RESTROOM

J. Stephen O'Laughlin Memorial Restroom

J. Stephen O'Laughlin Memorial Restroom

Talk about leaving a lasting impression! You've just got to check out the J. Stephen O'Laughlin Memorial Restroom at Waldo's Pizza in Kansas City. This audaciously bold farewell gesture was supposed to be Joel's swan song, a way for his pizza slinging days to be remembered in the employee bathroom after he'd quit to seek fame and fortune in California. The idea germinated when Joel, suffering from a bought of the flu, got a fever-enhanced vision for the memorial bathroom. Thinking his idea was brilliant, if not quite mad, he set about gathering mementos of his not-very-distinguished life, framing them, and then making up museum-type placards describing his egocentric flotsam. His next challenge was to covertly mount the exhibits so as not to alert his boss as to his intentions. Enlisting the help of fellow employees, he got the memorial installed by having his cohorts distract the boss during Joel's going-away party. When the boss used the restroom the next day, he had what Joel describes as a "humorously surreal experience". The exhibits stayed put and evolved, according to Joel, "like a virus in a petri dish". His friends added things like a biography, a newspaper clipping lauding Joe's candidacy for Waiter of the Year, a polka dot floor, fluorescent ceiling, disco balls, and hot-pepper Xmas lights. Today it remains an entertaining chronicle of an ordinary, if eccentric man's life. And Joel is back at his old job, having added a pair of singing fish, a doorbell, a fountain, and a library to his memorial restroom.

J. Stephen O'Laughlin Memorial Restroom, located at WAldo Pizza, 7433 Broadway, Kansas City, MO 64114; [816 363 5242]. Optimal viewing times Sun-Thurs 2:00pm-4:00pm. Offerings for the shrine appreciated.