Thursday, January 26, 2012

American Sniper: I met a hero today

Actually a couple of them.  Today was one of those days that was up and down and ended up turning out fantastic.  The local bookstore was having Chris Kyle in to sign his book and I really wanted to attend the event.  The problem was I had a meeting right through the middle of it.  I was bummed about that.  I finished the meeting and called the bookstore.  I found out he was really planning on being out of there by 2:00 to get to another event.  They assured me he would sign some books and I could purchase one if I missed him.  With that in mind I headed to the event.  Well, he was still there signing and the line was still HUGE.  I went ahead and bought a couple of copies and got in line.  I struck up a conversation with the gentleman in front of me who happened to be a local and also a SF operator as well.  I'll call him "John".  He looked the part.  That proved to be a very enjoyable conversation and made the time fly.  When we got up to see Chris, he was still smiling, shaking hands and taking pictures.  We all knew that he was sticking it out past a deadline and he was being a champ about it.  He was even apologetic for the wait.  I was just very happy to see a turnout like that for him and support for a service member.  Hearing some of the older guys in line talking about their days in the service with "John" was just as interesting as the book signing.

Goofy smile and all (mine)
So, hats off to Chris for being a stand up guy and not only toughing it out, but doing it with style.  You guys know I'm a pretty hardcore bookworm and military is a huge favorite of mine.  I'm thrilled to add this one to my collection (as well as one to That Guy's collection -  Happy Birthday, my friend).




15 comments:

  1. Very cool. I met him on Wednesday. Stand up guy.

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  2. I'm going through my reading list and I saw yours. I was slowly working my way there. He really is cool and you could tell it was genuine.

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  3. I am in the middle of reading his book right now. My husband works with and is friends with several former snipers. One guy was shot twice...amazing guy. He teaches me much. Anyway, neat day it sounds like!

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  4. I'll have to read this one. I really enjoyed Marcus Latrell's "Uncommon Valor."

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    1. I read that one as well. There were a few things in the book that bothered me a bit that seemed inconsistent, but I didn't know if that was the writing process or not. It was a pretty incredible book, though and a really sad story.

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    1. It was a good one. This one is pretty good so far as well. Thanks.

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  6. Good deal, I will have to check it out.

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    1. I can't recommend the book yet, but I've flipped through it and it looks very interesting. So far it is pretty good. I'm intrigued that his "baby" was an Accuracy International .338 Lapua. I've always been fascinated with that round, so I can't wait to read about that.

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  7. Good book so far, and kudos for sticking it out to get the autograph.

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    1. I haven't been able to get too deep into it, but it is really good. No credit to me for standing in line, it was for purely selfish reasons. :) I'm a book nerd.

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