Awkward

It is an awkward feeling. sort of like typing the word awkward.  This feeling can be felt in many places but none so pronounced as in a small crowded location such as coach on an airplane or in an elevator.  actually it is most awkward in a elevator when there is only one other person.  The feeling manifests itself by forcing your brain to desire to strike up a conversation, in an airplane it is easy you simply ask about the destination or are you flying for pleasure or whatever strikes your fancy, the elevator has a much shorter destination, by the time you say "Oh, I see you are going to the third floor."  Being the elevator signals the third floor, so to avoid small talk altogether you glance down at your feet or stare at the elevator buttons, the thing is once you start this pattern you brain has two separate inputs, one is prompting, "Say Something", the other is prompting "Don't Bother" I  once rode on a slow elevator for about 5 minutes and I could not reconcile the conflict for several hours afterwards, this would not have been so bad if I wasn't meeting someone at the top.  

"Hey Stu," He called, "Some view from up here isn't it".

Silence.

"Are you feeling well?"

I glanced up, but still nothing came out.

"It must be the altitude" asserted my friend.

It is nice how people will both fill in the conversations as well as fill in the missing details, this is a mechanism used to keep them from moving into the paradox of ' He likes me he likes me not'

STU - 2003