This is a funny story about parenthood to teenagers. You never know what you’ll run into on your work day when you’re a US locksmith, and this one is a classic story.

Teens. You never know what to expect. Photo: Shutterstock

It all started with a call to our Wellington Locksmiths office. The caller said she was locked out of her house so I got on my way right away. When I got there I discovered a frustrated lady, with grocery bags next to her in front of her closed front door. She said she just came back from the store, unlocked the door with her key, yet the door won’t open. I checked her keys and the lock and they were fine and clearly unlocking the door, but the door wouldn’t budge. I know that lots of our customers in Locksmiths Wellington have deadbolts on the inside of their door, so I asked the lady if that was the case and she confirmed that they have one. But, she argued, how could it be that the deadbolt is locked, if you can only lock it from the inside and there should be no one in the house?

Well, I gave her a few seconds until it dawned on her that that means there’s someone inside, and that person made a point of locking the house so no one else can get in. She seemed more angry than scared to the thought, and demanded I unlocked the door at once. I didn’t want to cause too much damage to her front door, so we went to the back door which was locked with a regular lock (but she didn’t have the key on her) and I unlocked it for her. She asked me to go in with her, in case the person in the house is dangerous, so I escorted her inside.

And there, on the sofa in her living room, we found two teenagers, barely dressed, busy in “the act”. To this sight the lady went ballistic. Turns out the boy in the pair was her son. He and his girlfriend cut school for some private time. He made sure to lock the door with the deadbolt so his mom can’t go in without ringing the door and giving him a warning. But then he got so entranced with what was going on he never even heard his mom’s car, his mom’s key, and not even his mom’s banging on the door trying to open it… He looked really embarrassed, trying to find his clothes to dress up while his mom was screaming at him, and the poor girlfriend just ran off to hide in another room.

Now, working for Locksmith Wellington I’ve been to some awkward situations, but this one was a bit funny too. When it was clear the lady really didn’t need me anymore, I bid goodbye and took off. I think I managed to hear her yellings all the way to our Wellington Locksmith office…

Every now and then experienced locksmiths find themselves in the midst of a sensitive
family situation. I have seen family members in the middle of a dramatic fight, I have
seen couples exchanging spiteful looks while I unlock their door, I have seen tragic
moments and I have seen scary moments. It’s the nature of our job, to be called in to
some unusual moments.

One morning we received a call to our Locksmiths Coral Gables office. The caller was a
young woman, who said she had a safe she couldn’t open. When I arrived to her well
kept beautiful house, she told me that until recently this was a home for what she
thought was a happy couple. However, just a few days ago, her husband announced he
was leaving her for another woman, packed a few things and left. I expected her to
break into tears when she told me that sad story, but in fact she seemed more angry
than sad. She said that right before her husband left, he changed the code to their
house safe, to a new code she didn’t know. She was outraged about it, especially since
some of her savings were in there, and demanded the safe to be opened right away.
I took a look at the safe. Having worked for many years for Coral Gables Locksmiths, I
have opened a lot of safes, and this one was no different. When I opened the safe door
her eyes shone – inside, next to her jewelry, were two big stacks of cash. She explained
these were vacation savings of theirs, and she was worried her husband took it with him
to his lover. Since she wasn’t going on a vacation with him anymore, she announced, she
will now take the cash to a money spending spree in Orlando. She laughed loudly, and
seemed almost happy.

Right then she noticed something else – under the stacks of money were a few small
boxes, with what seemed to be expensive cosmetics products. Her eyes narrowed.
When I asked what was going on she answered that she never dared buying such
expensive products, and this was probably her husband’s lover’s creams. I could see
her getting angry, but she kept a leveled tone, when she asked me to change the safe’s
code to a new one. “My husband will be back in a few days”, she explained. “He wasted
my time and money when he forced me to call a locksmith just to open our safe, so now
he should get a taste of his own medicine”.

I did as she asked and went back to our locksmiths Coral Gables office. I was about to
forget the whole ordeal when a call came, a few days later, from a man at the same
address. It was the husband, who came back and wanted to unlock his safe. Our Coral Gables Locksmiths office sent another locksmith to the case, so I wasn’t there when they
opened it, but I can only imagine that he wasn’t happy to discover the surprise his wife prepared for him…

When we first received the call that morning I wasn’t too intrigued. When you work as a locksmith for a long time you get used to hear about finds of old safes, in need of a professional assistance to open it up and find out what’s inside. In our Kendall Locksmiths office we’ve seen a lot of these, and I assumed I will find inside what I normally see in these old safes: long forgotten papers, once important but now worthless, sometimes an item with sentimental value to the owner, and only rarely (but it does happen!) something of a real financial value, a forgotten jewel, a stack of cash that grandpa locked in and the grandchildren are more than happy to find 30 years later.

So I didn’t think this time would be any different. The couple who called our Locksmith Kendall office that morning told a familiar tale: they have recently bought a house in Kendall, Florida. The house had been empty for years and in a serious need of refurbishing. As part of the works their contractor removed the carpet at the house – and was surprised to find a safe underneath.

Now, I should point out that the couple who bought the house was super psyched about this. Since the safe had been completely covered by the carpet, meaning truly hidden, they were convinced something really big was waiting inside, big enough for somebody to go through the effort of hiding it so well. I guess we all had this dream of finding a treasure, and they thought theirs was coming true.

So I sat down to work and started unlocking the safe. This was an old mechanism, which was clearly not touched for at least 20 years. However, I’ve been working at Kendall Locksmiths for many years, so it wasn’t such a big challenge to open it. When I opened the door, we all stared inside, wondering what we will find.

Now, before I continue any further and tell you what I actually found there, I should point out a fact known to any American: Florida was built on water. In other words, the land we walk on is soaked. Dig in a few feet in your garden and there’s a chance you’ll find moist earth.

So just imagine a safe, down in the cellar, hidden deep in the ground for many many years.

When I opened the door of that safe, the first thing that hit us was the stench. A real moldy, wet kind of smell. This didn’t mean good news, but the curious couple insisted on finding what’s inside. Whatever it was, it was wet. Real wet. The safe was half full with dirty stinky water. I realized that nothing valuable will come out of these water, but the couple started fishing things out of the murky water. They found some unidentified pieces of unclear material. This could have been old papers, or even old money bills, but now it was junk. In fact, a dangerous junk, as who knows what kind of fungus was in this moldy water. I advised the couple to stop touching the water, wash their hands with a disinfecting soap, and have their contractor get rid of the safe in a safe way. They were disappointed but promised to do so.

As for myself, I went back to our Locksmiths Kendall office, and washed my hands again and again. And still, every time I smelled my hands that day it smelled like mold. So I’d like to finish my story with a professional tip from us locksmiths here in Kendall Florida: people often hide safes in the ground, but if you live in Florida, please remember the water. In some places, hiding a safe in the ground will end up with a lot of wetness and no treasure…

This is a funny story about parenthood to teenagers. You never know what you’ll run into on your work day when you’re a US locksmith, and this one is a classic story.

Never know what to expect with teens. Photo: Shutterstock

It all started with a call to our Wellington Locksmiths office. The caller said she was locked out of her house so I got on my way right away. When I got there I discovered a frustrated lady, with grocery bags next to her in front of her closed front door. She said she just came back from the store, unlocked the door with her key, yet the door won’t open. I checked her keys and the lock and they were fine and clearly unlocking the door, but the door wouldn’t budge. I know that lots of our customers in Locksmiths Wellington have deadbolts on the inside of their door, so I asked the lady if that was the case and she confirmed that they have one. But, she argued, how could it be that the deadbolt is locked, if you can only lock it from the inside and there should be no one in the house?

Well, I gave her a few seconds until it dawned on her that that means there’s someone inside, and that person made a point of locking the house so no one else can get in. She seemed more angry than scared to the thought, and demanded I unlocked the door at once. I didn’t want to cause too much damage to her front door, so we went to the back door which was locked with a regular lock (but she didn’t have the key on her) and I unlocked it for her. She asked me to go in with her, in case the person in the house is dangerous, so I escorted her inside.

And there, on the sofa in her living room, we found two teenagers, barely dressed, busy in “the act”. To this sight the lady went ballistic. Turns out the boy in the pair was her son. He and his girlfriend cut school for some private time. He made sure to lock the door with the deadbolt so his mom can’t go in without ringing the door and giving him a warning. But then he got so entranced with what was going on he never even heard his mom’s car, his mom’s key, and not even his mom’s banging on the door trying to open it… He looked really embarrassed, trying to find his clothes to dress up while his mom was screaming at him, and the poor girlfriend just ran off to hide in another room.

Now, working for Locksmith Wellington I’ve been to some awkward situations, but this one was a bit funny too. When it was clear the lady really didn’t need me anymore, I bid goodbye and took off. I think I managed to hear her yellings all the way to our Wellington Locksmith office…