I got on the elevator last week with, not surprisingly, a complete stranger.

He was an older man, maybe 85, with his wife hobbling on a walker and a home care nurse at her side.

We were all going to see doctors. Mine was a well visit, theirs, I can only imagine.

He asked me for my floor #. A gentleman, doing all the button pressing,

I said 8.

He said, like it was the greatest thing on earth-Hey, we are all going to 8

Then he looked at me, with one eyebrow up and said

8 don’t be late

I said, without missing a beat, 7 straight to heaven

him- 6 pick up sticks

me-5 lets get there alive

him-4 slam the door

me-3 ouch my knee

him-2 don’t mind if I do

me-1 just for fun

After this fast verbal tennis match, he looked at me and winked and smiled.

And I thought only of my dad.

It is from my dad I learned that in life you can either stare at your shoes, or  have a ball and make a friend.

extra points if you can make them smile
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