A Standard Greeting
The other day I found myself in an uncomfortable situation. I was saying goodbye to a family friend that I didn't know really well, but well enough and came upon that odd moment of "what do I do to say goodbye". Go with the modest handshake? The fraternal hug? The bold single kiss on the cheek? Or the even bolder double kiss on the cheeck?
There should be some sort of generic, standardized greeting between male/female who know each other well, but not very well. The greeting should be inclusive but not overwhelming and should aim to prevent all the multitude of uncomfortable situations which result when, for example, one person extends a handshake while the other goes in for the hug. The shaker is demoralized by the hugger. Has the hugger been too bold? But is this less so than if the shaker had gone in for the kiss to match the hugger's hug?
The kiss on the cheeck can throw everything off and make things too complicated. Too many questions are raised when one member offers a cheeck. Do you actually kiss the cheeck? Do you lean in and pretend to kiss while making that fake kissing noise? One or two cheecks? That the Europeans can do this with such ease makes me want to take ball room dancing and tango lessons. [FN1]
I reckon if there should not be a standard greeting called the 'shugress'. It's the shake, hug, kiss all wrapped up into one. It covers all the bases. It's a fluid movement starting with the simple handshake. With hands connected the two people move toward eacher other and do a one handed hug with the free arm while moving in closer to the other person for a single fake kiss on the cheeck. Simple and straightforward as that.
Just imagine the world with the shugress. Free from the incombrences of awkward situations, people could say goodbye to one another with the confidence of, 'yeah, that was a good shugress, I'll see you soon.'
Maybe I can convince Johnny D to do some 3D renderings of the shugress....
~ J-Dub
[FN1] Unless your Al Pacino in Sent of a Woman, ball room dancing and tango is for sissies.
There should be some sort of generic, standardized greeting between male/female who know each other well, but not very well. The greeting should be inclusive but not overwhelming and should aim to prevent all the multitude of uncomfortable situations which result when, for example, one person extends a handshake while the other goes in for the hug. The shaker is demoralized by the hugger. Has the hugger been too bold? But is this less so than if the shaker had gone in for the kiss to match the hugger's hug?
The kiss on the cheeck can throw everything off and make things too complicated. Too many questions are raised when one member offers a cheeck. Do you actually kiss the cheeck? Do you lean in and pretend to kiss while making that fake kissing noise? One or two cheecks? That the Europeans can do this with such ease makes me want to take ball room dancing and tango lessons. [FN1]
I reckon if there should not be a standard greeting called the 'shugress'. It's the shake, hug, kiss all wrapped up into one. It covers all the bases. It's a fluid movement starting with the simple handshake. With hands connected the two people move toward eacher other and do a one handed hug with the free arm while moving in closer to the other person for a single fake kiss on the cheeck. Simple and straightforward as that.
Just imagine the world with the shugress. Free from the incombrences of awkward situations, people could say goodbye to one another with the confidence of, 'yeah, that was a good shugress, I'll see you soon.'
Maybe I can convince Johnny D to do some 3D renderings of the shugress....
~ J-Dub
[FN1] Unless your Al Pacino in Sent of a Woman, ball room dancing and tango is for sissies.
posted by Cali Thais at
6:56 AM
1 Comments
