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Work 4 Peace,Hold All Life Sacred,Eliminate Violence! I am on my mobile version of the door-to-door, going town-to-town holding readings/gatherings/discussions of my book "But What Can I Do?" This is my often neglected blog mostly about my travels since 9/11 as I engage in dialogue and actions. It is steaming with my opinions, insights, analyses toward that end of holding all life sacred, dismantling the empire and eliminating violence while creating the society we want ALL to thrive in

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Cleaning up after men...NOT

Oh well, after all these years I'm finding myself in a position where I intentionally have to clean up after men... grrrr. In the very narrow sense, not the broader position that all womyn find ourselves in, having to clean up the mess that men have made on this earth.

Roy's brother James (and they really are blood brothers...) takes me to one of the modern bathrooms that house a womyn's room with 2 toilets and a shower; a men's room with a urinal, toilet, & shower; and a single room for either with a single toilet and shower - all handicap accessible.

He shows me the steps for cleaning the bathrooms: beginning with checking for toilet paper, spraying down sinks & toilets & scrubbing; sweeping the floors & mopping.

I offer to trade with him: I'll do all the womyn's rooms, he can do the men's rooms. He mumbles something like oh, the womyn's rooms as worse then the men's rooms. When I ask, how is that? He mumbles, reddening even more, because of all the 'things' women have.

I say ok-doke - let's trade then! But he refuses! He knows...

Fortunately, these are rv camping spaces so must of the campers (the few that there are) have their own 'facilities'. Each camp site has electricity, water, and sewer - all for $22 a nite; or $14 if you're a senior and have a Golden Age Pass, which most campers appear to be seniors!

So I'm a trained, bona fide, camp host! And I'm paying my dues here in Alabama!

Camphost 101

I was briefly greeted last nite by the present camp host who has been here since May doing all the work mostly by himself.

This morning, he takes me around on a little battery golf cart and shows me the rv sites, the tent sites, and the bathrooms we are to clean. It seems keeping the bathrooms clean is one of our most important jobs. I try to negotiate, saying I'll clean all the womyn's rooms, he can have the mens.

He refuses the deal - so I get one whole building, he gets another.

There are few people here, no tent campers but about 5 or 6 huge rv campers. Roy says they pretty much know each other and come here together every year, several times a year. We are not expecting many campers now, as it is almost November and the weather is changing.

It is actually my favorite time to camp, this fall and spring camping, when I can have the whole campground practically to myself.

The weather is great, not hot, not cold - the mornings start off wet as there is much condensation on the tall trees that drop moisture to the ground.

I am able to catch up on my blog (for this trip that is) and surf the web a little. This weekend should be busier.

Roy does mention the backwardness of the state of Alabama. I brace myself, curious to discover what he defines as 'backward'. He has told me he stays here with his 'brother' and as he is pushing 70, white, and in alabama, I'm wondering of 'brother' is a euphemism for 'lover'.

He tells me about the sheriffs department that comes thru here frequently during the summer. Roy tells me he's asked them if they really arrest someone for having one join in their possession, to which they respond affirmatively.

It's interesting that the first thing people seem to assume when they see me and my truck is that I am a druggie - which can't be farther from the truth. Even in Mexico, young people were often asking me if I smoked - and not cigarettes.

I'm not a druggie but I am equally adamantly standing for the legalization of drugs.