The terror of getting locked in the chicken house

It isn’t the first time (and I am sure it won’t be the last), but I got locked in the chicken house last week.
My chicken house has two roost rooms and two runs outside. Right now, I have the older hens and the two big roosters in the east side, and the younger hens and their two roosters in the west side. The door into the house is on the west and there is another door between the two. When we built the house, which is a conversion of an old addition from a mobile home, the door didn’t shut against anything that could have a normal door latch, so I bought a gate latch that automatically locks when the door is shut.
So yes, it has gotten me before.
But I thought I had it remedied: I had fastened a piece of line from the latch through a crack in the door jamb and fastened it on the inside, so I could just pull the string and unlatch the door if it latched when I was inside. Well, this time, the line got tangled somehow and when I pulled on the string, it didn’t work.
So there I am in the roost room with no way out. The door won’t open. I looked at the door the hens go out of and knew there was no way I could get through that door — my hind end is much bigger than any hen’s hind end. Rick was in the house and wouldn’t hear me if I did holler, I didn’t bring my cell phone, and even if I did, Rick wouldn’t answer the house phone. Angie had to be at work so I knew I couldn’t call her. So after I panicked for a minute, I decided I would have to find my own way out.
I found a piece of cardboard and with some wiggling, some frustrated moments, and some tears, I finally managed to get the latch flipped up and get out of the roost room. It took me a little while, but not nearly as long as it seemed. It seemed like I was stuck in there for hours, it was probably only a few minutes, certainly less than 10.
When I got in the house, I told Rick what happened, and his remark was something to the effect that he would have come looking for me. When I asked him how long it would take him to realize I hadn’t come back in, he just grinned.
So I straightened out the line and am grateful my chickens will soon be moved back into another older chicken house. One that is sturdier and not as infested with mice, and that I won’t get locked inside.

Black Canyon Bean Salad
- 2 16 ounce cans black beans drained and rinsed
- 10 ounces frozen corn, thawed
- 1 whole red bell pepper chopped fine
- 2 halapeno peppers, seeded and chopped fine
- 1 serrano pepper, seeded and chopped fine, optional
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 1/3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup lime juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- I clove garlic, minced.
Prep all ingredients and mix together, chill for several hours to let flavors blend.