SPH: Rattle The Locks

Old locks in heavy doors and antique writing desks...Colonial Williamsburg
(Click pictures to enlarge)

"Locks keep out only the honest." ~ Jewish Proverb

Something old... the familiar shape of that favorite keyhole, the lock through which children spy as their parents wrap Christmas presents or the young man tries to catch a glimpse of his first corset. I always wondered if someone were looking through the lock from the outside and a person inserted the key from the inside... would it poke the spy in the eye? As large as some of these Colonial keyhole locks are the keys must have been gigantic and heavy... it would be best to keep ones eye away.

Modern lock... combination...left 23, right 10, left 5.

"If hard work is the key to success, most people would rather pick the lock." ~ Claude McDonald

Almost everyone, well... except my dad who probably didn't have school lockers back in his day... everyone recognizes this lock. At my school it was given out the first day and you had better not lose it; by the time my daughter needed one... we had to provide our own. These locks are the bane of a junior high student's existence. First, can they remember the combination... second, can they remember if it is right two full turns then to the number and back a full turn left and then stopping on the next number and then back to the right, being careful not to twirl past the correct number or you would have to start all over.... and third... if, perchance they do the whole combination correctly, will it open or will there be a flurry of pulling and shaking and tapping and frustration and ... ultimately, starting over again. I do believe that many kids think a pair of industrial strength wire cutters should be standard issue for these situations.

Of course, this particular lock has been in a drawer and I am not quite sure if it was one Nyssa had in school in Mississippi or if it was one of my dad's locks... neither of us has any idea at all of what the combination is.... I don't even know why we keep it... maybe the vain hope that someday one of us might remember...Sigh!

A pile of locks and keys... no longer allowed.

"When two friends part they should lock up one another's secrets, and interchange their keys." ~ Owen Feltham

I have a plastic baggie filled with small locks... those with tiny keys and some with combinations (this too is futile as I cannot remember those programed combinations either.) Most of these were once used on luggage... does anyone remember this... back before the world turned upside down when terrorists flew those planes into our lives and ripped apart our feeling of security? We used to be able to lock our luggage for air travel. It gave a sense.. yes, I know it was a false sense, but it was a feeling of strength. Those baggage handlers that throw the luggage around like apes and stomp on them like elephants and drive over them with baggage carts after they have fallen off (that really happened in Rome), couldn't possibly break through these locks and scatter our clothing all over the concrete taxiway of a major metropolitan airport! Right... dream on!

Some of these were probably used to lock up those secret diaries we wrote in daily as teenagers.. or at least as teenage girls. Monday, October 2...John looked at me across the room. He is soooo dreamy... Katie says he likes me.. I hope so... I love John... Study hall was soooo boring.... I wonder if he will call me... Goodnight Diary. Tuesday, October 3...John looked at me across the room. He is soooo dreamy... Katie says he likes me.. I hope so... I love John... Study hall was soooo boring.... I wonder if he will call me... Goodnight Diary. (etc.) OH, the angst that went into those pages... it was a very good thing that they were kept locked away... English teachers everywhere would be moaning and groaning if they read these masterpieces and somewhere Shakespeare rolls over in his grave!

Fancy lock... if only it were real.

"But I have learned a thing or two;
I know as sure as fate,
When we lock up our lives for wealth,
the gold key comes too late."
~ Will Carleton, The Ancient Miner's Story

I thought I would throw in a fancy lock... if only the stones were real, but no, they are not. Still it is one of my favorite pins and I am not really into pins. This one is small, a lock with a golden key encrusted with clear and sapphire crystals. In analyzing why my mother is really into costume jewelry pins of all sorts and I am not, I've decided it is because of a childhood trauma. Pins have to be pinned. This involves sticking that sharp stick through the clothing, back out and into a very small clasp. I remember getting stuck with those pins as a child..a small pin on a dress or a corsage... even when I was older and trying to put one on myself, I was stuck with those pins... I really don't like being stuck... so, I wear this one, but only rarely. If it were encrusted with diamonds and sapphires I would probably have it in a safety deposit box at the bank and would NEVER wear it!!!

Precious locks...on my precious daughter.

"Long, glorious locks, which drop upon thy cheek like gold-hued cloud-flakes on the rosy morn." ~ Philip James Bailey

I have posted a similar picture before, at least a couple of years ago. Nyssa has always had this long to die for hair. Left on its own to dry, it falls in perfectly proportioned wavy ringlets, but with just a little flat ironing it morphs into a sleek straight look that stays. There are no perms or body waves in the world to get my hair to curl like that; nor is there any smoothing gel, serum, or paste to make it stay silky and straight for even fifteen minutes, never mind all day. Just let me step out into 80% humidity for ten seconds and I can almost feel the frizz starting and the ends curling up in a most unflattering position... there is no point... just stick on a hat.

Nyssa has always had long hair, except for that time in first grade when she cut all of her bangs off.. down to the skin and had only an eighth of an inch of hair left sticking straight up in front.. again... hats for almost a year. In 2006, she experimented with a short do that required her long locks be cut. While I thought she looked sophisticated and grown up, she didn't care for this style and has grown her hair out again.. not quite as long, but close. The cut was not a tragedy however, she donated her long ponytail to Locks of Love, where it was made into a lovely wig for children undergoing chemotherapy. This is a great idea for anyone contemplating a radical hair change; Locks of Love does amazing work.

Just a few examples of locks... old, new, borrowed and really, one of these was blue, it just didn't get in the picture. And one set of locks that I hope will come home for a visit soon! I leave you with this last thought to make you smile today.....

"I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three." ~ Elayne Boosler

Saturday Photo Hunt is graciously hosted each week by Tennessee Chick... check out all those who participate... really, there are some fabulous photographers out there!

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