today i had two excellent experiences, two really choice moments in the public bathrooms in arles, france. the first was a public stall contraption with metal doors and foot pads that you stand on to pop a squat over a hole in the ground (no toilet bowl). this is hard for us ladies. it’s hard to position yourself just so, then you must make sure your pant legs aren’t touching the slimy floor, then, well, you have to think about peeing. pee! starting peeing! god, then you can’t! but you must because there’s only so long you can pop that squat before your legs start to shake. and then you must make sure you don’t pee on your pants or shoes. and there’s no toilet paper, naturellement. so, right, i’m doing my thing, and i’m almost finished when gad zooks, out of nowhere, totally unprompted, all this water starts spraying from the floor around and over my feet to flush everything away! wet feet from a public hole in the ground. argh!
what if you had to poop? or, god forbid, had diarrhea? what then?
moment #2 came from another public toilet, this one with a metal bowl (no toilet seat) but a bowl so scuzzy, so spotted with liquids that there’s no way you’d want to sit on it, let alone be anywhere near it, so you’re squatting again, and no toilet paper again, and a disgusting stench and no flusher.
dad’s experience boiled down to peeing in a corner with two small saloon doors covering his bits as people walked by. i walked out and told him, well, ahem, that was an experience, and he said, yeah, it’s like people around here think of peeing as breathing, as like nothing special, as something you just do and don’t even think about, a non-event. and yes, i agree, isn’t it? of course, we all eat, sleep, pee. but america has the comfort thing down: the free, clean toilets at grocery stores well stocked with paper and seat covers, sanitizing soap and hot water and towels. even the honey bucket porta-potties are better equipped than the public toilets here. it’s the little things in life that make a difference, the little things we all take for granted and forget about until they’re not there. from here on out i will always appreciate toilet paper!