At one time in my career, before I became the host of The Tonight Show , I was on the road at least 300 days a year. In fact, I was the country’s third most frequent flier and was given an award by American Airlines for racking up so many miles — which I’m proud of . I’m less proud of the fact that in my early days as a comedian on the road, I had a little trick I would do in order to preboard the plane. I would limp up to the check-in counter so that I could be one of the first to board and take an overhead compartment for my carry-on luggage. One time, a sweet lady in a wheelchair said, “Go ahead, Dearie. You seem to be in a lot more pain than me.” Boy, did I feel terrible. I felt like the guy who put on a dress to get into one of the Titanic’s lifeboats. It was horrible, and it put an end to my scam.
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