As I was walking through the 4th floor of the parking garage on my way to work this morning, I heard a woman talking on her cell phone behind me.
She said, “I’m getting ready to get on the elevator. I’ll e-mail you.”
Just a quick side note – I’ve always been concerned about people who are too unfit or too lazy to take the stairs in the parking garage…especially on the way down, because the elevator is right next to the stairway and it’s usually quicker to take the stairs. Anyway, back to the story: I’ve ridden in elevators countless times during my life, but I’ve never “gotten ready” to ride in one. When I “get ready” to do something, it usually involves some kind of action. For instance, when I get ready to play soccer, I put on my cleats and I stretch.
Whatever this lady was about to do was apparently very physically and/or mentally demanding because she had to get off of the phone in order to do it. As you can imagine, I became very intrigued because I’ve never seen the preparation process for getting on an elevator. Maybe there is something I’ve been missing all my life. Maybe there is some kind of pre-ride pressurization technique that helps you acclimate to elevation changes on long, fast rides. Or maybe there is a way to prepare your joints for the sudden stop when you arrive at the bottom; a special move that counteracts the inertia you’ve gained from moving at a constant rate of speed. Maybe.
I turned around and watched this lady, expecting for my mind to be blown, but all she did was stand there. It turns out that prepartion is not necessary to ride an elevator. I’m so tired of this tricky English language leading me to believe things that aren’t true.
Moral of the story: Please, choose your words carefully…for my sake.
