Pbenjay's Blog

It’s a grand day to be Irish for sure…however, if you live in New York City like I do, then even if you’re not Irish, it’s grand day after all.  The sun is shining, the City is full of green-clad, shamrock-adorned folks.  Kids are wearing Irish cable knit sweaters and green deely-boppers on their heads. Kilts in every tartan you can imagine, politicians sporting green carnation boutineers and tams.  The air has been filled all day with the wailing mournful sound of the bagpipes.

We went to the parade early today and took Finley with us.  She enjoyed hanging onto the barricade at curbside and watched as bagpipers, horn-blowers and drummers marched by.  The flags were flying, the bands marching, majorettes twirling and thousands of people walking up Fifth Avenue following the famous green center line.

It was the perfect day for a parade, not too hot, not too cold and not raining  as it has in some past years.  However, I knew it was only a matter of time before I would hear the familiar “I have to pee”.  If you’ve been to a parade with a child, you know it’s inevitable and if you’re on Fifth Avenue in the middle of Manhattan, you know it’s impossible!

I gathered her up and we pushed our way through the crowds to get to a side street.  We were in the East mid-60’s so I figured if we got to Madison, perhaps I would find a restaurant or store where she could use the rest room.  As we were rushing past stores and shops, I was telling Finley, “no, not this one, no we can’t go in there, no bathroom”.   With that inimitable wisdom of a three and a half year old, Finley said, “Why not, every place has a bathroom”. As they say, out of the mouths of babes!  After a two block hike with little Finny repeating her needs to me in a plaintive voice, I spied Bar Italia and walked in and said to the hostess at the door that I needed to take her (Finley) to the bathroom.  She looked at me and smiled and said, “I’m sorry, the rest rooms are only for our customers”.  I was furious!  I looked at her and said in a loud voice, “That’s ridiculous and it’s illegal” and swept past her carrying Finley and walked right through the entire restaurant to the back, asked a bus boy where the ladies room was and carried Finny in.   I noticed someone had left a Dior compact on the vanity so on my way out, for a final coup de grace,  I slapped the compact down on the counter in front of her and muttered, “someone left this in your ladies room” and stormed out.

Boy did that feel good!  By the way, I don’t know whether it’s legal or not to restrict the use of a bathroom in a public restaurant and I certainly understand that  restaurants don’t want derelicts or homeless people coming in to use the facilities;  However, I’m a woman of a certain age carrying a toddler, really what horrible things  might we have done in that bathroom?

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