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Thursday, July 25, 2024

Locked In! Locked Out! It was Costly

 Wednesday night, I went to bed but could not sleep. I could not get comfortable. I had a knot on the back of my head. No matter which side I lay on, it hurt. Plus, I had a 'place' on my back that hurt. Then, I had to go to the bathroom. I heard Tommy making an unidentifiable noise. 

When I came into the living room, he had four garbage bags of recycling. He was sorting the bag of plastics. I sat down to talk since I was not sleeping. 

He tried to open the door. We were locked in! He tried to take it apart, but the deadbolt was in the door frame and would not move. I was not sleeping in a house I could not leave in case of a fire. Yes, there is a back door, but it is five feet down and scary steps, no railing. He called a locksmith. The nicest man showed up about 2:30. He had trouble getting the deadbolt out, too. But, he had knowledge and tools. 

The biggest surprise of all--he had a replacement deadbolt in his vehicle. He got it back together and tried to send a receipt to my email. Finally, he went out and brought one back in. That was $275 for the call. I apologized to him for getting him out in the middle of the night, forgetting that was his job. 

Since being locked inside was high drama for me and him, too, I suppose, we were not sleeping. I think we went to bed just before five. Just before 7 am, I heard an awful noise that sounded like metal scraping on the asphalt right outside my window, except there is no asphalt outside my window. I ran to look out the fanlight. It was a piece of equipment digging in the yard across the street and down one house. This house has had plumbing problems for about four years. It seems they are always digging1 somewhere in the yard. It is a rental, so I wonder. I imagine they will be back early tomorrow! GRRR

I was up with less than two hours sleep. I let Tommy sleep until 11 am and turned on the news. Around noon we went to Publix and The Pig to buy items on sale. Tommy had loaded the recycling into the back, but he did not send anyone out to collect it. I asked someone to carry it in. We are rid of those at last. This city does not recycle. 

I added more turkey to my leftover salad. The salad greens were soggy, but I didn't care. I feel horrible and just wanted to eat something healthful, followed it with strawberries. 

Tonight about 5 pm, I finally put color on my hair. About 2 inches was grown out, meaning I had a four-inch wide patch right on top of my head! It was disgusting. 

Speaking of disgusting, Tommy bought some Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale. 

I have only been locked inside the house once before. I managed to get the lock unstuck then. I would have hurt myself trying to get out the door and down the steps. Tommy said he hung onto the screen door handle and eased himself down the steps until he could touch the utility room wall and then hung onto the door and wall to get the rest of the way down. 

Too tired to go on. Knot on head hurts. 'Place' on my back hurts. Going to bed.

Have you ever been locked inside your house? How did you get the door open?

Haave you ever tasted Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale? Did you like it? 

10 comments:

  1. In my house it's impossible to be locked in. I do sometimes think about fire though. If I had to get out my bedroom window, the drop to the ground would be too much for me, though a healthy person would be fine.
    While $275 is quite a lot of money, if you did have a fire youwould think it was cheap!

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    1. kylie,
      I thought I could not be locked in, too. However, when the bolt that holds it closed, breaks, the door cannot be opened at my house. I do wonder how much it would hurt....lol.

      Tommy told me we would not have a fire. I asked him how he knew, that no one went to bed planning for a fire. He was easily convinced. He is going to try to get it back from his insurance.

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  2. I have never been locked in or out. I keep the house pretty much open (doors & windows) most of the time.

    I did have a fear of being locked in or a fire in our truck cab over camper. It had an egress window over the bed. There is an attached ladder at one end but I always thought that if the need to get out ever happened I probably would just ease myself down onto the hood of the truck then ease myself to the ground.

    I decided not to color my hair many years ago. I am actually disappointed that my hair is not more gray. Inside the house it still looks quite brown but outdoors, in the sunlight I am quite gray.
    If I were to color my hair I would either go back to purple or I would color it a lighter color than my actual shade. Super dark hair on older women seems to highlight their gray as their hair grows. I personally like gray hair!

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    1. Janet, we keep things locked tight, day and night.

      It does seem like easing to hood and then to ground might be easier.

      My hair is white! I don't think there is anyway to make growing out hair look better. Mine does not look good. Purple would be interesting. I would like pink.

      Delete
  3. I also think that I would have waited until it were morning to have called a locksmith. The late hour may have contributed to the high cost. I hate to pay extra.

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    1. Janet,
      Oh, the cost was higher because of the late hour. We knew it would be high. No, not sitting up all night was not an option. Just my/our choice.

      Delete
  4. I have a step brother that I was raised with from the ages of4-5 yo. I graduated hs, college, and received 2 masters degrees.My brother quit hs, no college. Luckily for him he learned the trade of lock smiting. I worked as a public school teacher but step brother has built a million dollar business fixing locks. Sometimes I wonder where I went wrong. Lol

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    1. angie,
      There are stories like that make me wonder, too. I had to fight those stories from my GED class who knew a local man who was a millionair and never finished hs, rap stars who never even went to hs. I pointed out how many people without education did not have teeth, lived in poor conditions, had children who died in the first year due to lack of funds or lack of knowledge. Yes, it is a mystery.

      Delete
  5. We keep a key out back for such a predicament.
    The only good ginger ale is Vernors; do not dare to question this.

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    1. Ur-spo,
      I am afraid to hide a key. And, getting to a key hidden would be hard for us and obvious to others.

      Delete

Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.