Letter To A Friend

Hello my Anon Friend,

Thanks for the suggestion to do it this way. And I found my classic form again, thanks to you. The original of this will go out as a regular email because I’m not smart enough to copy it here. Too much space between the cut and paste areas maybe, and maybe I just need some practice.

I got caught up in some home grown drama a couple of days ago, but it could have been much worse. I had to go down to the office to pick up a package so went to the elevators that open into the lobby. I knew one of them was out of order and had been for a few weeks, but was hoping for te other one to come before the day was over. It arrived about half an hour after I hit the call button but there was someone on there with a large grocery cart and my power chair was too big to fit in the space she was leaving. She also informed me she wsa getting off on the second floor, so I told her to go ahead and I would take the next one. My good nature paid off this time because after a few seconds I could hear the distress alarm ringing from that elevator and knew she was stuck on it. But I also knew it meant we only had one elevator left — the freight one.

I left the now stuck main elevators and went back to the freight one. With the social distancing mandate only four people are supposed to be on that one and I made number 4. Fate stepped in at that moment and we went up instead of down, the doors opened and two more people got on. Down a few floors and stopped, this time one more got on, next stop two more. I know how sardines feel now stuck in those little cans. Finally made it to the ground floor and found the area full of people who really didn’t want to part so we could get off. Finally enough had the sense to realize we would be there the rest of the day if they didn’t move away from the door and people began exiting the elevator. I was in the back of the place and after the overcrowding let up a bit was able to turn around and leave, the last one off and the last one to use it that day. When I got off the floor of the elevator rose about 4 to 6 inches, making it impossible for anyone to get on again. One building with seventeen floors of people living here and all elevators out of commission at the same time! Shades of renovation when they shut them all down!

It normally takes about ten minutes to pick up a package and retrieve my mail so there was no need to bring any money, coat, shoes or my Kindle so I could continue reading the book I had begun earlier. No need for water or snacks. No need for a sweater because I wouldn’t be there long enough to notice. New lesson learned — never leave home without water, a couple of cherry colas, some chocolate bars and chips in the bag on the back of my chair! And now I take the Kindle, a coat and some sweaters with me as well. If I could fit in a hot plate and small refrigerator they would go with me as well. It could be a profitable venture, since we were stuck there past dinner time,

After what seemed like a month the repair people had one that they could make work to begin getting us home. I was within hearing distance and when I heard that I got to the door in seconds and was second on the one going up! I would have kissed the floor of my apartment if I had thought I would be able to get back up, but it would have required the aid of the Fire Department and the Marine Corps to get me back up, so I just began piling on blankets to help me thaw out from the frigid main floor and fell asleep in my lift chair.

Now when I go down I’m wearing mu heavy coat, fur lined boots and flannel lined jeans, and have drinks, snacks and my Kindle in the bag on te back of my chair! My mama didn’t raise no dummies!

You take care now and have a good weekend.

Angela

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