Charlton Heston
Apr. 7th, 2008 07:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jayfurrI will never be able to think of Charlton Heston without thinking of the one time I laid eyes on the man in person, sometime in 1997.
He'd just authored a book titled "In The Arena: An Autobiography" and had set out on a book-signing tour which brought him to the Borders in Cary, NC where![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
caroleotter worked. A huge crowd had showed up to see him; I'd never seen the store so packed. My wife was delegated to assist with the event, standing at the table and handing him a new book to sign as each person came up. I had nothing better to do that day so I planned to just hover around the edges of the crowd and enjoy the spectacle.
When Heston arrived at the store they had him come in through the back entrance and led him over to the table set up for the signing. He murmured to the store manager that he needed to visit the restroom but when the manager pointed and said "um, it's all the way over there" on the far side of the huge crowd Heston sighed and said something along the lines of "Never mind." He took his seat at the table and started greeting customers and signing books.
He took the time to graciously chat with every single person who came up, most of whom had a favorite movie they wanted to comment on or just wanted to say how much they admired him. I was mildly surprised that no one brought an NRA cap up to have him autograph. Perhaps the store manager had made an announcement that he'd only be signing books.
The signing was scheduled for something like an hour or ninety minutes, I forget what, but instead of just standing up at the end of the scheduled time and saying "that's all, folks" Heston dutifully kept on signing as long as even one person was still in line. He was probably there at the table for a good two hours before everyone had been attended to.
As the event was wearing on and the line had diminished somewhat, Carole couldn't help herself any longer. I'd gotten her to watch The Agony and the Ecstasy a few weeks earlier and she'd been dying for a chance to ask Michelangelo himself a particular question. When there was a momentary pause between one signee leaving the table and the next one coming up, she leaned over and said, sotto voce, "When will you make an end?"
Heston didn't bat an eye. He took the book she was holding, looked up at the next person approaching the table, and muttered, "When I am finished!" Carole all but did a little jig of happiness.
Finally the last person had gotten their book signed and wandered off toward the registers to pay for it. Then Heston stood up, stretched, and quietly told the store manager, "I need the bathroom." They led him across to the bathroom on the far side of the store and waved him in -- and seconds after he went in two kids, around college age, came out looking wild-eyed. How often do you go into a bathroom in a bookstore in Cary, NC and have Moses himself come in after you?
He'd just authored a book titled "In The Arena: An Autobiography" and had set out on a book-signing tour which brought him to the Borders in Cary, NC where
caroleotter worked. A huge crowd had showed up to see him; I'd never seen the store so packed. My wife was delegated to assist with the event, standing at the table and handing him a new book to sign as each person came up. I had nothing better to do that day so I planned to just hover around the edges of the crowd and enjoy the spectacle.When Heston arrived at the store they had him come in through the back entrance and led him over to the table set up for the signing. He murmured to the store manager that he needed to visit the restroom but when the manager pointed and said "um, it's all the way over there" on the far side of the huge crowd Heston sighed and said something along the lines of "Never mind." He took his seat at the table and started greeting customers and signing books.
He took the time to graciously chat with every single person who came up, most of whom had a favorite movie they wanted to comment on or just wanted to say how much they admired him. I was mildly surprised that no one brought an NRA cap up to have him autograph. Perhaps the store manager had made an announcement that he'd only be signing books.
The signing was scheduled for something like an hour or ninety minutes, I forget what, but instead of just standing up at the end of the scheduled time and saying "that's all, folks" Heston dutifully kept on signing as long as even one person was still in line. He was probably there at the table for a good two hours before everyone had been attended to.
As the event was wearing on and the line had diminished somewhat, Carole couldn't help herself any longer. I'd gotten her to watch The Agony and the Ecstasy a few weeks earlier and she'd been dying for a chance to ask Michelangelo himself a particular question. When there was a momentary pause between one signee leaving the table and the next one coming up, she leaned over and said, sotto voce, "When will you make an end?"
Heston didn't bat an eye. He took the book she was holding, looked up at the next person approaching the table, and muttered, "When I am finished!" Carole all but did a little jig of happiness.
Finally the last person had gotten their book signed and wandered off toward the registers to pay for it. Then Heston stood up, stretched, and quietly told the store manager, "I need the bathroom." They led him across to the bathroom on the far side of the store and waved him in -- and seconds after he went in two kids, around college age, came out looking wild-eyed. How often do you go into a bathroom in a bookstore in Cary, NC and have Moses himself come in after you?
