Elevator talk

My dad and I were in an elevator this week. I was questioning why "elevator" and "awkwardness" seem to be antonyms for each other. Here we are people of the same culture and language but because we are stuck in a moving box for 16 seconds together suddenly our worlds clash and we stare awkwardly at the floor refusing to utter a sound. We listen to the easy music and count the floors go by hoping that more people do not get on and force us to squeeze closer than the 3 foot radius we already created. Well when we were in the elevator on this particular day a man came in with his dog and immediatly began talking to each person. He talked to his dog and himself and talked to talk in general. He got the two ladies laughing, he got my dad talking, he even got me to look at the other people that were standing next to me. The air didnt feel thick I didnt feel uncomftorable, I wondered why few enough have the courage to do what this man did. What is it about elevators that paralaze us? Why are we unable to brave the communication barriar? I dont know the answer, but I know that one mad did and it got me thinking.