The crowd at Marjorie Johnson's Mall of America book signing Sunday was a lot less cheeky than those biker babes at the Vegas convention.

Nearly 400 people stood in line for autographed copies of "The Road to Blue Ribbon Baking with Marjorie," while a reel of Johnson's appearances on "The Tonight Show" and other programs played overhead on big screens.

Jay Leno recently sent Johnson to cover a bikers' convention in Las Vegas. The scantily clad women running around and provocatively prancing on stage with too much of their derrieres showing caught wholesome Marjorie off guard. There is one clip of the usually chatty Marjorie, mouth agape, looking calmly, genuinely shocked silent.

She apparently wasn't the only member of her family thusly affected.

When I asked Johnson's daughter Dr. Marleen Stromme if she saw this cheeky Leno assignment, Stromme shyly averred, "I did." Six seconds later Stromme, leaning away from me and pointing at my tape recorder, said, "Turn it off." Another 13 seconds of silence ensued before Stromme said, "Actually, I think she was shocked with Las Vegas in general. She told us she was a hometown girl and all of this was really shocking to her."

Johnson seemed much more at home with the Britney Spears joke Marjorie was fed, even though it was not something she would normally say, when she encountered a woman at the convention with a baby in a harness and a drink in both hands.

No outrageous moments punctuated the book signing, but there was still astonishment on Johnson's part. "I can't believe how people stood in line for hours," she said. "Somebody said they stood in line for two hours; for many it was one hour."

That's because this was not the typical slam-bam book signing. Johnson didn't just sign the books; she wrote long personal inscriptions.

Her hand didn't cramp up, she believes, because it's in good shape after years of kneading dough.

"I love meeting people," Johnson said. Especially when they are properly covered.

A Versace at Mayo

In Touch magazine reports that Donatella Versace's daughter was being treated for anorexia at Mayo.

"Versace's daughter, Allegra, is seeking treatment again in her long-running battle with anorexia. Allegra, 21, is in the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., her mother confirmed during a Sept. 14 visit," reports In Touch's Oct. 15 issue. An unnamed woman who reportedly met the Italian designer told the magazine that Versace remarked that Allegra is doing better, although anorexia is a lifelong battle. "Allegra's painfully thin frame shocked revelers at a July 4 beach party in Malibu," wrote In Touch.

Donatella's and Allegra's favorite public place to chill and shop while here was the MOA, based on the sightings reported to me.

Separated at birth?

Costco employees need to open their eyes and take a good look at stockbroker Duane Anderson.

"Everybody snaps to at every Costco store I go into," said Anderson, branch manager of 1st Discount, a Twin Cities brokerage firm.

Apparently some people say that Anderson looks like Jim Sinegal, co-founder of Costco and one of the most principled CEOs in the country. "I have only seen pictures of him and I think we'll find out in a few minutes," Anderson said the day he spent a long time waiting for Sinegal to show up at the St. Louis Park store.