Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Musings On An Elevator



Yesterday I was reading a short story--well, more like a novella--that was so clever and thought-provoking, I mulled over the plot well after I'd finished the story.  This isn't a book review, but let me give you the gist, dear readers:

Guy is in the elevator, girl shouts to hold the door.  As she rushes in, she drops her phone, her purse slips, her hair covers her face, the elevator door closes.  Neither person has gotten any kind of look at the other and as the elevator starts to drop, it abruptly jerks to a halt and everything goes pitch dark. The kicker?  The guy is afraid of the dark. Course, over the hours they're stuck, we learn why he's claustrophobic, but I loved the twist that she was the calming influence.

Basically, the whole tale takes place in the dark, in the elevator.  They told each other things that normally--in the light of day--they never would have revealed; secrets and fears, sadness and joy. And all without knowing what the other person looked like; no preconceived notions based on what they could see--just two voices in the small, enclosed space. It was a great premise. And a really good story.

So, after I was done reading, I couldn't stop thinking about how this couple got to know each other, sight unseen, when most likely they never would have met or had a conversation otherwise.  She was sort of high-powered exec, he was an EMT, but tattooed and pierced, and yet they had so many things in common.

How often do people disregard or judge others based on how they look?  All. The. Time. Every single moment.  Imagine the people we don't get to know, the stories we never share, the lives that will never touch ours...because of what we see in another--or think we see.

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On an entirely separate note, though still elevator-related, a memory was brought back to life by the story...

When I was a senior in high school, I had a most vivid and horrifying nightmare.  I can recall it just as clearly now:

I was going to the dentist.  His office was downtown, on the twelfth floor (as in real life). I got into the elevator with a woman and a baby in a stroller.  We got to the tenth floor and the elevator slammed to a stop, jolted up and down, then began to fall.  I will never forget that feeling, or the look of shock and terror on that woman's face.  I woke up just before the crash, my stomach in my throat, my body in a lurching arrhythmia of imminent death.

Two months later, I had a dentist appointment.  I stared at that elevator door.  When it opened, I couldn't force myself to step in.  Shaking, I turned away and took the stairs.  For years after--truly, years--I refused to take an elevator beyond the tenth floor.

In the world of dream interpretation, I still haven't figured that one out...

8 comments:

  1. I actually love the premise of this plot. Sounds very intriguing.

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    1. It really was a great story; funny and sad and heartwarming and yes, intriguing...

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  2. My goodness, so true. It is a strange and frustrating thing to navigate both whom we judge and how we are judged. My 13 year-old son (who is six foot five) recently wanted to dye a streak of his longish blond hair purple. Thus began a frank discussion about what that color can often represent and he needed to be sure he was ready to deal with any accusations of homosexuality--if he could handle it, I was all or it. (we've had issues with all three of my boys being bullied over the years) He had 24 hours to decide. He thought it over and we dyed it the next day....so far so good. :) I want my sons to be individuals, but we must live in the world we do. *sigh*

    However, I too love the idea of this plot--it really mirrors what we do here, doesn't it? Within this anonymous screen world where we could be anyone.....

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    1. The hard part about being an individual is standing up to the herd mentality. I've spent most of my life singing my own song...and oh, the people I've met and the places I've been--I wouldn't change a moment of it. So, yeah, go Team Purple!! ;D

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  3. I am a firm believer that a judgment based purely upon appearance is a sickness, despite the fact we are indeed such visual creatures.

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    1. So many people don't look beyond the surface of a person and just believe that what they see is the truth without any basis in fact. With my Buddhist tattoos, I've been on the receiving end of that bias a time or two...

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  4. I don't like elevators and take the stairs whenever possible. This annoys my family to no end, but after they got stuck in one that broke down for an hour they started seeing things my way.

    The story reminds me of my guy. We talked on the phone for almost a year via work before we actually met in person. He has a voice like Russell Crowe, so I was expecting a big dark gladiator type; imagine my surprise when he turned out to be a tall, skinny blond surfer dude. :)





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    1. And there's another thing, a voice on the phone! I used to imagine how all kinds of people looked behind the voice, and was NEVER right... ;D

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