Standby

I made it here, only 3 hours later than expected. I had some doubts after I missed my first flight's check-in by 5 minutes. Who'd have thunk that they really close international check-in an hour before takeoff? They're not lying. Or at least Continental wasn't.

An odd camaraderie is built between the standby groups. You're all standing in line, wanting to be the first on the list, but everyone else has equally pitiful stories:

• The woman and her son, trying to meet up with the rest of their family on some trip to Edinburgh. The airline told them their "international team" was "tracking their trip", so she shouldn't worry about making her flight.
  
• The family of 4 whose late flight earlier caused them to miss their original flight. Instead of patiently waiting at their seats for the standby seats to be called, they determined it would be smarter to spend the next two hours standing at the desk.
  
• And, of course, the businessman who needs to make a meeting.
  

Apparently, Edinburgh is a very popular destination, at least from Newark.