Worthy Lines

 

    We’re bound to be in some kind of line throughout our life. One of the longest lines I’ve been in was at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. I was visiting all my cousins and relatives during my summer vacation, and my mom set a day aside to visit the Expo.

    While we were examining the Expo exhibit list, the one that popped out to me was the Future Car Show. I immediately made my decision and stubbornly stuck to it. My grandma and mom quickly agreed  because they were also fascinated by future cars.

We set off at a brisk pace, and when we found the building, there were already hordes of people waiting. The air  was stiflingly hot, only to be increased by the body heat of the “armies” of guests. The line was moving so slowly, I could hear a snail saying, “Ha! I beat you, slow pokes!” Although I brought my PSP, the sun was so brilliant all I could see was a black screen.  I soon gave up and chatted with my mom about plans for the rest of our stay.

It was all going smoothly, until about 30 minutes later, when a couple sneakily tried to cut us in line while we were busy talking. But barely anything escapes my mom’s “eagle eyes,” and they were caught red-handed. At first, they tried to bluff it through, but Mom was a spectacular arguer, and she asked the other bystanders, “Didn’t we all see that these people cut us in line?” There were loud “Yeahs,” and, “Yeses.” With that, the couple gave up and returned to their old position. When we got closer to the door of the building, I became overly excited. But, when we walked inside, there was another waiting line. Even though the line was short, it seemed to be unmoving. I started to become impatient, and finally, when I was on the verge of blowing up, a manager ushered us inside into an open theater with a wide stage.

    The show finally started and  they put on a movie. At first, I was alarmed, because our seats started to move to the motion of the future cars, which seemed to hover a few inches from the ground. After we got used to the movement of the seats, my grandma, mom, and I started to enjoy the movie. Not only did they show future cars, but they also showed advanced ways of parking, with machines lifting the cars up to their spaces in the parking lot, with a private glass chamber for each. After the movie, some of the actual future cars paraded on the stage. They had peculiar shapes, with wide windshields, throttles instead of steering wheels, and, like in the movie, didn’t have wheels and seemed to hover.

    The 45 minute show ended after the car parade. Although I had spent more time in line than I did in the actual show, I thought it was worth it. Now we have some kind of idea about what the cars could look like when I am older.  Even though my legs were tired, I wanted to see another interesting exhibit!

    Actually, from my experiences, most lines are worth waiting in.  Of course, if the activity isn’t worth waiting for, not a lot of people would go, and there wouldn’t be a line at all. So, trust me; when you see a long line for something, most likely it’s for something interesting, and it’ll be worth it, as long as you have the patience!  

Grandma, mom and I standing in front of China Pavilion