Come Fly With Me--Now, Dammit

Contrary to what sources in my family might say, I am a good traveler. Yeah, yeah--everyone thinks they're a good traveler, but really, I am. At 6 months old I handled a move from California to Colorado without a hitch, and it's been that way ever since. I truly enjoy traveling, I always pay attention during the on-board safety briefing, and the idea of eating exotic food doesn't scare me. I keep track of my boarding pass at all times. I know how to pack a bag that won't give me back strain. Most important, I am flexible--so crucial when traveling. In fact, there's only one thing that I truly consider set in stone: Getting to the airport/train station/boat on time.

(At this point, my sister would like to offer her opinion that, "She's not flexible about this; she's fanatical." To which I say, "Go get your own blog.")

Part of this, I admit, stems from the fact that I hate (HATE) to be late. Anywhere. And being late to the airport...no. Never. We're not talking a city bus, where it might take 20 minutes to get another ride. We're talking maybe hundreds of dollars more for another ticket, IF you can even get one. How serious am I about this? The first time I watched the TV show "Airline," I nearly had to turn it off. I was getting so tense at the sight of all those people missing their flights, my fists were clenched.

As you might know, The Boyfriend and I will be headed down south for a little trip this week. Family wedding, plus the chance to introduce him to multiple relatives whose names he will immediately forget. (It's not him; it's just the way of things.) So far, we've been book-compatible, kitchen-compatible, etc. We get along in pretty much every way. But we've never traveled before, and I had been curious about our "travel compatibility." Yes, it sounds silly, but I have a list of "going-to-get-there-someday" places in my head, and I figure he'll be along for many of those trips. At least, that's what I thought until this discussion Monday night.

The plan is for both of us to leave work Thursday and meet at the airport. Again with the hating to be late, I have already checked the airline's Website and verified that we can check in online the night before, print out our boarding passes, etc. That way, we don't have to try to meet at the ticket counter area. We can both go straight to the gate and meet there.

Him: Oh. I guess. I was going to come home anyway, get my luggage, and then go to the airport.

Me: (little bubbles of worry) Whaaat?

Him: I don't want to take my luggage with me to work. I'll get to the airport about 5:30.

Me: (trying to stay calm despite big, exploding bubbles of worry) But...that's...when they board the plane.

Him: It's like a 6:10 flight. I think they board 20 minutes ahead of time. Maybe I'll stop by the bookstore... [where he used to work].

Me: (fists tightening, breath getting shorter, panic setting in) Uh...OK...But, honey, I'm not really sure there will be time...

At which point I wondered A) Just how long I was legally/socially obligated to wait for him at the gate; B) How the heck this massive, irreparable difference between us hadn't come up before; and C) How we were ever going to get to Budapest if we couldn't manage a quick cross-country trip.

Sometimes I overdramatize.

A few minutes of talking revealed that he doesn't want to take his good clothes in his duffel bag because they'll get wrinkled. And he doesn't want to take a suitcase to work. So--compromise. His good clothes will go in my carry-on, he'll take his bag to work, and (please please God) he won't miss his flight.

It's either that, or toss him in the bag, keep him at my office all day, and stow him in the overhead bin. Whatever it takes.

Comments

[Reverend H.L. Spork]

If it were only that simple...

[Teri]

Between the security lines and the fact that they sometimes board you early, getting to the airport at 5:30 is good if you're flight's at, like, 8:00.

[Myke]

True Stories To Scare People Nervous About Missing A Flight

A friend of a friend (okay, it was really me) was flying from St. Louis to Anaheim for a business trip. On arriving at the airport for a 2pm flight, they found that their flight was really at 9am. They had misread their itinerary - their *returning* flight in 4 days was at 2pm. And there were no more flights to Anaheim that day! [1]
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In December 2001, someone (hah! me again!) was flying to some small airport in east Tennessee for a one-day business meeting. This someone arrived over an hour early for their morning flight - and found approximately half of St. Louis standing in a line that showed no signs of moving. It seems the new security procedures still had a few kinks to work out. It was too late to make the flight! [2]

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To put your mind back at ease:
[1] American booked me as standby on a nearly-full flight to LA instead. I went to the gate, and it turned out I knew the gate agent, who made sure I was the first standby on the flight. I missed the afternoon's meetings but they were probably boring anyway.
[2] The original flight connected through Pittsburgh. The airline put me on a flight that left an hour later but went through Charlotte instead. I had time to get my shoes shined and still arrived in Tennessee at the same time as my co-workers from St. Louis.