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| Penguin and plane will travel |
You'd think, with
all the countries to which I've visited, I'd be more than capable in
choosing the correct rest room when the need arises. Well, I do a
very good job at it. In fact, I seem to have a more difficult time
deciphering the crazy gender codes used in the States. We can be
pretty crafty when coming up with rest room door signs. We've all
seen the stick figures, or “Dames and Gents. Recently, I saw doors
in Seattle- one said “Sitting” while the other said “Standing”.
Could be confusing for a guy needing to do number two. Whether it's
Caballeros, Men, Hombres, or just an M on the door, I very rarely
have an issue.
I once had to make
an emergency stop while driving through a city on the interstate.
Upon seeing a Target store, I thought, 'that should be a clean
facility in which to sit.' It was early in the day and the parking
lot was near empty. I walked rather quickly into the main entrance,
happy to see the restrooms immediately to my left. I looked up
quickly and saw “Men” and went right in. It was very clean and I
had the whole room to myself. I did my business and as I was washing
my hands, was shocked to see a woman enter, followed by a second.
Looking at the ground to avoid eye-contact as I made a hasty
departure...without drying my hands...I discovered that the “Men”
sign was actually a “Women” sign, but the “Wo” part was
hidden behind part of a wall. Had I kept looking as I rounded the
corner, I might have noticed my folly.
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| Lady and Gentle restroom sign in Beijing |
A few months ago, I
was on holiday in Chile and was at a fine dining establishment in
Valparaiso. When we arrived, the first thing I wanted to do was wash
my hands and make room for the copious amounts of wine I was about to
consume. The rest room was just outside in a central atrium. It was
very deluxe. I looked at one sign, and then the other. I was not familiar
with either. Realizing I was in a country where Spanish was the
official language, I entered the door that had the more masculine
sounding name. It was a very nice facility, floral aroma, nice art.
This was, indeed, a nice restaurant. This was also, indeed, the
women's rest room!
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| Ladies sign in Chile |
So I marveled on a
recent Buenos Aires layover with fellow flight crew in yet another
very nice restaurant. After a few glasses of wine and some loosening
chatter, I was the first in need of finding the facilities. Door one
had a boot. Door two had a ballet slipper. Cute, and obvious. I would
make no mistake this time. I commented on the clever use of foot wear
signage when I returned to the table.
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| Signage in Peru |
Our first officer
was the next to use the facilities, and a few minutes later was
followed by the bunkie pilot, who, on this trip, was a female. As she
got up, the first officer said, “It's the first door on the right.”
He was joking, as that was the door with the boot, so of course she
returned with a humorous comment and evil glare at the first officer,
and soon the whole table was laughing about restroom humor. You can
dress us up...but wit plus wine often ends up going down the drain.
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