reinje's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shower Part III I have this photo, taken last Christmas, of me and my brother and sister in our mom�s kitchen. We�re all pointing to an article on mold she cut out from the daily paper and stuck on the inside of her cupboard. Such was my upbringing. My mom has an absolute horror of molds, mildews, and spores in general. During my teen years this was thinly disguised as a way to keep me healthy �It�s for the sake of your allergies, dear,� when in actuality I think it was a purging of our collective sinful natures. Mom�s motu proprio was that all members of the house should Wipe Down the Shower Stall After Each Use. It wasn�t so much a request as a diktat, and believe me you did not want to be in the house after you left the shower a sodden, critter-infested mess. It had to be bone-dry, or else. Years later, my sister came to visit me and noticed a squeegee in our shower. I mean, it was our shower, not the guest shower. She wasn�t supposed to see it. But she freaked out. �Is that a squeegee???!!!� she screamed, her face turning red. �Please tell me that you don�t own a squeegee!� Well, I didn�t really know how to respond. I was a bit taken aback. I mean, I saw where she was coming from, but waut de deikja, it was just a squeegee! We bought a squeegee for our apartment here in New York, but it doesn�t work so well because of how the tiles are laid out in the shower, you know? So I put it in a drawer. I feel a little bit ashamed when I see it sitting there. Is it because I bought the squeegee to please my mother? Or because I know my sister will spot it there some day? Or maybe because I�m not using it? These days I�m turned on to bleach. Except where I come from, we call it Javex. As in,�I�m going to Javex the toilet seat now.� Bleach is a gift from the gods! You can spray it on just about anything, and what was once black or stained turns white (or is it clear?). It�s fabulous. It�s like an instant anti-sin agent! Although I noticed a couple of months back during a cleaning frenzy that perhaps I hadn�t diluted the bleach enough. My lungs started aching, and I opened all the windows and doors to air out the apartment. Eventually, beset by thoughts of my rotted lung, I left the apartment entirely. But the shower was so clean when I got back! Did you know that mixing bleach with ammonia is absolutely verboten? It's true. This is a lethal combination resulting in deadly chlorine gas. Getting rid of dirt and grime always comes with a price, I guess. Oh, I must tell you! My shower looks FABULOUS with the new caulk in there! I knew that you were as curious as I was to know how that whole thing turned out. Bleaching out the evil nature one spot at a time, Reinje 12:44 p.m. - 2005-04-28 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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