nichepoetryandprose

Occasionally we have an adventure, outside our usual experience. This morning was one of those times.

Call us crazy, but my husband and I joined a much younger group this morning and spent four and a half hours waiting in the cold wind and dark. Our purpose, to get a Super Nintendo Classic Mini for our son for his birthday.

In the electronic gaming world new products are so popular, they are sold primarily in pre-release. Stores also get a few extra products … to get one of these, gamers stand in line, sometimes all night.

We have had some previous experience. Back during the Cabbage Patch Kid craze, I stood in a pre-opening line-up to get Lola Rhonda, our Cabbage Patch doll. And about ten years ago my husband went at 4 in the morning to get a popular toy at Walmart.

For today’s adventure, we arrived, not knowing what to expect, at 3:30 in the morning. It was dark and windy and cold (5 degrees C). At first, it seemed no one was there ahead of us, but then we found the line … seven brave souls, some fast asleep in their sleeping bags, down the side of the building.

To the right of the dark building, down a side alley, are my husband and about 20 other brave souls!

We joined the line. We were warmly dressed and had a folding chair to sit on. We took turns (leave your space in the line and lose it). It was shivering cold and perhaps pneumonia will be the outcome, but gradually I found ways to keep warmer. One was to clutch my pillow (brought in case I wanted to sleep) to my core, another was to remember that your head is responsible for most heat loss (I discovered a hood in my jacket) and best of all, a cup of hot tea from a nearby Tim Hortons and a pack of jumbo raisins from home.

Me, huddled under my newly discovered hood, trying to keep warm!

We had lots to do as we waited … the high school my husband attended was just across the way and there was a clear sky with great views of Orion and the planet Venus. At about seven, there was a wonderful, warming sunrise.

The mood in the line was good and it was fun to listen to the passionate discussion of Nintendo, games won and lost, adventures undertaken.

A cheer went up when the store folk came out to say there were products available for everyone in line (there was some doubt)! This was followed by another buzz of excitement when the store passed out tickets to each person in the line.

The green ticket, first reward for our wait …

Then the line closed up and my husband went into the store to buy the game system.

A happy group, in the line-up to get their game systems, after four or more hours waiting in the cold and dark … my husband is inside, paying for our new Super Nintendo Classic Mini …

The reward for our wait? Besides the game system and a gift for my son’s upcoming birthday, we had a great McDonald’s breakfast and the warmth of our home to return to. Also, an unusual adventure. It’s interesting how you go from ‘no knowledge’ to ‘expert’. I can now write the Survivors Guide to Standing in Line!

Copyright 2017 Jane Tims