Gentlemen and Elevators

Prior to moving here to Dallas, I had rarely ridden elevators. As a child, I remember being excited about any opportunity to do so...yep, there was a day when riding an elevator was the next best thing to cookies and milk. I think the escalator WAS an even better next best thing. HA! Moving on...between now and last April I am fairly certain that I have ridden the elevator more times than in all the previous 29 years of my life combined. Hmmm...in fact, I have ridden at least 714 times. That is six times a day for 119 days. Some days I ride them eight times. All that to say, I am riding elevators a lot.

As you know, people rarely talk in elevators and when they do...nine times out of ten it is quite awkward for everyone else not privy to the conversation. Then there is the rare moment when someone says something and the whole population within laughs or at least smiles. We need more of those moments.

I remember the first time I got on the elevator with all men. Mmmm....awkward! Thankfully, I have grown quite accustomed to it, but that first time will forever stand out in my memory. I wanted to laugh out loud it was so weird.

Another time a woman commented on my shoes after I had stepped off...er, out of the elevator before the doors were fully shut..."I don't know how she walks in those!" They may have five inch heels, but Jessica Simpson made sure there was a nice little platform to help even things out a bit...or at least one of her designers did.

You are probably wondering by now why I titled this post the way I did. I will tell you...

The other day it struck me that almost every single gentleman in our building will let the ladies onto (and off, too, if space allows) the elevator first. More often than not, they will put their hand over the door to ensure it does not try to squish us as we board. This is consistent across age and race. The first thought I had was there must be some kind of elevator etiquette I never learned, but then I realized that these men are just being considerate gentlemen.

I just wanted to give you guys a shout out. I doubt any of you in our building will see this, but it really does not matter. I will let you know,either by saying "thank you" or simply smiling, that I have noticed and I sincerely appreciate it.