> 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...and
> 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
>
>
> 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...and
> 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
>
