This brought tears to my eyes. And even though I didn’t personally know Pat Conroy, we all thought we did. That’s the way his writing touched you-soul to soul. 💜
I was fortunate to meet Pat Conroy a number of times when he was on his book tours. My favorite story takes place in a small bookstore on Hilton Head Island when Pat was signing copies of the recently released Beach Music. There was a long line to get into the store. Once inside, the line snaked through the store aisles and eventually brought you to the signing table. As I followed the line through the store, I found myself standing next to an older gentleman who was seated in the corner. We greeted each other and he asked if I was there to have my book signed by his son. It took me a moment to process that I was speaking to Don Conroy. He said he’d be happy to sign my book since he had nothing to do while he waited for Pat to finish signing books. I gladly handed over my book! He signed it Don Conroy, “The Great Santini “ and also added a personal message when he found out I was from Augusta, GA. It was a brief interaction but he could not have been more charming. The line moved on and I finally reached the signing table. I handed my book to Pat and he immediately saw that his Dad had signed it. He looked up at me and laughed and yelled out “Dad, you can’t be signing my books!”. It was just a chance encounter with a man most of us who are Pat Conroy fans know too well from Pat’s painful childhood stories. I treasure all of my Pat Conroy books, but this edition of Beach Music is doubly treasured!
This brought tears to my eyes. And even though I didn’t personally know Pat Conroy, we all thought we did. That’s the way his writing touched you-soul to soul. 💜
I was fortunate to meet Pat Conroy a number of times when he was on his book tours. My favorite story takes place in a small bookstore on Hilton Head Island when Pat was signing copies of the recently released Beach Music. There was a long line to get into the store. Once inside, the line snaked through the store aisles and eventually brought you to the signing table. As I followed the line through the store, I found myself standing next to an older gentleman who was seated in the corner. We greeted each other and he asked if I was there to have my book signed by his son. It took me a moment to process that I was speaking to Don Conroy. He said he’d be happy to sign my book since he had nothing to do while he waited for Pat to finish signing books. I gladly handed over my book! He signed it Don Conroy, “The Great Santini “ and also added a personal message when he found out I was from Augusta, GA. It was a brief interaction but he could not have been more charming. The line moved on and I finally reached the signing table. I handed my book to Pat and he immediately saw that his Dad had signed it. He looked up at me and laughed and yelled out “Dad, you can’t be signing my books!”. It was just a chance encounter with a man most of us who are Pat Conroy fans know too well from Pat’s painful childhood stories. I treasure all of my Pat Conroy books, but this edition of Beach Music is doubly treasured!
That is a fantastic story and memory! What a treasure.