By Jeffrey Felshman
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A couple weeks ago my older son asked if I’d take him, his brother, and two of their friends to the Woodfield Mall on the morning of April 1. They wanted to go to an event called Pokemon 2000 Stadium Tour. I said OK, but a few days later I thought: Pokemon 2000 Stadium Tour at Woodfield Mall? On April 1? This must be some kind of terrible joke.
We reached Woodfield just after the starting time of 10 AM, entered near the J.C. Penny, and tromped down the corridor in the direction of Marshall Field’s. None of us knew where the tourney was being held, but instinct led us in the right direction. One of the kids said Penny’s would never hold this event. Neither would Field’s, another countered. We were directly outside a store that would: Wizards of the Coast.
Outside, people were lined up four and five abreast. We walked east along the edge of the line with a growing sense of disbelief: we still couldn’t see the end. “It’s like army ants,” said one of the kids. Another one corrected him: “Army ants move.”
“You haven’t seen the line, right?” He hadn’t. “You’re going to be here a while,” I said. “Have fun.”
