I didn't receive a single response to my Alice in Wonderland outhouse story ... so I thought perhaps I would tell you an outhouse story from Africa.
In Kenya, there are two kinds of traditional toilets: the long drop and the pit latrine. The long drop requires a very deep hole and is the nicer of the options because the contents are further away from your bottom. The more common pit latrine is really just a ditch covered by a board on which one balances to do what must be done. Flush toilets are rarities and plumbers are unaccustomed to them, so they usually malfunction regularly, making the traditional solutions more palatable in the long run. Unless of course you happen to be old or infirm.
My first story is about the grandfather of one of the employees at ACCES. Anna phoned me to say that she would not be coming to work because her grandfather had fallen into the pit. All morning my mind kept returning to the awful scene. Imagine drowning in feces.
Then, at 11 she called to say she would be in that afternoon.
"What about your grandfather?" I asked.
"He's fine," she replied. "The villagers managed to get him out."
My mind still continues to play with the concept of NOT drowning in feces. Imagine having to help him out. Imagine going under for the third time.
I'd rather play in the imaginary world of Alice ...
In the Mongolian countryside the toilet facilities are even more primitive and less sanitary. I have a story from there too. Let me know if you would like me to tell you that one.
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4 comments:
bring it on...it can't conjure up worse visions than this last one did.
Alice is a gem and should be featured in Architecture Digest -- perhaps in a whole article on such structures.
Your blog entry could be sent to AD -- they need ideas just like bloggers need feedback.
But just because we out here don't make a comment doesn't mean we don't appreciate the entry. I was charmed! "Bathrooms" of the world are a great subject and one that makes me grateful as hell for indoor plumbing. Think I will go clean mine: I have two!
I liked Alice and thought about commenting, but since she was split among five different posts, I wasn't sure where to leave my comment. Is there some reason you didn't combine all the Alice stuff into a single post?
It is time to change my theme but thanks for dropping in.
Zoom: It had to do with the incompetent way my photos from the summer were stored and unlabeled.
Barbara: Apparently one of their neighbours tried to enter it in a contest but needed the permission of the owner because outhouses are not legal everywhere. They wrote to the neighbours and said it would have won if B and l had given their permission ...
Deb: Are you okay with this one?
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