InCider Press, August 2004, page 5

thankfully he was still in the pod. I requested that he get some help and that he get it fast. He said he understood the urgency.

Pete departed and I tried again to open the doors; they were steel doors in a steel door jam and they weren't about to budge. I tried to slip my magnetic card in the door jam to release the latch; no success. I beat on the doors with the heel of my clenched fist; the door didn't budge. I paced back and forth to pass the time away. Finally, I started singing to take my mind off the fact that I might be locked in there for quite a while. As I was marveling at the reverberations my voice made inside this small enclosure, finally I heard someone on the other side of the door.

Pete had miraculously found a young student who was employed by the college during the summer. The student opened the door. I thanked him and Pete profusely. And then the student remarked that bathroom doors are a problem on the campus; he had been locked in one last year for over four hours until someone found him. My mind ran wild as I thought of how long my first lock-in may have lasted. After all, we weren't required to be checked in until 8 p.m. that evening. Had Pete gone out for the afternoon and had the other residents checked in near the final time, it would have been a very long afternoon.

After that experience, I called Richard Jackson on his cell phone and told him to "Take me home!" Obviously, he didn't take me home and I subsequently

(Continued on page 6)

Every person who sings barbershop harmony knows the thrill of locking-in on a chord with three other singers. This article will ultimately lead there, but only after I describe my first locked-in experience at Harmony College.

Some of you Little Apple Chorus members know that I departed for Harmony College with some reluctance. I had been all "fired up" about quartet singing after Singing Valentines and the Spring Show but then became irritated when I learned that my entry to the International On-line Bulletin contest had been accidentally lost and hence not considered for the contest. At this point I was totally irritated at the inefficiency of at least one barbershopper above me and I was having difficulty imagining that Harmony College could possibly be a positive experience.

The four Little Apple Chorus members departed on time and had a pleasant trip to St. Joseph, Missouri on a beautiful Sunday morning, August 1. We enjoyed a delicious lunch in the cafeteria and at 12:00 noon we were allowed to check in to our rooms. Each of us picked up our enrollment packet that included our room keys and headed out toward our dormitory. I was assigned to room 217D, Beshears Hall.

I arrived at the dormitory and used the magnetic key to enter and was greeted by Pete Betts from Waterford, Wisconsin who had preceded me by a few minutes. The dormitories are arranged in pods. On the left are two rooms, one on either side of a small bathroom. In the center is a large living room/sitting area. On the right are two more rooms, again on either side of a small bathroom. After a brief chat with Pete, I began unpacking. I was in the south room on the right. Pete was in the north room. After just a few minutes I needed to use the bathroom. Not wanting to destroy the air quality in the space between Pete and me, I decided to use the bathroom between the rooms on the other side of the common area where neither of those occupants had yet arrived.

I went into the bathroom and closed both doors (doors that lead to the two rooms that adjoined the bathroom.) Upon completion of my intended activity, I tried to open the door closest to me. It was locked. I then tried to open the second door. It, too, was locked. I had my magnetic key and a brass key attached to it in my pocket. I tried the key on both doors. The key didn't work. I was locked in a small 5 x 8 foot bathroom and I don't like enclosed places! I called for Pete and