UGA blog finds new home
Morning all. As I’ve said a couple of times this week, we’re converting this blog over to a WordPress platform and it will be a permanent move the first of next week.
Those of you who are regulars probably know that I’m not what you’d call techno-wizard when it comes to these things. But from what I understand the technology offered in this new format should make the blogging and commenting experience better for all. Of course, I’ll be learning as we go along, too. But I’m hoping to provide more pictures and video and things like that which should bring the blog more to life.
Of course, this blog is nothing without all you guys so I want to heartily invite (read: beg) you to come over to the new site by CLICKING HERE ON THE NEW ADDRESS and save it in your browsers. As of Monday, Feb. 23rd, this will be the permanent home of the UGA blog you so love or, in the case of some of you, love to loathe. If you’d prefer to copy and paste or just memorize, the new address is: http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/.
See at the new place!
AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2008 > April > 18
Friday, April 18, 2008
Quite a scene at Herschel’s book signing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I have just come from Herschel Walker’s book-signing session at the UGA Bookstore. It was an interesting scene, to say the least, and much less chaotic than I expected.
Basically the UGA bookstore staff was well prepared for the onslaught. Bookstore director Jeremy Johnson told me they actually had a practice run for it on Thursday. They limited the total number of fans to 300, the first of which cued up at 5:30 in the morning, according to Johnson. Each one was limited to a maximum of three books, and it looked to me that most were taking full advantage that.
A long, long, line snaked through the aisles of the lower-level of the two-story bookstore, then up the stairs to the second level where they cued in a back-and-forth as you do at the airport or for an amusement park ride. Finally, back behind some roped off empty bookshelves sat Herschel.
Patty Cody of Atlanta cleared the line at a little after 1 p.m. She said she had been there since about 10 a.m.
“I got four chapters read [in line],” Cody said. “So it wasn’t too bad.”
Herschel appeared in good spirits and was taking his time chatting with each patron and signing the inside of his book, “Breaking Free.” Too much time for Shida Carr, the publicist from Simon & Schuster who is accompanying Herschel on his book tour. She was frantically texting on her cell phone and telling anybody that would listen that they needed be on the road headed back to Atlanta by 2:30 p.m. (they were scheduled for a 4 p.m. interview and a 7 p.m. book signing at the Carter Center). But nobody appeared to be listening.
I waved hello and nodded to Herschel, whom I’ve known since the late 1980s. But he wasn’t available for interviews at the signing (tight schedule, you know). He was supposed to go by Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall afterward for a quick photo shoot with Knowshon Moreno for us and our college football special section. But Ms. Carr was somewhat pessimistic about that happening.
Once you could get her aside, Ms. Carr was quite friendly and accommodating. She said she wasn’t sure but she thought they were going to print 100,000 of Herschel’s books on the first run and was certain that more runs would be on the way.
By the way, Nightline had Herschel Monday night and we had our one-on-one with Herschel on Wednesday. But if you want to catch another interview with him WXIA-TV is devoting their entire Sunday night show, “Sports Extra,” to Herschel. It comes on Sunday night at 11:30 p.m.
So that’s about all there is to be said about this whole Herschel thing. Let me know if you got his book and have read or have attended any of his book signings. I’ll be checking back in today and throughout the weekend.
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