One day, on the way home from middle school, a young boy visited the town library. Before attending to the stacks of books, he thought he'd better visit the bathroom. He walked up to the librarian's desk, positioned adjacent to the bathrooms. "May I have the key to the Boy's Room," he asked the stern, elderly woman at the desk. She begrudgingly reached below her desk and pulled out a well-worn, foot-long, two-by-four block of wood that had a small key attached to one end.
The young boy unlocked the bathroom door, took care of his business, grabbed the piece of lumber with the key attached, and headed for the door. He twisted the door knob, but it was locked. He looked at the knob for a key hole, but there was nothing. With mounting concern, he shook the door knob, but it wouldn't give. The young boy was suddenly filled with panic. He pounded on the door, hoping the librarian would release him from his prison. There was no response. He cried out at the top of his voice, "Help! I'm locked in! Help me, please!" He stepped back, and waited breathlessly for a response. But there was nothing.
Just as hope faded, the young boy looked again at the door. He saw something on the door, just above the door knob--something that had previously escaped his notice. A large, rectangular, chrome...push plate.
He swallowed hard and gave it a shove and, with a whoosh, the door swung open, under the irritated gaze of the old librarian. Sheepishly, quietly, the boy laid the block of wood with the key on the librarian's desk and exited the library--never to return. The moral of the story of when I--I mean when the young boy--became trapped in the bathroom, perhaps one moral among many: in life and business, in times of uncertainty and fear--especially when you're feeling trapped--don't overlook the obvious. Where are you feeling trapped? What might the useless key attached to the piece of lumber represent to you? What might the constructive solution--so obvious that you have hitherto failed to notice it--look like? Where's the "duh...huh?" moment for you? |