Due to Covid, much of our world as we know it has changed. From the classroom to the workplace, the movie theater to the grocery store, life has been turned upside down. With all the restrictions and changes, one area that has stayed the same, unfortunately, is the public restroom. Two areas of the public restroom world come to mind specifically, the airport and the concert venue.
About a year after I posted the “Craft Brewery Day Trips Public Restroom Escapade” it is time to revisit this topic. Although this time beer is left out of it, at least for the most part.
Scenario 1:
Flying. Of course, we all know the negative aspects of the airplane: crying children, unfortunate smells, and the airport bathroom. Unless you’re a Learjet flying son of a gun, the tiny restroom is the reality of the airplane. Even with Covid protocols such as flights only being partially full and mask-wearing, nothing can “mask” the inadequacies of the airplane bathroom.
What took me by surprise is the current status of the airport bathroom. Take Logan Airport in Boston for example. Now I am no airport connoisseur, but I find Logan a fine airport to fly from. On my latest trip to Arizona, I was a bit surprised to see the status of the restroom.
With an inadequate number of facilities in the men’s room, their unclean state was a bit appalling to me, especially in light of the Covid protocols that have been in place worldwide. With only a few urinals, the traffic jam of pre-flight and post-flight passengers was queued shoulder to shoulder.
Scenario 2:
Music Venues. Recently, at a Dr. Dog concert at Boston’s House of Blues, the current state of the music venue public restroom drew my attention. The one men’s bathroom that I saw on the first floor (which had a line out the door) only provided relief in the form of three urinals and one stall. Given the frequent restroom usage of those patrons imbibing $12 beers at the bar, the packed to the brim bathroom witnessed heavy traffic.
Although vaccine cards were necessary to enter and masks were mandated (when not actively eating and drinking), the restroom situation was a bit, how shall we say it, full. Maybe some of the proceeds from each $12 can of beer be used to add another facility?
The public restroom conundrum has always been my least favorite aspect about travel of any kind but with the onset of Covid, it is interesting to me that more regulations aren’t in place for bathrooms.
