes," said Maya, and I said, "Karate..." feeling people pushing behind me. Sarah reached out and shook Maya's hand, pushing a book straight to Maya instead of off to the side where an employee was scooping them up and putting them on a pedestal. At the same time, the remarks I'd been practicing for hours flew out of my head ("God bless you, Governor and Godspeed straight to the White House!") and I became verklempted that this woman was making my child the center of her universe for those few seconds they were together, and when she asked my name, I was so choked up I could barely croak it out :*) Then she shook my hand and smiled straight at me, and said "Thank you for coming!" before she was talking to the next person in line. Maybe 20 seconds had elapsed from the moment we stepped in front of her.

We were ushered to our left, Maya clutching her book to her chest, and an employee handed us a bookmark and other papers. They also said we could keep our original tickets!

We were ushered to the checkout section where I got my book back, and our coats and bag, then we were directed toward the stairs nearby. A security person said it was okay to take pictures as we went down the stairs as long as we didn't back up the line.

At the bottom of the stairs we paused for a moment and saw reporters interviewing people who'd just had books signed...we didn't see Sarah's parents or Todd and Trig anywhere at that time, but apparently they were out and about later on mixing with people. We went into the attached coffee shop and stopped to put our coats on and to get our bearings. Maya was sooooo excited and amazed that Sarah knew she was in third grade without being told. :-) A woman was standing nearby and turned and spoke. "Maya! Did you get to meet Sarah Palin?" (I'm constantly amazed at how many people know my daughter, LOL, she definitely has a future as a politician!) I caught the woman's name badge--Cynthia Vega from our local Channel 8 news channel. She explained they'd been standing in line together for the bathroom for awhile. Maya told her about meeting the governor, then more people started coming through and we were being ushered toward the door (but we could have hung around for a little while I think, they weren't running people out in a mean way or anything).

Going back outside it seemed even colder since we'd been warm for a few hours, but we didn't mind. We made our way around the barricaded area toward the parking garage, arriving at the same time as R. "I found the bus!" he told us, pointing around the side of the bookstore facing the freeway. We gave him one last thank you hug and headed over in that direction, books in hand.

At the bus, there were of course several police officers guarding it. I asked one of them if it was okay to get close and take pictures of it--he said sure, just don't try to get on the bus! (Do people really need to be told that?!) So we took pictures of each other next to the bus.

That's a mooose antler carved with "Going Rogue" in the window.

A young man was talking to a girl nearby and we asked him to take our picture together (he briefly interviewed us for KRLD radio afterward):

After that we went home, having had a great time overall! We learned later that pretty much everyone who was in the no-ticket line was allowed to purchase a book and get it autographed--class act, that governor! :-)

Some online articles:
Star Telegram: "Hundreds line up in North Texas cold for Sarah Palin book signing" (nice video)
Dallas Morning News: James Ragland column: "At Plano book signing, Sarah Palin shows she's a force to be reckoned with"
DMN: "Palin brings star power to Plano"
Channel 11/CBS: "Sarah Palin Makes Plano Book Tour Stop"
Channel 33: "Sarah Palin stops in Plano for book signing of Going Rogue"
NBCDFW: "Palin Mania Hits Plano Bookstore "
WFAA Channel 8: "Sarah Palin signs books in Plano" (This is the reporter Maya stood in the bathroom line with)

Oh thank you thank you thank you.

What a wonderful job and what an experience for your daughter.

You are a good mom.

3 posted on 12/09/2009 5:47:51 PM PST by Carley (OBAMA IS A MALEVOLENT FORCE IN THE WORLD)

Sorry, don’t know why two of the pics are cut off. One is a bookshelf full of global warming books, the other is the back of the Sarah Palin bookmark Maya got with websites, etc.

4 posted on 12/09/2009 5:50:15 PM PST by pillut48 (CJ in TX --"God help us all, and God help America!!" --my new mantra for the next 4 years)

Great job and great pictures.

5 posted on 12/09/2009 5:53:51 PM PST by Frantzie (Judge David Carter - democrat & dishonorable Marine like John Murtha.)

THANK U SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS!! I was wondering how it went. I am so glad that you and Maya had a wonderful time. And those pictures WOW they are great!!

I very much enjoyed your report. Thank you for posting it!

Outstanding post!

Thank You for taking the time and effort to put this together!

Sarah 2012!

9 posted on 12/09/2009 5:55:35 PM PST by Randy Larsen ( BTW, If I offend you! Please let me know, I may want to offend you again!)

Great story, nice job.

Pray for America and Gov Palin

10 posted on 12/09/2009 5:55:44 PM PST by bray (Palin can see the White House from her Porch)

Thanks...that was really touching...I only wish that more children had Moms like you and that we end up with someone who connects to people as you described...and thank you for taking the time to share all of that caring, it shows in the work you put into the reportage...

11 posted on 12/09/2009 5:55:51 PM PST by jessduntno (Stop The Federal Usurpation.)

13 posted on 12/09/2009 5:59:38 PM PST by FrdmLvr ("The people will believe what the media tells them they believe." Orwell)

What a wonderful day!!! And to see all that your daughter has the potential to become!!

By the way, thanks for getting the “Golden Ticket” song stuck in MY head now. ;o)

14 posted on 12/09/2009 6:00:37 PM PST by autumnraine (You can't fix stupid, but you can vote it out!)

Awesome. Thanks so much for posting this! I’m living vicariously though you and your daughter! Great story, great pics.

15 posted on 12/09/2009 6:02:36 PM PST by Jane Long (Clean out Congress...give 'em term limits and their own dose of "government" healthcare.)

Thank you for posting! Oh how I’d love to meet her but I’m sure Portland and Seattle aren’t on the list.

16 posted on 12/09/2009 6:04:42 PM PST by Aria ( "The US republic will endure until Congress discovers it can bribe the public with the people's $.")

Wow - great detailed post - wonderful account! You and your daughter did a great job with everything....God bless you both!

Did you have a guesstimate of the crowd numbers who were there? Or maybe you didn’t get to see the entire crowd at once.

Nice job. Gives one the feeling of being there. Merry Christmas!

18 posted on 12/09/2009 6:09:11 PM PST by budwiesest (It's that girl from Alaska, again.)

Fabulous - your sweetie will never forget that day!!!

Wish I could take my 7 year-old to see her - I will if she ever comes close to town :)

Love your pics - almost like being there - really priceless!! Thank you!!

Wow! Next best thing to being there for sure. Congrats to yo and Maya!

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