Letter to the Editor!

Over the last several months and 30 plus reviews of restrooms in and around the Boston area, I felt it was time to really branch out. Ok, perhaps that's over-stating things a bit. Anyway, look for some new features (hopefully) to the blog. All ideas are welcome, feel free to email The Shit Critic anytime.

Anyway, to start things off, we have an email from a reader who will help illustrate why Poopin' Around Town is so damn practical! This is an email I received on 6/16/07.


Dear Poop Critic,

I stumbled upon your blog while trying to find the address for the Brighton Stop n Shop. I will remember not to use the facilities there. I live in NYC now (think old delicate plumbing and scant seat covers), but I did live in Boston for a few years in grad school.

And while I was in grad school, I was diagnosed with this nasty, genetic poop disease. It's called Ulcerative Colitis and it means I have this mega over-zealous immune system that reacts to the normal bacteria in my large intestine and makes messy, bloody ulcers in the walls of my colon. Gross, right? Anyway, the worst part about this disease is that when it's bad, it means you have to poop frequently and urgently. Oh so very urgently. I'm all good now--it's gone into remission--but for nearly a year in Boston, I lived in constant fear of pooping my pants. Sometimes there would be very little warning. My whole life was one big pooping-preoccupation. I once yelled at the ticket taker at the Loews on the common because he wouldn't let me past to the bathrooms because I hadn't purchased my ticket yet. I actually screamed I'M GOING TO BLOODY DIARRHEA ON THIS FLOOR, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! It was a real low point in my life.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I enjoyed your blog and that's likely a very valuable resource for all people with or without digestive woes. And also, these are my top Boston poop sanctuaries: The Omni Parker Hotel, Trader Joe's in Coolidge Corner, and the Marriot Hotel at the Kendall Square stop in Cambridge.

best wishes,
(anonymous to protect the writer's name)

Ahhh Poopin' Around Town. What an adventure!

- The Shit Critic