Wow. You both know the area where my daughter-in-law was delivering mail? Hmmmmm....Hrhpd you "don't believe" there was nothing else there. And Wendy31 you are "almost positive" the convenience store wasn't the only place around. Do either of you really understand what "rural" means?
The store she delivered mail to is a small beer/convenience store. They sell beer, wine, simple groceries, snack foods, lottery tickets, etc. The nearest town with a fast food place/gas station/restaurant is probably 5-6 miles away. The store is right on the corner of a fairly major road in our area and another road that goes to a small town but it is on the corner of a rural field (farmers here farm the land right up to the edge of the road) and there is NOTHING NEAR IT. No restaurant. No fast food. No grocery store. No public building. NOTHING. It survives because of it's location, and people living near don't have to drive several miles into one of the surrounding towns.
I do not know how I can describe the location any more accurately than that. If either of you don't believe me, nothing I can do about that.
And I have no idea where she ended up finding a bathroom. Maybe she drove into the nearest town that did have a fast food restaurant or gas station. She may have been taking her lunch break and drove home to use her own bathroom. I don't know, she didn't say. And I know I'm in the minority here in thinking that it's sad/too bad that stores and businesses deny a paying customer the use of a bathroom. Although I've seen a few mothers here who don't mind if businesses don't allow their patrons to use their bathroom, but they were appreciative of the ones who did allow their kids to use them. I know my daughter-in-law would have been appreciative of being allowed to use the convenience stores bathroom too and would have continued to spend money there.
(bolding mine)
Haha! Yes, I do. I'm in the south. I'm very familiar w/ rural areas.
And, if I'm in a vehicle, I don't really consider 5-6 miles that far away.
Now, we really HAVE been in a rural area where there was nothing "public" - not even a convenience store that may or may not have had a public restroom. And there is nothing (only residential houses) for way more than 5-6 miles.
We were in such an area on one particular Sunday afternoon drive when our youngest (who had up until this particular point had been very stubborn about potty-training) finally decided that our drive would be a fine time to "get it". So, because we didn't want to discourage him, we pulled over a few times on the side of the road so he could go. (This particular area is so "rural," we don't even have cell service when we drive there.)
He had on pull-ups, but, since he was suddenly ready to start pottying like a "big boy," we just went w/ it & pulled off a few times into some grassy areas by the woods. And, then we got back into the nearest small town, he decided this potty stuff was really fun & had to go one more time at a Hardee's.
And, after that, the potty chair went back in the van.
So, yes, I get rural.
Like I said a couple of other times previously, I have no problem w/ your DIL asking to use the restroom. But I don't think either she (or you) should have been angry w/ the cashier when he/she told her that she couldn't use the restroom because it wasn't for public use.