October 1, 2018
The two new Lewis and Clark travel locks arrived in the mail on Saturday. Last night I opened the package; the new locks are red, sturdy, 3-digit combination, and identical to my two existing locks. I had four at one point, and lost two.
I read the instructions on how to set the locks to my own combination:
- Dials should be set at the factory combination of 0-0-0
- Pull shackle straight up and rotate it 180 degrees counter counterclockwise.
- Firmly press shackle down into the body of the lock, hold, and rotate it counter clockwise an additional 90 degrees.The shackle should be seated securely inside the body of the lock and will not come out.
- Set the dials to your own combination and remember the code.
- Rotate the shackle clockwise and pull it out of the body of the lock. The lock is now ready to be used.
They had lost me at 180 degrees counterclockwise, but I tried. What I wanted to do was call for Bill and hand him the locks. He was always the lock setter and seemed to have no trouble following the directions.
I thought of the bridge I had seen in Vilnius in Lithuania, the metal sides of the bridge almost invisible behind the array of locks of all sizes. When lovers marry, they put a lock on the side of the bridge and throw away the key, as a symbol of their undying love.
No beloved husband to help me with these locks. I turned to that modern servant YouTube and after watching an instructional video a few times, was able to set the locks, with a few mistakes and corrections. It was late when I finished. The locks sit on Bill’s old dresser, by his photograph, waiting for travel day.