United We Stand

I bet you thought this was a patriotic message. Nope. Sorry to disappoint you if you wanted that. In church I observed two Pastors talking. Two guys with different ministries from different walks of life uncomfortably making small talk. Normally when people talk, they face each other, but not these two. It was like they were on a TV show. They stood side by side facing an imaginary congregation to make pleasantries. It reminded me of how many people on sunday mornings at church talk to one another. One of my favorite people to observe is the close talker. I have encountered many close talkers on sunday morning and have developed a system to keep my personal space sacred. One of the tactics is the aforementioned side-stance. I try to put a shoulder between their face and mine, ensuring at least 8-10 inches of space. My other favorite is the obstacle insertion method. This is where you walk around a table pretending to need a place to lean, placing a large object between you and the close talker. Now a good close talker will do their best to counter your strategy, usually unknowingly. They can't help it, but because of their casual nature to close the gap, my deliberate attempt to escape will usually win out.
I also try to avoid the huggers on sunday. This is usually accomplished by extending the left-arm-greeting-block combined with the right-hand shake-my-hand move. This combination thwarts the efforts of most huggers, but is sometimes countered with the pull-the-hand-in-close-to-lean-in-for-the-light-hug move.
Ah yes, the dynamics of how people greet one another that they don't really know but because they know someone that knows them, they are obligated to the customs of the people the ones we know happen to know. This is why I like blogs. No such thing as a close blogger...yet.