TRAPPED IN THE ELEVATOR

Greg Lynch, President - November 19^th, 2003

There was a crowd waiting for the elevator of the East Broadway office building. When a car came, we crowded on. We were thirteen in an elevator designated for eight. The doors closed and the car began to move. From the back of the elevator came a small voice “I hope we don’t get stuck”. Then, bingo, the car stopped dead between floors. Thirteen Rotarians, trapped in the elevator. But let me start at the beginning.

Saturday mornings about 6:30 am, I have a standing date with my pillow. That’s discounting early golf dates or check-ins for international air travel. This particular Saturday, November 15, 2003, we had been summoned by Governor Sully for a District 7230 meeting at Two World Financial Center. So, I found myself rolling out of bed in the dark for the 8:00 am registration. Being President of the New York Club, I had to look presentable and even wore a tie. I left my pillow home, and took a cab downtown. There I found a sizable group of blurry eyed Rotarians from Westchester who’d just arrived by bus via the George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln Tunnel. I quietly thought to myself, “I like living in Manhattan”. We mulled about the marble halls overlooking the famous Palm Court, introducing ourselves to folks from other Rotary Clubs. Helen Reisler, the early bird that she is, was already there getting her name tag. Afterwards, we went through a rather sleepy security check and rode to the 40^th floor.

Our hosts were Assistant Governor Ted Perednia from North Shore Rotary and another Merrill Lynch Executive, who recently returned from duty as a fighter pilot in Iraq. Governor David J. Sullivan, Esq., J.P., ”Sully”, was our leader ably assisted by Elmsford Rotarian Lou Del Rosario, Eric Storberg and a large crew of other Assistant Governors, including Blanche Christian-Crawford, who was in charge of all the logistics. I sat with Helen, munching a cranberry muffin. Our President-Elect Clarence Plummer joined us for the official opening, and we enjoying presentations on GSE, planned giving to R.I. and Club projects.

There was a hurricane this year that did a lot of damage to Bermuda. It huffed and puffed and blew the roofs off hotels and left more than a few folks homeless. We would have been having our District 7230 meeting overlooking gorgeous pink beaches but for that cruel joke of nature. As it was, our view was one of the pit where once had stood the World Trade Towers before our own hour of devastation. It had been hoped that the Bermuda trip could be rescheduled, but that is now looking unlikely. The airlines want too much money. There’s a chance we’ll go to the Mohegan Sun Resort in Connecticut or elsewhere. Nobody really knew. It seems that hurricane may have also blown our chances for a District 7230 Conference this year.

Back to the elevator. So there we are, the thirteen of us packed in that steel box like sardines. Of course, we were in good company. Helen was there and Clarence and myself, joined by our host Jimmy Wu, President of the Chinatown Club, and Helen Bowers of Somers Rotary on their cell phones trying to get us out. The mood swept from amusement to panic and back. After an eternity of some twenty minutes, firemen pried open the door and ushered us out onto the immense floor of the Golden Unicorn Restaurant, where we got a round of applause from the hundreds of transfixed patrons there for their dim sun lunch. As we sat down to our crispy shrimp and bok choy dumplings, Rotary fellowship had never tasted so good!

Yours,

Greg Lynch,

President, NY6