32 minutes and counting until the last of the firsts

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, opens in local cinemas in 32 minutes. So why am I sitting here writing this blog instead of settling into a theatre seat, the excitement churning up my guts?

No, the showings are not sold out. At least, they weren't when I checked earlier this evening. But a trip to the mall where the theatres are located was enough to convince me I can wait another day or so.

A friend and I went to the mall at about 7 p.m. today, so about four and a half hours ago, to get tickets for the first 3D screening. Then we saw the crowds. The film is showing in three screening rooms tonight and, for each one, there was already a line of people waiting in the corridor of the mall, tickets in hand.

And the lines weren't short. There must have been 150 to 200 people in each one. This is not a big city and 450 to 600 of its citizens were lined up for this film five hours before it was set to begin.

Many of them were in some sort of costume, everything from simple robes to Hogwarts school uniforms to quidditch outfits. One guy, with bright red hair, was sporting a lumpy wool sweater with a large "R" on the front, just like Ron gets every Christmas from his mother.

And they looked like they had been waiting there for a while, especially the people at the front of each line. They had folding chairs, laptop computers, blankets, card games, and lots of snacks among them. And books. Harry Potter books. Everywhere.

The Toys R Us location past which the lines snaked was smart enough to put all of its Harry Potter merchandise on a table in front of the store, tempting the fans who were waiting in line.

It was really quite amazing. I wish I had brought my camera.

But as exciting and interesting as it was, it also served to convince me that I did NOT want to go to the first showing, even if tickets were still available. I'm a Harry Potter fan, just like them, and I respect the lengths to which they'll go to enjoy this new movie.

But I just worried that, instead of being able simply to watch and enjoy the film, this excited, exuberant group of fans would be overamped and would not be able to stop itself from whispering, laughing, comparing, reacting throughout the screening, maybe even talking about the film even as it's being shown.

And that would ruin the experience completely for me. So I'll leave these early showings to this massive group of ravenous fans and I'll wait until I feel confident I'll be able to sit in a quiet theatre and just immerse myself in the sensation, the excitement of enjoying a new Harry Potter experience for the first time... one last time.

Because this is truly the last of the firsts when it comes to Harry Potter. And I don't want anything to ruin that for me.