After my run at Tiong Bahru Park this evening fatigued and thirsty, I made my way to the water cooler where I was privy to a distasteful sight and it totally riled me.

A father was washing his son's hands with the water cooler and despite my staring and "ahems" he continued the act unabashedly right in front of me. Now, one might think that this alone would not pose any hygiene threat since the dirty water gets drained away uncirculated but the shocking fact is that the young boy's fingers were rubbing against the mouth of the cooler, guided by the moron of the father! (alright sorry if I sounded too harsh) And what rankles is that if the boy really needed to wash his hands, the toilet is just a matter of inches away! Why did he require cold drinking water to wash his hands?

I remember back in my primary school it was an offence to use the water cooler as a hand-washing device. This issue was also briefly discussed during one of my CME lessons. But there is only so much the school can do. Parents are certainly not helping when they teach their children the opposite.

I went ahead to drink from the cooler all the same after that because it was the only one around and I was in desperate need of hydration. Let's hope nothing happens to me.