Hey guys it sounds like your actual keys are malfunctioning. Charles, it sounds like you are already aware of this… To get into safe mode though (which is a very powerful troubleshooting tool and feature for Android phones by the way) you typically have to hold the Power key and another button like the volume up key at the same time while turning on the phone which instructs the phone to boot into Safe mode.
If however your volume key is stuck down or malfunctioning you might not be pressing it in yourself but your phone might think you are and it thinks that you actually trying to enter Safe mode (even though you aren’t).
So start by rebooting your phone first and then a battery pull (if available) and then check those keys. You can read more about trying to fix this problem at [http://www.smartmobilephonesolutions.com/content/how-to-get-android-phone-out-of-safe-mode|Trying to fix an LG Optimus that’s stuck in Safe Mode]. I think that should help.