Face Loss Reduction Techniques ?

[Guest]

I was stumbling down a single car-laned soi this morning on my way to work. The soi was unusually quiet for the time of morning, save for me and a middle-aged Thai man who was approaching on the opposite side of the street. This guy was about 50 meters away from me when he turned to look behind him, BIG MISTAKE !! He smashed the top left of his skull into a thick, metal barber shop sign that was jutting out from a wall. The unfortunate one fell hard but immediately bounced back to his feet (think of Bruce Lee in 'Enter the Dragon' when Brucie is having the one-on-one with the bodyguard with the beard and he springs back off his hands ). After a back and forth head jerking (to check there were no witnesses) he walked on and past me without even a rub of his battered bonce. Now, usually on a one and one passing with a Thai male I am subjected to 'The Stare'. Depending on your mood 'The Stare' can be interpreted in a variety of ways; a look of curiosity, a look of scorn, a look of unfamiliarity or the 'this soi is only big enough for the one of us' look. In this instance I got none. I was ignored. He knew I had seen him and his mishap but chose to ignore me and therefore the incident never happened, yes !?? This knock MUST have hurt as I dicovered he had managed to dislodge one of the sign screws out of the wall and left the whole unit hanging at a dodgy angle.

This is the third such incident I have witnessed. Another involved an elderly guy who attempted to sit down at a busy train station. The poor bloke had the misfortune to attempt to support his buttocks with the only un-benched section of 50 feet of seat. He too bounced up instantly and un-moved, almost as if the incident had never happened. The only reaction was a quick flash of the eyes searching for any witness, no rub whatsoever. This too must have hurt as this fella must have been well into his 70's. (This actually raises a topic for another thread - this 'old bloke' who would take 10 minutes to shuffle along the platform, could bounce like a rubber ball when he desired. Similarly, many elderly people when walking in front of you manage to make you feel like they are actually moving backwards BUT have you ever seen them in the bingo !!? ambidextrous, flexible, agile and angry combatants and even this description does not do them justice, maybe this is why they are so tired normally ???) anyways.....

In a similar position to the injured men I wouldn't want everyone to bear witness to what I had done, but if I was hurt then I would have at least checked out my injuries before moving on. I don't usually find events like these funny, but I find it hard to suppress my amusement when the injured try to act as though nothing happened.

 

I guess this is a 'loss of face reduction technique'. Are there any more 'loss of face reduction techniques' out there ???

Are the Thais really so hard that knocks don't hurt, or could this be a legitimate reason for the abundance of massage parlours in the LOS; rubbing those pains away ? Finally, does anyone know where I can learn to bounce like Bruce ??

Having realised the length of this I apologise, but it is REALLY pissing down and the alternatives were braving the monsoon in my shirt sleeves (defintely not), putting a plastic bag* (*or briefcase or plastic folder or handbag or newspaper!?) on my head like the passing Thais (definitely not) or building an Ark (no wood).