Image for the Human Condition

The latest basement I've slept in this journey belongs to an aunt and uncle and several cousins in Grand Rapids, Michigan. When I inquired after the possibility of a shower, they directed me to one at the top of the stairs: "the kids' bathroom."

It is so designated for two reasons. The bathroom is in the kids' collective jurisdiction first to use, and second to clean and keep up after -- to till it and keep it, perhaps. It is the parents' will that the kids keep it clean, and of course should the bathroom fall into disarray, this would be against the parents' will, but the parents' will allows it.

The effective result of this delicate balance?

Well, for anyone whose experience of the world allows this to remain a mystery, here follows an inventory of items I had to avoid -- not on the bathroom floor, but on the shower floor:

* near empty bottles of shampoo (3), conditioner (1), and shower gel (3)
* two wet washcloths
* a wet hand towel
* a flyswatter (also wet)
* a string of Mardi Gras beads
* a single metal spoon

So there it is.