A clap for this slap

As a child who scored poor marks, I had received it several times from my father, but never ever passed it on to anyone. Yes, I am talking about slaps.

Even recently, when I was walking on a Delhi street with a relative, I had a chance to spank someone, but did not. A drunken roadside Romeo tried to misbehave with my niece. Even before I could gauge what had happened, she had given him what he deserved: A tight slap.   

I should share this gripping story from Maharashtrian tales. 

A boy always shunned a particular route, as a shopkeeper was rude to him. One day, he could not avoid using that road and the shopkeeper yelled out for him.

“Tell your hopeless parents to return the dues immediately,” he shouted at the boy, and before the latter could react, gave him a slap. The child returned home, narrated the incident to his mother, while his father lay in bed in a coma.

The mom thought for a moment and rushed to the kitchen. She picked up the money saved for charity, grabbed the boy’s hand and reached the shop. She returned all the dues and asked the shopkeeper whether everything was settled. “Yes,” said the shopkeeper gleefully. “Except one,” she replied and instantly gave him a tight slap.

Boss, there is a word of caution from Willard Scott: “Never slap a man who chews tobacco.”