Trapped in an Elevator

This is just one of those stories I'd hate to loose. It involves me and a friend of mine, Peter, who were heading up to his apartment in a very tiny elevator in his building in Boston. It's not far from the intersection of Wash and Comm in Brighton.

So, we had just entered the elevator and pressed for his floor. The elevator hopped up a foot and then just stopped. That's it. It was done. And there was quiet. Nothin' but quiet.

So there we were, a couple of guys in a really tiny elevator. Peter, if I recollect, was speechless. I looked up at the hatch in the ceiling, noticed the size of the hatch, considered my own 250 lb. form, and decided that was Plan B.

Next, I looked at the door, had a thought, and shoved my fingers in the crack where the doors came together and ripped them open (though that sounds manly, it really wasn't that difficult.) I then inspected the door, figured out the locking mechanism, undid the latch, slid open the outer door, and hopped the one foot to freedom. The whole ordeal lasted all of a minute or less.

During this entire time Peter said nothing until it was over, whereupon he began calling me MacGyver. He was impressed. He was a moment away from claustrophobic panic but was so mesmerized by my tinkering that he remained composed, and then stunned at my brilliant performance.

All I can say is, I'm glad I had a witness. It's not everyday you're brilliant and it's never appropriate to brag per se. But this time, I had someone there to share. Sweet.

NOTE: Try this at home. it's actually not unusual to be able to open an elevator door between floors. I wouldn't recommend it if the elevator is moving. However, most elevators afford this type of escape and the door latch isn't that hard to undo. Just be careful. If the elevator is far enough off the floor below you don't want to fall backwards into the shaft after you land. Just FYI.