Smoke & Elevator Mirrors
Some background: My parents both used to smoke a few packs a day (before anyone knew the stuff was bad for you). About the time my brother was conceived (~39 years go), info was coming out about how it was bad for you and both my mom and dad quit smoking, cold turkey. Since then, they haven’t gone back and have a completely clean bill of health - that is important to remember for later in the story. This experience was fortified when my grandfather died of cancer from smoking when I was 3 years old. So, they have a sincere disdain for the tobacco leaf.
My parents returned from a trip to Texas where they were working on a project with our company. They stayed in an “extended stay” type of suite and every morning, they would take an elevator to go to the gym. And every morning the elevator smelled like cigarette smoke. After a past of smoking, they can’t stand this smell - especially right before a work out!
One morning, the elevator opened and there he was. The smoker. A small man, skinny, with a gray beard and mustache and an old floppy brown hat. In a gruff voice said, “I know I’m not really supposed to be doing this in here…” My parents didn’t want to join him and before the doors began to close, my dad said in a friendly but stern voice, “Oh no, you go right ahead. I already have lung cancer.”
The guy stared at my dad in a weird awe, eyes wide open as the doors of the elevator came together leaving him inside to wonder as he bathed in his own smoke.
After the doors closed, my mom turned to my dad & said, “Where in the world did that come from?” My dad just laughed and said that he had no idea. They decided to take the stairs.
I can’t imagine the thoughts that swam through that guys head.




2 weeks ago






