Most people miss their plane reservations by getting to the airport too late. At that point they are relegated to that awful "Standby Position."

Last week my wife, Lorraine, and I missed our plane by getting to the airport 24 hours too early.

Let me explain:

After a visit to my daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren in San Diego, CA, we were going to take the famous "Red-Eye Flight" home to New York. It was a terrific visit and we truly re-acquainted ourselves with the kids. I watched two of their soccer games and, fortunately, both of the teams were victorious. It was a real high.

After a multitude of kisses, hugs and "when will we see you guys again?" we were driven to San Diego Airport by my son-in-law. The flight was due to take off at 10 p.m. on a Sunday. We were supposed to arrive at 6 a.m. on that Monday. Monday, we realized, would be a dragging day because we would be dead tired from flying all night. It takes its toll.

We made sure not to drink too much regular coffee before the flight, so we could try to sleep while the plane crossed over the entire continental USA.

The shock came when I handed the check-in attendant my tickets. He looked for my name on the list of passengers and said, "Mr. Greenberg, you are not on my list!" "You must be kidding!" I retorted. "You are 24 hours too early. Your flight leaves tomorrow at the same time. You can try Standby reservation, but that is the best we can do for you. Now the flight is completely booked!" were his last words.

I had seen people waiting on standby lines many times and I always felt sorry for them. Now we were among the displaced persons, eagerly, hopefully, waiting for someone not to show so we could take their seats.

We had three hours to take off time and we sat patiently watching people arrive for the flight. At first the crowd was small and slowly it began to grow larger with more waiting passengers. Our hopes faded as groups of three and four arrived.

It was hoping against hope! Even our baggage was marked with those awful words, "Standby Position."

Not to drag out this horrible story, we didn't make the premature trip back home. We could not blame the airline, "It was my fault." I proclaim it for all the world to hear. "It was my fault." I read Sunday for Monday and it didn't work out well at all."

Retrieving our luggage and a taxi ride back to our hotel (which welcomed us open-heartedly) was the end of the experience.

Being too early does not always bring a successful conclusion.

Remember that all you Early Birds. In the immortal words of King Kong "Gotta catch a plane".

P.S. As of this writing we are safely back in New York.