What A Privilege

During our stopover in Japan, an American and I were waiting on the same floor for the elevator. He pressed the down button and I also pressed it and moved away. After a little while the elevator stopped and somebody came out. Then I started to go in.

The American said, "No, this elevator is going up."

So he prevented me from making that mistake. Then we went down together.

In the lobby he bought a newspaper and I went into the shops. A few minutes later he and I were again in the elevator together, this time going up. Several others got out on the third, fourth and fifth floors, so that finally we were only two together going up to the seventh floor.

Then out of the blue he said, "What a privilege it is to be with you!"

My life is filled with stories like this—good and bad. This one was very good.

—December 1987