Paying It Forward

The floor of the building in which I work has been over half empty since I started. Several months ago, however; a new organization moved in and took over all the empty space. The majority of this organization's employees seem to be female. This means, of course, that the previously never busy restroom has become the equivalent of Grand Central Station.

Now, I am not one to linger in the restroom. I do not go there for solitude or to socialize. I enter, do my business (so to speak) and leave (washing my hands first goes without saying). I rarely even spare a moment to check the mirror, so I often leave the restroom looking as disheveled or unpolished as when I entered.

Even though I have no real affinity for restrooms, it has been my goal to get the women of my floor to pay it forward there.

Let me explain. We have a paper towel dispenser in which you have to pull down a lever in order to get the paper towel to unroll. It is not one of those motion-sensor towel dispensers. After ripping off the paper towel for my own use, I use my now crumpled paper towel to pull down on the lever to dispense more towel, thus leaving a swath of towel hanging down for the next person to use. This way, they do not have to use their clean, just-washed hands to touch the paper towel dispenser and possibly get someone else's germs.

Good idea, no?

Well, I thought so. Now that the restroom was a high-traffic area, I thought it might be nice for us to...well, be nice, even with our limited exposure to each other (no pun intended). So, whether someone else is in the restroom or not, I always leave a little paper towel hanging down for the next person to just rip off and use.

I just came back from the restroom (Yes, I'm typing this at work, but I'm on a break and I type fast. Don't judge me.) And what did I find? What did these weary eyes behold? A swath of paper towel hanging down, ready for me to use in the empty restroom.

Yeah, ok, so I'm not Rosa Parks or anything. Yet, perhaps this one small step of hygienic kindness may lead to still other remarkable acts. The tiny pebble in the pond creates far-reaching ripples and all that. You know what I mean. C'mon ladies, let's join together in paper towel harmony!