I am not sure that any of you may understand this. Perhaps those who have undergone home disasters or renovations may have an inkling, but I may be completely out there.
You see, I grew up in the Upper Mid-West, US. Minnesotans are fairly laconical, not responding without thinking and of few words. Lake Wobegon is real; it is just all small towns, not one in particular. And things just ….are. And that is the way they are.
As a result, I grew up with the understanding that toilet tanks came with this little lever on the side for flushing. And that was the way you flushed a toilet.
Imagine my shock on traveling to Europe in 1972 – everywhere I went, it was different. And many times not an improvement at all. I had been in Israel for the summer of 1970, I don’t remember anything all that astonishing. But Europe – handles and chains to pull, buttons to push down, holes in floors. It was quite an eye opener for this quiet mid-western gal.
Somewhere since then, Paul Simon came out with his song “Fifty Ways to Leave your Lover.”
I moved to Germany for the first time in 1981, then again in 1988. We came back over seas in 1993 and have been living outside the US since.
Do you see where this is going? A refrain started running through my head – “There must be 50 ways to flush your toilet.” Starting with “Pull on the chain, Jane” and going from there.
On the cruise, I started collecting pictures.
In Milan
In Genoa
And in Barcelona
My sense of the absurd is piqued. It is totally ridiculous. But I wondering if I can both finish out the song, and come up with 50 (which Paul Simon never does).
I also will stick up another tab for the collection as it grows. If I stop finding new mechanisms, I might ask you for contributions…..
-Holly
