Double Doors, Automatic Toilets, and Germaphobes – Thoughts from February 1, 2026 – Part 2

When last we left the mentally ill rantings of the author of this two-part article, he was explaining OLD (obsessive-logical disorder). I was describing the double doors at the top of the stairs at work. If none of this sounds familiar, go back and read Part 1 of this two-part article. I established in it that one should walk through double doors via the door on the right. It’s the keep to the right rule of walking. With this next paragraph, I will contradict that rule for a logical reason. And now, I present the first paragraph of Part 2. Wait … this was the first paragraph. Just continue and quit pointing out how illogically I’m introducing this article.

The doors at the top of the stairs are the one time I will break the keep to the right rule. Someone asked me about it once and I said, “I’m glad you asked because there is a logic to what I do.” The doors are many years old and periodically one door gets stopped by the other door. Which door is on top changes throughout the year. I think it has something to do with the weather. For some reason, only one door has a problem closing. If I’m going through the right door and that is the one sticking out, I can fix the situation by going through the left door. When that door closes, it lines up with the other door. This puts me in a genuine dilemma as to my logical stance on double doors. In a way, this gives other people the chance to be kind of right either way. If they make the wrong choice, I usually fix it when they are gone.

Now that I’m at the top of the stairs, I walk in a hallway that leads to lockers, a breakroom, and a restroom. I put my backpack in a locker and finish talking to Patti on the phone. As I pass the breakroom, I see if someone has turned off half the lights. You may ask yourself, “Why would someone turn half the lights off?” This is an excellent and logical question. My guess is that people have a predisposition to living in caves at their houses. If no one is in the breakroom, I turn on the lights. If someone is in the breakroom, I leave the lights off and hope the people are gone by the time I go to the breakroom later.

My next destination is the restroom. Don’t worry. I’m only going to talk about the restroom itself. When I enter the restroom, I look and listen to see if anyone is in there. There are two stalls and a urinal. When I see feet in the stall right next to the urinal, I cringe inside. I still hope that the other stall is unoccupied. If it is occupied, I will sometimes leave, hoping another restroom will not be as crowded. Using the urinal right next to someone sitting on the toilet is more trouble than it’s worth. Neither of us wants the other one there. If I get the stall I like, I rarely have any problems doing my business. Luckily, there is usually no one in the restroom when I enter.

Leaving the stall is where the logical side of my brain comes into play. The toilets are all automatic. If you take too long or trigger the sensor, the toilet will flush. I always do a courtesy flush if I do any serious business. When I’m finished with everything, I walk away from the toilet, and it flushes. Too many times, I hear people flush the toilet and then walk out. Of course, it automatically flushes again. If you say I’m wasting water with my courtesy flush, they are wasting just as much water because of their illogical flushing. Another thing I do with the larger stall I prefer is make sure the door is still open a little bit so other people know it is unoccupied. If you just let the door shut on its own, it will fully close.

Before I leave the restroom, I wash my hands and use exactly three paper towels from the automatic dispenser. If there are pieces of paper towel on the counter, I gather them up before I wash my hands. When I’m finished drying off, I wipe off the water around the sink, add the paper towel pieces to my damp towels, and put them in the trash. Also, if there are paper towels just thrown on the ground, I pick them up. My anger comes out if I see paper towels on the ground by the door. This means some germaphobe has opened the door with them and thrown them on the ground. Illogical behavior directly relates to rude behavior. If any of these illogical behaviors sound like you, please use this two-part article of Thoughts from Life as a blueprint for the rest of your life. You’re welcome.