Elevator Talk

Elevated Discourse

I rushed into an elevator today, just before the doors closed. Right behind me, a woman, unknown to me, whacked the doors and slipped in. "The elevators in this building won't cut your arm off if you use it to hold the doors open," she said, sounding out of breath. "Some buildings, if you use your arm, the doors will close right on it!"

"And you see a lot of amputees walking around," I said.

She smiled a little and agreed. End of conversation. (We were descending from the second to the first floor.)

I'm not sure why she wanted to impart this silly bit of pseudo-wisdom to me, a complete stranger. At the time, I assumed it was an attempt at humor. Later, I wondered if she was complaining, in a roundabout way, that I hadn't held the door open for her. I hadn't seen her behind me, though, or I would have held it.

It could also be that she just wanted some brief contact--a moment of humanity in a sterile office setting. Why do people talk to strangers in elevators?