If you’re going to be on the road, it is inevitable that you’re going to have to do some laundry. Which is how I found myself at a laundromat for the first time in probably 25 years the other day.

I have to tell you, it was kind of awesome. Much more so than I thought it was going to be. Considering I thought it would likely be the sort of experience I would never want to repeat (to the point where I would rather wear incredibly dirty clothes, forcing others to stand several feet away lest they get a whiff of me), it wasn’t exactly what I would consider a high bar. However, that said, the experience was far more pleasant than I expected.

First, there is something great about being able to do all your laundry at once. None of the waiting for one load to be finished before putting the next in that goes on at home. My normal several hours of doing laundry became a quick and east 90 minute trip to the laundromat (though, seriously expensive. I definitely appreciated my own machines, which didn’t require nine quarters just to get started).

Second, and even better, I got to indulge my love of bad daytime television for a few minutes, as the television at the laundromat was tuned to the daily series of judge shows. Now, this is not my favorite bad daytime television, but if it’s on, I’m not the sort to turn away in disgust. I’m more the “gets so into it I realize I should never, ever start recording these shows on the DVR, lest I end up never leaving my couch again” sort.

So, yeah, I was definitely into the television. Though not as much as the others at the laundromat, who were keeping up a steady conversation with each other as to the merits of the cases appearing on television, as well as their own opinions of the actual individuals who were appearing on the shows to have their personal disputes adjudicated. As I said before, kind of awesome. Though, as a lawyer, I kept my opinions to myself. I have learned the hard way that there are certain times it is better to keep my mouth shut, lest I suddenly find myself being peppered with lots of questions about “friends” who may or may not have engaged in certain not-so-legal behavior, and the potential consequences of those actions. I figured this was one of those times.

And definitely not what I was expecting out of the laundromat.