At coffee with friends Tynan and Elena Sunday morning, San Geraldo was telling the story of the first escalator to be installed in a department store in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It was before his time, but he read that it was a very big deal.
“The escalator went all the way from one floor to the next!” he explained.
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| THE VIEW (CLICK FOR A CLOSER LOOK). THE MOUNTAINS GO ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP! |
“As opposed to the ones that only go half way?” I asked.
And that reminded me of another San Geraldo escalator episode…
In 2006, when we were still living in Santa Barbara, California, I was often in Las Vegas on business. San Geraldo would sometimes meet me after my business was done so he could lose money… I mean play games at the casinos.
One week, Linda and Tom (Jerry’s sister and her husband) met us there and then drove back to Santa Barbara with us. We had been staying at the Flamingo Hotel (one of my corporate clients). On our departure, we took the narrow escalator leading to the parking garage (it went all the way up to the next floor). San Geraldo was in front with his huge hard-sided suitcase (don’t get me started).
He stepped onto the escalator pulling his suitcase behind him.
The suitcase wouldn’t fit. It was too wide for the escalator. So, as the escalator continued its upward climb, San Geraldo starting running back down while giving tugs on his suitcase trying to squeeze it into the too-narrow space (I did mention it was a hard-sided suitcase…)
Linda, Tom, and I were laughing so hard, it hurt.
Finally, San Geraldo bellowed.
“Well, don’t just stand there! Somebody help!”
I turned the suitcase sideways and it and San Geraldo made their ascent together.
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| A VISUAL AID… |
When we all reached the top, we were doubled over in laughter.
San Geraldo, looking very confused, insisted, “Well it fit when I arrived!”
I took a couple of breaths and calmly stated, “You came in a different door.”
(That brought another communal roar of laughter, tears, and stomach pain).
(He arrived by taxi from the airport and came in the main door, which has a wider escalator, which however, goes UP to the hotel).
Tom now does a great imitation of San Geraldo running in place with a suitcase. He calls him “Escalator Man!”
“Climb from dee bottom and reach to dee top…”
