Ever try to find a bathroom in Concord center? Well, it sounds like a simple proposition but it's actually kind of tricky. Because for about a century now, we Concordians have been trying to find a way to put public toilets on the Milldam. We have argued, proposed, rejected, postponed, planned, discussed, wrangled, and we are still not one step closer to that flush of success.

In the absence of any concrete plan, we offer immediately below the very first public toilets in the town of Concord. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, they are clean, bright, free, low-maintenance and environmentally sound. What a relief!

The visitor center debate is taking up all the time and energy of the town. What makes more sense to me is a shift of priorities from this escalating struggle to planning for plain-and-simple toilets. It is the very least we can do for those who use the downtown area. And it is the very least we can do to relieve the burden this situation has placed upon retail establishments.

We are so very proud of our town and interested in helping visitors understand and appreciate it through a visitor's center: a worthy goal. And, true, it would be humane to improve conditions for the volunteers who work at our current visitor's booth. But to serve the greater good, I have to support potties on the Milldam FIRST. And soon.

In the meantime, the toilets in the Town House and Public Library are the only ones officially available, and those only during the limited hours these buildings are open. Some people sneak into the facilities at the Colonial Inn and some of the area churches. As for bathrooms in our restaurants: unless you are patronizing them, they will not generally lend you their facilities.

If many of us perceive the little visitor's booth currently on Heywood Street to be only marginally hospitable for visitors, then a lack of toilet facilities is only moreso. Let's reassess our priorities and not allow the drama over the new visitor's center to overtake our common sense.