HUGS

A friend wrote to me not too long ago and mentioned wanting someone to give them hugs.  Not a relationship, just a regular source of hugs.

And that reminded me of a person from years ago.  That is why the category is both "ponderings" and "weird".

A fair sized group of us hung around all the time, mostly after work.  We had common interests and enjoyed each others company.  Then came Audrey.

Audrey was the hugging-est person in the world.  She'd hug total strangers.  And it was good.

Not too sure why it worked for her, but it did.  Giving her a hug, or getting one from her, just felt right.  And no matter how bad your mood was before hand, life was alright afterward.  Didn't matter who you were; guy, girl, undecided...life was good.

The weird part is, if that wasn't enough, she didn't stand out in a crowd.  Or even a small gathering.  She just kind of blended into the background most times.  Not that she was ignored, just if she wasn't wanting to be in the middle of things, she faded out of view.

Now, that said, she was also a very extroverted and gregarious person naturally.  She could walk in and light up a room and, as I said, give a total stranger a hug and no one thought twice about it.  Not even the stranger.  It was always as if it was supposed to happen.

Soft spoken, just above average "plain Jane", yet she could attract a crowd when she expressed her thoughts or wanted the attention.  Or, get everyone to ignore her when she wanted the privacy.  She could control a room in whatever way she desired.  Very strange this flipping around with the attention, but that was her.

And mostly, her desires were to give or get a hug.  No more, no less.  And rightly so, when she wanted or needed a hug, the line formed to the back.

She drifted into the world unannounced.  Hung around and touched a lot of peoples lives, hugging and getting hugs.  Then drifted out equally unannounced.

One minute she was there (more like a year and a half).  Then, someone noticed they hadn't seen her in a day or two, and wondered where she was.  And few people could remember exactly when they last sat with her and had coffee.  And then, she was gone.  Time to move on I guess.

I'm sure most of us can remember someone who drifted in, and then out again.  Yet touched us in a special way.

And it took a friend, thousands of miles away, talking about hugs, to remind me of a more ethereal time, when witches, warlocks, dragons, virgins and other mythological creatures roamed the lands and touched us to the core in simple, pleasant ways, with simple, pleasant acts.

Aren't memories sweet?

Remembering (once again) happens.  (hugs to Audrey, where ever she may be)