I try to mix heartfelt writing here with observations about my kids and the world. This week will be a little different. I’ve been trying to solve a mystery for some time now and perhaps I should be reaching out for some help. I have exhausted the help of wife and family and no turn to blog readers for help. What could possibly go wrong?
Here we go.
The Curious Case of Winnie the Pee
As few people know, I have taken on a year long project and will be documenting the experience for a book for next twelve months. This project will require me to spend more time than usual in the gym and in the vegetable section of the grocery store.
My body had grown doughy and somewhat translucent over the winter months and I was not looking forward to my first day at the gym this last January. I tend to go to the gym before the sun comes up and that day was no different. I entered the gym around 5:30 which means the mystery started at approximately 5:35 A.M. That detail may seem too specific, but I’m no detective so I don’t really know what is important and what isn’t.
I put my glasses, my sweatshirt and hat into a locker and prepped for my run. I decided to use the restroom if for no other reason then to delay the inevitable run I was about to go for. I took the end urinal, because I know the code, and began to relieve myself.
Here is where the mystery hits full stride.
An older gentleman strode up and chose the urinal next to me (despite the third urinal being available mind you). My attention was drawn to the man due to the slap of his bare feet against the tile floor. My cockles went up. Who walks barefoot to the urinal? Disgusting, sure, but a mystery? Not really.
For my more feminine readers. A note about men’s locker rooms. They are regulated places. Regulated by social norms that go back to ancient Greece. You can shower, change all in full view of your cohorts. It is also more than acceptable to have a modicum of inhibition in such situations and change under a towel or even at home. Those rules go for both the shower and locker room, but that brand of exhibition tolerance does not extend to the urinal area. Those rules aren’t written anywhere but they are widely accepted and understood all the same.
The fact is, that even without those rules, it does not explain the need to remove shorts entirely. I pondered that fact long after the man put his shorts back on and left.
Here is what I came to. He was a swimmer. He had no shoes on because he was headed to the shower and his swimming suit didn’t have a ‘pee-flap’. That reasoning doesn’t excuse him completely, but it begins to flesh out a reasonable explanation.
I was satisfied with my rationale and made my way to the treadmill in some brand of peace. A peace that was instantly broken.
He was there. With shoes. With shorts. Walking on the treadmill in front of mine.
There was no lap pool or hot tub for Winnie. He was wogging in what I know to be commando attire.
So many mysteries. He distracted me from my run completely, for which I was grateful, but I haven’t been able to shake that situation for near a month now.
So here we are with the unanswered questions.
- Why take the urinal next to me with the third one open?
- Why the bare feet? Are staff infections still a thing?
- Finally, and most importantly, why remove the shorts entirely?
Any assistance to this mystery would be appreciated. I thank you in advance for your help.
***
Total side note. For those of you in the Northern Colorado area, you may have heard of a young man named Carter Edgerley. He is a good kid who is battling a rare form of cancer and his family could use help if you are able. If you want to learn more or are inclined to help, click here, if not, it costs nothing to share!
No comments:
Post a Comment