(October 2011) The LabCorp offices are only 20 minutes from work; I think I’ll try to get over there during lunch break. As I open the tinted glass door, I come upon a room full of 40 (maybe) people sitting on plastic chairs, most of them staring blankly at a television that is tuned to a game show. There is no sound. I approach the sign-in desk. Two humongous women reside behind it. They are staring too, in their case at two computer screens. I am told that the wait is about an hour.
What in the world, I think to myself, am I doing here? It turns out that I am here to pee in a cup. This is all part of becoming a commercial pilot, a goal I set for this 65-year-old private pilot last January. I had thought that once I had passed the second-class medical and managed the ATP written, I was pretty much there, ready to get a type rating. But no, flying for a living is more demanding than that. Defeated, I turn to leave, but not before one of the staring women has given me valuable secret information: You can schedule a “pee time” online.
