COLUMN: A FUNNY THING HAPPENED…

“People my age remember the days when the door was never locked.”

It was a family gathering. Six of our children from Ottawa, New Jersey and Vancouver were there to support my husband, Don, and his surgery for cancer. We rented three apartments for the gang, and each apartment had two keys.

We had two cars, with four drivers, who shared thee sets of keys. Our collection included apartment keys, spare keys to my car, condo key, front door key, mail key, basement storage and a few whose purpose was long forgotten.

This largest collection was the one we lost! However, we didn’t think it mattered. We had duplicates!

We got home to Huntsville to discover the set of duplicate keys we left with a painter had gone missing, too. And the condo was still unpainted.

Our mailbox key was with a friend. He had been hospitalized in Buffalo, but left the key with another neighbour.

We finally got the door open and went to bed, still asking: “Where are those keys?!”

Why do we need KEYS?!!!

What would life be like without them? Most keys are to keep people out or to keep things in. I wonder what it would be like if we trusted each other?

People my age remember the days when the door was never locked. Perhaps we could trust each other enough not to need keys! But for now, I’m forever asking: “Where are those keys?”

Ritsu Clark, 90, is wife of Rev. Donald Clark, and resides in Huntsville.