Eddie the Elevator Man

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I watched an interview of Mike Tyson.

The reporter asked him about his legacy and Mike laughed saying that he didn’t care at all about his legacy because:

“I’ll be dead. What would I care?”

I laughed.

He has a point.

Cut to Friday morning.

I was at a high school in downtown Buffalo and I was a little taken aback by how run-down the building was. 

Inner city schools are a lot different than some of the schools in the fancy suburbs.

We got into a beat-up elevator, and I wondered if we were going to even make it to the top floor.

I looked for the safety inspection paperwork, but instead spotted a plaque for Eddie the Elevator Man who was pictured in a Yankees hat.

A black man who’d lived from 1945-2017, but was obviously beloved.

Eddie has a plaque that is there for all to see.

Legacy.

I thought about the man. 

He was wearing a huge smile that I imagined that he flashed in that elevator for decades.

The contractor that I was riding with tried to stop the elevator even with the floor.

It took him three tries before he got it lined up enough for the door to open.

“I bet that Eddie hit the spot every time,” I said.

“He must have,” the guy said. “To earn a plaque.”

Yet, I’m thinking that Eddie didn’t just get that memorial because he was such an efficient elevator operator…

…he was also honored because he was a good dude…

…and Mike Tyson got it wrong…

…gunning for such a legacy is what we all should try to do.

Eddie the Elevator Man.

I’m thinking he lived a fine life.

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