Sunday, October 16, 2016

#2 This is Living?

"Excuse me sir, do you live here?"

Howard glanced up, surprised. No one talked in elevators. The question had come from a sharply dressed young man carrying a notebook and a camera.

"Yeah," he muttered and looked back down at his shoes.

Howard was in no mood to talk. He was operating on only a few hours of sleep, having barely finished the reports last night. Not to mention he'd be late to work if he didn't move quickly. He hoped his monosyllabic response would send the right message.

"Would you mind answering a few questions?" The reporter didn't wait for a response. "What do you do for a living?"

With no path of escape, Howard decided to play along.

"I'm a business consultant" he replied

"Oh?" The man looked disappointed but scribbled Howard's response in his notebook anyway. "What does that entail?"

Howard began to explain but as he described managing investment portfolios and auditing tax returns he could see the man's eyes glaze over.

"Okay that's good," the reporter quickly cut him off. "But what do you do for fun in this town?"

Howard paused. He thought about it.

"I don't really do anything fun," he said truthfully.

The man sighed. "What about family?"

"I'm single. I live alone" Howard replied.

But thankfully before the man could say anything else the elevator dinged and the doors opened. The man closed his notebook, picked up his camera and snapped a picture of Howard. He glanced at the viewfinder grimaced and walked away.