I arrived in Denver at 11:40pm Colorado time last night and did not have hotel reservations for the night because the hotel the Convention is at only had rooms for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. So my plan was to get off the plane, get my bags and go to the hotel courtesy phones and call the nearest hotel where I figured I would crash for the night and wake up fresh and ready to welcome my fellow Conventioneers. The first hotel I called was full, and so was the second – and so was the third. By the time I got to the last hotel in Denver and they told me they were all booked up – I realized that I had a dilemma. I was in a state I had never been in before where I did not know anyone in the middle of the night with nowhere to go. Exhausted and out of options, I realized there was only one thing I could do – spend the night in the airport.

While the idea may have been insane – I had no other choice. So I grabbed my bags and sat down at a bench near some security guards – because being from New York – I was afraid I was going to wake up with no luggage. The security guards told me I could not stay near them, but there was a lobby where I could rest if I needed to. So I thanked them for their “hospitality” and headed for this lobby.

When I got to the lobby, I was amazed to discover that I was not the only one who had the same dilemma. There were at least two dozen other people that were sleeping all over the lobby. Some on benches, some who were lucky enough to get couches – and some on the floor. So I found myself a bench, used my belt and a suitcase strap to tie all of my luggage together – and proceeded to try and go to sleep.

I have to admit that this was one of the oddest experiences I have ever lived through. Sleeping outdoors in a public space with no privacy and dozens of strangers around me was something I never did before – and was kind of afraid to do. But again – I had no other choice and I for sure was not going to stay awake the whole night. So after a while – I passed out.

I did wake up occasionally due to the airport announcements, the bitter Colorado cold – or the desire to check on my stuff – but all in all, I had a restful six hour night’s sleep – despite the body aches I have from the hard floor of the Denver International Airport.

I have to say that having no choice but to spend the night “on the streets” if you will has given me a new respect for the people that have no choice but to live this way every single night. After a few hours of sleeping in the freezing cold with no covers, pillow, privacy or mattress, I would have given anything for a motel room last night. So to those that live this way each and every day – my heart goes out to you, because now I know what you have to go through.

Now that my night “on the streets” is over, I have to spend even more time at the airport – but this time awake – and this time awaiting the arrival of my fellow South Park Conventioneers.

Let the Convention begin.