"A heart warming moment in the least expected place."



 

 

 

For most of us a public toilet is a place where we go to do our “private business”, and personally I like it to be an “in and out” experience.

Thanks to technological advances nothing stays the same and simplicity seems to be a thing of the past, so a visit to a public toilet can be at times interesting, challenging or surprising.

I am sure (or at least I hope) that I am not the only one who at their first encounter with a flush that knew when you were done, felt a bit spooked out.

Over the past years I had a privilege to see many of us (including myself) impersonating Mr. Bean, when after pulling and pressing the obvious we still cannot get our hands on the soap or rather the soap on our hands. Getting a tap running can be even more challenging and fun, especially if we were successful with getting some soap first.

In situations like this, we are often left at the mercy of another visitor who hopefully kept pace with technological inventions.

My last personal challenge was with a very strange looking hand dryer at the Milson's Point train station, that felt a bit too aggressive for my likening. I am happy to say that we are now friends.

I wonder if the “no where to be seen” instructions for use have also undergone a technical face lift and are now available for download on a smart phone.

I have also noticed a rising number of people expanding on the original “private business” activities associated with this public amenity by mistaking a toilet cubicle for an old fashion telephone booth. One can not help, but feel sorry for the recipient of this no longer private conversation enriched by a symphony of unique sounds hovering in the background.

I wouldn't be surprised if by now, some of you have started to question the title of my story.

“What about this heart warming moment? Surely, she can't be serious about having one in a place like this.”- I hear you think.

         Well, serious or not serious here it comes ...

About 10 years ago, I had a rare opportunity to be the only occupant of a public toilet within a shopping centre. The silence of the place felt unusually noticeable before being interrupted by a mother with her little boy, who sounded about 3 years old.

As he entered a cubicle, the palpable silence returned once again to serve as a background for something unexpected and very special.

 

       

         “Mummy ...”

         “Yes?”

         “I love you.”

         “I love you too.”

 

I was just about to flush, but on hearing this I decided to honour this beautiful and innocent declaration of love by allowing the silent background to linger a touch longer.

I have to admit that a part of me was waiting for one more line, something like ...

“Mummy, can you buy me a ...”

But no, there were no strings attached to this declaration.

His feelings had genuinely arisen from the depth of his heart and their purity was emphasised by a touch of seriousness in his otherwise soft sounding voice.

I was so lucky for this moment to be blessed by the lack of an automatic flush, phone conversationalist or any other visitor that would have prevented me from witnessing something as special as this.

My advise ...

Be always on standby to enjoy the unexpected wherever you might be.


(photos: "Two hearts with candy" by Neil Mey, "Boy with red cap" by Judy Ben Joud)