Today I went out. On the way to going out I tried using the door to/from my apartment building. Kind of a glitch there, because when I grabbed it and turned it the inner part...Well, it didn't fall off, but something inside the knob had been detached so that when I pulled, it stretched but the door didn't move. After a few tries I remembered the other entrance. Not that it took much remembering, since it was in my line of sight. Anyway, when I came home, the doorknob had been replaced.
So, you got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, I guess.
2 comments:
This reminded me of a favorite moment in PKD's Ubik:
Joe Chip is sitting in his apartment; he walks to his front door to open it.
The door refused to open. It said, "Five cents, please."
He searched his pockets. No more coins; nothing. "I'll pay you tomorrow," he told the door. Again it remained locked tight. "What I pay you," he informed it, "is in the nature of a gratuity; I don't have to pay you."
"I think otherwise," the door said. "Look in the purchase contract you signed when you bought this conapt."
...he found the contract. Sure enough; payment to his door for opening and shutting constituted a mandatory fee. Not a tip.
"You discover I'm right," the door said. It sounded smug.
So far we're lucky things haven't come to this - yet.
Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy your blog post titles?
Slight addendum. The next day I came home and found my key wouldn't work in the door. It fit, it just wouldn't turn. It turned out that they'd installed a new lock, based on one lady's keys, but because hers was a little more worn everyone else needed new keys. I was just one of the first to notice. Locksmithing must be a great trade to get into, because the number of things that can go wrong is so great that if you mostly avoid them you're one of the best in the biz.
Ubik is one of my favorite PKD novels. The central gimmick of technologies within that world continually getting more primitive is brilliant.
And thank you. I just try to keep it fresh.
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