Crash Bang

There's a freight elevator just behind my desk at work. It sees pretty constant use, but I've learned to ignore most of the noises that come from it. There have actually been times when visitors from other departments hear a crash and ask me "What was that noise?!?", and my honest reply is "What noise?".

More recently, the freight elevator has come under *very* heavy use. There's a huge storage area near our office that is being cleared out. Whereas we usually only hear the elevator going up or down past us, now we're the loading dock.

The crashing and banging noises really have been spectacular. Three or four times a day there will be a metallic impact noise that makes me jump in my chair. There's not a single surface on or around my desk that isn't covered with spilled coffee. There's even a ceiling tile over me that's been knocked loose.

One afternoon, it all came to a crescendo. Or, a "crash-endo", if you prefer. The crashing noise sounded like a firework had gone off. I'm pretty sure at least a few of the heavy items being moved fell over. There was a faint hint of sulfur in the air. And then, silence.

Well, brief silence. Then the shouting started.

"This is the newest elevator in the building!... It keeps breaking!..."

I didn't bother to contain my laughter. They were just on the other side of my cubical wall, but they were yelling too loud to hear me.

That's when the hands appeared over my cubical wall, above my computer monitor. The freight elevator abusers were leaning against my wall, talking about what to do next. It was seriously tempting to stick my own hand up there from the other side and see if they'd notice. I probably should have done it.

A few minutes later they got the elevator moving again without cargo. I have no idea what kind of conversation they were having, I just know that I heard the door open. The guys stepped out and one of them said, "I don't have an apron."

What, are you trading recipes between floors? Don't you have a freight elevator to fix? Crazy.

About a half-hour later I was taking a sip when *WHAM!* *WHAM!* *WHAM!*. Coffee splashed my keyboard. They were moving cargo again.

Normalcy had returned.