I took that photo of the Empire State Building from the rooftop bar at my hotel on a nice, clear night last week. I don't drink, so there wasn't much for me to do up there except enjoy the view for a few minutes. From there, I could also see -- but couldn't get a good picture of -- several other New York landmarks including the Freedom Tower, which stands where the World Trade Center used to be.
After doing a lap around the roof through the 20- and 30-somethings who populated the bar, and appreciating the view in every direction, I waited for the elevator down with a group of other people. That's when I noticed a clever sign affixed to the wall. It warned that the elevator only held eight people at a time, and that any jumping or jostling would cause the car to stall. Then it added this: "It takes the repair crew 30-40 minutes to get here while you're stuck in the stopped elevator."
Surely, the hotel posted that sign only because there had been trouble along those lines more than once, no doubt the result of excessive alcohol consumption up top. The warning has probably reduced the number of such incidents, thanks to guys like the one ahead of me who pointed to the sign and said to his friend, "Jimmy, read that and try not to be a jerk until we get to the ground floor!"
Labels: road trip
