From: amoojoon@ghahveh.khooneh.mash.yadollAh (Bacheh Morshed)
Subject: AsAnsool
Summary: liftophobia!
Keywords: FazA
Organization: naghAl khooneh
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 17:52:39 GMT


SalAmeh garmeh amoo bar ahAli,
 
Today's talk in our ghahveh khooneh is about elevators(or as amoo's 
grandmother would say it "AsAnsool").
Is it only amoo or we all feel that an elevator is an uncomfortable place, 
especially when there is only one other person inside? We have an elevator 
in our ghahveh khooneh which provides rapid transportation to upstairs for 
our busy (polite way of saying "tanbal") customers. You see, amoo uses 
elevators the most because he works as a part time delivery man for Mash 
YadollAh during lunch hours. What I have noticed is as soon as people get 
inside the elevator they try to pretend they are doing something; whether it 
is looking at their watches for the longest time, playing with their keys, 
suddenly deciding that they need to read an article, or something else, they 
think they must do something during those few seconds. One thing I noticed 
though is that they look uncomfortable. 
At first I thought it was amoo's appearance because in the ghahveh khooneh 
we all dress up traditionally by wearing "ghabA", "giveh", and a "kolAh" 
which obviously is not considered normal by everybody in this velAyat. So I 
changed my clothes into a more modern style but it didn't work; people still 
seemed to be nervous. Then I thought it could be the smell of the food I 
carried with me (usually "deezee", "kalleh pAcheh", "seerAb sheerdoon", 
etc.) that made people so uncomfortable in the elevator. So I asked Mash 
YadollAh to let us use a high tech insulating wrap for our delivery foods, 
especially for "seerAb sheerdoon". Although it would add to our overhead 
cost he agreed to do it but then again nothing changed about people's 
attitude. At this point amoo became concerned abouthis own hygiene and 
contacted "oos  Heshmateh dallAk" who is an expert in the field. He 
recommended that I should change the brand of "sefeedAb" that I use, or maybe
get a better "keeseh", or a newer "sangeh pA", and "geleh sarshoor". So amoo 
rushes to AghA JavAd's and buys the stuff he thinks will change the attitude 
of people toward him. Unfortunately that didn't help either. 
Amoo's confidence was in jeopardy at this point. Finally I asked some of our 
customers and they had experienced the same uneasiness while inside an 
elevator. So amoo partially gained back his confidence which was seriously 
in danger of being lost by the strange behavior of people. But why would we 
feel that way?
As it's always the case when I don't know something I took it to my arbAb 
and ostAd, jenAbeh Morshed. He said it had to do with  "fazA"! First I 
thought Morshed had a little too much "ghelyoon" so he was spaced out but 
then he said that people needed some "fazA" to themselves unless they were 
intimate with someone. We feel uncomfortable in an elevator because our 
"fazAyeh khosoosi" is invaded; in other words we get too close to people 
we don't know. So amoo's "neesh" became open to his "banAgoosh" because not 
only his confidence was fully restored but the puzzle was solved. He then 
boarded elevators happily ever after. 

intimate bAshid, 

amoo