I attended a convention in Las Vegas this week with a few Wyakin Warriors. One evening as I was returning to my room, a lady stepped in the elevator with me. I said nothing.
As we began to move, she said, “Up or down?”
“Excuse me?”
“Up or down?”
Mildly concerned since we were already moving, I said, “I’m going up.”
She said, “Of course we’re going up.”
My concern notched up a tick. She expected an answer and my last one did not satisfy her. Maybe she wanted to know my mood.
“Up, I’d say.”
Surprisingly, that seemed to make her happy. “That’s great!”
Then came an awkward pause during which I wondered why the elevator was so slow. She looked at me as if I was supposed to say something else. So I did.
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“Are you winning or losing?”, she said with a definite edge of irritation in her voice.
“Oh. I don’t gamble. I’m working.”
Then I walked out the elevator door.
She must have thought I was a real downer.