Monday, September 14, 2020

The key to this lifestyle

Lou left on a fishing trip and I stayed behind to look after his place. I’m playing the part of Kindly Old Caretaker, so I expect some kind of Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew/Scooby-Doo mysterious goings-on to break out in the next few days. Or maybe I’ll suddenly be struck with the compulsion to don a mask and murder teenagers. Fortunately, all the sharp implements are locked up.

Speaking of locks, Lou has many more than I do. This is to be expected since he’s a property owner.
LOU’S KEYS (that I know of)                          MY KEYS
House door                                                 Van
Shop door                                                   Cabinet
Storage trailer side door
Storage trailer back door
Storage trailer hitch
Well house
Mower
Car
Truck
Camper
Various cases, chests and boxes
I’ve always tried to be a man of few keys. I don’t like carrying a bunch of them in my pocket. The most I ever had to carry daily was when I lived in San Francisco. I had keys for my apartment door knob, my apartment dead bolt, the building front door, my mail box, the garage, my car, the cover for my car stereo, and the office. Those were the years I carried a man purse. (Because fanny packs were gauche, even in the 80s.)

But besides avoiding the annoying bulk of many keys, fewer keys indicate a less complicated life. Less access needing to be gained or prevented. You simply go about your day with a little less rigamarole. And sometimes less worry, because there are fewer things to lock up, or less need to lock things up in the first place.

The cabinet key listed above? I haven’t used it in years. It’s not on my key ring. So it’s just the key to the Rolling Steel Tent, with a red ribbon attached to make it easy to find. And having just one key means my old man brain doesn’t struggle remembering which key is for what.

4 comments:

  1. I have a truck key, a trailer door key and trailer outside storage compartment key. That is as light as I can get for now.

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    Replies
    1. RV/TT makers should know that traveling presents so many opportunities for misplacing things and therefore install keyed-alike locks.

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  2. It was kind of unnerving to find out the key to the MH door and outside compartments also works for the locks on the truck's (random)shell/topper.

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  3. That was one of the things I liked about traveling in my van--one key. The apartment key I might need if I got home when Dave wasn't there was stashed in the van someplace. Other keys I might need in the apartment were stashed in the apartment. One key! Man that was life as simple as it could be.

    In the place we are now I also only have one key, but it is a key card setup to open various doors. I don't like it as well as I did the van key because it does a good job of jumping out of my pocket when I retrieve something else. Man that van was easy living. Except for the need to dump tanks.

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