Nigeria, Aug. 4 -- The "6th Floor" is how current usage describes it. And I can only imagine that the association with the upward movement of the lift in many modern high-rise buildings is intended. I wonder if the elevated sense that one usually associates with such travel is. Either way, both evoke sentiments similar to those of the job seeker on his way to a major interview. She is never too sure what the reception would be once the lift reaches the floor where the interviewing company has its offices. Nonetheless, prepare, she must. Is there a thrill from arriving? For a claustrophobe, perhaps. For the interviewee, the frisson is not of excitement; but from wanton butterflies flittering in strange places.

Growing old has this one dif...