Hickory is a college town too. I took a commercial flight out of there once, and somehow got the shotgun (copilot) seat on a twin screw turboprop. It was a cold, foggy day. While taxiing, the pilot being a joker, says to me, "Tell me when we get to the runway." Yeah, right. LOL. Circa 1979.
My better commercial airline story is "Pocahontas Airlines" in Iowa. 7 pax, 6 seats, "you're small, mind riding with the luggage?" Des Moines to Spencer.