I think everyone has lost their marbles. Eliot and I went to the Apple store on 59th Street and Fifth Avenue last night to see how many people were in line for the iPhone 5 that was set to go on sale this morning at 8am. We were walking home from Broadway where we saw the play “Grace” starring Paul Rudd, Michael Shannon and Ed Asner. Excellent, go see it. The story unfolds backwards. Anyway, we had the opportunity to witness all of the commotion first hand.

At first we thought no one showed up. There were rows of barricades that looked empty. Not so. When we got closer we saw that everyone was lying down on the floor with their pillows, blankets, folding chairs, knapsacks, and of course, electronic paraphernalia. Everyone was under 40. No one over 50 would ever be insane enough to camp out for nine days to buy a piece of tech equipment. I know a few women who would stand in line that long if Hermes was discounting some of their handbags, but that’s about it.

Apple had the entire glass cube draped in black you couldn’t see inside. I can really understand why many Apple customers enjoyed the wait because it like a Woodstock happening. They get to tell everyone from now on that they were the first of a few hundred to buy the iPhone 5 and recount all of the experiences they had, and who they met. The entire concourse of the Apple store was crowded with print and broadcast press. Everyone who was camped out got interviewed at one point.

When we arrived, a bunch of ladies who lunch were talking to the first few guys on line. I thought that was a bit peculiar but I guess they were as curious as we were. Both 59th Street and Fifth Avenue had FOX, NBC, CBS and ABC satellite TV trucks lined up ready to do interviews for the 11PM news and then again when the doors opened at 8am. I overheard one of the women asking the first few in line what they were going to do with the iPhone 5’s once they got them and the best answer they had was, “show it off to others.”

I took a video of the scene but it was very dark, so you are going to have to focus to see what was going on. I have to admit the backdrop of the lights from the Plaza Hotel and Bergdorf Goodman did provide for an exciting and energized ambiance. I hope the iPhone 5 was worth the wait.