shit happens

It's nice to attend to one's biological needs in the privacy of a toilet. However, city-life does not always promise that a toilet will be nearby when one needs to defecate. Or, even if a toilet is nearby, it may be fully occupied.

What, then?

As things turned out, the call of nature has resulted in screaming outrage, reflected in news articles.

It seems that the millenia-old practice of urinating and defecating is still causing shock today.

a list follows (in no particular order)

  1. “Drunk man, 37, who visited MBS casino & pooped on floor, fined S$400”. 19 September 2024. in MotherShip.
  2. “Man urinates in MRT train in full view of commuters; gets jail and fine”. 18 March 2025. in Channel NewsAsia.
  3. “Two more men charged with urinating at MRT stations”. 15 Jan 2025. in Channel NewsAsia.

On closer inspection, it seems that alcohol consumption has been a factor in a number of these incidents.

Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

disease and shit

Seen on Quora.com, a question-and-answer website:

“What do you do when a person with Alzheimer’s keeps pooping on the floor when using the bathroom?”

'My mom with dementia pees and poops all over the house. I'm tired of having to clean up after...”

life isn't always pretty.

Image credit: Fritz Burmann – Mrs Biene from Worpswede, 87 Years Old. (1923). Seen on Flickr

maybe that's partly why I am drawn to compost heaps, (in community-run gardens), these days. I am amazed at the transformation of food scraps into nutrient-rich soil, over weeks and months.

And, in one of the novels by the late great Zola, the ending features a solitary flower that grows out of a mound of dung.

There is magic here on this planet, if you know where to look.

parting shot

“The eye that mocks a father, that scorns an aged mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures.”

from the Book of Proverbs, chapter 30, verse 17, New International Version.