Locked in/out stories

[shootingstar]

Today our early morning bike ride together became something else..because we got locked in our own home. The lock got stuck and we couldn't get out!

Our security front desk staff couldn't help with master key, so phoned locksmith.. I ended up going cycling alone while he stayed behind to wait for locksmith on this fine sunny summer morning/day.

He and I met up a few hrs. later with him only doing a functional short ride to accomplish several errands.

And we will pay our $200.00 bill for the locksmith. ^R$E$E$%$@#+! But it is a critical thing that had to be fixed.

[Tuckervill]

$200 bucks! Yikes!

Here's my story:

Chicago. Winter time. Karen is 3. Brothers are at school. Mommy goes out the front door to take out the trash. Being the helpful girl she is, Karen reaches up and locks the deadbolt.

Mommy comes back up the steps and realizes the door is locked. Peeks in. Sees Karen peering back at her from the other side of the door. "Unlock the door, Karen!" Karen smiles and laughs. "Turn the latch, Karen!" Karen giggles. More pleading. More giggling. More frustration. More delight.

In desperation, Mommy goes down the stoop and looks for a brick. Finding one, she peeks back through the door glass and says, "Back up, Karen!" Karen, finally obedient, disappears into the kitchen. "Good!" thinks Mommy.

Mommy lifts the brick, and SMASH, breaks the window. Karen comes running back, followed close on her heels by Daddy, who had just come in through the back door with his key!

Karen

[Trek420]

This one happened right here on TE with the Bike Friday that Duck on Wheels bought from a TE'er. Check the last post on this thread:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=21246

[shootingstar]

Trek/Duckwheels: would have driven me nuts to be unable to access a bike!

So Tuckerville, your father got brickbatted in the end?

Several summers ago, I left my home keys which had my bike lock key, at the office. On a Friday before the Labour Day holiday weekend. After backpedalling (meaning by local bus and walking), I couldn't find my keys since it was locked in ANOTHER building.

Anyway I got our building security person to unlock and provide access to home. But I was fuming that I couldn't use my locked-up bike for a 3-day weekend. In the end, I solved problem and bought a new 2nd bike ..one that I had been eyeing for last 4 months. And cycled my heart out that weekend. First day on new bike I did 90 kms....was so stoked!

[Jolt]

This is a crazy one. A couple of summers ago I was home on a weekday while my roommates were both at work, and I heard some commotion from a few houses down that sounded like a husband possibly about to get violent toward his wife (they were having a nasty argument). I decided to go out and investigate to see if I needed to call the police. So, I grabbed my cell phone, my pepper spray, but not my keys--and locked the door behind me. OOPS. They resolved their argument without it getting physical, and I went to go back inside and realized I had locked myself out. I called my roommate (who is also the owner of the building) but she was not available to come let me in. The windows were wide open so I figured the thing to do was to find a ladder, climb up to the second floor and try to push up the screen (or push it in if necessary) to get in. Of course, this being a weekday, most of the neighbors weren't around to borrow one from. I went to the neighbors across the street since they were home, but they didn't have a ladder either. They insisted on calling the fire department to bring theirs and let me back in (when they called they said I "might have left the stove on" or something like that)! So, that's how I got back into the apartment that day. How embarrassing (but really funny later)!

[ilima]

I once (20+ years ago) had the FD help me get back in my locked house. IIRC, one of them went on the roof and climbed in my parents bedroom window, which was open.

I actually just locked myself out today. Dropped my car at Sears and caught a ride home with friend. Got up to my door and went Oops. Landlord, who lives just up the slope, was home so it wasn't a big deal.

[sfa]

My husband is notorious for losing track of time and being late for things, so for our wedding he was a bit paranoid about making sure he was at the church on time. The night before the wedding he went to bed (he was staying in a local hotel) and set the alarm so that he'd have plenty of time to get ready for our 2:00 wedding, but he had probably been partying a bit too much because when he woke up and looked at the clock that said 2:25 he panicked--he jumped out of bed, ran out of the room, and then woke up and sobered up fully when he heard the door click locked behind him and he realized he was standing in the hall of the hotel at 2:25 in the *morning* completely naked.

He had lots of friends and relatives staying in nearby rooms and he could have knocked on any of their doors for help but he didn't want to do that--he knew he'd never hear the end of it. And he knew he couldn't take the elevator down to the front desk since it opened right into the middle of the lobby with no place to hide, so he took the steps down to the lobby. The steps let out around the corner from the desk, so he stuck his head around the corner and asked for a key to his room. Unfortunately, the guy at the desk recognized him: "hey, aren't you the guy getting married tomorrow?" But he got the key, got back to his room safely (and undetected by relatives) and made it to our wedding on time the next afternoon.

He told me the story on the way to our hotel the following night and made me swear not to tell anyone for a full year. So now I tell people about it as often as possible!

Sarah

[Grits]

My son was taking care of a neighbor's dog while they were on vacation and locked the key inside their house. I was not able to contact them on their cell phones and could not find a neighbor who had a spare key for them. I was about to call a locksmith because we can't leave the doggie locked inside (!) when I decided to google "how to open a locked door with a credit card."

I looked at the directions, went to their house with an assortment of cards (library card, frequent shopper cards, etc.) and popped that lock in about 2 seconds! It was actually kind of scary how easy it was to break into someone's house.

[Pan Dulce]

My husband is notorious for losing track of time and being late for things, so for our wedding he was a bit paranoid about making sure he was at the church on time. The night before the wedding he went to bed (he was staying in a local hotel) and set the alarm so that he'd have plenty of time to get ready for our 2:00 wedding, but he had probably been partying a bit too much because when he woke up and looked at the clock that said 2:25 he panicked--he jumped out of bed, ran out of the room, and then woke up and sobered up fully when he heard the door click locked behind him and he realized he was standing in the hall of the hotel at 2:25 in the *morning* completely naked.

He had lots of friends and relatives staying in nearby rooms and he could have knocked on any of their doors for help but he didn't want to do that--he knew he'd never hear the end of it. And he knew he couldn't take the elevator down to the front desk since it opened right into the middle of the lobby with no place to hide, so he took the steps down to the lobby. The steps let out around the corner from the desk, so he stuck his head around the corner and asked for a key to his room. Unfortunately, the guy at the desk recognized him: "hey, aren't you the guy getting married tomorrow?" But he got the key, got back to his room safely (and undetected by relatives) and made it to our wedding on time the next afternoon.

He told me the story on the way to our hotel the following night and made me swear not to tell anyone for a full year. So now I tell people about it as often as possible!

Sarah

That is the best story. Ever.

[solobiker]

DH takes our dog for a "ride" whenever his car needs gas. Well, one time he took her and she got all excited when she saw him on the outside of the car that she put her front paws up near the windows (so she was standing up on her back legs). She started to move back and forth in this manner along the window and proceeded to lock him out of the car Luckily it was a short walk back home to get my set of keys.

[gavin_m]

Wife's Uncle was house-sitting when at 1:00AM he locked himself out letting the dogs go pee. He was in only his underwear, briefs.

He had to scale their back fence since he didn't have a key and go door to door asking to use the phone to call a locksmith. Several people denied him.

[PscyclePath]

Back the first of June, my mother was in the hospital recovering from a broken hip and all the stuff that goes with a partial hip replacement. The second weekend, little sister (who goes by "Hub" here on TE) came up to visit her, and visit the bike shop, since they apparently don't have those things in Mississippi.

That Saturday I had to work at a project we were doing to build up bikes for a youth program at the community Boys & Girls Clubs, so I checked on Mom way early in the mornig, then went over and started wrenching. Hub comes by in the late morning to borrow my house key so she could pick up some stuff for Mom and do some laundry for her. No problem... I'm up to my eyebrows in bike parts and volunteers. We finish up a little before 4 p.m., so I pack up the truck and head back over to the hospital to check on Mom.

Shortly afterward, Hub calls me to let me know that she's on the way home, back over the river into Mississippi, and by the way, she still has my house key that she forgot to give back. We'd had some issues the previous year with Dad and his Alzheimers and his tendency to want to wander around the countryside at odd hours, so had put some major upgrades to the locks on all the house doors and window. Now, there are two keys to that place -- mine, which had now wandered off to Mississippi, and Mom's, which was safely locked in the house with her car keys.

I found really quickly just how good an upgrade we had put in, as I was flatly locked out. For awhile, I was glad that I had my Civil War tent (that I used to use to go re-enacting with) in the back storage shed, because I was almost convinced that my dog and I were going to be living in it until the mail came from Mississippi. I finally found a back window into my bedroom that hadn't been replaced, got my ladder, climbed up and took down the storm screen, and got the window open, so I could go find the other key.

I didn't tell Hub for a day or so, but let her think that Sam and I were staying in the dog house.

As Hank Williams once sang, "Move over, old dog, 'cause a new dog's movin' in."

[Tuckervill]

DH takes our dog for a "ride" whenever his car needs gas. Well, one time he took her and she got all excited when she saw him on the outside of the car that she put her front paws up near the windows (so she was standing up on her back legs). She started to move back and forth in this manner along the window and proceeded to lock him out of the car Luckily it was a short walk back home to get my set of keys.

I hopped out of my Ford Explorer at a gas station once, with my 7 yo to go in and use the rest room. Left it running, because my 20 lb. Jack Russell was in the car and it was a little hot. Came back out, and realized I'd locked her in the car!

She was quite the wiggly little dog, so I spent quite a bit of time trying to get her to dance her little feet up on the door handle, hoping she would step on the unlock button. She got bored when no meaty treats appeared through the window and finally just laid down and went to sleep.

Husband just happened to be driving back into town from his weekly business trip. Had to wait an hour and a half, though! oy. Luckily, the a/c was on in the truck and the dog was cool.

Karen

[NoNo]

One of my first business trips was to King of Prussia, PA for a training class. I had gone back to my room for the evening and ordered room service. Went to put the tray outside my door and it slams shut behind me. I was now locked out in my Spongebob pants So I sucked it up and went down to the lobby to get a new key. Of course a whole bunch of people had to be checking in then, forcing me to stand around and wait. When I got home and told my parents, they said "Why didn't you just use the courtesy phone?" Now I know to look for phones on the wall in the hallway.

[GeoCam]

Years ago when I was an associate in a law firm, I got to park in the basement of the building. One morning I got out of my car, dropped my car keys into my purse and set my purse, lunch and "stuff" down on the garage floor while I got the briefcase out of the back seat and locked the car. Somehow, I managed to autolock the doors and swing the back door shut with my hand in the way!!! I couldn't reach my purse with keys inside, so I had to stand there with my hand smashed in the locked door until another car drove into the underground parking area. I didn't know the man, but started yelling for help. When he saw my predicament, he started pawing through my bag with shaking hands looking for my car keys. I was a tad panicked and was shouting at him "Just dump it out - PLEASE!!!" He finally got the car unlocked and freed my hand, which required medical attention. I still get the chills every once in a while at random times when I am slamming a car door and the memory comes back to me.