Can't it wait 'til you're done?

Today returning from an errand, I entered my work’s office building and saw a man about to come out of one of the other offices that share our building. I watched him go to the door, then pause, look down at the magazines sitting on a nearby table and select one. Please don’t follow me, I thought to myself. But he did, and the unfortunate thing and reason for my hope is that the only place for him to be going, if he followed me, was the bathroom- we are the only other office in that direction. So as I got to our door, I did a little half-turn (why? Morbid curiosity, I suppose) and saw him entering the bathroom with said magazine folded under his arm. I couldn't help but laugh as I walked in. I wanted to tell co-workers but feared that the humor in the idea of a man reading a magazine in a public restroom stall would be lost on them. Maybe I am the only one who doesn't understand it.

Will someone please explain to me, who in his right mind would find the idea of reading in a public restroom pleasing? Hello! I just want to get in, do my business and move on to other things, but he seemed like he was ready to settle in there and maybe have a siesta if the mood struck. I know that people all over the country enjoy reading while on the “throne,” but I was not aware of those that do so publicly. Now I will admit to reading All in a Day’s Work from an 8 year old issue of that Reader’s Digest that’s on the back of everyone’s toilet now and again, but I will only do so in the comfort of a home, where there is no possibility of other people coming in to do their business at the same time. I don’t know why I pick up that magazine, sometimes the urge just hits me. But the idea of just hanging out in a stall at work reading that same article seems a bit absurd.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have an appreciation for doing my business with other people around and I certainly don’t enjoy serving as their audience (if only from an auditory perspective), so why would I want to elongate the process?

Why is it that people feel the need to read in the bathroom in the first place? Is it really an activity that necessitates outside entertainment? My little brother used to spend hours reading his books in there. My mom would take the Sunday papers with her. What about number two makes people desire mental stimulation? And why can’t it wait for us to be done. Why do people linger? Really, why hang out?

I would love to know what people get from the "reading on the toilet" experience.