Everyone has a hero

Good plumbing is a luxury.

One of the very first things we learned when we got to our aid station were that there were trailers just outside with toilets, sinks, and showers. But luckily, we also have a bathroom inside. We could use it all we want. But there was one and only one rule that must be abided...


...NOTHING BUT LIQUIDS IN THE TOILET. That means you could only urinate and you had to throw your toilet paper away instead of flushing it. The building and plumbing were old and worn out so there was quite a legitimate concern for clogging. That is one thing that a base close to a sewage treatment facility does not need.



The rule seems simple enough. Although a majority of the military are soldiers in their young 20s, everyone is a responsible adult. Well responsible enough to carry a weapon, so we would hope responsible enough to follow this simple rule.



But just to remind us, there were signs such as this on the outside of the bathroom.



My favorite part of this sign is that urine is missing an E! The company before us obviously didn't care to change the sign, but one person who probably got second in the spelling bee decided to continue to try to prove she is a champion by correcting the error and adding an 'E'.




(I do realize that I can't knock the previous company for not changing the sign as 3 1/2 months later, we still haven't updated it.)

But just in case people would forget after they enter through the door, there was another sign right in the stall. You can't see it, but whoever did this sign probably won first place in a spelling bee.




The bathroom and our company respected each other for 3 months. We treated it well and it was present for us not to have to walk an entire 20 feet outside to a nice clean trailer. But recently, we've had the misfortune of noticing that the defecation rule had been ignored...more than once. With the pungent odors of the near bye sewage facility, an overflow was the last thing we needed....but back from a month long stint at another base, weighing in at an estimated 98 lbs and 4' 11" is our tough guy body guard, SPC Ray!!!

How did she save the day? By making a THIRD sign.





Problem is solved and no one has violated the rule since. Good job, SPC Ray. I hope we can continue our symbiotic relationship of you fighting wrongdoings across the base and me letting you charge your camera with my charger.