keys.

there are exactly seven locked doors between my apartment & the computer lab, the only place other than the starbucks 20 miles away that i have access to the internet. and except for the stone-age-speed of the internet in the computer lab, i'm just grateful to feel "connected" to the world.

in fact, locked doors are EVERYWHERE on the campus of the psychiatric hospital i'm working at. patients have a tendency to try to escape, or "elope" as they call it. just the other day walking through the halls, a "Code 1" was called over the loud speaker--which meant that every available nursing personnel & security came running because one of the female patients was trying to escape & run down the stairwell.

she didn't get too far.

i got my own set of keys when i arrived here. and aside from the fact that they make me feel very special & important...they also allow me to use the bathroom and you know, get in the building. i soon discovered they were more of a necessity than a glamorous wristlet i got to carry around all day.

and see that whistle? that shiny whistle?

that, my friends, is my only way of calling for help, should one of the felons they are holding on a self-proclaimed "insanity" plea decide to take me down. with no phone & brick walls connected by locked doors...i'll be left blowing that whistle.

and given my impaired sense of direction, it will also come in handy when i get lost...in which case i'll be blowing that whistle & hugging a tree. just like Barney taught me....