GlobalNav,
Been away from this Thread for a while, and so a bit slow in welcoming you into this, our Virtual Crewroom in Cyberspace, where naught but good fellowship prevails and a cross word is never (well, very rarely) heard, and all views expressed are treated as of equal worth. Now,
...My father served in the USAAC during WWII and, perhaps of interest to you, Danny, in the CBI...
I at first thought:
Central Bureau of Investigation, and envisaged tales of "G-men", but it's only
China, Burma and India Theatre of Operations. Ah, well.
...He served much of his time in the vicinity of Calcutta, told a few humorous stories of unintentionally offending the natives and of a harrowing dash through the streets fleeing from a Sikh armed with a terrible bladed weapon...
Sikhs in Calcutta specialised as taxi-drivers, all driving mid-thirties open tourers, Buicks, Chevs, Plymouths etc. in the last stages of dilapidation.
The meters were invariably "broken, Sahib", and the fare was a matter of negotiation (and a brazen attempt to renegotiate at the destination).
Presumably your Dad's negotiating technique had unintentially offended your chap; the Sikhs are a martial race; every true Sikh must carry a
Kirpan, about ten inches long (this is a small one):
An example of a kirpan, a type of religious dagger, worn at all times by Sikhs
We are going to have much, much more to talk about, but it's a bit late tonight (0317GMT),so I'll say "Goodnight" for the moment.
Danny.
Why am I stuck centred ? Don't know. Must be my damn' Gremlin again !