Comments The Locksmith Journals

day late

money? whats that?
OOOOOHHHHHH YYYEEEAAAHHH!!! Just a bit better now. Had to make a quick stop to mention this. The boss's son dropped off the van on Friday, I worked today. When he was dropping it off, he happened to mention the job that the boss asked my help on. It seems that the day after the boss finished the job, the son had to go out and fix his mistakes. I did say the locks were old and weird. Turns out the former owner was in construction somehow. I guess he had them custom made.
 

day late

money? whats that?
Okay. You should know by now, if I make a mistake, I stand up and take the hit. Better to get it over with right now. Then nobody has something to hold over your head. I had mentioned in all the things going on I had been reduced to one day a week. I completely forgot. I told the boss and company Mom has two doctors' appointments this month. One was a couple of days ago, the other on the 27th. Both days I'm supposed to work. They arranged for me to have both days off, so I'm down to one day a week. Slap me in the face with a wet fish and call me STUPID!

However, on the upside. Earlier today, just about closing time for the shop, I get a call. One of the boss's sons is stuck on a job. You know about these locks. If you're not doing anything, can you swing by and give him a hand?

At the moment I'm heading back to the house with a roasted chicken that we're having for supper. I'll call the son after I get there. One thing leads to another and I'm off to lend a hand. Now, this guy IS a locksmith. He's been with us for a while now. He knows what he is doing. But "age and experience, will overcome youth and skill." It was a keypad deadbolt, so not too old. The tool we have for picking slides right in. But you can't even find a pin, let alone set it. Different manufactures have different ways of doing things. The keyhole on this one LOOKED like a standard Kwikset lock. It was a Yale. The difference? Right at the top of the keyhole where the pointy part of the key goes in, there is a slight bend. About 10 degrees or so. The tool has the pic going up and down. Not, angled side to side at the same time. Makes all the difference. In short, the lock that COULD NOT be drilled as per the customer, that had stymied the son for about forty-five minutes, I had picked in about three to five.

I've always said, 'sometimes the old ways are the best ways'.
 
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day late

money? whats that?
This time I don't forget to mention it. IT IS so very nice to have The Lord lend a hand. This past week is the case in point. I was cut back to just one day a week. I was starting to get interested in finding a job with more hours. Hey, I started working decades ago as a dishwasher in a restaurant, I'm not so proud that I can't do it again. Gotta keep food on the table, don't ya know. So last Wednesday I get a call. The one of the boss's sons has covid. Can I cover on Thursday? Sure. I got nothing better to do. Thursday evening, after work, I get another call. The son is still testing positive. We know you may have plans, but can you cover at least Friday afternoon? Okay, I can do that. Means more money. Then I pull the regular shift on Saturday.

Maybe it is The Lord who is telling my boss,

"You need to keep this guy around".

Maybe. I couldn't say. But the nice thing is that on these extra days the work has been easy and not a lot. One of the days I worked I had just one job. I had to drive 45 minutes out of town to unlock a Ford Focus, VERY EASY, spend 5 minutes doing the job, then drive 45 minutes back. The nice thing about that job was the guy as mid-thirties, self-employed, and while we talked after the job was done, h said he wasn't too upset by this. It's a tax write-off. He uses his personal vehicles for business, so it is a business expense.

At any rate, I give all credit and honor to The Lord. Not only am I still working, but my value to the company is being shown to the boss in a way I have nothing to do with. Praise The Lord.
 

day late

money? whats that?
I know I've said it before. Just when you think you've seen it all, someone throws in a new wrinkle. And I'm really pi**ed about this one.

I worked today. It was a game day for the Gators. Game days are always busy days. I went on duty at 9, as usual. The first call came in a little before 10. I have to go to a place that is south of Ocala, which is south of Gainesville. An hour and ten minutes, one way. This kind of trip has happened before. I don't even ask why I'm getting the call instead of Ocala anymore. I arrive at the place, it's a gated community. The guard has no idea of who I'm talking about, and it takes a few minutes on the phone with the customer to finally get me inside. Now, I was told all I had to do was open a pickup. I get to the address, and this is when the 'customer' tells me she is calling for a friend who is at this address. No, she can't give me the number, can I just go knock?

This is where is just gets bizarre. I'm told I'm helping another lady, but a man answers the door. I explain who I am and why I have come. The lady on the phone wants to talk to the lady of the house, the husband says she's out shopping.

'Well, this guy is here to unlock the truck. I sent your wife $200 for him to do it. Can you just give him the cash and let him do the job? You can get it back from your wife.'

'First of all, it's my truck and secondly, I have the key for it. I don't need a locksmith.'

This continues for several minutes. The lady on the phone wants to talk to the wife. The husband says no. He's not going to give me $200 for doing nothing. The idea of opening the truck has completely left the conversation, but I'm asked if I can hang around for an hour for the lady of the house to get home. Why and what I was supposed to do were never explained. Also, I noticed that when I was sent, I was told the charge was $140. So, why is this lady now saying it's $200?

Needless to say, it turns out the trip was for nothing. The husband told me this is the second time in two weeks this has happened to him. I reported everything to dispatch. I was told this was about the fourth or fifth time this has happened recently. We're being called and sent on wild goose chases. I was told one guy, last week arrived at the apartment to open it. It is common for someone to wait in the car or something while we are on the way. Not seeing them waiting at the door is quite common. Usually by the time we get there, the customer is waiting for us. In this case as he got close to the door, someone walked up, put the key in the lock and opened the door he was supposed to be picking.

There are only three things I can figure.

1. Someone has a sick sense of humor.

2. Someone is testing us for some reason.

3. Someone wants us to do the 'breaking' for them so they can do the 'entering' later.

Except that doesn't account for the woman insisting I be paid for doing nothing before I left. Targeting the locksmith on duty? I don't know. Stranger things have happened. All I know is I spend hours driving between here and Summerfield when I could have been making money here.
 

larry_minn

Contributing Member
I called a locksmith today. BRRRR. Just phone search, they screamed SCAM over phone. SIL going on 2 month old info that we would be in CO today showed up there. *never mind info on family reunion in MN yesterday she was informed of over mont ago.. so she is there, no way in.
I decide to help as they brainstorm. Call, ask if paperwork texted could that be authority to let 3rd party in? “We need to send a locksmith to address”. Repeat, repeat, repeat. “What cost?” “We need to send locksmith to location from 50 miles away”. I keep saying “no I am doing INFORMATION ONLY”. They kept saying they were sending locksmith, ok?”. As if done deal. 4 fricken phone calls in 10 minutes. “No, no, no.“. I finally resorted to a lie. “They got in, thank you for the *lack of* information”
I read Day Late. This group was a far from him….
I just wanted to know if my wife with POA *of course expired because MIL passed* but I might forget to mention. The Executor of trust stuff? And if it would cost to unlock door I could pick.
 

day late

money? whats that?
I called a locksmith today. BRRRR. Just phone search, they screamed SCAM over phone. SIL going on 2 month old info that we would be in CO today showed up there. *never mind info on family reunion in MN yesterday she was informed of over mont ago.. so she is there, no way in.
I decide to help as they brainstorm. Call, ask if paperwork texted could that be authority to let 3rd party in? “We need to send a locksmith to address”. Repeat, repeat, repeat. “What cost?” “We need to send locksmith to location from 50 miles away”. I keep saying “no I am doing INFORMATION ONLY”. They kept saying they were sending locksmith, ok?”. As if done deal. 4 fricken phone calls in 10 minutes. “No, no, no.“. I finally resorted to a lie. “They got in, thank you for the *lack of* information”
I read Day Late. This group was a far from him….
I just wanted to know if my wife with POA *of course expired because MIL passed* but I might forget to mention. The Executor of trust stuff? And if it would cost to unlock door I could pick.

As with everything these days. Youtube. Type in "How to pick a lock" and you'll have more than you know what to do with. There are a few places you can get picks online. One that I have used before is lockpickshop.com. If it's just the doorknob, you might be able to bypass it all together. Send a PM and we can talk about it. And I'm sure you've done this, but have to say it. Check the windows. Especially those in the bath and bed rooms. Those are frequintly unlocked.

And it is my experience that if someone doesn't want to at least give you a ballpark figure for basic services, you don't want to hire them. I've seen cases where people count on being the "expert" and the customer not knowing. They do all kinds of things just to jack up the bill.
 

larry_minn

Contributing Member
As with everything these days. Youtube. Type in "How to pick a lock" and you'll have more than you know what to do with. There are a few places you can get picks online. One that I have used before is lockpickshop.com. If it's just the doorknob, you might be able to bypass it all together. Send a PM and we can talk about it. And I'm sure you've done this, but have to say it. Check the windows. Especially those in the bath and bed rooms. Those are frequintly unlocked.

And it is my experience that if someone doesn't want to at least give you a ballpark figure for basic services, you don't want to hire them. I've seen cases where people count on being the "expert" and the customer not knowing. They do all kinds of things just to jack up the bill.
O was in MN. House in CO. Honestly as i was going to be there in 3 days. Tempted to tell them to work dislodging sliding door rod. The garage door I suspect I could go thru easy. *has not been opened in +25 years is my guess*. Clean out, put new doors in.
 

day late

money? whats that?
O was in MN. House in CO. Honestly as i was going to be there in 3 days. Tempted to tell them to work dislodging sliding door rod. The garage door I suspect I could go thru easy. *has not been opened in +25 years is my guess*. Clean out, put new doors in.

Older house, no key, option #1 after all windows being checked. Check the hinge pins on any outward opening door. Drive them out and the still locked door can be pulled right off the hinges, unlocked, and replaced with little to no damage.
 

day late

money? whats that?
I do apologize for my absence. Lately things have gone kinda sideways. I posted on the main a while back that Medicare has decided it is too expensive to keep giving my mother transfusions. She is 92, has leukemia, and has been getting infusions of red blood cells for quite some time now. I believe they are the only reason she is still with us. I mean, high school biology 101. Red cells carry oxygen to all parts of the body. Without the red cells or the oxygen they carry, you die. Due to her age and condition, they will no longer authorize it.

The odd part is that Mom agrees with them. She is ready to go home and be reunited with Dad. As a vet, and seeing it strictly from the triage POV, I have to agree with them. You save the ones who can be saved first. The ones who might be saved second. The rest you make comfortable. It's not nice. It's not fun. It is the truth. Truth doesn't care about my feelings. I want to kill something.

Helene did some killing. My brother ended up with four inches of water in his bedroom, just north of Tampa. THAT was a glancing blow. He lost both cars for he and his wife, many of their personal possessions, and a lot of cabinets. Now Milton is getting ready to punch them right in the teeth. My brother and his wife have spent the last two days salvaging what they can and then evacing to higher ground.

Needless to say, it has been distracting. And with Milton coming, and with my brother out of touch and unable to do anything, guess who it all falls to. Given the chance, I'll return in a few days and tell you how I'm so amazed that people still put doorknobs meant for the interior on outside doors, and then still can't figure out how they locked themselves out or how to get back in.
 
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Texican

Live Free & Die Free.... God Freedom Country....
DL,

We understand what you are going thru.

January will be three years since my mother passed over from kidney failure and cancer at the age of 90. Mother was living with us as my DW's mother lived with us during her last days. They both passed over in our home and with us there.

It is better for them to pass over when there is no help, for what do they go thru during this time. Speak to your mother often and be with her.

Prayers for your mom, you and your family.

TD
 

day late

money? whats that?
Sorry to take so long. Life does have its twists and turns. Let me start by finishing what I promised. File it under "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity". I'm only work one day a week. TWICE in the same week people had accidently locked themselves out of the home. In BOTH cases, the front door was a Smart Key. Naturally, I ask about the back door. We go look and, in BOTH cases, the doorknob on the back door was the kind you put on the bathroom door. The kind that have a little hole in the knob and you use a flat piece of metal, ANY flat piece of metal that fits in the hole, to unlock the door. It is secure in name only. To top it off, both homes were in very high-end neighborhoods. Just going to prove, there are some folks with more dollars than sense.

Helene and Milton, both left us unscathed. A lot of yard debris, but no damage. Mom rode out both storms at home, and Helene passed far enough away that she didn't even know there was a hurricane. Milton gave her some wind and rain, but no big deal. My brother, who lives just north of Tampa, got hammered twice. I have pictures. To give you an idea, the waterline mark on his wife's Jeep is just above the front grill. Both her car and his truck drowned. There was about a foot of water in the bedroom which sits a couple of feet above ground level. If it is below waist level, it is badly damaged or destroyed. All drywall below 4 feet has to be replaced. You can imagine the state of the furniture.

I regret to say Mom has taken a turn for the worse. Physically she can still get around and take care of herself, but how do I say this? She knows who she is. She knows where she is. She (usually) knows who is around her and what is going on. She has no sense of time. She forgets to eat. The family finally decided that she just can't be on her own anymore. She didn't like that. It came to a crisis when my nieces came down from SC for a visit. Some things happened and the nieces offered to take Mom back home with them. One of them just went through this kind of thing with her husband's mother, so they are set up for it. Her sister lives with them and they have two teenagers running around, so no shortage of help. Mom wanted to stay home. At one point they gave her the option of dropping her off at my place on the way back to SC. She said fine. It's an hour and a half from her home to mine. Before they were halfway here Mom was asking why they were in the car and where were they going? They "reminded" her that she wanted to see the great grandkids and they were headed north.

"See Grandmom, we even have your suitcase in the back."

That was fine by her. Before they got halfway the Atlanta Mom was complaining that she didn't remember the trip taking this long before. It is a blessing to me. I was getting ready to quit my job and move in with her, if she refused to move in with us. It would be hard, but it could be done. And it is Mom. But she is now in a place where she is safe, secure, cared for and surrounded by people she loves and love her in return.

It seems the boss is having second thoughts again. After being cut back to just one day a week, he suddenly wants me back for two days a week, but they are Sat. and Sun. AND Sunday will be spent in Ocala. I can use the hours, and the boss is talking about a bump in salary on the days I'm down south. The wife doesn't like me driving that much. I'm thinking I can use the money and since I'm still just part-time he can afford a raise, so it is easier to keep track of my salary. nice thing is that I've got a couple of weeks to mull it over and with the election this coming Tuesday, it may all be a moot point by the weekend. Time will tell.
 
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day late

money? whats that?
One of the nice things about semi-retirement is that weekends no longer mean a lot. At one time it meant giving up things like hunting trips with the family. Now, if I go in the middle of the week, so what? It seems that almost everyone I hunted with is either dead or they just 'don't get out like I used to'. I say that when you start to act old, you get old. I'm 68 and perfectly comfortably sitting cross legged on the floor. True, if I sit too long getting up may take longer than it used to, but not that much longer and I don't need a cane to do it. My wife doesn't need a cane, but it is a rare thing to see her sitting on the floor. And she's the one that complains the most about aches and pains.

"Honey, you're freezing up. Get up and do something. Even if it's wrong, do something."

She points out the 'pile' she put by the curb after Helene. Maybe a foot in diameter, and 10 inches high. By the time I was done that day the pile was 10 feet long, three and a half feet high, and about two or three feet deep.

She complains about aches. You act old, you get old. I can go hunting in the middle of the week. Makes little difference to me.
 

seraphima

Veteran Member
You are so right about getting off the floor! For a while i lost the ability to get down on the floor and get back up without holding on. The next time i was doing some PT, i asked the therapist to teach how to get up and down again safely. Yes, it is possible to forget!
Now I get up and down at least once every day, and often more, and I can still mow the lawn and garden at almost 77. If I fall, i know that i can get back up.
So glad to hear you are out hunting and enjoying the natural world. More power to you!
 
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