Everybody Needs a Hug!

Hey there! Great to see you. Thanks for clicking by today. Snuggle up to the coffeepot (careful! It's hot!) and pour yourself a mugful. While you're at it, massage a virtual doughnut or muffin onto your plate. Say...do you like hugs? Who doesn't, eh?

After its launch was delayed for a month by the Madison, Wis., city attorney, the Snuggle House was cleared and scheduled to open on Nov. 15 to provide in-bed, pajama-clad "intimate, non-sexual touching" for $60 an hour. 

"So many people," said assistant manager Emily Noon, "don't have a significant other in their lives" and "just need to be held" (including, she said, the elderly and hospice patients, who are part of the target clientele). 

The city's delay was, a spokesman said, to assure that Snuggle House had protocols for dealing with "risky" situations in which a customer refuses to take "no sex" for an answer. (Snuggle House has prominent surveillance cameras and panic buttons for the staff.)

I lived in Thailand for a long time and that's one thing that I think is missing from Thai society. No hugs. What? It's true. That's don't shake hands. They 'wai' (hands held up with palms together in a prayer-like manner) so no touching there. Friends and family don't hug when they meet. I did my best to correct the situation as much as I could but, you know, one guy can only do so much, eh (wink! wink!).

Personally, I am all in favour of hugs. They make me feel good. How about you?

See ya, eh!

Bob