Waiting on the elevator.
Have you ever been in a tall building and stood there waiting on the elevator only to find out after a long wait that it wasn’t working? Or sometimes the elevator does arrive but it is full so you let it go and wait on another one? I know I have many times and I end up scolding myself for not taking the stairs in the first place. Truth is I am capable of walking up stairs and could use the exercise but I still find myself pushing the elevator button just because it's the easy way out or should I say “up”.
When I was very young, we visited NYC and one of the places we went was the Empire State Building. At the time it was one of the tallest buildings in the world and we wanted to go to the top just to take in the view.
When we got there however there was a very long line waiting to get into the elevator and the sign said that the wait was about an hour long. My father was very impatient and didn’t want to wait that long even though we had no place else to go. After seeing how many people were crammed into the elevator, my mother decided that she couldn’t possibly get in with that many people so she said she didn’t want to go either. She was claustrophobic.
Being a math whiz, I did some basic calculations of 2 steps per second, and 1860 total steps and figured that it should take less than 16 minutes to reach the top. I convinced my father that we could take the stairs and make it in a fraction of the time. So we started up the stairs at the two steps per second pace. However I forgot to figure in fatigue and the two steps per second turned into one per second and then less than one per second. Soon we had to rest every few floors but in the end we made it to the top in about 40 minutes. That was still an improvement and we didn’t have to get into the crowded elevator.
Metaphorically speaking, I have been taking the stairs for most of my life while I watch other people hopping on the elevator. They push that little button and the elevator just happens to show up but when I push it I just stand there waiting and it either doesn’t come or when it does come, it is already full. When I think about all the time I have wasted waiting I makes me ill. I have come to the realization that in most cases I am going to end up taking the stairs so I might as well just go ahead and do it as long as I am capable. I am not destined to ride the elevator but taking the stars isn’t that bad. Just think, when that fire breaks out, I will be ready:
Have a great day,
Greg
PS. How many people can say they "climbed" the Empire State Building? Well other than me and that big monkey.
When I was very young, we visited NYC and one of the places we went was the Empire State Building. At the time it was one of the tallest buildings in the world and we wanted to go to the top just to take in the view.
When we got there however there was a very long line waiting to get into the elevator and the sign said that the wait was about an hour long. My father was very impatient and didn’t want to wait that long even though we had no place else to go. After seeing how many people were crammed into the elevator, my mother decided that she couldn’t possibly get in with that many people so she said she didn’t want to go either. She was claustrophobic.
Being a math whiz, I did some basic calculations of 2 steps per second, and 1860 total steps and figured that it should take less than 16 minutes to reach the top. I convinced my father that we could take the stairs and make it in a fraction of the time. So we started up the stairs at the two steps per second pace. However I forgot to figure in fatigue and the two steps per second turned into one per second and then less than one per second. Soon we had to rest every few floors but in the end we made it to the top in about 40 minutes. That was still an improvement and we didn’t have to get into the crowded elevator.
Metaphorically speaking, I have been taking the stairs for most of my life while I watch other people hopping on the elevator. They push that little button and the elevator just happens to show up but when I push it I just stand there waiting and it either doesn’t come or when it does come, it is already full. When I think about all the time I have wasted waiting I makes me ill. I have come to the realization that in most cases I am going to end up taking the stairs so I might as well just go ahead and do it as long as I am capable. I am not destined to ride the elevator but taking the stars isn’t that bad. Just think, when that fire breaks out, I will be ready:
Have a great day,
Greg
PS. How many people can say they "climbed" the Empire State Building? Well other than me and that big monkey.
Comments
I agree all to often we chose to take the "elevator" in our lives when sometimes the easier choice is to take the stairs. We get to comfortable and forget there are other options for us to take.
I'm with you, while we're willing and able we should go for those stairs. :)
Have a wonderful weekend, Greg!
my legs got numb...
i wouldn't be able to do it today
i worked for BellSouth downtown in their 47-story tower and my ofc was on 46...i've waited on many an elevator and had to learn early not to get queezy...although it was definitely an adventure working up there during tornadoes ;)
whew that's a lot of steps.
Who knew the Flintstones could be so deep! lol. This might be one for those Tuesday special guests.
You climbed the Empire State Building! Wow - you and King Kong are my heros.
Kudos to you for climbing all the way to the top!