denial and guilt

Geezis christ, I'm going on another writing binge. What the hell is wrong with me?? Besides the obvious, I mean, because frankly that's a gimmie.

I never thought about this before, but it just occurred to me to question the universally accepted taboo of peeing in swimming pools. I mean, we all instinctively recoil in disgust and dutifully declare it gross and unsanitary, but WHY? There isn't a reason for this. Yes, pee is gross, but as far as public swimming pools go urine is probably one of the cleanest things you're likely to encounter in the water. You have grosser stuff in your sink, yet we all act like we're appalled at the notion of someone releasing two or three ounces of sterile bodily fluids into heavily chlorinated water where it's immediately and harmlessly diluted.

You're already soaking wet and urine is much less likely to give you syphilis or bubonic plague than the filthy bathroom through which you would otherwise have to trot barefoot.

Totally unrelated: Years ago when I was still in college, I would often see the same guy out for a jog during my commute. I remember him only because he would frequently be wearing a pair of highlighter-vomit-pink gym shorts. It seemed--and still seems--perfectly logical to me. If I was a man and wore neon pink hot pants on a regular basis, I'd want to make sure I was able to outrun everyone else, too.