chiang mai
mid june

on my way to her house, 18:15, rush hour in chaing
mai. always the same, always a mess. along the
southern moat, the traffic of tuk-tuks, seung thaws,
and motorbikes weaved and tangled at impossible
angles. the air hung filthy gray as dusk settled.

".. resume, cover letter, visa extension.." i mumbled
into the air rushing by, trying to figure out what i
needed to get done. i was angling for a job working
with local refugees before moving on to cairo. i
dropped the bike into 3rd gear.

"article, laundr-ohsh-"

a woman in a white shirt and a purple helmet was
merging. directly into me. the back tire of her
Yamaha whined as it contacted my front wheel. she
looked back at me through her visor with the pathetic,
terrified look of someone brought up to believe that
they are helpless and weak. i understood that moment
that her reaction would be foolish, and would result
in my loss.

panicing, she accelerated and veered right, pushing my
front wheel left. the front of my motorbike exploded
as it
hit the back of the champagne colored truck at about
40kph. the noise was incredible. the scenery arced
around me. everything pulsed. i was standing. i had
my cell phone out, i was dialing her number.

"hello, i need you. south moat."

there was blood on the phone, on my pants, yet i
couldnt feel anything. i noticed the woman in the
purple helmet speeding off. i wanted to slap her,
pull her around by the wrist as she weakly resisted,
as she started to cry, like she thought she should in
her submissive traditional mind.

she was going to save face, and act as if she didnt
hit me, and didnt see me collide with the truck. the
food vendor 15 feet away continued to flip his satay.
in juvenile e.asia, nothing bad happens, unless you
decide to notice it. and this can be avoided. at
disneyland, noone dies, and in china, SARS isnt really
happening.

noone stopped to help me. finally, a sex worker in a
tee shirt that read "playboy favorites", with a
rugged, wide face came over. she pointed at the bike.
she pointed at my bleeding jaw, at my bloody leg. i
imagined her wide, chapped lips kissing my cheek.
"you hult."

hot. hult. hurt? thanks.

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