What do you mean "No Connection Available?"

Sitting in Starbucks this morning, I had no connection (to the internet) for several minutes. Normally, that ticks me off (just ask Melody). Today, though, I was okay with it, and started going through my files for stories/articles that I could revise or finish.

I stumbled across one that made me laugh, mostly because I remember exactly how I felt. I called it "The Herding Mentality." It's a story about the first time I saw - as in saw in person, REALLY saw - the Eiffel Tower. It made me laugh because I'm a dork. And maybe it will make you laugh, too.


The Herding Mentality

Our first night in Paris, Sarah and I caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. I think we stared at it, open-mouthed, for five minutes, before either of us breathed. Maybe not quite so long. In any case, it stood, only miles away from us, lit up like gold. We both gasped when it began to sparkle.

That remains my image of the Eiffel Tower, lit up in gold, with bright blue sparkles dotting the length of it, while the spotlight spins around, illuminating the sky.

Days later, Sarah and I paid our respects to the Tower. We’d visited it during the day, but it wasn’t until early evening of our last day that we climbed it.

It was still quite light when we stood in line, but, to my disgust, the line barely crawled. We waited for the elevator. We waited on the next floor for the next elevator. To add insult to injury, while others wandered freely, we were forced to stand in a single-file line, waiting for the poky elevator.

And to my utter humiliation, in my disgust (I hate lines), I cried out to Sarah, “I feel like a sheep!”

I can still see the expression on Sarah’s face while she waited for me to register what I’d just said. I don’t recall if she laughed or not; she probably did. After a moment, in a vain attempt to (unsuccessfully) regain my dignity, I added, “Well I do!”

To my relief, the elevator door opened soon after. We climbed slo-o-owly up the Tower. And at the top, there we were, finally. Finally, at the top of the Eiffel Tower, the top of Paris… the world spread beneath our feet.