The First Magnificent Summer by R.L. Toalson

Author:R.L. Toalson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2023-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

THE FUTILITY OF THE CAMPGROUND SHOWER: A SLIGHT COMPLAINT

Everything about it seemed dirty—the walls, the floor, even the water spitting into my face no matter what direction I moved the nozzle. Bugs crawled everywhere—beetles, June bugs, daddy longlegs—but worst of all were the spiders. I know why they’re there; with so many bugs attempting (and failing) a climb up slippery shower walls, The Campground Shower offered a movable feast of the greatest proportion. But there are some places where spiders should not be. I don’t want eyes on me in the shower—and I especially don’t want eight of them.

How many people have used these showers over the years? The potential answer to that question (hundreds, maybe even thousands) prompted me to shower in my flip-flops. I did not look at the drain, for fear I would see hair that did not belong to me. I did not touch the walls, because other hands (and potentially other body parts) have touched them before.

The steam from everyone’s shower (it was uncomfortably crowded tonight) hung in the air, so everywhere felt damp. I would still feel damp, even if I hadn’t done my customary Rapid Dry-Off (which Mom says leaves water all over the floor of the bathroom at home, and one day I’m going to kill someone who runs into the bathroom and doesn’t see the gigantic water smear—so at least I don’t have to worry about that constructive criticism here. The floor’s already slippery!). I could spend half an hour trying to dry off, and I would still not dry off.

And where am I supposed to put my soap? I can’t very well set it down on the same ledge where everyone else sets down theirs—who knows what sorts of soap pieces (and hair) I might pick up along with my bar. So I held the slippery soap for my entire shower, and even though I lathered and rinsed, lathered and rinsed again, three times total, I can’t be certain that when it was all said and done, I was actually clean.

How do you get clean in a place with bugs on walls, spiders in corners, and bits of soap stuck to soap ledges?

There’s nothing quite like The Campground Shower.

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