I'm not the only freak.

On Saturday morning, I waited in line to buy A Prairie Home Companion tickets for the May 31 performance here in Las Cruces. Technically, I formed the line. (The sole person ahead of me was just a point.)

I showed up at 6:15 a.m. for the 10:00 ticket opening. The woman ahead of me said she had been there since 5:30. I had briefly thought of camping out overnight but quickly scotched that idea. First, I hate camping. Second, there would be no restrooms accessible. Third, I'm sure that concrete would be even harder to sleep on than dirt. Besides, I now have the pride of saying I was there so early, with none of the shame of being the first freak in line who had been there how long.

I was surprised how few people showed up early for tickets. Until 9:00 a.m., there was, at most, a dozen of us. Well, not counting the Jehovah's Witnesses who were holding their semi-annual gathering at the Pan-Am Center. "Darn," I thought, walking to the building at 6:15, "Look how many people are here already -- but why are they all wearing suits?"

I had a pleasant discussion with the woman ahead of me about the city council, and the man who lined up, with his wife, after me is a retired philosophy professor from University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Then there was the man who is on the board of the Fountain Theatre and also contributes on occasion to the Las Cruces Bulletin. The woman after him contributed how she had been to every gay bar in Salt Lake City and that there finally is a store in El Paso where you can buy whitefish. It's interesting how diverse a group of white people can be. I appreciated having my chair to sit on, but I didn't need the book I brought after all.