Lock Me Up Scotty!

I returned from the ALA conference in DC last night. Milo greeted me at the door with is big smile and wagging his tail.

I enjoyed the conference and DC a great deal. The weather was perfect and the hotel was great- with the exception of a very last minute freaky incident that brought on a slight panic attack.

I was checking out of the hotel on my way to a meeting yesterday morning and when I went to leave the hotel room, I could not get out of the room!!! For some unknown reason, the door handle would not turn to open the door. I tried and tried with no luck and called for help at the front desk. A few minutes later, the manager of the hotel showed up and took his card key to open the door and he couldn't open the door! It was not cool. He was baffled and for several minutes (which seemed forever) he tried to get the door to unlock.

I heard him call for back-up and power tools. Hearing him on the walkie-talkie only made me panic even more. I envisioned the fire department showing up and having to climb out the window onto and ladder!

Suddenly, I heard this steel crowbar prying the door open- or attempting to pry it open- with NO success. The manager was trying to be apologetic and assured me help was on the way. I was thinking the whole rescue squad was on the way at this point. Headlines- "GUEST LOCKED IN HOTEL ROOM FOR SEVERAL HOURS".

The manager was using all his power to break the door and pry the frame away from the lock. He was not having much success! We are talking steel frames here- not a wooden door.

Ten minutes went by and I was breaking a sweat. The manager finally took the crowbar and smacked the door handle on the outside so hard he broke the latch and KICKED the door open. In my usual way, I stood there and gave a slight chuckle, grabbed my bags and walked out. I was not a happy camper.

The sad thing is that I didn't make it on the news and there wasn't a picture of me climbing out the window down a firetruck ladder!