Many of us who travel in and out of the Salt Lake City International Airport stop at the restrooms on the way to our boarding gates. When we come back from all of those long flights, we stop in again.
Last year, during the holiday season, I waited in a long line to get into the restroom. As I stood there, I watched a lone woman with a large cart, going from stall to stall, cleaning, scrubbing, trying to keep up with the hordes of international travelers who entered the stalls, flushed the toilets and then walked by her without a nod. She was invisible.
When I left, I reached into my purse and took out a $20 bill and handed it to her. She burst into tears. I walked out of the restroom and thought, to me that was nothing — a trip to the ATM, one bill out of 10, to carry me through the next few months where I might need cash. To her, that was probably the equivalent of two hours working at a job that none of us would want.
Please, I ask of you, as we enter the holidays, think of that woman and hand a $5, $10 or $20 bill, whatever you can afford, to the person cleaning the restroom you and thousands of others are using that day. It’s a tough job, and I think many of us who fly in and out of SLC can well afford to acknowledge and reward the work put into one of the least-appreciated, but most important segments of our travel.
Mary Dillon, Park City