Well it was quite an event for me.

I asked my mother to tag along so she could take three of my HL's to be signed. (She took my photo with Bill. Hopefully, Bill and I will both have the tops of our heads in the photo. My mother is notorious for lobotomy pictures.)

We got there at 10:35 because the signing was to start at 11:00 and I wanted to get there early to look around. Holy Cow! There were already 46 people on line for signings and purchases. It was a good thing that I did prepay for my East Quoddy. I didn't have to get on the payment line (lesson learned here). So I was #46 on the signing line. Everyone on line was busy comparing their pieces and all you could hear was ooh and ahh when someone took out a rare piece.

The configuration of the store was not a simple one. Bill was in the back room and in order to get there, you waited on line that went through the store and past this huge Christmas tree. I'd hate to see the condition of that now. It was not easy trying to maneuver around it. Yesterday I said I felt like a kid before Christmas and today it came true. There I was standing in line in a store fully decorated for Christmas, with holiday music playing and my mother with me. I thought I was five years old again when my mother took me to Macys at Herald Square to see Santa. Well now that I'm 41, Santa has turned to Bill Younger.

He was so pleasant and so friendly. He was surprised to see my HL badge, courtesy of St. John's post a few months back. I did bring my Panama set to be signed and was I surprised, he did sign both pieces! I asked him if we would be seeing a Pharos lighthouse and his comment was, "Pharos doesn't exist". So I guess I got my answer. So as he signed my pieces, I tried to put Panama back and couldn't quite fit the styrofoam back on. (I was smarter with my mother's three pieces, I had them wrapped in bubblewrap and put in one large box.) Right away Bill takes the box and shows me how to put it on. Of course part of the problem was that I had left the certificate in that box and it was blocking the top from sliding in. Figures, I took it out on the other two boxes, so I wouldn't lose them, and I forget to that that one out. But the cover slid in as if it knew it was him.

But, the best of all was that the store had commissioned a local artist to do a painting of the Kilauea piece and they had it printed for those who bought pieces. I already had Kilauea but they gave it to me since I bought East Quoddy. Bill signed them, "Keep the Flame" and his name. That's getting framed tomorrow.

Unfortunately I did not get to meet anyone from the forum but by the time we left at 11:15, the line was clear into the parking lot.

Please forgive my babbling on, but I'm sure you all remember your first meeting with Bill.

JEFFB: Get there early next week!

Joanne


[This message has been edited by Joanne (edited 11-13-99).]