Friday, October 30, 2009

I Love You, Pioneer Woman, But Not That Much


About three years ago, my daughter introduced me to http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/. It’s the first blog I started reading regularly, and it’s written by a fellow Oklahoman. If you are one of the few internet users who hasn’t yet seen it, go take a look. Ree Drummond, the “Pioneer Woman,” has taken the blogging world by storm with her writing style, photography, and cooking skills.

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This week, her cookbook debuted, and she started a book tour. Last night she came to Full Circle Book Store in Oklahoma City. I decided to go buy a couple of cookbooks and have her autograph them.

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Now, I knew Pioneer Woman has more than a couple of fans, so I determined to get there before the crowd gathered. When I had a hard time finding a parking place, I thought there might already be more than a few people there. But I didn’t expect this.

The line ran from Ree through the store and out into the mall—way out into the mall. This was at 6:30, when the signing began.



Customers went into the store to purchase cookbooks, then returned outside to stand in line. I bought my cookbooks. But I figured that with hundreds of people already in line, everyone who was coming to the book signing was already there. It would take a good hour or more to reach Ree, and I knew that my old legs weren’t up to standing that long.

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I decided to be smart about this. I knew I’d be more comfortable sitting for an hour or two, so I plopped down into one of the mall chairs. So what if I was at the end of the line? I already had my books, and I was comfortable.

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So I sat and read—all the way through the cookbook. I couldn’t see the end of the line, but it had to be getting closer to me, right? After all, how many people could possibly show up for a book signing?



As I sat there, a number of people stopped and asked me what was happening. What were all these people buying? I tried to explain, but non-blog readers just didn’t get it.

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About 9:15 I finished the book and decided I’d walk for a while before getting in line. By the time I found the end of the line, reality sank in. Obviously, while I was sitting, more and more people got in line. She still had a couple hundred books to sign.


By that time, my eyes were focusing about as well as my camera did for this shot.



Since I live close to Full Circle Book Store, I considered going home for a couple of hours and then returning for her autograph. But it was already 9:15. I’m old, and I was tired. So I went home and stayed there.

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This morning I’m still marveling at this phenomenon. I console myself with the thought that if we insist upon having heroes/heroines, at least Ree has done something to merit this kind of attention. She’s not just a pretty face, or some obscenely overpaid sports figure. She’s actually talented, and she has worked hard.

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Congratulations, Ree. I love your blog, but I’m sorry to say I don’t love you enough to invest more time in getting your signature. Actually, you’re probably grateful that I didn’t stay. Writer’s cramp must be quite painful after giving so many autographs.

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Today’s post on The Pioneer Woman has Ree’s report of the events at Full Circle. I’m glad she had such a good time. Since she’s an Oklahoman, maybe our paths will cross sometime, and I’ll be able to congratulate her in person. But I doubt she’ll find me standing in line.


4 comments:

Oklahoma Granny said...

Forgetting that my son helped his kids carve their pumpkins last night, I called and asked if he went to Ree's book signing. I told him about your post and he read it. I think he's glad he had other things to do now. Although I don't know Ree (she's a couple of years or so older than my son), she is from our hometown. At this point in time she doesn't have a book signing scheduled there but even if there was I'm not sure I'd be able to stand in a line that long either. It's great that she's such a success though. I love reading her blog and plan to buy her book too.

drlobojo said...

Thank God I didn't let you talk me into going with you. You would have stuck me in the line and gone off on the pretext of "buying the books" and wouldn't have returned until I was near the front of the line. Yes, yes you would have.

Pastor Kathy said...

I thought about going to the mall to see Ree, but then I remembered that the last time I signed up for a free give-away on her website there were over 25,000 entries, probably a good number of them from OKC. Let's stalk her from the cafe in Pawhuska....less crowded and they serve coffee...

Okie Book Woman said...

Great idea, Pastor Kathy. Once she gets back from her book tour, we're off to Pawhuska!