Thirsty Thursday: A real squirmy ick in my breadbasket...
Sarah McCarthy’s Thirsty Thursday column is brought to you each week thanks to Invercargill-based law firm Mee & Henry Law.
Sarah McCarthy’s Thirsty Thursday column is brought to you each week thanks to Invercargill-based law firm Mee & Henry Law
THIRSTY THURSDAY 54
Day 57,000 of having to either stand or be propped up on pillows with a hottie and I am ready to kill everybody. Obviously, Winston Peters is on the hit list because he is smarmy and seems to only want to cause trouble and be on the television, which has completely wrecked my secret ambition of being smarmy, causing trouble and being on the television because it is now obviously no longer cool.
He’s also ruined the word sunshine, and also smoking, which is a shame as I had always thought that when the world stops revolving I’ll pop out for a cheeky packet of Marlboro Gold to enjoy, one after another, as the grid shuts down.
I’m also feeling a real squirmy ick in my breadbasket about Council and their recent convo about closing the showers in Wachner Pl. At first I thought, since when have they had showers at Wachner Pl?
But then as I read on, I realised they provide a much-needed and enjoyed shower for the people in our community who don’t have houses to go to.
And beyond all of the Council-talk and money waffle and cost breakdowns done on the back of an envelope there was what seemed like an incredibly interesting spitballing session as to where members of our community could then go to retain a bit of dignity and have a shower once the Wachner Pl facility was closed.
The pool was one place suggested for showering, which is fascinating because I was under the impression that there was a lot of chat not that long ago about fears that baddie men would put on frocks and leer at women and children, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the hand-wringing would get a lot more fervent if we were talking about our marginalised whanau showing up with their towels when Millie and Jonty are off to swimming lessons.
But the worst bit was when they were talking about a mythical shower that apparently exists in a hidden bike stand at the new mall. Firstly, this is how urban myths like the one about a secret underground evil lair at the Denver Airport get started. Secondly and worsely, this was quickly followed by the seeking of assurances that the presence of those needing showers wouldn’t spill out into the mall proper, which may have been a carefully worded sentence at the time but I imagine was absolutely along the lines of “but if we do that then we have to make sure the grubby homeless aren’t allowed in our nice new mall”.
I am not a pheasant plucker nor a city planner, as those people are both highly skilled, nor am I a politician because, while I am adept at saying the first thing that comes into my head and coming up with grand plans with no clue as to how they would come to fruition, I couldn’t be nice in public for long enough without being pretty intoxicated. But even I am aware that this shower problem is just the tip of a very large and complex iceberg that needs addressing by many clever people from lots of different agencies who have the hearts and minds able to approach it with care and compassion at the core of what they’re doing.
There are lots and lots of people, especially right now, who are merely one missed pay away from having to face being houseless. Unfortunately, though, this sounds like the kind of lefty pinko wellbeing snowflake communist scheme that is ruining our country, so I’ll just stick to my knitting. Or sitting, as it were.
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We recently had water tank issues meaning we had no source of clean water to bathe in for several weeks. The options were ' shower at an off springs house - Seeing granny unclothed could traumatise the children, pay $7.10 at the pool, going into one of the family changing rooms when apparently foot fungal infections are easily picked up - or pay $3.40 at Wachner Place for 5 minutes- if you could get a park nearby. We opted for the pool and had a swim at the same time. Unhoused people need showers as well. I think showering at Wachner Place should be free.
Once again, well said :)