Posted by
Ron Devito on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 11:37:42 PM
by Kristina Lazzaro
Inspiration Sarah --http://inspirationsarah.blogspot.com
As
some of you know, I attended Sarah Palin's book signing in Rochester,
New York on Saturday (11/21). Let me tell you--it was definitely an
adventure!
I
was still away at school when I found out that Sarah would be coming to
New York for her Going Rogue Book Tour. I was very excited! I was even
more excited that I would be home in Buffalo the day before Sarah
visited Rochester because Rochester is only an hour away from my home.
So knowing that I was going to have to get to Rochester the night
before the signing, I left Cortland, NY (school) at 2pm on Friday
(11/20), arrived home in Buffalo at 5:30pm, had dinner with the family,
and then headed to Rochester with my sister Katelyn at around 1:30am
Saturday morning. During the car ride down to Borders Books & Music
in Henrietta, the three things that ran through my mind were 1) I had
been in a car for most of the day 2) I would be awake for more than 48
hours and 3) I was going to be able to see my inspiration once
again--Sarah Palin.
My
sister and I arrived at Borders at 2:30am. I was shocked to see so many
people lined up this early to see Sarah! So we quickly scoped out a
parking spot, parked, and then headed to the back of the line where
about 200 Sarah Supporters stood in front of us. Once we claimed our
spot in line, my sister pulled out some blankets, I wiped out the
pillows, and then we immediately walked to find some type of caffeine
whether it was coffee or soda. The caffeine hunt didn't take long since
there were plenty of places to purchase it--Wegmans, Tim Hortons, and
Panera. So we got our large coffees and headed back to meet and greet
the people who were camping out around us.
From
3am until it was time to head inside Borders, Katelyn and I bonded with
the many people who surrounded us. Most of them were much older then
the both of us (my sister 17 and me 20) but our ages were what stirred
up a lot of conversation. People were impressed and thrilled to see
young Sarah Palin supporters and several people asked why we supported
her. Since my sister was still a new comer to politics and to what
Sarah stood for and believed in, I took the lead when it came to
telling people what I love about Sarah Palin and why I support her. I
even did an interview with a local news station and later, while
standing in line, I did another interview with a news reporter from my
home town. After doing a bunch of talking and two interviews, my sister
asked me, "aren't you tired of talking?" My answer to her was, no!
Every chance I get to talk about Governor Palin, I feel honored and
it's so easy to talk about her to others because I know and admire so
much about her! So it's always a joy when speaking about Sarah Palin.
So
the sun rose and 9am came around much quicker than I expected! Our over
night crew made it into Borders and received wristbands. At this point,
not only were we psyched that we all had been given a chance to see
Sarah Palin; we were also thrilled that we had a few hours to rest and
get something other than coffee in our stomachs!
11am
rolled around and my sister and I decided that we were just going to
hang out in Borders for a while. We met up with Ron Devito, the author
of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's Accomplishments and VidSweet, who is
another Sarah Supporter and makes video tributes for Palin and other
political figures. The four of us planted ourselves at a table for
several hours, reading "Going Rogue", checking email, and making phone
calls to family and friends, letting them know that we were still
alive! While sitting in Borders, I also met a member of Governor
Palin's staff, Russell. Russell worked during the election for the
McCain-Palin Campaign. As we were talking, we came to realize that we
went to school together! What a small world!
We
heard that Sarah Palin would be arriving earlier than expected, so the
line began to form around 4pm instead of 4:30pm. My sister and I found
the people we were with earlier Saturday morning and secured our spot
in line. The crowed started yelling--Sarah, Sarah, Sarah...and then we
all decided to sing the National Anthem. At around 6pm, a group of
protesters showed up. I just laughed and wondered why they decided to
show up now. Where were they at 3am!?! And the funny thing was that
they were protesting Governor Palin's views on gay marriage, which are
the same as Obama's! They were still there screaming and shouting but
the large crowd of Sarah Supporters began to yell "Sarah Palin chants"
again to over power them.
FINALLY,
it was our turn to head inside. On top of the excitement of seeing
Governor Palin again, I was so happy to be inside where it was cozy and
warm! As we walked passed the Borders employees who checked our
wristbands, I could see the table where Sarah Palin was sitting at, and
as I walked a little further, I looked, and there she was! As others
saw her, their hearts began to beat faster and they became much more
nervous than they were when they were standing outside. This was not
the case for me because I had met Sarah Palin before. Instead of
becoming nervous, I got excited and the biggest smile grew on my face
because I was so happy to see her again.
The
line wrapped around shelves and shelves of books. When the line came to
a halt, people took pictures to capture the moment. I was mesmerized by
the music playing. It was country music and I knew right away that
Governor Palin picked that music to play while she signed books!
While
enjoying the great country music that was playing, my sister and I
inched closer and closer to the book signing table. I stopped to take a
picture with Adrienne, the author and editor of Motivation Truth and
Jason Recher, a member of Sarah Palin's staff. Then it was our turn to
see Governor Palin. I let my sister go before me because I wanted to
see the happiness that formed in her eyes when she spoke with Sarah
Palin, because that's what happens when you meet her. A feeling of such
happiness and joy runs through your body when you first meet Governor
Palin. She makes you feel so special and important. It's almost like
your the only person who exists at that very moment. Governor Palin
shook my sisters hand, asked her name, complimented on her shirt that
said, "Going Rogue with Sarah!", she asked how old she was and what she
planned to do after she graduates in June. My sister walked away from
Sarah Palin with the biggest smile on her face. I had never seen her
smile like that before!
Next
was me. I walked up to Governor Palin and put my hand out to greet her.
She shook my hand and told me she remembered meeting me in Auburn, NY!
She asked how I was doing and from there the conversation grew. I
choose not to share the words that were exchanged between Sarah Palin
and I because what I shared with her was personal, but the short moment
that we shared together will remain forever in my heart. One thing I
will share with you is that before I walked away, Governor Palin
thanked me for getting my sister into politics and for educating her
about who Sarah
really is. I was confused as to how she knew Katelyn and I were
sisters. I later found out that my sister told Sarah Palin that I was
the person who educated her about who Governor Palin really is. And as
Katelyn said that, she pointed to me.
After
speaking with the Governor, my sister and I had the privilege of
staying in Borders to meet some of Sarah Palin's family. We spoke with
one of Governor Palin's aunts who was also holding baby Trig at the
time. I said hello to Trig and he grabbed my thumb and held it for a
few seconds and then let go. Her aunt couldn't thank us enough for
supporting Sarah! After speaking with Governor Palin's aunt, we spoke
with her parents, Chuck and Sally Heath. They are probably two of the
most kind, loving, and caring people I have ever met. First off, Mr
Heath told me, "I absolutely love your sweatshirt!" Then Mr and Mrs
Heath asked us about school, our family and why we supported their
daughter. After we told them, they both gave us a warm hug and said
thank you, thank you, thank you! And before they walked away, Mr and
Mrs Heath came back and told us that it was nice to meet two beautiful,
nice, and intelligent girls.
The
day quickly came to an end and all the energy that had been running
through our bodies all day long began to wear off. That's when we
started to realize how tired and sore we were! We decided that getting
a bit to eat and off our feet was wonderful idea!
So
as Adrienne, Ron, VidSweet, Katelyn and I were about to leave Borders,
a man walked straight through the main doors and said, "Sorry, I missed
you, Sarah!" and threw an egg at the display of the Governor's books
and left. None of us really knew how to react because we couldn't
believe that something like this happened. Katelyn and Adrienne looked
around to see where the egg had splattered while the rest of us glanced
to see where this man went. Once we realized he was gone, I made sure
everyone else was ok. I noticed that Adrienne had gotten some of the
egg all over her clothes. So Adrienne went in the back to change while
the rest of us tried to replay what had just happened in our heads. Ron
had gone outside to see if he could spot the "egg-man" and when he came
back inside, he informed us that the police had caught him.
When
Adrienne came back from changing her clothes, I filled her in on the
news that we had found out. Immediately, Adrienne walked outside to
where the police was holding the egg-man. We followed because we wanted
to hear his reason as to why he did what he did. So when Adrienne asked
him what his deal was, he answered back saying that his intent was to
hit Sarah with the egg, but he was too late! He also apologized for
hitting Adrienne and wanted her address so that he could pay for dry
cleaning. Don't worry--Adrienne didn't give the egg-man her address. As
Adrienne said, "Don't
even ask a dumb question. Y'all know I did not give that man my
address!." This man was a complete nut case and the reason he wanted to
egg Sarah arose from something that he watched on TV. So he let his
emotions get to him and came to Borders with hopes of hurting the
governor! How crazy is that!
I
am blaming the media on this one! They have done everything in their
power to make Sarah Palin seem like she's this horrible person, but the
reality is that, these so-called journalists are the horrible people!
Instead of reporting the facts, instead of reporting the truth, they
are reporting all of these false rumors and lies, and these rumors and
lies are what fill up many Americans heads! This needs to change!
Adrienne
had the option of pressing charges, but it would have been so
inconvenient since she would of had to stay later and fill out paper
work and then come back for a court date (she lives four hours from
Rochester). So the egg-man was left with the police and several copies
of Sarah Palin's book, "Going Rogue". I thought since the egg-man would
have to pay for over ten copies of Sarah's book, maybe he could read
one of them and find out who Sarah Palin is unfiltered instead of
through the media!
While
talking over dinner, we all mentioned that the egg-man incident could
have been much worse than it really was. This man could have walked
into Borders with something much more dangerous than an egg! So we were
very grateful! We were also very happy that Governor Palin had left
before the egg-man arrived at Borders. If he had shown up while Sarah
was still signing books, well, lets just say it would have been one big
mess! So after the incident, I made sure I prayed, thanking God for
keeping us, all the other Sarah Supporters, and most of all, Sarah
Palin safe!
Katelyn
and I headed home after dinner, or I guess you can say breakfast, since
it was already 12am, on Sunday morning! On the ride home, I had to keep
telling myself to stay awake, but once I started to go back over the
past couple of days, keeping my eyes open wasn't a problem. This
weekend was absolutely amazing and nothing could change that--not even
the egg-man!
I
met so many wonderful people who love and support Governor Palin like I
do! I was able to see Sarah Palin once again. Getting to see and talk
to Sarah is always an honor and I cannot wait to see her
again--hopefully in Alaska! I am so glad to have met some of Sarah
Palin's family. They are such kind and loving people and you can see
how proud they are of Sarah and how thankful they are of all her
supporters.
One
of the best things that happened this weekend was seeing a side of my
sister that I had never seen before. She opened up to so many people
and listened to their life stories and why they loved Sarah Palin. This
allowed her to open her heart and mind to the wonderful person Sarah
Palin is. Katelyn read "Going Rogue" and cannot stop talking about how
much she loved reading it. She now understands why so many Americans
support Sarah Palin and she is now one of us Palinistas!
This
weekend was a long weekend and a cold weekend. But all that time,
waiting outside in the cold and surviving on coffee was worth the time
we were given to spend with Governor Palin--my inspiration! So thank
you God and thank you Sarah.
I have posted pictures on my personal blog: http://inspirationsarah.blogspot.com/