Friday, July 15, 2005

So It Begins

My husband arrived at his bookstore a little before 7 this morning to find a young man, about 18 or 19, sitting on the sidewalk by the front door. He had been there since 11:45 the night before and had kept himself awake by drinking copius amounts of Mountain Dew. I don't even want to think about what he did when Nature called. He told my husband that he had spent the night there because he wanted to be first in line to get a numbered bracelet for tonight. He had to wait until 9 when the store opened to get his bracelet, but he was at the head of a line of 150 people. People are worried they will not get a book. My husband's store has around 2,000 copies of the book to sell. He's sure everyone will get a book since at the last Harry Potter party they sold 800. The local news reported this morning that someone offered a bookseller in Stillwater, a town not far from here, $100 dollars to sell him the book early. No dice. The man left empty handed and will have to return at midnight like everyone else. And all this over a book. It brings a smile to my face every time.