Apple iPhone Mania Nears Fever Pitch

I was in the neighborhood of the Union Square Apple store here in San Francisco this evening. Earlier on Thursday, I'd read the iPhone line had already begun to form--and by the time I passed by at 7 p.m., the line was well-established.

The iPhone line was indeed a spectacle to be seen--and it was observed with many a chuckle and snide comment by passersby (some of whom were, miraculously, out of the iPhone loop and asking line sitters what they were waiting for!). By this point, the line had already taken on the festive air of Carnivale, between the clowns, the mini-golf, the gawkers, and the glare of the media cameras.

I got to wondering: So who comprised this melange of people clearly in it for the duration--and what were their motivations? And what was up with that Peepshow mini-golf?

Well, the first gentleman in line, Jerry Taylor, admitted he was there to buy two--one for himself, and one that he hoped to sell to fund the one for himself. "I'm playing with my rent money," he said.

The next person on line was was waiting in line for his boss, and planned to buy one iPhone. The third person, who declined to provide his name, planned to buy two: "One for me, and one for my personal museum."

Fourth in line? The Peepshow mini-golf brigade. Four members of this performance troupe were in line, dressed in full circus costume regalia and manning the portable, keyhole-shaped "peep show" mini-golf range.

Explained a genial woman who goes by the name Jambolina the Clown, "we do this all the time for ourselves." The troupe, which formed five years ago and began the mini-golf thing a year ago, takes the Peepshow on the road to fairs and events around the Bay Area.

The opportunity to be part of the craze here on Stockton Street was to great: After all, when else could one get away with camping out and setting up mini-golf on a San Francisco street, Jambolina noted.

"The spectacle of doing this...this is the most absurd thing," she laughs, seeming in awe of the spectacle around her. They don't want phones themselves, apparently. Said Jambolina: "I've posted on Craigslist. We're selling our spots in line to the highest bidder."

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