I’m always hesitant about going to a signing at Book Soup. The first time we went, it was a complete clusterfuck, but the second time was really good. I guess you just don’t know wtf is going to happen when it comes to organization and that’s what really bugs me.
When I first saw the announcement for Shorty Rossi, I could have sworn the start time was 2pm. When we got to the bookstore, turns out it started at 4. We bought the book and headed out to kill some time by buying lunch.
We ended up eating at Coney Dogs about a block away. Amazing food. And it had the added bonus of Kristen Bell and Dax Shepherd showing up. My husband asked if I wanted a picture [I totally did], but when Kristen came out of the bathroom facing the very small handful of people eating, she gave the stink eye. On my way to the bathroom, I passed Dax. He was nice, smiling and saying hello. Needless to say, we didn’t get pictures. My husband spent the rest of the afternoon saying, “XOXO, she’s a bitch”. I couldn’t stop giggling.
When we got back to the bookstore, it was just after 3 and there was a small group of people outside. We asked the employees if that was the line. We were told that we could hang out inside since there was no “official” line. And then in true Book Soup fuckery, they came back to everyone after 20 minutes and said they decided that it WAS the line and we needed to go outside.
After about 30 minutes of standing outside, they let us in just after 4pm. We were able to sneak around the entire bookstore and get front row seats on the side of the podium. Shorty came out with his assistant/friend/driver Steven and his service dog, Hercules.
Shorty immediately went into talking. We got a condensed version of his entire life, from where his was born, to his teenage years, to his jail time served, to his start in the entertainment industry and the start of his show “Pit Boss”. Of course, he spoke about the rescue work that he’s done with pit bulls and the advocacy of the breed. After seeing a reality show, it’s hard to know what is scripted and what is real. However, Shorty is an excellent storyteller and extremely well spoken.
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