Waiting in Line

Well, I did something that I never thought I would do: stand in line for hockey tickets. Single ticket sales opened this morning at 9 o'clock at the Exel Energy arena (home to the Minnesota Wild NHL hockey team). This is a yearly thing and people start forming a line usually 3-4 days in advance of when the sales begin. This year was no exception. So why would I do something like this? After all my thinking has always been, what a bunch of fools. And, they're just hockey tickets. Heck you can watch most games on television. Besides, I am not a Wild fan, I follow the Detroit Red Wings. Do you see where this is going?
Our son Will and daughter-in-law, Crystal are coming to visit over the holidays. The Red Wings will be playing the Wild on Jan 3rd while they are here. What a great time to enjoy both at the same time! Knowing that tickets would be going fast (the Wild consistently sellout all of their games) there could only be one answer; Get the tickets the day they go on sale.
Having arose at 6:05 this morning, the sun still below the horizon, armed with 2 books, the newspaper, a thermos of coffee, and a collapsible chair, I headed out to the "X" (as it is known locally) to wait my turn. At 6:50 I took my place at the end of the ribbon of people, becoming the 172nd person in line or #488922 according to my wrist band (used to prevent people from cutting in line).
The crowd seemed to be eclectic, with folks from all walks of life, all focused on the same goal. Some were sitting on the ground, others standing, still others reclining on blankets or sitting in chairs. There was a smattering of tents, sleeping bags, coolers, and radios towards the head of the line. There were Wild and arena staff handing out newspapers, coffee, muffins, and decals (I do not think the one person appreciated my asking if they had any Red Wing material). The woman who tagged my wrist with my identification number had been there since 8 the previous evening.
Getting to know my neighbors (after all this was community) was fun. To my right was a former staff person from the seminary. Yes he knew who my intern supervisor was, as both had served together in Montana parishes years ago. Behind him was a mom getting tickets for her family, including her 14 year old son who had had a kidney transplant last year. Behind her was a woman and her brother. The woman had had twins 16 months ago. One of the twins was born with a hole in her heart. To my left was a women in a motorized wheelchair with MS. she had been a lawyer by trade but couldn't function in that capacity with her MS. She is now a tour guide and researcher for the Minneapolis Institute of Art. She recounted her story of how she embraced the Christian faith 5 years ago after being raised "atheist" her whole life.
By 8:45 the line began to "slinky" up, and by 10:00 I was at the ticket window purchasing the precious ducats. 10 minutes later I was back in my car on the way home. Never did get to do any reading. Didn't even finish all of my coffee. but we're set. Come Jan 3, 7PM we'll be in the "X waiting for the puck to drop, hoping like crazy that the Red Wings will prevail over the Wild.