Now, this being a "bathroom" titled piece, you probably know where this is going, or have a good idea. In the state capital building there is a Men's room, where men go when they receive a call from nature. In this Men's room is one standard floor-mounted toilet, one urinal, and one sink. The toilet is mounted in a stall. To get to the urinal or the sink - and you will need to use one or the other every trip (I hope) - you need to walk by the stall.
The stall is quite nice. It is completely tiled from floor to ceiling, even the walls. The only problem is: there's no door. Walking by the stall, if occupied, places you in either direct or peripheral viewing of a man taking a dump.
So shocking I took a picture
Maybe I am from a new generation of entitled, effete boys. It is entirely possible I am not manly enoughn and that I should be able to watch another man drop a deuce right in front of me impassively. I can accept these as truths so long as there are doors on the stalls in which I need to take a Number Two.
How is it possible that any modern-era building has a public bathroom lacking an enclosure for its toilets? Is it possible that Missouri is so far behind the rest of the country that their door technology fails to meet the standards of, say, Albany, NY? The capital building there had doors for its bathroom stalls. You can feel comfortable visiting the building anytime knowing your dookie-dropping will go unobserved. The same holds true for the Massachusetts capital. I'm not sure about the rest of the country, at least, not anymore.
Maybe I am looking at the bathroom stall situation in too harsh a light. Being a highly cost-conscious state, it is possible that the politicians there are trying to save money. But then again, I have an Uncle that could make them a door for nothing.
In the end, it is decided that I will not use the bathrooms at the Missouri state capital if I am visiting during normal business hours, but will instead walk across the street to the local pizza establishment to use their fully-enclosed Men's room. Maybe I am a bit of a sissy, but walking by a State Senator taking a dump simply has no appeal to me.
New Violator!
The Texter - This guy walks up to the urinal, whips out his cell phone and starts texting. Not talking, texting; who is he texting to and what is the subject that is so pressing, so important that it cannot wait the ten to twenty seconds necessary to take a leak? It's even worse when it's in the stall when someone takes a dump - you know they aren't going to wipe down that phone - but somehow texting at the urinal in full view of your peers seems so wrong.