I was supposed to be on the plane at 4:40 AM. That was the final boarding time for my flight to Dallas, the first leg of a day trip to get to Wisconsin to see my brother and his family.

I awoke at 3 AM to get to the airport, 2 hours after I had went to bed that night.

At 4:40 AM, I was still in line at the airline counter because I was checking a suitcase for the first time in probably 15 years.

When I finally reached the counter, the small young agent girl told me my flight was closed.

“What does that mean?”

“You missed your flight.”

Having never faced the situation before, I panicked inside briefly, and then asked her where I went from there.

“Let me see what next flight is going to Dallas.” She worked on the keyboard for a long while, the long line of other early morning travelers eager to get to their flights on my mind.

“The next flight from here to Dallas is 8:15. I can put you on stand-by for that.”

What did that mean?

“You’ll need to go to the flight’s gate and talk to the agent there at boarding, and see if you can get one of the flight’s extra empty seats.”

What ensued for the rest of the day was a tragicomedy of stand-by experiences.

I was third on the list in Albuquerque to get on the flight to Dallas, and the gate attendant kindly said I’d make it and she’d let me know when I had a seat.

After three hours of sitting and waiting, I was off to Dallas.

When I arrived in Dallas, the next flight I could be set up on for stand-by to go to the next stop on my sojourn to Wisconsin was Chicago, and the wait for that flight was 6 hours.
On no sleep, I reread each page of the novel I had brought with me, trying to fill the time with a story. It wasn’t working very well. I mostly wanted to sleep.

I ate lunch, walked up some stairs to take the SkyRail elevated shuttle from one concourse to another several buildings away, took some photos in the airport buildings, sat, read, tried to sleep, tried to stay awake, walked, and got some coffee, waiting for boarding of the flight to Chicago.

I finally sat in the boarding area and the agents began the boarding process. I was on a visible list of stand by passengers. I talk to an agent at this gate, and she told me the flight was pretty full, but I had a good chance to make it. i was sixth on the list.

The plane began loading. Groups were called and admitted to the plane. And my name on the stand-by list began to fall. 7. Then 9. Then 11. 12.

And I felt desperation and anxiety. What if I missed the flight?

When all groups were called, the agents turned to stand-by passengers. The names of a group of 4 were called. And then 2 more. Names were marked off the list on the screen. I wasn’t going to make it. The boarding area looked empty. No one else was waiting to board.

“Welton, William”, an agent read into the overhead from a screen. A reprieve! Hope returned! I was on the plane! I texted my brother and shared the good news.

Off to Chicago.

In Chicago, I had a little less time to wait for the stand-by drama again. I walked through O’Hare from one concourse to another, and to my connecting gate.

The plane was a puddle hopper, and it was full. I was number three on this list this time.

With anxiety, I waited as the plane went through the loading routine. And then it was time for stand-by’s.

The agent took up the handset and spoke the overhead announcement. “This flight to La Crosse is full, and the flight is closed.”

What did that mean? My luck seemed to have run out. I felt sadness and despondence briefly replace the anxiety. I texted my brother with the news. I felt bad. He and his son were in La Crosse waiting to pick me up.

“See if another airline is coming to La Crosse tonight”, he texted. Nope.

Ready to give up, I was sure I’d sleep on the airport floor, or hoof half the night looking for expensive lodgings near the airport to try and get something in the morning.

He thought.

“See if there is another flight to Madison tonight.”

I was tired and frustrated and bummed.

“Ok.”

I checked a list of flights on a video screen and there was a flight from Chicago to Madison still leaving later in the evening.

I walked from the wing I was in to another nearby wing to talk to the agents managing that flight. No one was at their station yet, so I backtracked until I saw a woman quietly working at a station in an empty boarding area up the way, and I approached her and asked her if I could try and get on the Madison flight.

She looked it up, and then printed me a stand-by pass for that flight. “It looks pretty open for stand-by.”

I thanked her and walked back to the boarding area for the Madison flight, and a boarding agent for that flight was there. I approached her and asked her my chances of getting on the flight as a stand-by passenger. She took my stand-by ticket and exchanged it for a boarding pass. “This flight will not be full.” Done.

I texted my brother the great news, and he said they were on their way to Madison. They would arrive about the time my flight would land.

And I got on the flight to Madison after 10 PM, some 18 hours after I set foot in the airport in Albuquerque.

I felt bad. I had biffed and caused this day of stand-by madness. I had sent my bro from one airport to another. He texted me and told it was okay- they were just glad I was coming. And I was glad I was on the plane of leg three.

It was after midnight Wisconsin time when we landed in Madison.

“We’re here”, my brother texted. “I’ll be out once I get my luggage.” “Okay.”

I go to the carousels in the arrival area and wait 5, 10 minutes for my luggage to appear Nothing.

Ding. Email: “Delayed Luggage Notice. We regret to inform you that your luggage did not arrive with your flight. Please talk to an agent to complete a luggage delivery request so that we can get your luggage to you.”

The agent who would complete my request at the ticketing counter was the same gal pulling uncollected baggage from the carousel. “I’ll meet you there in 5 minutes she tells me.” A report is filed.

Finally, I am in the car with my brother and his son. We leave the airport, and Madison, and transverse stretches of dark and empty roads. I fight sleep, but it wins many times at this point.

2:30 AM Wisconsin time. No luggage. But no flight change fees in a day of mishaps and tests for luck. And we arrive at my brothers home safe.

I am never happier to fall into a bed.