Remember the bomb threats and pay toilets???

United States
January 26, 2022 11:12am CST
I was drinking my morning tea and for some reason my mind went back to the 1970's when bomb threats, demonstrations and pay toilets were in. I have a tail from those days... It was 1971 and we were in Sacramento for my father's open-heart surgery. He had come through with flying colors and the doctor recommended that we get away from the hospital for a while. So Mom and I decided to take a walk. We had gone a couple of miles when we decided we really needed to go to the bathroom. Being women we needed that dreaded dime to get into the stall. We were outside the Greyhound Bus station and we both started frantically searching for the dime. We finally found one and shot into the restroom and dropped the dime in the respective booths and darted in. We barely arranged ourselves to use the facilities when a male voice shouted, "We're evacuating the station there has been a bomb threat!!!" My Mom pulled up her pants and shot out of the booth like a rocket and was long gone. I, being the stubborn and cheap person I am, stayed to use the toilet. The sheriff's deputy stated loudly, "Lady there's a bomb". I replied, "I paid a dime to use this booth, I'm going to use it!" The deputy replied, "I'll give you a dime!" I replied, "I don't care I've paid my dime I'm going to use the toilet!" The deputy stated, "I'll give you a dollar!!!" I replied, "I need the toilet, I'm going to use it!" By that time, I had finished my business and came out of the booth. The deputy was standing there with the dollar in hand, which I took, and walked out of the station. Mom was standing across the street, waiting for me. She was in awe that I held the Sheriff's deputy up for a buck. We then started the hunt for her bathroom. It took about ten minutes to find one, which needed a dime to use. I lucked out and had a dime for her to use. I told her that if she had waited in the bus station, she could have used the toilet and made a dollar at the same time. It wasn't well received.
8 people like this
6 responses
@arunima25 (85328)
• Bangalore, India
26 Jan 22
That story made me laugh. I mean a funny and hilarious one to talk about later. I hope that it was a false alarm. Else the story would have not been funny later.
• United States
27 Jan 22
It was a false alarm, fortunately. I had decided that if it was a real bomb I couldn't get out of there in time and I wasn't going to die needing the toilet.
1 person likes this
@arunima25 (85328)
• Bangalore, India
28 Jan 22
@BearArtistLady Thank God..
@xFiacre (12598)
• Ireland
26 Jan 22
@Bearartistlady We we’re plagued with bomb threats in the 70s - 90s and a lot of them were not hoaxes. Loads of people killed. If you were at the hairdressers half way through getting your hair done you just had to leave. Thankfully the pay-to-pee toilets are no more! What were people thinking when they invented those?
@RebeccasFarm (86769)
• United States
26 Jan 22
Well, well a dollar huh
@wolfgirl569 (95226)
• Marion, Ohio
27 Jan 22
That is one way to make money
@JudyEv (325818)
• Rockingham, Australia
27 Jan 22
That's pretty funny in a way. Good for you. I'm just glad there wasn't a bomb.
@Scrapper88 (5957)
• United States
26 Jan 22
I was not very old in 1971. I do not remember this.