I'm more famous than an actor who appears on a television show watched by millions every week. Or at least I am to JetBlue employees.
Somebody high on the JetBlue corporate totem pole caught wind of my adventure with Wired.com, and sent out a bulletin complete with my picture. Now I'm finding I don't have to present my identification because everyone already knows who I am. The response has so far almost always been positive, though there have been a couple of people looking at me with that "You're an idiot" look in their eyes. Actually, that's not much different from my interactions with most people, even when I'm not planning to spend a month living in airports milking an unlimited travel pass.
Anyway, it seems some JetBlue employees have started a "Where's Brendan?" game, which is good because it means I can check "Become the subject of a scavenger hunt" off my to-do list. I'm only one day into this adventure and already I've been greeted -- twice -- as "Terminal Man." It feels kind of late-70s science-fictiony. I dig it.
My first flight took me from Austin, Texas, to Long Beach, California. I boarded the plane early so I could snap a pic with the pilot and some of the crew. As I sat down, I got a frantic text message from my wife.
"ROY JUST BOARDED YOUR PLANE!!!!" it read in all caps with all those exclamation points. She'd sent it from the terminal after seeing me off. "FROM THE OFFICE!!"
I craned my head to see around the line of people shuffling down the aisle and sure enough, David Denman from The Office was headed for seat 9D. He seemed engrossed in whatever he was watching on TV during the flight, so I didn't want to disturb him. However, I offer a blurry iPhone picture of him coming down the aisle (that's him with the beard and jacket) as incontrovertible proof that I've seen someone of relative importance on this trip. I feel so validated.
Long Beach to Oakland was less eventful, and I fit in a visit with a couple of Wired.com editors who've agreed to loan me some gear to use on the trip, a mistake they may come to regret.
Photo of David Denman of The Office, or possibly Sasquatch. Brendan Ross/Wired.com
