Glenn Beck – November 20, 2009

ABOVE: Glenn Beck – New York Times best selling author, radio talk show host and Fox News television host was at the Barnes and Noble at Colonial Plaza in Orlando on Thursday 4 December 2008. A bookstore staff member said she would take my picture while Glenn was signing my book, but I did not make it into the shot.

The Glenn Beck tour bus rolled into Barnes and Nobel on Colonial Drive at Bumby around 10 a.m. on Friday, 20 November 2009. Orlando is a stop on Glenn’s 2009 National Book Tour promoting his current best sellers “Arguing With Idiots” and “The Christmas Sweater” story book for children. Glenn entered Barnes and Nobel amid a sea of camera flashes and cheers around 11:30 a.m.

ABOVE: For the book signing, I took a mask from Forbes.com. An 18 month old little boy in a stroller was enthralled by the sign, so I gave it to him. His mother gave it back, but I told her to let him take it up with her so Glenn could see the little boy with it. WFLA-540 caught Glenn seeing the little boy in this photo. Here’s the link so you can make your own mask.

Glenn spoke briefly on the Health Care bill and the U. S. Military in Afghanistan. His brief comments elicited hardy cheers from loyal fans who had been waiting in line for over two hours. There were about 600 people in line in the store, a long line outside the door, and more arriving when I left at 12:30.

According to a member of the Barnes and Nobel management team, people began arriving at 4:30 a.m. to secure a prime spot in line. One young girl told me, she and her mother arrived at 6 a.m. to make sure she had the opportunity to present Glenn with two portraits she had drawn for him.  She was excited that Glenn asked her name, thanked her, and shook her hand. Mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers came with children in tow and infants in strollers. High school and college students, business and professional people, cake decorators and genealogists were among those who had gathered to meet Glenn. Veterans were there from WWII, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq and Korea representing the Army, Navy and Marines.

ABOVE: Glenn Beck tour bus at book signing event at Barnes and Nobel on Colonial Drive at Bumby on November 20, 2009. The gentleman in the wheelchair on the far right is a disabled veteran of the Vietnam War. He served as a Navy Seal and shared information about his career while checking out the bus.

Check out his charity Mercury One.

Mercury One is not an ordinary organization. We stand to restore the human spirit through programs to advance skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for individuals and communities to help themselves. We also assist our nation’s veterans, provide aid to those in crisis, and rebuild and restore the lives of persecuted religious minorities. When evil prevails, we believe the best way to overcome it is by doing good.

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