please thank the next swede you meet

ikea store, stoughton, ma

i spent some time in ikea today. by the end of my shopping circuit, my brain was so overloaded i could barely form a thought. i found my way to the marketplace restaurant. i couldn't even tell if i was hungry or not. i leaned against the wall by the entrance to the restaurant and watched the elevator doors open and close. open and close. open and close. i'm not sure what inspiration i was waiting for. it was just comforting. then i saw it. on the right door was a symbol of man. on the left door was a symbol of a man and a child. when the doors opened, the elevator people would disappear into the walls. shoppers would come and go. when it was quiet again, the elevator people would reappear from the walls and come together. my mind cleared. i wondered if indeed i was seeing what i thought i was seeing. i went to the adjacent elevator. this one had graphics of a woman, a man and a child. i went downstairs to see where these elevators came out. one pair of elevator doors had a man and a child. the other elevator doors were blank. i may be reading too much into these elevator people. for a moment i thought the swedes might be celebrating all types of families, straight, gay and single parent. but i know such open support doesn't fly in the US. the elevator people are probably just happy shoppers.