Lynne Strong and Hon Penny Sharpe MP
In the whirlwind of life, there are those unsung heroes, the defenders, the rural firefighters, the SES volunteers. Then there are people like me, immensely grateful that these heroes exist. Little did I know that their significance would become apparent in a situation beyond my control, unfolding just 24 hours after our organisation received the New South Wales Government and Banksia Foundation Communications for Impact Award.
Midday, the following day, I found myself in the lift with our prestigious awards, headed to my car. However, the lift had other plans. It started shaking erratically, as if trying to reach different floors and colliding with unseen obstacles. Alone with my awards, no phone, no watch—just the tangible acknowledgment of our organisation’s impact.
Pressing the emergency button, a calm operator acknowledged my distress but noted they were busy. The surrealness of the situation deepened when, after sharing I was stuck in the lift, the response was a nonchalant, “We will get to you shortly, madam.” No inquiry about my name or which lift. Seated on the floor, surrounded by our hard-earned awards, I pondered the emergency scenes from movies and recalled my aunt’s story of a lift ordeal.
Reflecting on her panic attack two decades ago, I decided to assume I was in the lift with her and my role was to be the calming one and channel my resilience. Sitting amidst the awards, symbols of our organisation’s 15-year journey, I found solace in the acknowledgment of our impact. Despite the unsettling vibrations, I held onto the fact that our work was valued, even if the lift seemed indifferent.
Eventually, as the lift stopped vibrating and displayed an “out of service” warning, a quirky smile crossed my face. Overloaded, it claimed! Alone in the lift, it was a bizarre twist. Another call to the emergency line revealed their assumption that I was already rescued. Strong words ensued, and the manager swiftly intervened, though it took a while longer before I was finally liberated from my unusual one-hour confinement.
In that surreal hour, surrounded by awards, I learned the power of resilience, the importance of remaining calm amidst uncertainty. And as I stepped out of the lift, I couldn’t help but appreciate the unexpected intersection of celebration and challenge, where heroes, even if behind the scenes, ensured the story had a positive ending.
🤯 Share your unexpected post-celebration stories below! Let’s turn those moments of surprise into tales worth remembering! 🎉
