the can in the can

Nothing seems to stir up expatriates in Mexico as much as where to dispose of used toilet tissue. (The far more important question of which direction to put the roll on the holder will wait for another day.)

Most of the restaurants in our area have signs posted in their rest rooms informing users to not place used toilet paper in the bowl. A handy wastebasket is supplied for the dirty deed.

I do not know if that is the genesis of the myth that a shred of toilet paper will blog the area's primitive sewers -- causing a flood of biblical portions and necessitating the expert ministrations of a plumber.

But the myth  is prevalent in our little community. I have several expatriate and tourist friends who are disgusted by the soiled tissue in the dust bin solution, but they dutifully instruct their guests that compliance is mandatory as any other form of penance.

I have taken a different swipe at the problem. I do not want to be responsible for topping off our land fill with dirty toilet paper. Not when I can contribute to filling the laguna with it.

Hank, a frequent commenter here, has built and lived in several houses in the Barra de Navidad area for the past three decades. Neither he nor his family have ever felt the need to resort to the wastebasket method. Nor do I.

I do suggest to my guests that they limit the amount of toilet paper they attempt to flush down at one time. Three sheets is the suggestion. But that is simply to lessen the danger of a toilet malfunction, not a sewer clog. I did the same in Salem where plumbers were far less affordable.

And that is why I was a little surprised to see a waste basket in an Azorean toilet. It is simply not an accessory I would expect to see in western Europe. Not even on an island in the Atlantic.

Come to think of it, there is a wastebasket in the bathroom of my tiny cabin, I toss my used Kleenex there. What other guests do, I leave to them. Only housekeeping knows the truth.

But enough toilet humor -- for now. It is time to listen to a classic pianist, followed by dinner, a romp through the comedy club, and topped off by a movie: La La Land.

Toilet paper will not be a topic of further discussion tonight.