American Standard
I’m at the airport in Quito.
More specifically:
at a urinal
in the bathroom
in the airport
at Quito.
The flush valve leads to the words "American Standard"
emblazoned on the porcelain.
cross-hatching airport to airport, I haven’t taken my shoes off in 20 hours-
My sole protection against the small, stagnant puddle of piss
below
the base
of the urinal.
My toilet at home does not
have a puddle of piss
next to it.
It is, however, an American Standard.
How many of their toilets do they have in the world?
The company is based in New Jersey but majority owned by another company in Tokyo.
I wonder if the head of global sales for American Standard is happy?
What is their life like?
Do they feel they are failing?
Or succeeding?
Or do they even see the world
as binary
as that?
They must. They have to.
It’s pragmatic to know if their work is effective or not.
What does that do to them
internally?
Does that pressure fissure?
Bind?
Do they feel connected to the world? To their employees? Their family? Themselves?
Everyone at this airport speaks to me in Spanish even though I understand very little.