An I Love Lucy Moment

Recently I stayed over night at my daughter's apartment.   She had to go to work in the morning and I was not leaving until later.  When it was time for me to go I packed up all my things and headed out the door.  I trudged down the stairs with my bags, out the door, and across the street to my car.  But as I approached the car I realized I did not have my keys.  I remembered laying them on the bookshelf the night before.  Ugh!  Now what?!  I sent my daughter a text about my dilemma and she wrote back saying she could run home during lunch and let me back into the apartment.  Ok.  That could work.  It wasn't long until lunch.  But what to do with myself in the meantime?  So I trudged back across the street and back up the stairs to her apartment.  I stacked my bags by her door and parked myself there too.

Her wifi does not reach out to the hall.  And considering our plans for the 2 days I was there, I had not taken any reading material.  So I piddled with my phone until that became boring.

As I looked around where I was parked, really taking in the atmosphere for the first time, I realized I'd seen this scene before.  The building is from the early 1900's.  There is one main entrance and the front doors to all the apartments are inside with long hallways between.  There are large staircases with open railings.  This is very very similar to the apartment building that Lucy and Desi lived in, the one owned by Ethel and Fred Mertz.   I was reminded of the episode that showed the stairs the best.  Remember the one where Lucy wanted to make Desi believe she'd been kidnapped by robbers?  I don't remember all of it but somehow she ended up out in the hall sitting on the stairs pouting.  And then real robbers sneaked up on her from behind and kidnapped her.  Oh, those robbers were so silly and such bumblers.  Wouldn't it be nice if the bad guys of today were so comical?

 

So as I sat there waiting and remembered Lucy and Ethel, it made me think about how very many people had lived in those apartments in approximately 100 years.  Only these were real people, not funny people in a situation comedy for entertainment.  People whose lives were really lived in these apartments and on these stairs.  People whose lives had moved on to other adventures beyond these apartments.  I wondered how many feet had walked those stairs and where they are walking today.

I suppose these are the kind of thoughts one usually has when at a famous historic site where important people have done profound things.  But this is a humble place where people just living their lives have trod.  I find that intriguing.  Are there humble places you have found inspiring as you've thought of its history?

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