I had a meeting Tuesday in New Jersey, a demo for one of our important partners. On Monday night I packed up my laptop and accessories and placed them by the door. I laid out my clothes so that I’d be ready to go when the alarm went off. I climbed into bed early, told Kelly good night, and promptly blinked out, not even remembering her turning out the light.
The next thing I know, Kelly’s waking me up. “Weren’t you supposed to be leaving right now?”
Yikes! I never turned my alarm clock on! It was ten minutes to takeoff of my flight and I was still in bed!
I jumped out of bed, raced through a shower and shave, and flew out the door with a handful of breakfast Kelly had made me. On the way, she gave me alternative flights by telephone. I arrived at the airport just as a Continental 737 was climbing through the sky: my flight.
Fortunately, though, there was another flight to Newark just 30 minutes later. I parked, went through security, and hoofed it down to the Contiental gates at the far end of the terminal. While I was at security, I heard an announcement looking for two missing Continental passseners on the next flight. The gate agent assumed I was one of those passengers but quickly waved me on when I showed her my ticket. I settled into my seat and tried to settle down, too. But I was on my way!
I arrived at my meeting with plenty of time to spare. The partners weren’t even there yet. In short, no one knew just how crazy my travel had been to get there.
Never underestimate the value of getting there by the skin of your teeth. That is, as long as you get there!
