New tissue issue

The opening paragraph from a news story on the AP wire for July 22 really got my attention. This is verbatim. I am not making this up.

"Lewiston, Idaho (AP) Potlatch Corporation claims it has come up with a new toilet paper that will keep RV enthusiasts, boaters, and septic tank users happy and clog-free."

Well, I thought. RV enthusiasts, boaters and septic tank users aren't the only people who like to be "happy and clog-free," so for all the loyal readers, whatever they are, who would like to be "clog-free," I've decided to pass along the good news. Here is the rest of the story:

"The product, called 'Septicsure,' is expected to be rolled out to consumers in about four months." (I immediately decided if I've lived 77 years without being clog-free, I could last until this fall.)

"Bruce Woodlief with Potlatch says the company uses a new way to make the paper that keeps it soft and ensures it dissolves within 30 seconds of flushing. Easily dissolved toilet paper helps keep septic systems from backing up and plumbing on boats and recreational vehicles from clogging." (This is the paragraph where we first learn this new paper keeps other things besides people clog-free.)

"The paper is expected to sell for between two and three dollars per four-pack. That's high compared to regular toilet paper, but Woodlief says it's a competitive price."

Asked Iris what are we currently paying for regular "bathroom tissue," and she said it's about six bucks for a twelve-pack. That means 50 cents a roll, compared to 75 cents a roll for the new stuff. We talked this over, and right now it looks like we are going to try some of the "Septicsure" every other week. At least that way we will be clog-free half the time.

A dictionary says groping means to 1.) Feel or search about blindly, 2.) (Slang) to make sexual advances by touching a person.

Public groping in America is now classified as a form of sexual abuse and can get the perpetrator very bad publicity, fines and even jail time. Forty years ago, practically every place of employment with more than a few workers had a thoughtless cad or two who made it a habit of getting physically fresh with the females.

One place where I worked had an "older gentleman" who hardly let a day pass without patting or pinching one of the "girls." Up in the coffee room one day I overheard some of them talking and what they said about "that silly old ****" wasn't flattering.

In the last 25 years in the U.S., there have been unnumbered lawsuits resulting in huge damage settlements from verbal as well as physical sexual harassment. Obviously, this is a result of the women's rights movement. America is one of the few places in the world where women have a right to seek legal recourse for unwanted touching. Look at most countries of Europe. Look at Japan.

This past April 4, the first commuter trains with "women only" cars went on line in Tokyo. Why? Because "groping during the morning rush hours" was out of control. By May 9, ten private railways and the subways also had cars for women to escape the patting, pinching gauntlets they had faced every morning.

This protective program for women commuters is not cheap. To enforce the new rules, there have to be officers on the platforms in the stations.

AP interviewed one 24-year-old woman, Asae Tanaka, who said, "I'm relieved I don't have to be close to men on the train."

Kita Ward said, "Until yesterday, my heart skipped a beat whenever men moved their hands or bags near my body."

The "women only" cars may help Japanese females feel safer on the trains, but that is only a small part of their day, a Band-Aid for a broken leg. It seems a shame that equal rights only come about through so many years of unfair struggle in the streets, the legislature and the courts. But that's the way it was right here … not very long ago.

Last week, a sheriff's deputy was called to a house on Jellison Road by a man who said his landlord was coming over to his place when he wasn't home and "cutting down things he was trying to grow." The officer found the landlord was trying to keep the weeds under control. Life is not easy in law enforcement.