When you have
to visit a public bathroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile
politely and take your place. Once it's your turn, you check for feet under the
stall doors. Every stall is occupied.
Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the
woman leaving the stall.
You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter, the
wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants! The dispenser for
the modern "seat covers" (invented by someone's Mom, no doubt) is
handy, but empty. You would hang your purse on the door hook, if there was one,
but there isn't - so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mom
would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR!), yank down your pants, and assume
" The Stance."
In this position your aging, toneless thigh muscles begin to
shake. You'd love to sit down, but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the
seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold "The Stance."
To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what
you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear
your mother's voice saying, "Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat,
you would have KNOWN
there was no toilet paper!" Your thighs shake more.
You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday
- the one that's still in your purse. (Oh yeah, the purse around your neck,
that now, you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same
time). That would have to do. You crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's
still smaller than your thumbnail .
Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn't work. The
door hits your purse, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest,
and you and your purse topple backward against the tank of the toilet.
"Occupied!" you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your
precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, lose your footing
altogether, and slide down directly onto the TOILET SEAT. It is wet of course. You bolt
up, knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact
with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU
never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken
time to try. You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew,
because , you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat
because, frankly, dear, "You just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could
get."
By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the
toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire
hose against the inside of the bowl that sprays a fine mist of water that
covers your butt and runs down your legs and into your shoes. The flush
somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty
toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too.
At this
point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat.
You're exhausted. You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket
and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks.
You can't figure out how to operate the faucets with the
automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and
walk past the line of women still waiting.
You are no longer able to smile politely to them. A kind soul at
the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your
shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED
it??) You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell
her warmly, "Here, you just might need this."
As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered,
used, and left the men's restroom. Annoyed, he asks, "What
took you so long, and why is your purse hanging around your neck?"
This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with a public
restrooms (rest??? you've GOT to be kidding!!). It finally explains to the men
what really does take us so long. It also answers their other commonly asked
questions about why women go to the restroom in pairs. It's so the other
gal can hold the door, hang onto your purse and hand you Kleenex under the
door!
to visit a public bathroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile
politely and take your place. Once it's your turn, you check for feet under the
stall doors. Every stall is occupied.
Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the
woman leaving the stall.
You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter, the
wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants! The dispenser for
the modern "seat covers" (invented by someone's Mom, no doubt) is
handy, but empty. You would hang your purse on the door hook, if there was one,
but there isn't - so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mom
would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR!), yank down your pants, and assume
" The Stance."
In this position your aging, toneless thigh muscles begin to
shake. You'd love to sit down, but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the
seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold "The Stance."
To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what
you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear
your mother's voice saying, "Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat,
you would have KNOWN
there was no toilet paper!" Your thighs shake more.
You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday
- the one that's still in your purse. (Oh yeah, the purse around your neck,
that now, you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same
time). That would have to do. You crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's
still smaller than your thumbnail .
Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn't work. The
door hits your purse, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest,
and you and your purse topple backward against the tank of the toilet.
"Occupied!" you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your
precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, lose your footing
altogether, and slide down directly onto the TOILET SEAT. It is wet of course. You bolt
up, knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact
with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU
never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken
time to try. You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew,
because , you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat
because, frankly, dear, "You just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could
get."
By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the
toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire
hose against the inside of the bowl that sprays a fine mist of water that
covers your butt and runs down your legs and into your shoes. The flush
somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty
toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too.
At this
point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat.
You're exhausted. You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket
and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks.
You can't figure out how to operate the faucets with the
automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and
walk past the line of women still waiting.
You are no longer able to smile politely to them. A kind soul at
the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your
shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED
it??) You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell
her warmly, "Here, you just might need this."
As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered,
used, and left the men's restroom. Annoyed, he asks, "What
took you so long, and why is your purse hanging around your neck?"
This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with a public
restrooms (rest??? you've GOT to be kidding!!). It finally explains to the men
what really does take us so long. It also answers their other commonly asked
questions about why women go to the restroom in pairs. It's so the other
gal can hold the door, hang onto your purse and hand you Kleenex under the
door!
