To Lou With Love

Ever since I was a young person, I could always find my way to the bathroom in any location where my family chose to venture. We would walk into a restaurant and I would immediately know where the find the lou. I would have never been to this place before and my mom would look at me and say, “Where is the bathroom?” My magic finger would point in the direction of the place of relief. Jokes started to procure in my family as I would get up from the table mid way through dinner and walk away like I was in my own house. “Everything alright? You sure you know where you are going?” I did not let the taunting affect me; I had a useful talent.

Bathrooms were not automatically a place of intrigue for me. My knowledge of their locations just came naturally and I decided to roll with it. I used to think that bathrooms were all the same, there was nothing special about these places and I just so happened to know where to find them. Really, what could be so special about a place where every human ventures to spend approximately 45 seconds to 5 minutes in a small stall relieving their daily intake? Well, I will tell you what did it for me: foam soap. You think that I am joking, but I remember the exact day that this started. It was my senior year in college circa 2003 and I was out to dinner with my friends. In my typical fashion, I arose mid dinner and found myself meandering towards the small room in the back of a Hops Restaurant. After my 45 seconds in the small stall, I walked to the sink, turned on the water and used the soap pump. In the past, I hated soap pumps. The soap was a weird pink color and the dispenser never seemed to dispose of the amount that was just right. Here was a revolution, soap that was already foamed! It came out in the most perfect dollup and was placed in the center of my palm. It is true that very small things have always made my day, but this made me simply ecstatic. I needed to know how this started, who else had this soap of the gods, and where could I get some.

Thus, started my fascination with you, Lou. Public restrooms are incredibly interesting places. Not only am I now enthralled with the types of soaps that will make my hands clean, but also by the amenities available in each unique station. I am now on a mission to find the most intriguing bathroom out there. Given that I live in New Orleans, we can start there. I invited you to come on this journey with me. Explore fantastic bathrooms in the most unlikely of places, right down to the soap.