Harman should write his own travelogue

Which, often, is what his blog is. I mean, how many people have a story about being slapped not once, but twice in Germany? I’ve never been slapped in the face once in my entire adult life.

I don’t know why typing that gave me a brief sense that I was somehow not doing something right with my life. (Reminiscent of the character in Notes from the Underground, when the narrator goes into a bar just to feel the rush of a fight.) Really—it also seems like a quickly passing generation. I can’t remember recently hearing about anyone getting slapped. I’ll hear the occasional story from some poor woman (and men!) who got a pretty obnoxious pass from a guy (often married), but it never ends with “and then I slapped him and told him to mind himself!”

Is there a historicity to smacking someone on the side of the face? Has it gone the way of duels and, as Graham notes, the old DDR? Cause that would sure liven up the remaining holiday parties… (Waap… “I said ‘good day sir!'”)