I have returned to the north side of the border. The trip took all night, and I was supposed to keep the driver, Ray, awake. I think I drifted off a couple of times, but I was mostly paying attention to the Robert Ludlum novel that was playing on the stereo. Anyway, back to the Colbert thing.

We waited for a while, and eventually it became clear that there was a group of five people in the regular line who were having a problem. The person for whom the reservation was under wasn't there yet. They were taken out of the regular line and told that they would be put back once reservation-guy showed up. Time started ticking, and it became clear that if reservation-guy didn't show up, Brent and I would be let in (with another three people from the stand-by line). They tried calling him, and kept insisting that he hurry. The guy with the slipboard finally asked us for our ID and we were in the regular line. Interestingly, the five kept calling reservation-guy, telling him to hurry up or they wouldn't be let in. I guess the Colbert people didn't tell them it was a lost cause.

There was a metal-detector, so we had to get all of our metal ready. I actually had a crapload of change (after buying stamps from a machine and getting 17 American loonies. I'm calling these Sacajaweyas, but maybe that's not what they're called. I hate that the Americans haven't taken to using these things more regularly. One dollar bills are ridiculous). We went through the metal detector and stood around like anxious cattle in a small waiting area. We were slowly let into the Colbert set. We were among the last in.

We stepped trhough the large double doors into the holy land. The big "C"-shaped desk stood proudly. The wall of mementos, including pictures of House, M.D. and Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. The most striking item was a recently-acquired vibranium relic. Stephen had just been bequeathed Steve Rogers's most precious item: Captain America's shield. We made our way to the right side of the audience, providing us with a fine view of the interview area, but a so-so view of the desk. I sat on the stairs and Brent sat in the last of the chairs. I didn't mind, though I felt pretty short.

A stand-up comic came out to warm us all up. He was pretty darned funny, especially considering the largely-improvised nature of his material, commenting on members of the audience and asking questions. He also told us about a couple of Colbert moments during previous Q+As. One time, a black member of the audience stood up and asked him "Are you my daddy?", to which he immediately responded "Khareem?". Funny stuff. We also got to see the Eagle's Nest, where Stephen Jr. will be staying should he ever wish to return from British Columbia (though why anyone would want to leave Canada is beyond me).

Finally, the man himself appeared. More on that in my next post.