Prisoner of Best Western

I awakened to an alarm clock and stretched my arms high above my head. I was in a nice, quiet bedroom, an extension to my hotel suite in Best Western in Addison, Dallas, Texas. Another beautiful day of flying ahead of me. I was going to shower and then meet Bruce for breakfast before we went exploring town for the day prior to our evening departure. I hopped out of bed and walked the two steps to the bedroom door and turned the handle. Nothing. I turned a little harder on the door handle and tugged on the door. Still no movement. I leaned over to watch the door jam as I turned the handle several times, and the bolt wasn't moving at all! I was stuck in my room!

My only tools to aid me were a pen lid and a several wonderfully soft pillows. I didn't think they would help me much, so I finally gave in and called the front desk. I had to explain the situation several times. "Yes, I am locked IN my room. HELP!" He called a maintenance guy but then tried to come to my rescue himself. However, being the safety maniac that I am on the road, I had dead-bolted and iron-armed the entrance door to my hotel room. They had three things against them in trying to get through to the bedroom door to save me! I was positive my oxygen level was sinking lower each second...

I pressed my ear against the bedroom door and could hear the front desk guy trying to get in. Apparently, you can do wonders with a screwdriver and an electronic key. However, he couldn't get past the iron arm that swings over the door frame to keep intruders out. Another twenty minutes of waiting, and I heard a light tapping on the hotel door. Gonzolo, who apparently speaks "un poquito Ingles" was knocking at the hotel door for me to let him in. As I continued to wait on the bed, trying to decide how best to look decent when they finally barged in to rescue me from my delinquent door, I heard a sawing noise at the room entrance. They were hand-sawing through the iron arm!

Hesitantly wrapping myself in the bedspread, being careful to only let the inside touch my skin, I waited for the inevitable. Finally, I heard the last sawing motion and a "klink" sound as the iron arm hit the floor. I heard the door open and then my own bedroom door also opened. I WAS SAVED!

Total time of imprisonment: 52 minutes. Rather than waiting to fix the bedroom door handle after I checked out, Gonzolo proceeded to fix it right there on the spot. This prevented me from showering and making up for loss time. Twenty minutes later, he mumbled something that I think was supposed to be English and left. What an adventurous way to start my morning! I will always check door handles on both sides before I disappear for the night. Turns out the oxygen level didn't change at all.