Last night, I went to a very funny, wonderful comedy event by Laurie Kilmartin filming her "45 Jokes About My Dead Dad" - Comic's Comic. Clearly, Laurie loves her dad and the jokes were fast, furious and funny.
I went with a comedian friend, Jerry Albitre, whose talent you will definitely be hearing about worldwide soon. If you haven't joined his twitter feed, you should. Laughter is the best medicine in living life right now.
An interesting moment happened just before the show. A female friend of Jerry's was introduced to me and she reached out and I automatically shook her hand, only to discover I was shaking hands and she was fist bumping. We both chuckled as I took a good look to see that I was not returning a fist bump. It was awkward, but we laughed it away. I explained to her that in West Africa, people are touching elbows in greetings instead of fist bumping due to the ongoing saga of Ebola. On the next corner, she greeted another woman who did the exact same thing I did. She shook her "fist bump" instead of fist bumping.
Through the years, I have contracted so many illnesses in the funeral business because people shook my hands or hugged me even though they were carrying an infectious, contagious flu, cold or virus. Some of these illnesses were so bad they put me out of work. The other woman agreed that she had also contracted colds and flus so she cut back on shaking hands to protect her health, too. Smart lady... great minds think alike.
Jerry even advised me that a friend of his doesn't shake hands but instead reaches around to pat someone on the back because he knows that person can't touch the back of his shirt with germs.
It's time to make a choice and get with the program. Either get used to fist bumping, start touching elbows or better yet... stop touching each other all together and exchange warm smiles and welcoming, happy eyes. In elementary school, the rule told to all of the kids: keep your hands to yourself. It's good advice.
Shaking hands is a hard habit to break, though. But I'm going to try very hard to exchange that behavior for a safer behavior that shares pleasantries yet protects my physical health. Not only because of Ebola, but because of the flu, MRSA, and other viruses, too.
Fist Bumping has been around since the 1970s on NBA sports teams. Fist bumping was cool.
A Brief History of the Fist Bump - TIME
Fist Bumping has spread...
Want a healthier life? Stop shaking hands and start fist-bumping - Washington Post
It's time to get smart... to fist bump or not... that is your health question of the day...
No comments:
Post a Comment