Thursday's Thistles

Thursday Thistles

Last night started out just fine – I was on time to meet a friend for drinks and while I normally do not take the Metro into work, I did so out of necessity as I attended the event at the Pentagon in the morning and parking is out of the question. Things took a downturn when I being engrossed in a call with my daughter I hopped out a station too early at about the same time I realized my phone was about to die.

Finally reaching the end of the line, I realized that my change in routine that morning and the fact that the weather was unusually beautiful when I left my office cause two spiraling events to occur. First, rushing to catch the metro train that morning I placed my keys in my coat pocket. Secondly, I deliberately left my coat at work because I didn’t want to carry it on Metro and the weather was warm. All at once I realized I had no keys and the only phone number I had for the person I was meeting was in my phone. And my phone was dead.

This was not turning out to be the evening I thought. The plan had been to get home early enough to shower, change, let the dog out and head for the restaurant with at least five minutes to collect myself, my thoughts and make a nice entrance. Instead now I had no way of getting anywhere - anytime soon anyway.

Alas, remembering that I have my phone charger in the car only I could find myself in this predicament with the solution being one of breaking into my car without breaking anything. The back window comes down on its own with pressure. I know this and now any thief reading my blog will also know it. But my single goal at that moment was to reach this guy before he headed out so as not to inconvenience him. What I had not remembered is that when you open the door to my car without the correct clicker-thingy that was used to set the lock in the first place, the alarm sounds. And sounds and continues to sound. The one good thing is he knew I was not lying when I told him my this shouldn’t be happening story. The alarm in the background was my witness…

One thing down, now the next step was seeing about getting someone to pick me up and find a locksmith to assist. Most normal folks have extra keys with pertinent people who might be in a position to help them. My people have changed over the past several months (a completely OTHER story) and the two people who remain with a key is my daughter 200 miles away at law school and my long-ago fired dog walker who never returned my key. My daughter who is local did not have one although she made a gallant yet unsuccessful effort to get into my office to retrieve my keys for me - she gets kudos for effort. I will have to soul search to determine if the reason she has no key is because I have little faith that she won’t loose her keys, and ultimately mine included.

Onto the next step….reaching my good and very dependable friend Jonas whom I knew would pick me up from Metro and at least be a calming influence because little rattles his cage. And he has patience and the ability to be quite resourceful in a time of need. In my own mind, this certainly was that time. I then called information from my still alarm-sounding car to get a number for a 24-hour emergency locksmith, cringing at the thought of what it was going to cost me. I’d rather spend the money on almost anything else. Yes, they could send someone to meet me at 8:45. And it would be $39 for the trip charge and $15 and up for the rest. Great, an open-ended charge…my fate determined by the driver.

At 8:45, Jonas and I were sitting in his car in front of my place waiting patiently (Jonas was anyway) for this guy to show. At 9:05 I called and found out he was still on his way). His entrance came about 5 minutes later. He does not ask for identification until I remind him that he should be…no laughter – he’s not finding my humor to his liking. He then asks for a signature guaranteeing I will pay the trip charge and the additional $139. I make a stab at trying to get the price down since I found it hard to believe that I went from $15 to $139 and he hadn’t even opened his tool kit as yet. I decide that I have no choice. It is now almost 9:30 and my poor dog has not gone out as yet. (There are times when her lack of potty skills do come in handy).

He picks and he picks at my lock (Jonas makes a joke about the fact that he wouldn’t make a very good thief) and declares it impossible thus stateing that he will now have to drill it open. Jonas quickly picks up on the fact that this means I will need a new lock. I inquire about the cost. Of course he’s not sure. I have had enough of this guy by now and believe that he is picking prices out of the air. After telling him, never mind – we’ll break a window instead and suddenly he is willing to include the lock in his price which was along the lines of what I was thinking when I told him that I’ll just pay the trip charge. I figured he’d somehow find a way to make it work….instead of losing the money.

As soon as he was out of there, Jonas and I go around back to break a window. Jonas told me it would be an easy fix and he could rig it so it was safe overnight. We quickly find out it appears to be shatterproof glass. I look at Jonas, he looks at me and we just shrug. I tell him at this point that there may be an opportunity to get in through one of the upstairs windows that I was 95% certain was not locked. Jonas in his ever-patient way says it will be no problem, he’ll go change from the car to the truck and get the ladder. He did and I climbed through the bedroom window, found my keys and we were off to get my car from the Metro. By this time it is 10:30. At least my dog is now with me…and has had a chance to go out. In the back of my mind I am wondering if only a car key is enough to get the car home since I used that clicker-thingy to lock it…hence the alarm. I wonder if a key is enough. And the spare clicker-thingy is long since lost on the parkway by the daughter who loses keys. See I told you.

Long story about to end…the key caused the alarm to once again sound and the car would not move. Cheers be to Saturn who may not have made the best car in the world…at least it can’t be easily stolen by me. A thieving mind may have been able to figure out a way….

Oh happy day…