Black Robbers
For
anyone who didn't see David Letterman's take on this: (And it's a true
story....) On a recent weekend in Atlantic City , a woman won a
bucketful of quarters at a slot machine. She took a break from the
slots for dinner with her husband in the hotel dining room. But first
she wanted
to stash the quarters in her room.. 'I'll be right back and we'll go to
eat,' she told her husband and carried the coin-laden bucket to the
elevator.
As she
was about to walk into the elevator she noticed two men already aboard. Both were black. One of them was tall...very tall.....an
intimidating figure. The woman froze.. Her first thought was: 'These
two are going to rob me.' Her next thought was: 'Don't be a bigot; they
look like perfectly nice gentlemen.' But racial stereotypes are
powerful, and fear immobilized her... She
stood and stared at the two men. She felt anxious, flustered and
ashamed. She hoped they didn't read her mind but gosh, they had to know what she was thinking!!!
Her hesitation about joining them in the elevator was all too obvious now. Her
face was flushed. She couldn't just stand there, so with a mighty
effort of will she picked up one foot and stepped forward and followed
with the other foot and was on the elevator.. Avoiding eye contact, she
turned around stiffly and faced the elevator doors as they closed. A
second passed, and then another second, and then another. Her
fear increased! The elevator didn't move. Panic consumed her. 'My God,'
she thought, I'm trapped and about to be robbed! 'Her heart plummeted.
Perspiration poured from every pore.
Then
one of the men said, 'Hit the floor.' Instinct told her to do what they
told her. The bucket of quarters flew upwards as she threw out her arms
and collapsed on the elevator floor. A shower of coins rained down on
her. Take my money and spare me, she prayed. More seconds passed. She
heard one of the men say politely, 'Ma'am, if you'll just tell us what
floor you're going to, we'll push the button.' The one who said it had a little trouble getting the words out. He was trying mightily to hold in a belly laugh. The woman lifted her head and looked up at the two men. They
reached down to help her up. Confused, she struggled to her feet. 'When
I told my friend here to hit the floor,' said the average sized one, 'I
meant that he should hit the elevator button for our floor.. I didn't
mean for you to hit the floor, ma'am.' He spoke genially. He bit his lip. It was obvious he was having a hard time not laughing. The woman thought: 'My God, what a spectacle I've made of myself.' She was too humiliated to speak.. She
wanted to blurt out an apology, but words failed her. How do you
apologize to two perfectly respectable gentlemen for behaving as though
they were going to rob you? She didn't know what
to say. The three of them gathered up the strewn quarters and refilled
her bucket. When the elevator arrived at her floor they then insisted
on walking her to her room... She seemed
a little unsteady on her feet, and they were afraid she might not make
it down the corridor. At her door they bid her a good evening. As she slipped into her room she could hear them roaring with laughter as they walked back to the elevator. The woman brushed herself off. She pulled herself together and went downstairs for dinner
with her husband.
The next morning flowers were delivered to her room - a dozen roses. Attached to EACH rose was a crisp one hundred dollar bill.
The card said:
'Thanks for the best laugh we've had in years.'
It Was Signed
Eddie Murphy
Michael Jordan
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