Wednesday, March 12, 2008

an early start on a career of crime

Evangeline has a promising career in burglary awaiting her.

I discovered this Friday afternoon when we were trying to leave the charter school. We had gone inside for Rachel to use the bathroom, and while I was waiting for the girls to finish up, I learned that the nurse had locked her keys in her office.

The lock is tempermental enough that the master keys wouldn't open the door, so a group of us adults stood around, trying to figure out ways to get in. The janitor fetched a stepladder, figuring on lifting the ceiling tiles, climbing through, and dropping down into her office. When he ruled that out as impractical, I took my expired driver's license and tried to open the lock like I've seen done on movies.

I must have tried for about 15 or 20 minutes, with no luck. The nurse had gone into the main office to see if she could contact someone to pick her up, and I was ready to give up myself, when Evangeline asked if she could try something. I handed her the card, and stood back to give her room.

She slid the card into the doorframe by the handle, turned the handle and pushed. The door swung open, the lock having been released by my little 8-year-old burglar.

Evangeline was a hit with the nurse, and with every other adult at the school who has heard the tale, but I'm keeping my old license under lock and key. Or I would, if I thought that would hold her off.


Copyright © 2008 by David Learn. Used with permission.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Credit cards (and old drivers licenses) are well known because of books and movies. But my own experience with needing to get a locked door open was that a pocketknife is much more effective.

Of course, neither will work with a deadbolt.