I hear you knockin’. Oh, wait. NO I DON’T!

June 12, 2009

For the love of god would someone get legislation passed that makes people knock before shaking and turning the handle of a restroom door?

I’m serious about this. I have Crohn’s disease and have had a good portion of my intestines removed. That means that I have to frequently visit a bathroom.

These visits necessitate me using a stall and I cannot – in the limited time and space I have here on Earth – explain to you how nerve-wracking and scary it is to hear that knob or handle turn without the courtesy of a knock.

What if the door flew open?

What if I was in the midst of wiping?

C’mon, how about a knock before you rush headlong into the stall with me.

Further, the idiots who designed the little notifying color bar that lets people know if a stall is occupied, erred by making the colors a close green and red. Nearly 7% of the population can’t tell those colors apart ensuring the handle jiggling will continue.

What I’ve started to do when someone strides up to the stall – and bear in mind that I get to do this half a dozen times a day – is yell at the top of my lungs “THANKS FOR KNOCKING. NOW I’VE GOT TO START ALL OVER!”

Are you going to be the next person who jiggles the handle? I hope not.

Wake up and just knock. It’s the right, and polite, thing to do.

More to come…