Case of the Mistaken Identity

I am sure at some point in time; many of you may have had to wait in line to complete certain activities ….Ahem! Activities as in picking up fast food, buying tickets to a movie, visit to a car show, a Broadway show, going to the opera, or even going to the bathroom….
These are plain and simple activities that seem to have no essence of confusion.

Well, not always….

We had a few families get together in NY City where we left the dads to take care of the kids and the moms decided to have their own city tour. 5 of us hailed a cab (much to the amazement of the cabbie we fit in) and drove to 5th and 42nd, and Park Ave, Ah! Shoppers Paradise. Store after store, in and out with more and more bags, at that point all of us moms wished that we had more appendages to carry our purchases.

Now it was time for a pit stop. We saw an Indian fast food restaurant and thought we could pile in there for a quick pit stop. For a second I will let your imaginations run wild, …….perplexed store owner, dumbstruck customers, some meek ones thrown against the wall, ….. 5 women with huge bags, multiple bags, talking loudly, with bags hanging all over walking into this small fast food restaurant … It seemed like a rhino stampede until we all found a corner table to put our booty down before the dust settled.

The next step was to find a bathroom. There was one right next to us – with a handicap/woman/child sign. There also was a sign in scribbled letters placed above the door which was illegible. Sheila raced into the bathroom, followed by Dimple, and the others had to wait, since it only allowed 2 at a time. As the rest of us waited patiently, 2 men came to the bathroom and opened the door to see Sheila at the wash basin. They gave each other the look and waited outside. Sheila and Dimple took their time chatting and reminiscing the shopping spree….

The men opened the door again. I was annoyed. At this point I named them Fresh & Loco. I asked why they were waiting outside the women’s bathroom. They argued that this was the men’s bathroom and the women’s bathroom was on the other side. At that point Grace lost it! She pointed to the sign and said that this was the women’s bathroom. The men pointed to the scribbling above the door (that no one could read) and said that the scribbling indicated that this was the men’s bathroom.

In the commotion scene, we had two women who were waiting to use the bathroom, and two men who seemed to make no logical sense. I almost thought that we were going to have a fist fight. Sheila and Dimple came out and found us arguing with Fresh and Loco! As Fresh tried to enter the door, Sheila blocked his entry and held the door for Grace. Loco started shaking his head and threatened to take the case to the Manager.

With Grace and me inside the bathroom the men could not come in. Well, you may think courtesy…. But no… Sheila was holding fort and Dimple was the spotter! Laxmi was in line next!

As we came out, Sheila was in the Yokozuna stance! For those unfamiliar with Sumo wrestling, Yokozuna refers to the highest rank in professional sumo wrestling in Japan. The "Yokozuna" character was always portrayed as a champion sumo wrestler. Sheila could have jumped them to pulp! Grace joined her.
Laxmi went into the bathroom. Loco and Fresh continued their vehement denial that this wasn’t the womens bathroom! The customers or the management didn’t want to intervene at any cost, lest they lost a limb.

I could not believe that Loco and Fresh argued over a paper sign with a scribbling that was illegible. For all that argument, I could have just tore the sign and thrown it away. That would’ve ended the insane argument.

I was not in a mood for violence after a tremendous day of shopping…. I just had to enjoy the finer pleasures, than deal with 2 eccentrics!

Finally with all the girls satisfied with their bathroom break, we decided to leave. Sheila released her position as Chief Sentinel. Fresh and Loco muttered their way into the same bathroom. Unbelievable! What has it come to these days??!?

As Sheila was hailing a cab, I strolled to the other side of the restaurant where the men had pointed us to, for the women’s bathroom.

And …. what I found … ??  A bathroom for women, with a clear women’s sign outside and with all amenities!