Bathroom woes

By Hilbert Haar

Seemingly inconsequential events at times make quite an impression on me. Such was the case on Wednesday, when I was on my way to pay a visit to the bathrooms in Holland House where I was having lunch.

Just ahead of  me was a woman – an obvious tourist – who went in the same direction.

At the top of the stairs that lead down to the bathrooms there is a neat sign announcing that the price for visiting these bathrooms is a dollar.

When the woman saw the sign she stopped dead and exclaimed: “A dollar?”

Without another word she turned around. Apparently the price was to steep for her purse.

This got me thinking of course – as such events usually do. How did this woman, who was obviously in need of a sanitary stop, solve her situation? I leave the more unpalatable options to everyone’s imagination.

I’d pay a dollar any time of the day for a clean toilet if  need one. And the toilets at Holland House are impeccable.

For a moment I got concerned about the quality of the water in Great Bay but I soon dropped the thought – it did not seem to be worth my time.

The bathroom situation however kept me busy. Sure, there is a sign that the price is a dollar, but when you get downstairs, there is seldom somebody there to receive your contribution. On Wednesday morning, during an earlier visit to the loo, there was a cleaning lady present and I was happy to give her one of my little greenbacks.

It seems to me though that these cleaners, who are doing a fine job, are missing out on a lot of money, because there is no way to leave your dollar behind in a reasonably safe place.

I suggest therefore to the Holland House management to place a large jar on that little table downstairs, so that their cleaners don’t have to rely on their own presence to receive some additional money for work they do and that is – as the tourist story shows –so seldom appreciated.

I just wish that that irrational tourist would read this column, if only to realize how ridiculous her attitude is.