Sam’s Locks
A while ago I took writing lessons with Sue Katz. Below is my homework from 2010 (lightly edited). If I remember correctly, this piece was inspired by Sam Steingold.
—My friend Sam installed six locks on his door to protect himself from burglars.
—I know. I visited your friend. He has six very cheap locks. Any professional could open one in a second, so Sam’s door will only resist for six seconds.
—Yeah, but those locks aren’t completely identical. Three of them unlock with a clockwise motion, and three with a counterclockwise motion.
—So what? The thieves will just turn the lock mechanism whichever way it can be turned.
—Not so fast. Sam never locks all of them. Every time, he randomly picks which ones to lock.
—That might work, but what if he forgets which ones he locked?
—That’s okay, He remembers which way to turn every lock to unlock.
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