I’m very thankful for public restrooms but you sort of have to wonder who designs some of those stalls that divide the toilets.  I tend to gravitate towards the ones created for those with walkers or wheel chairs because they have more room.  Most of the “regular” size ones have doors that open inward.  I realize they do this so you don’t whack people when you’re coming out of them but I’ve been in several that have made me feel like the only way I’m getting out is if I’m willing to put one foot in the toilet!  I’ve run into a few that have doors that literally touch the front of the throne when the door is swung inside.  Is it just me or do you have issues with some of these situations?

A few things have changed for the better.  I don’t mind the toilets that flush themselves but I’m okay if they don’t.  I remember eating at a restaurant one time and upon visiting the restroom I saw a sign above the toilet that read, “Toilet will not flush automatically.  Please push the button.  We’re very sorry for the inconvenience.”   I sort of chuckled in disbelief.  Would there actually be people that would complain about that?  I realize they wanted the toilets flushed and perhaps they figured people were growing accustomed to having the toilet flush itself but seriously, if it doesn’t flush, are there really people that will just leave it?  What am I saying?  Of course there are!  Ugh!

I really like the new toilet paper dispensers I am seeing now that feature the “TP An Entire Block Of Houses” size rolls.  They take a long time to run out and the paper rolls off pretty easy.  I can still remember the regular size rolls of toilet paper they used to stock their restrooms with.  It was thin enough to read a book through and tough enough to write a letter on and they would slide it onto those oval rollers that caused it to serve you several pieces of toilet paper, one square at a time.  What were they thinking?  Did they really want people sitting on those toilets for as long as it took to get enough to wipe?  I’ve heard of pinching pennies but this was ridiculous.

The hand drying methods have changed too.  It went from paper towels, to air dryers, to paper towels, to turbo air dryers and then back to paper towels with motion sensors.  I sort of like the paper towel dispensers with motion sensors when they work.  They seem pretty reliable but I’ve definitely had my share of times when I found myself waving at one of those crazy things every which way I could think of only to eventually notice the sign above it that says “Out of order.”

Now that we’ve discussed almost every thing about a public restroom with several stalls it’s time to share an experience I had a while back and in this particular restaurant there was only one restroom with one toilet and one door with one lock.

Every once in awhile, before I moved, my friend and I would meet for supper.  We always laughed and carried on like school girls and had the most wonderful time.  We usually met at the same place and always joked that we would be there until they were ready to close but they sort of got used to us and they didn’t seem to mind.  On the night the lock issue transpired my friend had to leave a bit earlier than usual so we walked out to our cars together and eventually she left.  I decided I should probably use the restroom before my 23 mile drive home so I went back inside the restaurant.  It was a very nice, new facility and the unisex restroom was created by putting up some walls in this rectangular space with the door facing the dining area.  I walked over to the bathroom door and pushed the lever handle down and began to push the door open.  It gave me absolutely no resistance and once open my eyes caught site of the guy standing in front of the toilet taking care of his business, I almost let mine trickle down my leg!!!  He tossed a pleasant smile my way and said, “I’m almost done and then it’s all yours.”  What else could he say?  He could see I was in shock.  I’m not sure why but it felt almost as if time had stopped.  I felt like I stood there for 20 minutes when in reality it was probably less than five seconds.  Perhaps this guy forgot to lock the lock.  Perhaps he thought he did but the lock was faulty or perhaps I was just one of his many victims and this type of thing gave him a thrill.  I will most likely never know but from now on I plan to knock a few times before flying through any public unisex restroom doors that don’t appear to be in use!  Maybe those restrooms with those munchkins size stalls aren’t so bad after all.  I may have had a wet foot while trying to get out but my tinkle would have been in the toilet!