Being trapped inside a malfunctioning elevator is no laughing matter...unless it's happening to someone else.
Call it bad timing. My quick lunch break errand at PDX airport last Tuesday turned into quite the rescue effort.
Swiping my ID badge had originally opened the elevator door without a hitch. I stepped inside and pulled an oversized load of food inside for delivery to the Delta Sky Club on the third floor. I never made it off the ground.
Right as the doors closed, the elevator lost all power. The thick walls blocked my cellphone reception. Darwin, my coworker, eventually came looking for me after wondering why I was taking so long to return.
"Are you okay in there?"
That question was repeated by several people, heard faintly through the closed elevator doors, throughout my relatively brief ordeal. Also among the concerned people who stopped by: the operations coordinator, two Delta supervisors, maintenance personnel, firefighters (per the dispatcher on the red emergency phone), and some paramedics who rolled up in an ambulance.
Why paramedics? Just in case I had a panic attack?
Trapped inside the elevator with more than my bodyweight's worth of food supplies, at least I wasn't worried about starving to death. The forbidden food taunted me as I powered my cellphone back on to read a portion of my daily Bible passage: Matthew 4. You know, the story where a fasting, ravenous Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness to munch on stones that he could turn into delicious homemade bread? Nice.
Happy ending: The clamoring outside the elevator doors grew louder. I smiled at the sounds of jangling keys, unfamiliar voices, and metal tools as the steel doors were slowly pried open. Free at last!
I'll say it again~ Being trapped inside a malfunctioning elevator is no laughing matter...unless you happen to work with some really creative coworkers.
Check out my quick cell pic of this hilarious sign, created and posted by Delta station trainer Richard Porter in the midst of my "rescue operation":
Not to mention being serenaded by Delta coworkers throughout the remainder of my workweek with screeching renditions of "
Love In an El-ah-vay-TAH."
Steven Tyler would be so ashamed.
Coming Wednesday on BlogSpot...
A look back at our celebration of baby Lena's 1st birthday!
Lena still doesn’t quite know how to handle being the center of attention, but she’s starting to get the hang of it. She decided to be on her best behavior for the audience that day.
As Mommy and I helped Lena open her presents, she didn’t bother distinguishing between the gifts and the wrapping paper. She was enchanted by all of it!
