Many years ago, in a fit of extreme frustration, I punched a wall that turned out to be concrete.  Momentary pain was to be expected, but I seem to have damaged something in my right hand that has caused me pain from time to time over the years, particularly in the winter and also after shaking hands with one of those neanderthal bone smasher idiots who think there is some good reason to show how powerful their hands are by giving a "firm handshake" and cracking the bones in the hand of their victim.

I'm sure there must be many good reasons for the custom of shaking hands, and I'm happy enough to engage in the custom from time to time with civilized human beings, but every time I end up in the painful grip of a neanderthal, I end up cursing the bloody custom and having to deal with the painful aftermath (sometimes lasting a day or two after the assault).  The most recent experience of this happened a couple of weeks ago - I innocently put out my hand to shake the hand of someone I was meeting for the first time (a friend of a friend) and he grabbed my four fingers instead of my hand and showed what a fine neanderthal gorilla he was by smashing them together with 30x more squeeze than a civilized man would use.  Not being a politician myself, I pulled my hand back and said "Ow!! #$%#, that hurt!!".

That would have been the end of the story, but I unfortunately ran into this same neanderthal again (making very sure not to let him touch me this time) and after he shook the hand of a friend I was with who was meeting him for the first time, I asked my friend, the new victim, "Any broken bones in your hand?" to which Mr. Neanderthal said - "Oh yeah, you had a problem with that last time, didn't you?".  Notice the choice of words Mr. Gorilla used - insinuating that his gorilla non-human bone-smashing sport was somehow my fault....

Methinks that hand shaking between strangers is a barbaric custom.  Far better to do the Eastern thing and bow - a way of showing respect without having to come into physical contact with neanderthals.

Rant over....

Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/