The Bootie Boxes

A few weeks ago I found Ben, our EMT and Safety go-to guy, building little distribution boxes in our wood-working space. "What are those for?" I asked. "Booties!" he answered energetically. Apparently somebody had ordered paper booties to slip over dirty footwear, to keep floors clean without taking off boots. Something you might find in a hospital or uber-sanitary place, or a science lab in the arctic circle. I think it's a stupid product . . . just take off your shoes at the door . . . and I think everyone else agrees with me.

Soon after I asked about the boxes, another employee came in and asked how the condom dispensers were coming along. We all laughed and made crude jokes about the bootie-boxes, at least I thought, until when I was cleaning the shower module, I found two of Ben's boxes filled with condoms, in assorted colors. So innocent, I had to double-take and make a close inspection, of course. My guess is that the condoms are used more than the booties. And I'm kind of glad they're there.

Toolik is camp for adults, and we take full pleasure in it. Last night we the staff put on a viewing of "The Big Labowski" and drank White Russians. With my conservative background and lifestyle, I've not watched many such movies, or ever had a White Russian. (I laughed at the movie, and I liked the drink . . . had 2 . . . plenty.) There is something profound in the crude humor of "The Big Labowski," and I'm sure I would have been laughing even in sobriety, just maybe not as freely.

But, back to sex at Toolik. It's a small town here . . . everyone sort of knows who is with who and where people are sleeping. You only speak about it one-on-one or in small private conversations. This knowledge is treated with secrecy and modesty, but everybody knows . . . a mysterious and interesting ability we humans have. It is accepted and normal here, as the box of condoms in the shower module implies. I kind of wanted to pick out a few in my favorite color and stock up, just to take part in the community. I decided I'd leave them for people who actually use them. Nobody likes a horde.