As per my last post, i did not go to the airport early. For some reason when I checked in online it didn't print my infant boarding pass.
Left work early and got to the airport pretty early- 100 minutes to departure. Dropped my wife off to finish check in/check luggage while I dropped the car off at off site airport parking (sadly since the short term parking prices went up, I can no longer justify using valet, even with the waived valet fee)).
Goy back to the airport around T-80. Kiosk hadn't worked and DW was waiting on an line which wasn't moving. First thing I did was go to the kiosk and pay for bags and print out bag tags. Did this because that is the first excuse for them not letting you check in-can't add bags after cutoff. This would prove prescient.
Next I went to find someone who would help us cut the line. Lady said, why didn't you respond when they called your name-they were pulling people off the line. I said they never called us (learned later that they pulled the 5PM to Miami manifest but forgot about the 455 to PBI). Finally they get me an agent at T-65, 5 minutes to cutoff. Getting real nervous at this point. This is the last flight out of the day and did not want to have to come back in the morning. Lady types ferociously. At 2 minutes to cutoff, she says not to worry, I was able to print. Pulls out the boarding pass, only to realize the infant still didn't print.
It's now after cutoff and a supervisor comes over to tell me to go to ticketing. I said, no way am I missing my flight because you're incompetence. Supervisor says, even if we could get boarding pass, bags would never make the flight. I said, I don't care, I have bag tags. If they miss the flight, they'll come in the morning. She says, can't do that-security risk. I said, you know as well as I do that that happens all the time when bags miss the flight. She says those bags fly cargo (BS). I say so send my bags cargo.
While we are arguing, agent is still typing away. She sheepishly interrupts her supervisor saying she was able to print the infant boarding pass (not sure how). Convinces the supervisor to walk is through passport control -we go through the crew line. Make our flight with plenty of time (after convincing security agent to let us use nexus line even though we had a stroller.
One of my crazier flight experiences (although not my only) and a miracle we made the flight