Bangtao Tales
October 11th 2015
Chapter 83

To Show Respect

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This afternoon I managed to arrange to escort my favourite lady to my favourite Wat in my favorite town.
The stuff of dreams.
What could possibly go wrong?
I had promised the lady to take her there some weeks ago but only now had I been able to arrange it.
In the Wat there is a mural which I believe is the most pleasing I have ever seen.
It is not religious but a faithful representation of life in the local town a couple of centuries ago.
A particularly famous part of it consists of a tattooed man leaning closely towards a shapely well dressed lady.
The tinge of pink on her cheek suggests very clearly what he is suggesting.
I like this mural so much that at home in England in my bedroom I have a copy of the man's face and seperately the woman's face.
I keep them at opposite ends of my chest of drawers/bookshelves on the wall at the foot of my bed.
I tell people that "if I'm not having fun then neither shall they."

Of course, if a visitor happens to notice that they are placed together then they may draw their own conclusions.

Now, as I said, "what could possibly go wrong?"
Well actually, having removed my shoes, on entering the Wat, I accidentally kicked, or stubbed, my big toe on a step.
I ignored the pain because I was more keen to continue the spiritual journey than anything else.

This would have been fine except that a small girl enquired of my companion as to whether she had observed that I was leaving a trail of bloodied footprints behind me on the carpet.
And this in the middle of a sacred shrine.
It is true, I was.
I had been trying very hard to obey the dictats of Buddhism in a sympathetic manner and here I was pouring my blood over a holy area.
What can I say? I am really sorry but it was truly accidental.

I have had my toe dressed at a local clinic and prescribed antibiotics in case of infection.
With the aid of painkillers I walk reasonably comfortably with a slight limp.

Tomorrow I will return to the Wat and make a generous donation - to clean up my bloodstains.