Musings on human touch
"So, BooZymatic, I hear you had some fun last night."
This is how I am greeted by RB, one of the guys at work, as I walk into the plant. I think back and realize that I'm not quite sure what he's talking about. Sure, I went to see Fjord Rowboat at Jimmy Jazz last night, but he wasn't there. I'm puzzled, and look it.
He laughs at me, saying, "Well, SC says he spent the best two minutes of his life with you last night."
Say what? Ummm... aah, the lightbulb clicks on. SC has had a sore back for nearly a week now, so I took pity on him and gave him a quick back massage while we were waiting for the bus last night. Granted, he proclaimed himself cured and was completely amazed by how much better his back felt, but the best two minutes ever? (Frankly, that makes me wonder about his girlfriend.)
I suppose that some people on this planet have never had a massage of any sort. That boggles my mind, to be honest. I swear, if he wasn't wearing a heavy wool coat, sweatshirt, and t-shirt during his back rub, he probably would have melted into a puddle on the ground.
Apparently, SC has told several people about his best 2 minutes ever - well, everyone within earshot over the last 24 hours. I suggested to him later on that he might be exaggerating a little bit. "Nope. Not at all. I've never felt that relaxed in my entire life." (Now I'm really wondering about the girlfriend.)
All of this makes me a little sad. The touch of another human's hand is so simple a gesture - yet so many people seem to never experience it.
I've never been much of a 'touchy-feely' kind of person - at least not with people. I didn't particularly enjoy being touched by other people while I was young (damn that abusive grandfather), nor did I reach out to other people (damn those cruel children who dissed me because I looked/acted different). However, I've never met an animal that didn't take to me immediately.
To this day, I have a very difficult time touching other people. I only touch people that I have decided are my friends. Heck, sometimes I realize that someone has attained 'friend' status after realizing that I touched them willingly. Yeah, that's pretty sad, isn't it?
But I am doing better at all this. I've met lots of people over the past year or so, several of whom I now call friends. That's an astoundingly high percentage for me.
Wow, I wasn't expecting a quick post about silliness at work to turn into something so revealing. Oh well, there must be a reason for me experiencing this now. I guess I'll find out anon.
In the meantime: everyone, get out there and touch somebody today.