Yesterday after work I took the El downtown and sat on a bench in the little park at the Water Tower (Chicago & Michigan). I while I waited for LP to meet me I read my book and people watched. It reminded me of the evenings in NYC when I had an hour or so between the end of work and having to go to a drink / dinner / show with a client or co-workers. I use to sit in Tomkins Square Park and do lots of people watching. TSP is the first place I ever saw lightning bugs... I always thought they were made up (like unicorns, and seahorses - yes I still do not believe in seahorses even though I have seen them, I think they are fake).
One evening after sitting in TSP I made my way to St Marks Pizza and then to the Knitting Factory to see some bands. That night the men's bathroom was closed. So there was a note on the ladies bathroom explaining that the bathroom would be unisex. Through the entire evening this was the talk of the Knitting Factory. Every group I passed seemed to be talking about what a strange experience this all was. I remember going into one of the stalls and doing my pee thing and the girl in the next stall says out loud "This is crazy, those feet (mine) are facing the wrong way!" The next time I had to use the bathroom there was a guy at the door not allowing any men in since his girlfriend was using it and could not deal with a unisex bathroom.
Still to this day I think it was some social experiment, and if it wasn't then a great opportunity was missed. I learned how much time ladies spend during their trip to the bathroom... lots of talking and primping. Guys do their thing, wash the hands (about 50% do), and leave. A very memorable evening.
