I know it's only my third posting, but I'm going off topic. We will get back to musings on midlife another time. For today I have to address something of importance. Think of it as my own Public Service Announcement.
Every weekday I travel to work via PATH train from Jersey City into the World Trade Center site, exiting up the escalators to West Broadway. I have grown accustomed to the people who need a moment before stepping onto the escalator. (I don't understand the hesitation, but I'm used to it.) I'm sure we've all seen them. They get to the bottom and then stop suddenly, eyes tightly focused on the moving stairs for a few seconds before they feel confident enough to step forward.
This morning as I approached the escalator, I saw one of the escalator-challenged. Only this time, instead of just hesitating, she was doing a mini-dance/shuffle at the bottom of the escalator. Her left foot would move left, then her right foot would follow, then both would move to the right and then left again. One part of my brain just figured "One of the hesitators, she'll only be a second" and so I kept walking towards her. The other part of my brain figured she:
-was possibly an autistic-genius, doing mathematical equations in her head, well on her way to figuring out how to create a super-powered escalator of the future, or
-was so rattled with OCD that maybe she could only climb onto steps divisible by 21, or
-was a choreographer and, once she saw the escalator, she was inspired to create a dance ("Of course, the dancers will all dance UP, it's genuis!") for a new Broadway musical
Whatever she was doing, I was convinced she would step forward and so I proceeded, until finally I had to stop short to avoid bumping into her. And that's when it happened. I was part of a collision. An escalator collision. Because the woman behind me didn't stop and collided into me, causing me to collide into the math genius/OCD rattled/choreographer. The MGOCDC got pushed onto the escalator (where she landed on a step just fine), I got pushed onto the step just behind her and the woman from behind me stepped onto hers. It was all very dramatic considering we were just getting on an escalator.
I have 2 things to say about this: First, in our world filled with overly busy schedules, cell phones, Blackberries, etc, it's often a good idea to slow down a bit and notice the things going on around you. And secondly, to all those who might have been looking forward to the quick ride of that super escalator or sitting down to the joys of the Broadway-bound "Escalator: The Musical!", they've been temporarily slowed down in their creation. But please don't blame me. The woman behind me was totally at fault.
2 comments:
that's funny. but how do you have a accident on an escalator?
This, as is you usual style, is very funny, although it is at the expense of the women who was experiencing her first ever escalator ride. You, who experience this momentous occasion every day seem to have taken for granted the "miracle" of escalators.
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