Entertainment shows are popular at the clubhouse. Lines form to buy tickets. Popular shows sell out fast, making tickets hard to come by.

Our HOA (Homeowners’ Association) and “It’s Showtime” group provide entertainment for residents in my active adult community. New shows come out every month: tribute shows, game shows, plays performed by residents….the list is practically endless! The community calendar always boasts upcoming events and ticket sale dates.

On Friday morning, one such event announcement caught my eye. It was a murder mystery dinner—Agatha’s Comedy Murder Mystery Theater.

Murder. Good food.

Life doesn’t get any better than that.

The clubhouse opens at 6 a.m., but everyone knows that you’ll miss the boat if you’re not in line well before then. You see, I learned that from bitter experience. My wife Mary Ann wanted to go to the same show last year, but I didn’t get there early enough to buy tickets. I was not going to make the same mistake this year.

Well, my friend Gordon asked me if I was going to get tickets. I agreed to buy tickets for him and his wife. Here, there’s a limit of ten tickets per resident. After speaking with my friend Brenda, I found out that she was planning on going early to buy tickets for her husband and some friends. Like a Good Samaritan, I offered to buy her 6 tickets and my 4 to make a table of 10.

No pressure.

The Early Bird Gets the Worm…and the Tickets

I set my alarm for 3 a.m. and laid out my clothes. Then I prepped my breakfast, premade my coffee, and grabbed a flashlight. I was ready to roll.

Surely I would be first at 3 a.m., right? 

Wrong!

In fact, a lady who’s apparently always first in line claimed the first ticket—at 2:30 a.m.!

At 3:10 a.m., I pulled my car into a parking spot under the yellow security lights. The program coordinator gave me a pink piece of paper with the number 6. My car seat reclines more than I imagined. The head pillows I brought came in handy, as well as my thermos full of coffee. I relaxed but didn’t sleep. It didn’t matter.

Time went fast.

Some helpful items to bring:

1. Coffee. In the immortal words of Lorelai Gilmore: “I can’t stop drinking the coffee. I stop drinking the coffee, I stop doing the standing, walking, and words-putting-into-sentence-doing.”
2. Breakfast. My grumbly tummy was very grateful I remembered to bring some food.
3. Laptop (or Kindle). I brought my Kindle and caught up on my reading while I waited. Kindles are a necessary defense against boredom.
4. Book. Or you could go old-fashioned. It was dark out, so I didn’t want to have to fool with my flashlight. But if you’re someone who likes to hold your words, bring a book.
5. Ear pods for listening to music or podcasts. I had mine in while I read. Nothing like some good tunes to make the time waltz on by.
6. Pillow and blanket. Good for relaxing.
7. Comfortable clothes. See point number six for explanation.
8. Ear plugs. Listen. There are Morning People. Dyed-in-the-wool early risers who actually LIKE to get up early. Who, in fact, are the most alert in the early hours. Alert people talk. People chattering before the sun is even awake is the chemical equation for annoyance. Trust me on this one.
9. Sleep mask. If you want to sleep away the boredom, make sure you bring a sleep mask to block out the light.

Is There a Better System For Ticket Sales?

Some say this is crazy getting up that early. Some may ask if is there a better system to handle ticket sales.

Apparently, the team looked into online ticket sales. Sadly, there are astronomical processing fees. Not to mention, many residents don’t even have internet access. The previous system we used was to get there early and come back at 5 p.m. to get your tickets, pretty much absorbing your whole day. All in all, the current system works pretty well.

Would I get up that early again for ticket sales? 

Yes, if it was something I really wanted to see. For most events, especially those with shows on two days, arriving that early isn’t necessary. Some events don’t sell out and are even open to the friends of residents. We’ve been to many shows and have never been there earlier than 7 a.m. We’ve rarely missed out on getting tickets. It just depends on how popular the group is and how many shows they’re doing.

*Special thanks to It’s Showtime for volunteering their time and efforts to bring these wonderful entertainment events to us.