By: Charles Geraci The line outside the Barnes & Noble at Rockefeller Center in New York began to form shortly after noon on Monday, when Greg Packer, 40, of Huntington, N.Y., arrived. Hundreds more gathered throughout the night, bringing sleeping bags, pillows, and coolers. Some slept, while others began the 957-page read of "My Life," former President Bill Clinton's memoir.
Camera crews decorated 48th Street for much of the night and morning, as reporters, many of them international, made their way down the line of book buyers hoping for a moment with Clinton at his first signing event. Several settled in on Packer, who has made a media career out of being quoted in hundreds of newspaper stories, to the extent that he is now off-limits to much of the domestic press. When someone tried to sneak into the line, Packer quickly called the cops, as the woman refused to retreat to the end of the line.
Members of the media were eagerly interviewing anyone who would talk. Common questions centered around Monica Lewinsky, Ken Starr, and to what degree the reader expected Clinton to be honest in his personal assessments.
Clinton arrived nearly half an hour behind schedule, demonstrating that things still run on "Clinton time," as his closest aides have remarked. He signed for nearly three hours, not quite as long as his wife has. There were so many photographers for this highly publicized event that not all could fit into the media pit and had to be admitted in three waves.
"This is great -- just seeing all these people," Clinton remarked to the press and to his staff. He managed to shake each hand, sometimes chatting briefly with children or flamboyant fans.
As for Packer, he immediately left to reserve his place in line at the Borders in Soho, where Clinton will sign tomorrow afternoon.
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