Last night at midnight, the long awaited video game Halo 2 came out. They started selling it at midnight. I know this because my Collin rushed out to get it at midnight!

I used to go to Media Play & Independent Records for midnight releases when Christina worked here with me. But that was 2 years ago... the last CD I bought at a midnight sale was either Rob Zombie or Britney Spears. But anyway, the thought of Collin all half-asleep in line for Halo 2 made me remember when I stood in line all night for concert tickets. The one & only time.

This was about 12 years ago or so. Garth Brooks was coming to town and by this time he was HUGE. So huge in fact that we have to drop the 'h' & make it UGE! Anyway, my best friend Troy was adamant that we go even though we had already seen him twice. I had to close Fargo's that night so he would meet me there at 11pm and we would jaunt across the street to the Citadel Mall where Foley's was. Foley's was (and still is) a TicketMaster outlet.

This was the day of first come first serve in concert ticket sales instead of the number systems and the online sales they do now. When Troy & I got there at 11:20pm or so, there were already about 20 people waiting in the mall parking lot in their cars. When midnight rolled around, mall security came & told us all that we weren't allowed on the premises until 5am. Gack! 5 hours to wait? By that time, other Garth fans would be awake and ready to steal my place in line!! But, we couldn't argue so we drove across the way and parked in an apartment complex parking lot and listened to the radio.

One thing I remember about this time was that I mentioned that I wanted to hear Trisha Yearwood's "She's In Love With The Boy." Next song was "She's In Love With The Boy!" Amazed by my luck, I then told the radio that I wanted to hear "Something In Red" by Lorrie Morgan. It played next! I was shocked! I was psychically controlling the station's playlist. The next song I asked for was George Strait's "The Fireman" but my streak ended there!

Anyway...at one point, some guys talked us all into sneaking onto the mall grounds and hiding behind some bushes. We actually did it but git chased away by the ever-vigilant security. So, we decided to go across the street to I-Hop for some breakfast with about 7 or 8 of the other people that were waiting. It was obvious that Troy & I were the only ones there who were actually interested in seeing Garth Brooks. The others were scalpers. They openly admitted this.

5 am finally arrived and we ran like madmen across the parking lot. The line formed so fast I got pushed out of it and was left standing on the sidewalk, bewildered. Luckily, one of the scalpers we had had breakfast with grabbed me and put me in front of him. Troy managed to secure a spot about three people ahead of me.

Foley's didn't open until 9am. That was a long long loooonnnngggg 4 hour wait. I remember finally getting in to get the tickets and the printer broke. We got a receipt but no tickets; we had to come back later that afternoon and pick them up. Troy got pretty bad seats - we gave these to somebody that I worked with, I think. I ended up with great seats, about 10 rows up from the back of the stage. They weren't so hot for Martina McBride, who was the opening act, because it was her first major concert EVER and she was scared and never moved from in front of the microphone. Garth, however, was all over the stage and put on a great show.

That was the last concert that they allowed people to wait in line like that for, I think. After that they started the lottery thing. But at least I got to experience it once in my life!

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