To listen to the audio of this post, follow the link. Life is never short on unplanned adventures. Today we had a unique experience. We were temporarily imprisoned in a store. Here is how it happened. We were intereste…
Today we had a unique experience. We were temporarily imprisoned in a store.
Here is how it happened. We were interested in a specialty product. We found the store that sold it.
When I called, the lady was pleasant and said they would be happy to have us come into their showroom. She said they liked to focus their attention on each customer, so they made appointments.
This seemed a little strange for a large showroom, but we thought, "What a nice, personal touch."
Then the lady said, "When you come, if the front door is locked, just call me. Sometimes, if we are in the back, we lock the door."
No problem. We arrived at the time of our personal appointment.
Sure enough, the door was locked. There was no one in sight. Jay knocked. I was getting ready to call when a lady appeared.
She invited us in, looking in all directions as she did. As soon as we were inside, she reached behind us and locked the door. There was no push bar to get out.
We immediately questioned why we were being locked in. She said, "I am a single woman here alone and there are all kinds of homeless people that might try to come in."
Jay, having worked in various safety capacities over the years, pointed out it was not permissible to lock people in. There has to be an instant way of escape in fire or disaster. That is why there are push bars on doors and clearly marked exits.
Much to our amazement, the lady said those rules did not apply to them. She said they were "private," not "public."
As she was now looking at us with a look of paranoia, being an old psych nurse, I sensed potential danger. I thought it best to just leave gracefully.
We attempted to disengage, but she was not having it. We were both beginning to feel a little panicked.
She continued to argue and finally unlocked the door. She then "ordered" us out of the store and said she would call the police if we did not get out.
We did not have to be asked twice. We gratefully left with no information about their products, but with verification our adrenal systems were working.
Neither of us have ever had such an experience. We pondered calling various people, but ultimately decided we will pray for her to have safety, security and peace in her life. She does not need more stress nor do we.
But we will not go back there. We are both rather claustrophobic, so it's not an experience we want to repeat!
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