Jackie Wells-Fauth
Yes, yes, I know, Pilate was symbolically washing his hands of Jesus, but the Bible does say he washed his hands. And that gives me a good entry into the topic of my column this week; washing hands.
On a road trip recently, I was reminded of one of my pet peeves and that is people who don’t wash their hands—particularly, people who are using the public bathroom—you know, where there are signs everywhere that say, “Please wash your hands”?
I know I should be minding my own business in there, but it always raises my blood pressure when I hear someone else in a public bathroom who flushes the toilet and leaves the bathroom without washing their hands. Even worse, is the person who leaves the bathroom without flushing the toilet or washing their hands! Then of course, they proceed to touch everything I need to touch, starting with the bathroom door!
This happened on the road last week. I was in the bathroom stall, minding my own business, when the person next to me got up, with much audible sighing and mumbling, and left the stall and the bathroom. No comforting sounds of a flushed toilet and no comforting whoosh of water in the sink!
I finished, flushed my toilet, flushed the nasty one in the next stall and then scrubbed my hands at the sink. When I left the bathroom, having used the tail of my shirt to open the door, I refrained from standing in the dining area and bellowing, “All right, who is the farm animal who not only did not flush the toilet, but also left without benefit of soap and water on their hands?”
I did, however, after having gone through the buffet line, drown my hands with a pocket-sized Purel—one for each hand. One can never be too careful!
One of the first responsibilities I had as a child was to flush the toilet. Then, when I got old enough not to flood the bathroom with my efforts, I was left to wash my hands on my own. So I, and most people know what you are supposed to do. And we are so lucky.
Think about it: back in the bad old days, they didn’t have the option of flushing the toilet. They just sat on the bench and enjoyed the remains left by everyone else for the last few years. They also didn’t have toilet paper, so the outdated Sears Catalog did its outgoing duty, thus making their hands even more dingy. After that, you wiped your nose on your sleeve and went off to play, blissfully unaware of the germ cloud following you.
That cannot excuse the people today. I see modern bathroom fixtures being put into people’s homes. They should make flushing the toilet and washing your hands a pleasure.
Have I ever, in my own home, left the bathroom without washing my hands? Of course, because the phone and the doorbell always go off while I’m in there. However, I already know what bacterial communities are thriving in my own personal bathroom. And I know enough not to touch anyone until I have found some soap. It also explains my pathological need to constantly Lysol the phone receiver!
However, having said that, I am meticulous about washing up after I use the public bathroom. As for flushing, that probably explains why so many places are installing self-flushing toilets. Those do scare me a little; frequently they go off while I am still seated, making me wonder if I’m going to go down as well! But they do solve one problem.
Now, if they could install a device that blocks the door and repeats over and over, “No exit, without hands washed,” I would be happy. I imagine some people would sue for kidnapping, but washing their hands would be the only ransom they had to pay.
So, my sad little rant about washing hands now ends. But I do find it a little ironic that I am using Pilate as the poster child for washing hands!
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