Yesterday was not among my happiest days.

I left my apartment at around 3:00 p.m. for a quick run to the corner store. Soon thereafter this five-minute errand turned into a nightmare.

You see, as soon as the building’s second front door, that separating the vestibule from the street, closed behind me, I realized I had left my keys inside the apartment.

Is that a problem? Sure, you know it was, because you’ve probably done the same yourself at least once.

For me, however, it was a huge problem, because, first, I’m not supposed to be living where I’m living, meaning I couldn’t call the landlord, but also because, second, my housemate, the only other person in the world with keys here, wasn’t home, and I had no idea where he was, no way to reach him, and no idea when he would be coming home.

Worse, it was about 20 degrees outside, and around 3:30 p.m. it began snowing. As a result, it was far from pleasant to be sitting on the street waiting for my housemate to come home, or for even one of the building’s seven other tenants to show up, or merely trying to figure out just what the heck to do.

But do you know what’s really weird? I made a few visits to the nearby pizza place in search of a wire hanger and other tools intended to break in to my own home. And as it turns out, one of the waitresses working there last evening had also locked herself out of her apartment that afternoon!

What are the odds?

Yes, eventually I got back in, through the help of a nearby locksmith, but only after shelling out a hundred dollars for his time and expertise. At 6:30 p.m.

Oh, and by the way, if you think your house or apartment is secure, protected from burglary and intrusion, try inviting a locksmith over one day and just watch how easily he or she can get into your domicile. If you think criminals don’t know what locksmiths know, well, you have much to learn.

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