blog in the round: urinal cakes

i am a deceptively complex man. mysterious even. certainly unusual. and surely everybody has quirks. little things that are mostly unknown about them, but which are strange enough anyway. i have a few. i can't walk barefoot in a hotel or condo. (who knows what someone has done on, or to, the floor?) for that matter, i have a hard time using any sliver or glassware from a condo.

weird, i know.

my biggest hangup involves public bathrooms. i can go number one almost anywhere. but for the more serious deeds, i have a few rules as far as public restrooms go. stores which primarily cater to women are ok. most churches are ok. office buildings usually are fine. but never walmarts or gas stations. or fast food joints.

so, what does this have to do with anything? well, i was asked to blog my thoughts on urinal cakes. these are, for the uninitiated, little deodorizing pucks that you toss in the bottom of a urinal to mask the nasty.
this is an example.










i guess my point in all this is to say that no matter how powerful the urinal cake, it cannot mask the hideousness of a public restroom. no amount of smell, no cute name that is also the name of a dessert can change the fact that dudes pee on them.

i guess this is sometimes how i feel. we try to mask our filth, dropping a perfumed puck into the bottom of our selves to try and mask the fact that we are nasty. where has honesty and authenticity gone? why do we act as if we don't stink, when we know we all do? i think it is much better to just be broken and foul and don't hide it, because then, we can be real with God, ourselves, and each other.

"blessed are the poor in spirit..."