The crisp fall air rang through the parking ramp at the Mall as I entered the elevator. I rummaged through my coat pocket for my van keys, hearing the elevator doors of the first floor slide shut. The elevator lurched upward toward my destination of the fourth floor. Hoping for a non-stop trip, the elevator came to a screeching halt on the second floor. It sounded like a bunch of laughing hyenas were about to enter the elevator. Instead it was a group of teenagers, who, upon seeing me in the elevator, went dead silent. One by one they piled into the elevator, all sliding to one side. The doors of the tomb slid shut.
The next sound I heard sounded something like someone trying to clear their throat … or was it more like a pig grunt? From that one small sound came an outburst of laughter. Each one taking turns looking at me and then turning away in laughter. I wondered if I had a spot of mustard on my lip from lunch. Or maybe it was some lipstick from the kiss the cashier gave me when I helped her get her computer working again. I soon realized it was neither.
The elevator seemed like it was moving a lot slower than before. The third floor came and went with no one wanting to get on or none of the teenagers wanting to get off. Just the brigade of laughter continued. As the elevator crept ever so slowly to the fourth floor, a shocking thought crossed my mind: What if the elevator just stopped? I stared at the floor numbers, waiting for the fourth floor light to pop on.
The fourth floor light never came on. I stared, waiting, tapping my foot. The doors slid open ever so slowly, revealing the fourth floor. The light was burnt out. I made a hasty retreat toward my van. The teenagers poured out of the elevator in the opposite direction. I stopped in my tracks and turned around. I shouted very kindly toward the teenagers, “Thanks for a most enjoyable ride.”
One of the girls in the group hit one of the guys and said, “I can’t believe you guys”. Their laughter echoed through the parking ramp as I climbed into my van.
I felt a little sorry for that group of teenagers not understanding the diversity life has to offer. Disabilities come in all shapes and sizes, some noticeable and other not. I feel honored at having a disability, because of the experiences I have each day. The good with the bad. I slid into the toll lane on the right and they went into the toll lane on the left. We both paid our tolls at the same time and pulled ahead and waited for the light to turn green.
I watched the cross street traffic flying past the mall. The light went from green to yellow. As the light changed from yellow to red, I looked one more time at the group of teenagers. The split second that our light changed to green was the exact time I pressed the accelerator down and went in the opposite direction down the road. I didn’t bother looking in my rear-view mirror, nor did I bother slowing down.
I’ve been told more than once that life is cruel. I agree. If you saw the same scraggly, mismatched, boisterous group of teenagers I saw, you’d say life was cruel too.
—–
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. – Colossians 3:13
