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| If Only It Had Smelled Like a Rose |
You could smell it way before you could see it! And...for your information, I'm not talking about that supposed "king of fruit", the durian, that folks all the way from Thailand down throughout Malaysia, and into Singapore and even into wee Brunei LOVE! Granted, durians smell to high heaven and back themselves! What I smell, right now, while about 30 meters out, is the shopping mall bathroom!
Rank and repulsive...!
But I really, gotta go!
Beggars can't be choosers, they say, and so with nose prickling and bristling with disgust and protest, I keep tenacious course set for the "stink hole" to relieve and make my bladder gladder. With intrepid steps I pushed through the "haze".
Overwhelmed with the stench of urine that had missed its mark, or because someone had neglected to flush, I very gingerly and grudgingly took ballet steps into the bathroom trying not to come into contact with much of the surface of the place and ensconced myself into a toilet stall.
Definitely not stalling in doing my business, I "hung" over the bowl in bodily appeasement. It was a real juggling act not to slip on the wet floor, hold one's garments at bay and aim with accuracy all at once. Multi-tasking, I glanced around. Uh-oh!
It was remarkable that anyone would linger in any of those cubicles long enough to display their "artistic" talents upon the stall walls. Such graffiti itself was appalling; dirtier than the filth from those who couldn't care less if they'd peed or poohed properly or cleaned up civic-mindedly or not.
Praise be though, some God-fearing soul, I suppose, trying to be salt and light, wrote rather offensively,
"Cleanse your hands, you sinners and purify your hearts, ..." (James 4:8 NIV).
That wasn't very helpful at all but there was a humorous tidbit of advice someone else wrote,
"If you sprinkle when you tinkle, Be a sweetie and wipe the seatie."
At least they tried...
Oh another one quoted,
"He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully...these are the ones who may stand in God's holy place" (Psalm 24:4, 3 NIV).
That written in a most "unholy" place; so to speak.
Someone had tried to deface that verse.
You are likely wondering why I'm loitering in there! I'm actually half passed out, so may as well read on...
There was one more from another soul trying to save the day. She wrote,
"The blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, purifies us from all sin" (1 John 1:7 NIV).
That one was really scribbled over but you could still puzzle out what it said if you were determined.
Not that I agree with penning on walls that don't belong to you, but at least God had a witness especially in the 1 John Bible verse.
Enough already! It was more than time to hitch myself outta there! Finishing up, I timorously opened the door latch, which when you think of it, actually had locked, and went to cleanse my hands, if that were possible in such unsanitary a place.
It is a prerogative to bring ones own toilet paper and tissue into these places. Readying some I turned on the tap, fearing I may pick up more germs than what was on my hands. I went through the motions anyway - minus the soap that was not available. Patting my hands dry with the prepared tissue, I then twisted the tap water off, covering the tap with the tissue as I did so, feeling a bit like a criminal wiping out his fingerprints.
OK, my lungs are about ready to burst for lack of oxygen. However, one more consideration, and talk about recycle and reuse; don't throw your tissue away too soon, you still have to open the bathroom door to exit.
EEEEEEK! A cockroach! I'm outta here! PRONTO! Scuttling faster than that bug, I launch forth from that reeking place, gulping great gulps of fresher shopping mall air, thankful I hadn't swooned nor fallen to the very moist floor of that most appalling place!
~ERC August 2019~
P.S. Nowadays, the mall washrooms are not so terrible and there is more effort to keep them cleaner, if not entirely free from some nefarious smell or whatnot.
It is a prerogative to bring ones own toilet paper and tissue into these places. Readying some I turned on the tap, fearing I may pick up more germs than what was on my hands. I went through the motions anyway - minus the soap that was not available. Patting my hands dry with the prepared tissue, I then twisted the tap water off, covering the tap with the tissue as I did so, feeling a bit like a criminal wiping out his fingerprints.
OK, my lungs are about ready to burst for lack of oxygen. However, one more consideration, and talk about recycle and reuse; don't throw your tissue away too soon, you still have to open the bathroom door to exit.
EEEEEEK! A cockroach! I'm outta here! PRONTO! Scuttling faster than that bug, I launch forth from that reeking place, gulping great gulps of fresher shopping mall air, thankful I hadn't swooned nor fallen to the very moist floor of that most appalling place!
~ERC August 2019~
P.S. Nowadays, the mall washrooms are not so terrible and there is more effort to keep them cleaner, if not entirely free from some nefarious smell or whatnot.
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