Sobering reminder

You know how people (meaning me) make fun of girls who go to the bathroom together in groups? I mean, how often are you at a bar or a restaurant and your girlfriend looks to you to be her bathroom partner? Happens allllll the time.

Personally, I've always been one who goes alone. I don't need anyone to hold my dress up while I pee - I can handle it, I'm a big girl. Or so I thought.....

Well, the next time I'm pulling the tough act, I may want to think again because of a friend's frightening yet very real story.

She and her friends were at Mercury at W.6th this past weekend and at the end of the night her friend went to the bathroom by herself. Nothing alarming yet, right? Just out with her friends having a fun night of drinking.

If you've never been to Mercury (save yourself a trip), the bathrooms are in the basement toward the front of the bar and the men's is before the women's. She entered the bathroom like many of us have before and at this point the bathroom attendant was either not there or was gone for the night. (They used to always have one.)

Of all the nights for the bathroom attendant to not be there!!!

As she was shutting the door, someone was pushing on the stall door to open it. No, it wasn't her friend or anyone she knew joking around. It was a complete male stranger who followed her and tried to assault her in the bathroom. After slamming her against the wall, she managed to fight him off and hide in the bathroom for a few minutes until she was sure he was gone and ran upstairs to her friends.

This is a sobering reminder that these situations happen all the time to women. Not only do we have to watch what freaks put in our drinks, we know have to watch ourselves in the bathrooms. I've heard about this happening in coed bathrooms in clubs, too, but I don't know that it's ever hit this close to home. I personally don't know the victim but I do know her friend, and she's still very shaken for herself and her friend.

It's all too often we hear these frightening stories and luckily nothing like this has ever happened to any of my girlfriends. Never on Spring Break in Florida or Acapulco or in my recent Vegas trip. We are the lucky ones.

So ladies, when you head out this weekend, go to the bathroom with your friends. With all of your friends for that matter. Take every one of them with you. After all, they are the best kind of protection to have sometimes.