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Sliding Doors 

By Jim Richards

Not too long ago Hollywood made a movie titled “Sliding Doors” It was a story of how different a young woman’s life may have been if she had slipped inside the closing doors of a subway train, or if she had missed getting on.Reflecting on that incident made me think of elevators and the many everyday events that happen on them. I will relate to one later in this essay that had an interesting effect on me personally.

 To begin, I have often noticed that funny thinks happen around those little rooms that move up and down in buildings. First, you will notice that when approaching an elevator, it will sometimes wait for you to get within a few steps and then immediately close right in front of your face, as if to be playing some kind of game. Next, if there are a number of elevators, you are wondering what the chances are of a particular one opening near you, and when a crowd begins to gather in front of a specific door, you begin to think they know something you don’t. Many times, there is always a particular person that sees the up or down button light on…but still continues to push it as if to pump the elevator to its destination faster. Eventually when an elevator does arrive, the group finally moves in and takes its place in the tiny cubicle. But now, when the doors close, funny things happen.  Now the noisy, chattering crowd that only a moment before was babbling away becomes immediately silent. The only thing that is sometimes uttered is from from one person that apparently didn’t get the word who always seems to meekly ask …”Is this going UP?”

 When the lift is fully loaded and the doors close, someone often wisecracks.” I guess you all have wondered why I have gathered all of you together here?”…. Also, another amusing stunt has been often proposed by someone asking all the persons in the elevator to face the rear to see what happens when the lift reaches another floor and the next person tries to get on.  Some will go to any length for a practical joke.

 . As a rule, the men will always be in front, because most are gentlemen and allowed the ladies to board first…But when the lift arrives and the doors open, the guys usually try and let the ladies off first, which causes a huge blockade in the doorway. Sometimes a slip of paper could not pass between folks comically caught trying to disembark in the confusion. Finally, after the crowded elevator empties, the little movable room may only be left with the aroma of “Tea Rose” or perhaps some other scent that should not be mentioned.

 More on the serious side, happenings on elevators can sometimes affect the course of events. The example that follows is a true story:

 One day back in the 70’s I was working in Two Shell Plaza in Houston as a geological consultant. The company I had been working for was downsizing, and I was faced with some office space that was not going to be used. For some strange reason, one particular day I had an unusual craving for a candy bar and caught the elevator to the ground floor where a small stand sold various food items. Just by chance, upon entering the lift, I ran into some oil exploration  executives from the New York area that were in the building to close a deal. I inquired about the status of their business and casually implied that they should probably consider having an office in the Houston area. Before the elevator reached the ground we had outlined a basic plan for them to acquire my office space and shortly thereafter, I was able to make a deal to open a three-person exploration office.

 To make a long story short, after about 3 years all of the he New York executives were terminated, I left to join another company. But because we had a smattering of oil production, the small Houston office survived the cut and my replacement came in to eventually turn the fledgling 3-person office into a big oil and gas exploration company. Large numbers of employees were subsequently hired and  several years later,  the company became a part of a large Australian firm that is still has the domestic office located in Houston.

 It must be emphasized that I absolutely cannot take any credit for the growth and eventual success of the oil and gas exploration company but always wondered what would have happened if I had not had that craving for a candy bar.   What is truly strange is that…. I never eat candy bars!!