It was a couple of years ago, in a public restroom on some interstate, when I was puzzled because I was hearing a one-way conversation in the next stall, and it was not a mother talking to her infant, it was an adult conversation. Of course, you know the answer to that riddle: it was someone on her cell phone. I marveled that someone could be doing something quite so personal while having a "normal" conversation, like that could be considered normal under the circumstances.
So now I would like to admit that even I have actually committed that indiscretion. I have never done it in public, although I believe talking on the phone to another person is public enough. I have, in the privacy of my own home, waited as long as I possibly could, and because I have a walk-around phone (no, not a cell phone, not just yet), instead of politely saying, "Let me call you back", I have -- discretely -- used the facilities. I HAVE NOT FLUSHED.
So today, when talking to my son, yes, you know who you are, I heard the toilet flush, I was as shocked as I had been at the moment I heard my first cell-phone stall conversation.
So I would like to say that I believe it is inappropriate to share a toilet moment with the person to whom you are having a telephone conversation. Unlike someone standing there in the restroom, they are unsuspecting victims. So allow them to continue to be just that, and if you need to take a whiz, wait till you hang up to flush.
