He who hugs too much, hugs badly! Jeanne Calment
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She ought to know. She lived to be 122 years and 164 days, the longest confirmed human lifespan on record and she must have known quite a bit (more than any of us) about hugs.
And yes, I totally agree with the late Madame Calment. Everybody should know that the minute an item is mass-produced it immediately loses its exclusivity and its worth.
The price of the (no more precious) stones would tumble and all the “rocks” would become as worthless as common pebbles.
Overabundance my friends, is often synonymous to depreciation, to decrease in value.
The same goes for hugs.
A hug is special. It is reserved for lovers, family, pets or very close friends. You don’t hug any Tom, Dick or Harry because it has suddenly become fashionable.
If you do so, your hug is fake.
In a way, this sudden popularity of the bro-hug in America is not really surprising.
Young Americans are a mixture of copycats and lemmings. When they see something that looks cool, they will duplicate it; and they will do it to excess because in America, excess is the norm.
My theory is that the kids picked up this routine from hombres across the border. A well- executed abrazo is macho and supercool. A bad one is pathetic at best.
Old farts by the way don’t hug, they cross canes.
An honest hug should be spontaneous, not calculated. You don’t hug because it is “à la mode du jour”, but because you really mean it.
Some people are good huggers and some are extremely awkward huggers. The best huggers are women. It comes fairly naturally to them and most of the time they do it right.
For men, it is an acquired taste. Like a tennis backhand a hug needs to be worked on, otherwise you could get entangled in a ridiculous embrace.
One additional reason to distrust would-be huggers is that it is much easier for them to plant a dagger in your back while they are holding you tight.
Especially at the end of a tournament, beware of losers who want to embrace you. There is no reason for them to do so other than testing your defenses. In my opinion a handshake is much less dangerous and definitely more sanitary than a phony hug.
So, to sum up it up, I am not fond of bro-hugging a bunch of guys. I would rather hug a tree than making body contact with a guy I barely know.
I will make an exception for a comely lass though, and submit to a voluptuous hug if I have to. Noblesse oblige!
Alain ??