Race for Southwest

Game On.

Ready…Set…Go. I bet you can beat me in getting a lower boarding pass number on the Southwest Airlines website. Everyone beats my ass….

It seems more people are taking advantage of the online feature of getting your boarding pass 24 hours in advance of your flight. So there are more of us competing; trying to beat each other to the pounce for a low boarding number.

You can almost hear the collective mad dash to our computers. There’s Larry in Lubbock …Robin from Roanoke….Cindy from Cincinnati…and let’s not forget, Zach from Zephyrhills…all sitting at their computers staring at the screen…watching the time tick down…ready to attack.

Seconds can make a big difference in what seat you end up with. If you sneeze and blink (and just try not blinking when you sneeze)…you’re sitting in the back of the plane…while good ole Zach is in Row 1 looking all smug with his Pepsi and pretzels.

Wait another ten minutes and you are flying the unfriendly skies between two big sweaty guys; one with a going problem and the other with a coughing problem AND a going problem.

Yesterday I was determined to beat the system. I didn’t leave anything to chance. I took an antihistamine, so there would be no risk of random sneezes and I sat down to my computer early……….

So I had time to practice with the clicker…working on my clicker speed…working out my trigger finger with a few finger exercises. 1 and 2 and 3 and 4. Add some more paper clips …and s t r e t c h with a couple of rubber bands.

Seconds ticked down...Game on. I ended up with boarding pass: A44. 43 people still managed to beat me and I was on top of my computer. I even practiced.

How do these people do it? Whenever I arrive at the Southwest gate for my flight …I always check out who’s first in line. I have to stop myself from going over and asking, “Do you have a life?” How is it you are able to get first in line?

They probably are the same people you see at concerts standing in prime real estate. From my seat in the stands, I look down and see the lucky ducks right there in the front row…getting showered on by Springsteen’s sweat. Not fair. I want Springsteen’s sweat too. How do people get these spots? A radio contest maybe? And please explain to me, how do you win a radio contest?

Somehow these people have mastered being Caller Number 9. I’ve tried to be Caller Number 9, but I can’t even be Caller Number 3.

I just don’t have the luck. I swear if I bought a raffle ticket…and there were only two tickets sold in the raffle…I wouldn’t win. Unless, of course, if I entered a contest to be thrown under a train….I am sure I would have the winning ticket.

Maybe that’s the ticket…forget Southwest…take the train.