There was a time when using the men’s room was considered a private matter. As with many things in life, I learned this from my father.
Dad was a regular guy whose morning trip to the bathroom was not complete without the daily newspaper and a pack of cigarettes. He took his time, and we let him be.
Granting others their privacy held true outside the home too — whether in restaurants or truck stops, ballparks or museums. It’s not that talking wasn’t allowed in a public restroom; it just wasn’t necessary. It was the very definition of an unspoken rule.
Modern times have flushed that down the toilet.
Last summer on vacation, I ducked into the men’s room of the hotel lobby. As the door closed behind me, I heard someone talking. I looked around. Empty. But still I heard this disembodied voice.
There, inside the only stall with a closed door, a man was on his cell phone, checking with his office.
Talk about multitasking.
So much for some quiet time. What used to be the last bastion of male privacy has now become one big telephone booth. Bathroom stalls have turned into the business traveler’s equivalent of an office cubicle. Is this really what it takes to get a leg up on the competition?
Had the guy been smoking a cigarette, I wouldn’t have cared. But he was conducting business. Instead of pulling a pack of cigarettes from their pockets, guys are reaching for their BlackBerries.
I guess that’s the bright side. These guys are so busy checking in they’re forgetting to light up. While this is undoubtedly a giant step forward for their physical health, I can’t help but think that it’s two steps backward for their mental health. Has one addiction just replaced another?
Smoking in the men’s room may now be against the rules, but perhaps another ban should be in effect. If you ask me, talking in the men’s room is even more offensive.
Besides the obvious business, the bathroom should still be a place to think big thoughts, to ponder the day’s events, to wonder about something. Anything. And to be quiet.
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John Soss is a Chicago writer and concert promoter.
heysossman@yahoo.com
