Public Bathroom Etiquette #1

Since this seems to be a recurring theme, I'm just going to start numbering them. So, strap in for the very first installment of Public Bathroom Etiquette!

 

Let's kick this series off by going on a little trip to the past. Twenty years ago, I remember being absolutely revolted by the bathrooms in my high school. So much so, that I did my best to not use them. Perhaps that's part of the reason I'm shit shy...

 

Fast forward to college. I remember thinking, Damn, these bathrooms are still absolutely disgusting. Maybe even worse than those in high school. I can't wait to graduate and get away from these morons.

 

Fast forward again to my first few weeks in the "real world." (Which, I'd like to point out, was a tad bit easier than working a 40-hour week at a farm store while taking 18 hours of physics and math courses, despite what so many people kept telling me. Let's just say that "Just you wait..." is not exactly one of my favorite things to hear.) I've graduated from college and entered the professional work force. I'm working in an office building with a bunch of other professionals. Absolutely no riff-raff allowed in here; we had a guard and everything. So imagine my horror when I spotted the little collection of boogers on the wall above the urinal, just like in high school and college.

 

That's when I realized: I'm still around the same people that I went to high school and college with. Sure, the names and faces have changed, but essentially the group composition is the same. All of which is to say that nothing changes. The general proportion of sick, nasty bastards remains the same, they just hide it better in public...mostly.

 

In my line of work, there are an over-abundance of acronyms. However, one I wish I'd never had to encounter is PnF. It stands for Pee-n-Flee, or Poo-n-Flee if you're just one mutation short of reverting back to a troglodyte.

 

Not washing your hands in my household - both growing up, and now - carries real consequences. And almost every level-headed person I've ever spoken to as an adult feels the same way. (I say almost, because one time at work I was introduced to a guy who was a confirmed PnF'er. I refused to shake his hand, even though it made the situation kind of awkward.)

 

I know I've talked about this before, but it bears repeating. My 3-year old knows how to wash his hands. Hell, if no one has ever shown you, I'll teach you, too. Wash your damn hands.