Greetings from the Appalachian Mountains of Southwestern Virginia.

I was recently in Washington, D.C. attending a conference. One evening I took the Metro to Union Station and was there until about 10:00 p.m. Before my return trip, I decided to visit the ladies' room. As I entered a stall, I thought I was the only one in the restroom, but I suddenly realized that I was not alone. Someone began talking. Yes, from a stall not far from the one I was using I could hear the animated voice of another woman. As it is not uncommon for mothers to take young children into a bathroom stall with them, I thought perhaps she was entertaining her child while the child waited for Mom to finish using the facilities. At first I paid no attention to what was being said. However, when the woman began yelling, I couldn't help but tune in. A string of expletives screamed in a surly, cacaphonous voice emanated from the stall. It was then I suspected that the woman might be suffering from some sort of mental difficulty. Not wanting to confront her, I hurried to make my exit, but we came out of the stalls simultaneiously. She slammed the door to the stall and with an enraged look on her face she screamed, "MEN!" Then, she threw her cell phone against the wall as hard as she could . As it shattered, she stomped out of the ladies' room leaving the pieces behind. "Aha!" I thought; mystery solved.

Melissa Matusevich
Blacksburg, VA

© JMcKenzie, all rights reserved. Some stories are true, some fiction.