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Scud1373 · 03-05-2011, 06:47 PM

Last week I found myself in an odd situation and thought I might present it to TFP for a possible answer.

As I trudged across the parking lot to the office on Monday morning I saw "Cindy," an basically obese co-worker heading towards the stairs instead of the elevator. As we both work at the third floor, this puzzled me as she has all the ankle/knee/leg problems that come with serious weight. Hoping to avoid an awkward situation, I ducked into the elevator vestibule to find an "out of order sign" taped over the buttons. I had apparently failed my avoidance dice roll. Making my way to the stairs, I noted Cindy making her way up the first flight. Now this is an old building and it has nice wide well-worn treads and there was sufficient room for me to shoot past her and keep going. This is the cusp of the dilemma;

I don't work closely with Cindy, but I have in the past. I didn't want to just blow past her with my headphones on like she wasn't there. For the first flight I made appropriate small talk and tried to pace myself accordingly. By the second flight her knees had begun to complain and the fact that I had slowed down to be polite was becoming painfully obvious. She paused before the third flight. "Only one more to go" I offered, almost apologetically. She waved me on without saying anything. When I reached the top and opened the door to our floor I caught a look of her face over my shoulder. It was less than happy.

So TFP, should have I minded my own business and passed her with my earbuds firmly in place? Would waiting at the turn of the stairs be the more gentlemanly thing to do?

To put things in perspective; I am 6'2 and bounce between 220 and 230 lbs. Cindy in roughly 5'6 and well into 300 lbs.

03-05-2011, 06:47 PM	#1 (permalink)
Scud1373 Upright Location: Indiana, Pennsylvania	Etiquette for the Generously Proportioned Last week I found myself in an odd situation and thought I might present it to TFP for a possible answer. As I trudged across the parking lot to the office on Monday morning I saw "Cindy," an basically obese co-worker heading towards the stairs instead of the elevator. As we both work at the third floor, this puzzled me as she has all the ankle/knee/leg problems that come with serious weight. Hoping to avoid an awkward situation, I ducked into the elevator vestibule to find an "out of order sign" taped over the buttons. I had apparently failed my avoidance dice roll. Making my way to the stairs, I noted Cindy making her way up the first flight. Now this is an old building and it has nice wide well-worn treads and there was sufficient room for me to shoot past her and keep going. This is the cusp of the dilemma; I don't work closely with Cindy, but I have in the past. I didn't want to just blow past her with my headphones on like she wasn't there. For the first flight I made appropriate small talk and tried to pace myself accordingly. By the second flight her knees had begun to complain and the fact that I had slowed down to be polite was becoming painfully obvious. She paused before the third flight. "Only one more to go" I offered, almost apologetically. She waved me on without saying anything. When I reached the top and opened the door to our floor I caught a look of her face over my shoulder. It was less than happy. So TFP, should have I minded my own business and passed her with my earbuds firmly in place? Would waiting at the turn of the stairs be the more gentlemanly thing to do? To put things in perspective; I am 6'2 and bounce between 220 and 230 lbs. Cindy in roughly 5'6 and well into 300 lbs. __________________ THIS UNIT WILL SELF-DESTRUCT UPON TERMINATION OF TARGET Last edited by Scud1373; 03-05-2011 at 07:11 PM..