last night Cassandra and I along with Linda, Katie and Jay ventured to Mankato to our local (can local be 45 miles away? in rural Minnesota it can be) Barnes and Noble. We arrived around 8:20, did a bit of mall browsing and met Cassandra and Katie back at Barnes and Nobel around 9:15. They already had the wristbands needed to buy the books at midnight. So we browsed a bit, did some trivia, had our pictures taken with Harry Potter, browsed some more and near 10 decided that perhaps we should leave for a bit, since the crowds and the characters and crowds and well you get the idea were becoming a bit challenging. So we walked to Olive Garden. As we returned to Barnes and Noble we were a bit surprised to see a line (long line, very long line) outside the door. Confident since we had wristbands we didn't worry, until we neared the door and discovered so did the rest of the people in line...so to the back of the line we traveled, sigh. As we moved forward (they were allowing people in as customers exited) we wondered if we would make it inside before the book went on sale. We did, woohoo! and entered a world unlike any other...the excitement inside the store was amazing...There were people in costume...some were unbelievable in their detail. I saw a Ron wannabe complete with bright red hair. There were grandparents, babies, families and young and old adults all waiting for midnight to arrive. As it neared 12 they started to line people up according to your wristband, we were letter "H" I opted to not stand in line with the rest, (serious issues with crowds and pushy people) So I found a spot right near the checkouts ready to capture the moment when Cassandra purchased her book. I am so glad I decided to forgo the line, beside the obvious reason that at this late hour I would have been most inclined to hurt someone if they got on my nerves :) from my vantage point I watched as people began to line up at the registers, the excitement was unbelievable, the guy on the loud speaker was humorous and annoying at the same time. First they announced 5 minutes, soon it was a minute, you could feel the tense, excited mood of those waiting in line...soon the crowd picked up the countdown 5....4...3...2...1 I watched as the first book was rang up (the clerk was so excited she was shaking) . The first person to purchase the last installment of the Harry Potter books was a women in her 50's, she walked away with the book held close with the biggest grin on her face. I continued to watch people as they checked out and walked away, all with big smiles, many already reading their book as they left the store. So cool to see young and old...so cool to watch as people who had waited in line joined their families who had opted to not (like me) wait in line, I saw families, college students, and single adults leaving the line, each excited to finally have this much awaited book in their possession, the energy never dissipated. I wondered at how a book could capture such a large audience, how it was something that was a family event, and appealed to young and old alike. Soon I saw my group draw near, snapped a few pics (a note about picture quality, since I forgot my camera at home, yes I did just admit that, I had to use my camera phone not the best alternative but it certainly was better than nothing at all) amazingly Cassandra ended up at the checkout at the end which placed her right by me, serious excitement, as her turn approached I could only laugh at her, she was shaking with excitement...the clerk was equally excited and I wondered if the transaction would be able to be completed with all the excited trembling going on. Loved that moment, loved that I was able to share it with Cassandra (last year when Barnes and Noble did the prelaunch party I opted to not attend, thinking it was so late and a whole host of other excuses this year I decided to just do it, it was the last book and at least once I wanted to be a part of the launch) the pictures above are of Cassandra purchasing the book, and when we arrived home (it was1:40, that would be a.m.) She read the book the whole way home. I had stated throughout the evening that I fully intended to read the end first, since I simply did not want to read the whole book only to discover that Harry died in the end. ...that was met with horrified reactions and I was repeatedly told (lectured) as to how I couldn't do that. Ummmm you know I did, but, I only read the last few sentences, what happens? I'm not telling guess you will have to read the book yourself. :)
