Code Red at Home Depot

Over the July 4th weekend, my (then) 19th-month-old son, Clark, as well as my mother-in-law and brother-in-law, were trapped for over an hour in a Home Depot elevator. I should've written up all the details soon after it occurred, but maybe it's better this way since I'm not as angry.

Suffice it to say, there was plenty of idiocy displayed on many fronts. First and foremost, the fact that it took over an hour to get the elevator open, when there was an infant trapped inside. Second, the fact that they had been having elevator troubles before, and didn't bother acquiring the tool (a rod with a special something on the end) needed to unlock the door. (It was a Home Depot, for crying out loud!) Third, the fact that both the police and employees assured me that nobody would open the door without giving me notice--so that I could yell to my mother-in-law to hold Clark away from the door--and yet that's exactly what happened. Fourth, the fact that the firemen and police assured me that when they cut the power to the motor (standard procedure when the elevator is stuck between floors), the ventilation and lighting would stay on inside. (They didn't.)

You might be expecting an anti-government rant right about now, but I must disappoint. For all their flaws, the cops and firemen at least showed up. In contrast, the manager had called two separate private elevator service companies, and nobody from them showed up during the entire ordeal.

(Oh after I posted this initially, it occurred to me that in the interest of fairness, I should mention that most of the Home Depot employees seemed very concerned, including the manager. They gave us the stuff we had earlier picked out--a 10,000 BTU air conditioner and a long card table--for free.)