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Wayside_Wisdom Heard Along the Way
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REFLECTIONS ON ROADSIDE RESTS "United We Stand!" This powerful brief phrase became a rallying call for most of the citizens of our nation after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. It reminds us of the strength we share in our togetherness and mutuality. I applaud its truth. In our past year of traveling, however, I have learned a corollary truth. Our journey of the past 12 months has taken us from the tip of Texas to north of the Canadian border; from west of the Mississippi River east to the Chesapeake Bay. We have stopped at countless "Roadside Rest Areas" along the way in states too numerous to mention. On the basis of that recent research, I am prepared to state that, while we are "united [when] we stand," we are not united when we sit! Roadside restrooms come in a wide variety of types, from the old-fashioned manual to the fully automatic. The level of elegance varies from state to state, and even from one location to another within the same state. The most luxurious facilities are usually found at the "Tourist Information Center" just inside the state line. The medieval, manual types are not hard for me to manage. After half a century of experience, I am quite familiar with toilets that flush when a handle is pushed, water faucets that turn on and off with a twist of the top, and paper towels that pull down and dry by contact with wet hands. I’m even learning to master the semi-automatic style: push button toilet flushers, push down faucets, push back soap dispensers, push and wind paper towel holders, or push on warm air hand driers. I’ve always known how to dry off the moisture that the hand drier didn’t. I wipe my hands on my jeans just before exiting the washroom! I confess, though, that it is difficult for this old dog to learn to navigate those thoroughly modern, totally-automatic ladies’rooms. There is some magical, mystical device (electric eye?) that automatically turns the water on and off; dispenses the soap without touch; and turns the warm air hand drier on and off sans contact. Even automatically, it still doesn’t dry! Worst of all, however, are the automatically flushing toilets! A month or so ago, one of those arrogant machines strutted its stuff eight times below me before I could complete my job above it. It was, to put it diplomatically, quite distracting ! Recently, even before I could sit down, an over-eager automatic flusher inhaled and swallowed the protective paper seat cover I had carefully arranged upon it! How rude, I thought. It made me feel rather unwelcome! But variety and technology don’t begin and end at the restroom door. Some "Roadside Rest Areas" are beautiful brick or stone edifices with large picture windows for viewing near-by scenes of beauty. Others are more reminiscent of an earlier stage of history: little log cabin and a path. Some have educational videos about the history of the state. Others offer only printed brochures of the local attractions. Some have streaming video reports of upcoming traffic and weather conditions. Others offer walking paths upon which, within 15 seconds, you can experience firsthand what the weather is and not need to rely upon a media messenger! As to traffic conditions, watch the vehicles passing by the rest area. If they are traveling fast, the conditions are probably favorable. If they are crawling or stopped, chances are the traffic is congested. One of the things I most appreciate about our great nation is the precarious balance we keep between conformity and non-conformity; between sameness and difference; between tradition and innovation. So, the next time you feel the need to rest your roadside area, remember to celebrate that great American heritage: "United We Stand" but "Diversely We Sit." |