Perhaps you’ve been out shopping when the urge hits you. Maybe you’re at a sporting event in an arena or stadium. I’m talking here about an unexpected and/or sudden “call of nature”…

So, you’re in this mall (or stadium) and you now have to visit a public restroom. This is when you may have a chance to view the various sorts of graffiti that certain people feel a need to scribble or scratch into the walls of each stall. I can’t say for sure if this happens in women’s washrooms, but I’ve yet to see the male public restroom that doesn’t have numerous pithy items (generally crude) misspelled on the walls.

Now, here’s where I get curious. In general, despite the best efforts of restroom cleaning crews, these public facilities are not the first place you’d most likely want to spend a whole bunch of time, leisurely scratching commentary and accompanying artwork onto a wall. Personally, I tend to want to get the heck out as fast as possible, without once touching anything in there. If I get any urges to doodle, I can always run out to the food court, and scribble on the back of a napkin…

This is clearly not an opinion shared by hundreds of bathroom Rembrandts. These…artists will gladly spent the better part of an afternoon with an ice-pick or old Bic pen, scratching immortal commentary on any number of inappropriate subjects. Immortal until the next bucket of paint comes along.

I wonder if some time in the future archaeologists will determine a need to uncover some of these lithographs, to illustrate the artwork and attitudes of our time. These stalls are sort of a modern-day cave, so to speak. Maybe the scientists would like to find out where they could have had a good time, back in our century??

Chow for now!!