The Slice: Sometimes the arms say it best

Let’s go right to…

Today’s Slice question: Is Spokane a city of huggers?

Or are locals too reserved for such demonstrative displays?

There is, of course, no one single answer.

Lots of us are huggers. Many of us aren’t.

I’ll leave it to you to scrutinize the two choices for insights about the different personality types.

But I’m bringing this up because I have come to believe people can change. Specifically, I think certain events or life alterations can turn nonhuggers into huggers. In select situations, anyway.

Perhaps you have seen it. Whether it is a reaction to loss or answered prayers, sometimes a person is all but compelled to reach out and hold on.

Now there’s nothing that says someone cannot express genuine regard and the warmest of feelings with a heartfelt handshake or expressive look. You can say a lot with your eyes.

Remember, nonhuggers have emotions, too.

But sometimes, for some people, that’s not enough. Sometimes the urge to communicate what’s in your heart all but requires an embrace. And really, that’s a beautiful thing.

All hugs are not created equal, though. More than 20 years ago, I suggested in print that Spokane young people of a certain stripe had gotten so promiscuous with their hugs that the gesture seemed all but meaningless.

I also speculated that teenage boys enjoyed hugging female acquaintances for other reasons. But that’s another matter.

Still, when a hug is sincere it can be a marvelous, human moment. There is no social media substitute.

It’s an individual call, of course. But occasionally the desire to express how you feel about someone overpowers any tendency to stand back and maintain a distance. Sometimes the yearning to show gratitude or appreciation overpowers a person’s natural reserve.

And when a nonhugger moves in for a clinch, well, that’s something to see.

I still think embracing virtually everyone you meet is sort of silly. But when a hug expresses feelings more eloquently than words, that’s body language to treasure.