Going Up?…

Note to self…Don’t try to stop a closing elevator door.

Why, you may ask? Well….I’ll tell ya. I am currently in New Hampshire giving a presentation. I’m staying at a hotel I stay at a lot when I’m in the area. It’s a nice Fairfield Inn.

As with all hotels there are usually several groups staying and generally several seminars. That is the case here.

And, my tale begins. I step onto the elevator with another gentlemen, we do the mandatory head nod and we press our respective floors.

The doors start to close. In fact, the door looks shut, when out of the blue the doors reverse their direction and open. In steps a group of men who decided it would be best to stop the closing door in order to get on the car. Generally this would not be an issue. In fact, I’ve done that a few times myself. Stick you hand in, activate the bumper, and the door opens.

Ah….not this case. Apparently this time the door decided to get confused. We all get on. It’s a small car with six men on board. The doors close….almost. The door gets within 2 inches of closing and stops.

Then nothing.

The floors are lit up and the car doesn’t move.

That’s fine, just press the door open button, right? No dice. The doors are lock. The car is stuck. We are not going anywhere.

Why is it when you are suddenly stuck in a confined place that makes you have to suddenly pee?

So…we go through the required button press sequence. Yep…pressing “2” over and over really does not change anything. We finally give in and lift the little emergency phone and ask for help.

The response?

“Okay….the fire department has been called.”

The fire department? Seriously? Ugh. How about the building maintenance dude? Or someone with an over ride key?

Ten minutes later we hear the all too familiar squawk of a rescue radio as the firemen walk into the lobby. They evaluate the situation and ask the manager on duty for the over ride key. What do we hear?….

“We don’t have one.”

That was the end of that. We all started to laugh. Yep, the hotel does not have a key to the elevator. Humor is a great stress reliever. From there the jokes started flying.

“How about the jaws of life?”

“What would John McLane do in a situation like this?”

“Anyone have a Leatherman? How about a hole saw?”

“Where’s the hatch?”

And on, and on. Now, mind you a few of these guys still have to pee. Now, they are laughing to the point of tears. Knowing they are trying to keep their bladders in check only added to the humor of the situation. We are truly a deranged species.

We get an update from the fireman outside the doors. They had to call a repair man to come in….from Boston.

Thirty minutes of jokes, confined space antics, and trying not to think of M.Night’s movie “Devil“, the repair man shows up. He has  a key and 14.7 seconds later the doors open and we all exit.

Yep. life is a funny thing. One moment your an observer and the other you are in the center of the action. I guarantee this event, in one shape or another, will make its way into a story sometime. Experiences are good things. Try not to take them too seriously and store them away in your notebook. They are truly golden.

So, the next time you have to ride an elevator you may want to stop by the restroom before heading up.