Yesterday, Miss Maggie and I stood outside the Free Library of Philadelphia in the cold and wind for just over two hours so that M could get her copy of THE HOST signed by Stephenie Meyer. (I picked up a copy for S, and for my pseudo-granddaughter, A, who is going to go OFF HER NUT when she gets it for her birthday in April.) M also got to meet Max Irons (son of Jeremy Irons and in Red Riding Hood - SOOO cute and nice and funny - he was singing "Baby" by Justin Bieber to himself while signing) and Jake Abel (Luke in the Percy Jackson movies and a character in I AM NUMBER FOUR), the two male leads in the forthcoming movie of THE HOST. They also signed free (small) movie posters. And posed for a photo with Maggie and a girl she befriended while in the looooong line, despite lots of signs saying something like "no posed pictures ever. This means you. Don't even think about asking."

Let me just say that Stephenie Meyer (a) looks fabulous and (b) is super nice. As in, Maggie was star-struck and was just going to take her signed book and keep going, but Stephenie stopped her to mention that she was sorry the girl named Maggie in THE HOST isn't particularly nice, and then talked more about Maggie's name, etc. And she was very happy and generally sweet to everyone, which is just how an author should be when over 1,000 people stand in line for hours in the freezing cold and wind just to get books signed, but still - super nice.

On the way home, I posed the following hypothetical to Maggie: If you could have gone to only one table today - Stephenie Meyer or the hot guys - which would you have chosen? Her answer (without a beat): Stephenie Meyer.

Love that kid.

A side story about the general goodness of people: I failed to notice that we needed to register for the event, for which Maggie had left school and dressed up and such. On hearing of my dilemma, a kind-hearted soul produced an "extra" two-person registration. To quote Blanche Dubois, "I have always relied on the kindness of strangers!" (I totally hugged her for the registration.)