open, sesame

My friend Ed accuses me of being coy on political positions.

My standard reply is: "I'm not going to commit myself. Someone else is going to have to sign the papers."

Well, it may be time for someone to pull out a pen.

Yesterday I headed over to San Patricio to pick up the laundry and to replenish the pantry and refrigerators with a couple of days of food. When I got back to the house, I grabbed two full shopping bags, one in each hand, and headed toward the door.

My brother has a stock phrase for moments like this: "Every process has a sequence." A stock phrase I was not heeding.

The door to my house is always locked. That is the nature of its construction. When the door closes, the latch engages. Without a key, entry is barred.

The sequence I had missed was that my door key was in my pocket and my hands were now full. So, I grabbed both bags with my right hand and started fumbling in my left pocket for something to open the door.

I thought I had it. I stood there repeatedly pushing the button, but the door would not open. (I apparently could not hear the locks on my car repeatedly trying to open behind me.)

You, of course, know immediately what happened. Something that took me far too many seconds to realize. I was trying to open my front door with the fob that controls the locks and ignition for my Escape.

I like to think that I took the fob out of my pocket because I had just used it to open and lock the car doors on my errands. But even that is simply an admission of a logical error of categories. If the fob opens doors, it should open my front door. (Politicians of all ilks fall into that one repeatedly.)

Whatever it was that led me to choose the wrong option to open my door, I am certain there will be many more in the future. It is simply another of those mile posts on our life journey reminding us that there is a cost for everything. We may have gained wisdom with our years, but the gaining of wisdom is no guarantee that it will be properly applied.

Or maybe it is not that at all. Maybe that little creative voice that seldom talks to me was trying to make a point. An electronic opener for the front door would be a cool idea. Why not? I have one for the garage door.

Those of you who so graciously pulled out your pens to sign the commitment papers should now head over to Amazon.Mx. Certainly there is something for sale there that will make me look at least a bit less silly.

Standing in front of a door pushing the buttons on a car fob is ludicrous. Standing in front of a door with an electronic door opener that really opens doors would be cool.