Lucky for me, I have a daughter that likes to clean. Well, maybe she doesn't like it so much, but she is compelled to do it. She cannot stand when furniture is dusty or if the fridge is dirty - she will always clean or bring order. I believe it is in her nature.

We have lived in our home for just a few months now.  The other day, she came to me saying, "Mom, the heating vents have so much trash in them." On the upper level of our home, we have floor registers for the heat. I told her that I thought we could just pop out the register covers and vacuum and dust down inside them. The heat hadn't been working too well upstairs, but I hadn't really thought about checking the vents too closely. Each cover easily lifted out and to our amazement, they were all packed with trash!

There was a top layer of about 3 inches of dog fur, underneath that were pieces of wood, crumpled papers, candy wrappers, and screws and nails. It was horrific. The vacuum cleaner did double duty as we tried to remove as much filth as possible without touching. The vacuum tubing became clogged at one point and we had to take it apart to unclog it. Interestingly enough, in one of the vents, I could see what looked like the top of a can protruding. I felt a flutter in my stomach as I reached in and tried to pull it out; it had become wedged in the ducting. After a bit of manipulation, I was able to remove it completely. It was a full, doubled-end doorknob. And even further into the duct were the bolt mechanism and the strike plate. Seriously.

Someone had discarded hardware from a door in the heating vent..., I wish I could say it was interesting, but it was rather disturbing and made me wonder about people. Sometimes we hide information or knowledge, when really, it is completely unnecessary. Sometimes, we hide what we believe to be important, when really it isn't that important and it would be better off discarded or let go. The unnecessary cover-up - almost as bad as a lie.

Every day, we are given the opportunity to make an impression, leave a thought, create a presence, remove a doubt, lift a fear, ease a burden, aid in a process, build a profile, or be a part of a profit center where the best people come together with the best technology or the best ideas. Hidden agendas or cover-ups do not make great case studies in the best business practices. Here's the thing, whatever you try to hide is bound to be found. A doorknob is just a doorknob, don't be so desperate to hide something so simple, so common.

It just goes to prove that every door has a knob.

by rayannethorn