Remember school pictures? Kids would exchange small photos, writing messages on the back, usually commentary about the image on the front- something along the lines of, “Hi, Karen! Look how goofy my smile is in this picture! I look like an idiot! Oh, well. Friends forever, Lauren.” One year, the entire message on the back of my friend Aryn’s school picture read, “Well, I’ve had better, but I’ve had worse.”
This line comes to mind a lot when I check out shower houses and bathrooms at campgrounds. I can count on one hand the number of places that looked clean, the way a hotel room or a bathroom in a house might look. Most range from Not Bad to Pretty Darn Skeezy. I’ve seen better, but I’ve seen worse. Some are outright disgusting, with gobs of hair, bugs (both dead and alive), mold, spider webs, scum, sludge, peeling paint, rust, dirt, sand, leaves, sticks, and glistening liquid-gel substances near the drain that, if I’m lucky, are shampoo and conditioner, but could just as likely be a stranger’s spit, snot, or other bodily fluid I’d rather not contemplate at seven o’clock in the morning. Then there’s the trash: wrappers and bottle caps, used Q-tips, used Band-Aids, floss picks, and once, a used tampon (in case you’re wondering, I took a pass on that shower stall!).
I’ve simultaneously developed a tolerance for filth and a new appreciation for cleanliness. I’m curious to see, when I go back to civilization, if I become a total slob, a clean freak, or if they will cancel each other out.