Yesterday this reporter spent five hours in the Town Square Apple Store (6671 Las Vegas Boulevard). The “Genius Bar” folks were undoing recently upgraded operating system software. The upgraded system didn’t work well with another program used frequently. Apple actually took back the upgraded software disc and issued a refund.

Advised to have help undoing the upgraded software, three consecutive 15-minute appointments were made with an expert at Apple’s free “Genius Bar” (don’t you love that name?). Jim Cavalier, my genius, helped with the selection of an external hard drive to back up the files on my computer. Cavalier then uninstalled the upgrade and reinstalled the older operating system so that once again my files were visible and worked with my older program.

Knowing this would be a long process, I brought a book, “The Day the MGM Grand Hotel Burned”, by Dierdre Coakley with Hank Greenspun, Gary C. Gerard and the staff of the Las Vegas Sun. The book is quite fascinating as it tells every sad fact (85 deaths) and every heroic detail (ironworkers rescuing guests) of what happened at the former MGM Grand 30 years ago. I certainly didn’t know that at the time of the fire, Billy Graham was on a five-day crusade in Las Vegas and as a result, he was able to pray with some of the fire’s survivors who were taken to the Las Vegas Convention Center. (The fire itself is hard to imagine today, but I have an equally hard time imagining Graham trying to save five days worth of Las Vegas souls!)

In between paragraphs, I couldn’t help but note the activity in the store. We had arrived early (10:30 a.m.) clearly the right thing to do during the holidays. Even though my appointment was on a not-so-busy Tuesday, folks were constantly streaming in and out. I thought back to when the first Apple Stores opened and how the idea of a store devoted to one computer manufacturer’s product seemed rather foolhardy. Apple knew what it was doing, however. Folks of every age were buying, learning and experimenting.

My Genius Bar helper couldn’t have been nicer, even crawling on the floor to power my computer so that the new external hard drive could spill information back to the computer. By rights, I received service that is above and beyond that normally offered, but because another Apple employee had urged me to “let the folks at the Genius Bar help you”, a promise was kept.

Now about lunch. Looking in my wallet, I had $6 and a $100 bill. What could be purchased for less than $6? I opted to stop by Auntie Annie’s Pretzels. On the menu was something new, at least to me, a pepperoni pretzel with marinara sauce. The bill: less than $5. Sold. Well, hadn’t I been sitting in the Apple store for a couple hours reading about real people, not vampires? I deserved a new treat and it was…sorry, Mrs. Obama…calorie-laden and delicious!

Nearby, people were posing for photos. Town Square had erected a holiday house and a huge holiday tree. Children could run around the tree on artificial turf; family members could pose and smile. Inside the house, Santa and Mrs. Santa were available for free hugs or hugs plus photos for $22.99 and up. (Discounts, however, are available. One couple had a Groupon coupon reducing the $22.99 to $10.)

When I visited the house, I was privileged to watch a young lady who “almost” was ready for Santa.

If I were a mall shopper for the holidays (on-line is my preference), I would go to Town Square. The surroundings are lovely. Holiday music plays just enough to be heard. Santa and Mrs. Santa are there. And of course, if you want a fun cutting-edge time….there’s always the Apple Store. Hint: Come early in the day and you “may” get a parking spot somewhere other than in one of the parking garages.

Happy holidays all…..my computer programs are now up and running, and all’s right with the world.