Posted by Mark Weiss on August 03, 2012
Policing Your brASS
Guilty. Guilty as charged. Big time. This goes back a long way, too.
I don’t clean up after myself well.
As we’ve established in previous posts, I have no colon. But I have been poop-challenged for almost 40 years. Sure, I had some periods of UC remission where I, arguably, pooped like regular boys and girls.
But I also had (and continue to have) long stretches of loose stools. And, of course, there were the loose and bloody stools.
[Brief aside: I try to tell patients and their families that bleeding in UC can be the most benign symptom. And it’s easy to say that one drop of blood can make the whole bowl red and that you shouldn’t overreact . From first-hand experience, though, I also know how terrifying it is to see blood in your bowl or, worse, in your child’s bowl. End of brief aside.]
I’m a huge NCIS fan. That’s another story, but it’s from NCIS that I learned the phrase, “policing your brass.” It’s meant to refer to picking up your spent shell casings after shooting a gun or rifle. Being a good housekeeper, if you will.
“Policing your brASS” refers to cleaning up after yourself following a messy poo.
As Sela says, “nobody wants to sit on your $hit.”
I have to say that I was better about this when I used to bleed. I think this was because I made it too easy for the poo detectives back then.
Poo Detective: Can you describe the scene?
Poo Witness: There were red, watery dots all over the seat and bowl.
Poo Detective: Did you say “red”?
Poo Witness: Yes sir.
Poo Detective: He’s at it again. Han.
Poo Witness: How can you be sure?
Poo Detective: Well, we’ll go through the registry of bloody pooers in the neighborhood, but Han had the means and opportunity. And he works on this floor. We’re pretty sure we have our man.
This is not a strength of mine. My performance at Alcatraz Bathrooms is much, much better than my performance on my home field.
Not to make excuses, but the after hours poos present my biggest challenge. Why? Well, my vision is about 20-6000, so I don’t see too well without glasses or contacts. Following a nocturnal trip to the loo, I may police my brASS and think that everything is hunky dory.
But the killer always makes a mistake, doesn’t he? He fired four shots but only remembered three. He picked up three spent casings and missed the fourth. He’s caught, red (or brown) handed.
Please, please be courteous to the next user of toilet, whether it’s a family member, a co-worker, a friend or a stranger. Again, as Sela says, “nobody wants to sit on your $hit.”