MADE IT BACK, BY THE SKIN OF MY “SWEATER TEETH”: Caught that blue SuperShuttle out to the Denver airport this morning, some three and a half hours before my flight. 2:30 PM flight! Enough time, right? Well, maybe not. Caught the shuttle at 10:55 AM. We hit up an array of downtown hotels, picking up folks here and there. Didn’t get on the big road until 12 PM. No sweat! It’s a good 30 minutes out to the airport. By the time I got dropped off, it was 12:40 PM. I whip in there and there’s a line a block long at the Delta desks. By the time I get my ticket, get checked in and start hammering towards the security gauntlet it’s 1:20 PM. Got an hour. Feeling good.

I walk in and look down at the security zone, and holy hell, it’s packed! The line went forever. So I jump in and by the time I’m through that mess, it’s well past 2 PM and time is ticking. Took a half hour. I feverishly scurry out of security, catch the concourse train and scamper down to my gate, and no shit, the agent’s doing the “Hurry up!” waving thing…as I’m pushing the 15 minutes cut off. It was 2:13 PM as I was walking on. Too close. Couple more minutes, I would’ve been left behind.

So, the lesson is this: Give yerself a half a day to get out to the Denver airport. Phew. Something like that? Such a nailbiter.