Stuck in an Elevator

A few months ago, my wife and kid and I went to a hash in downtown Chicago. Basically, hashing is a social running group who likes to call themselves a "drinking club with a running problem." Patricia and I met at a hash and if I may be blunt for a moment, Kiera was conceived at a hash event. We still go a couple times a month, but definitely not as often as we used to, because, you know, I'm awfully busy being an Intergalactic Gladiator and all.

Anyway, a few months ago it was the hash on the day of the Chicago Marathon. That hash is a pretty big deal and we get visitors from all over who come because they participated in or had a friend participate in the marathon. We went to the start of the hash, which was at a bar three levels below downtown Chicago, met with everyone and had a beer. When it was time to run the trail, we packed Kiera into a jog stroller and headed for the elevator to walk part of the trail to the end.

We got into an outdoor elevator with a couple other "walkers" and another couple with a stroller and pushed the up button. It started whirring, it raised a level, then with a thud, it dropped back to the first level. Though it didn't hurt or anything, we were obviously all shaking from the drop. But then the elevator did it again!

Whirrrrr THUD!

Whirrrr THUD!

Whirrrrrr THUD!

It wouldn't stop and we couldn't force our way out. I was pushed to the back and I couldn't get forward to try to pry the doors open and the people who were closest to the doors couldn't open the doors themselves. My wife called for help on the emergency phone and, very calmly, explained what was going on.

The woman on the other end asked us to hold on and she would try to get the building engineers -- it was a Sunday and it might be difficult. Meanwhile, the elevator continued to go up a little ways, thud, then drop back to the first level.

Also, I might mention that on the top level, there was a fire station. Anyone in it, however, was oblivious to our predicament.

So we lost contact with the operator and my wife called again. This time, she tried explaining as calmly as she could what exactly was happening and that there were two little kids in the elevator. I don't think the operator thought that our plight involved the giant metal coffin raising and dropping us; she may have thought that we were just stuck.

It got to the point where my wife forcefully, but very slowly and carefully explained our situation to the operator, who then got it (I think) and replied that they were still trying to get a hold of someone.

Miraculously, the elevator stopped clanging back to the ground and actually took us up to the second level. Everyone gratefully clamored out of it and we all yelled at some people who wanted to get in "Don't do it!"

We continued on. After calming down, Kiera fell asleep in the stroller, we got to the end and we had a beer (you know, to calm our nerves) and some French fries.

If there were a moral to this story, I think it would be "Always stay on trail."