Small Encounters

So today I was at the rec center, when I saw a slightly hunched, older man pushing his walker down the track. As I came nearer, I had a strong and sudden urge to pat him on the back, as if to say, "Hey, you're doing a good job," or if anything, just to say hello. But right before I did, a woosh of reality came over me... "What am I thinking?" "This guy could think you're crazy!" "You can't just pat an older man on the back!" Maybe I was too severe on myself; but that prompted me to start thinking about our culture, full of "personal bubbles." I'm quite sure that compared to other cultures, we are considered very closed-off. Now, I can't say that I have NOT adapted to this way of thinking.. For example, a couple weeks ago, I was with a few guy friends attending a Reggae band performance. I was kind of dancing around, having fun, and then I turned around to see a Latina lady looking at me. She was sweet, introducing herself and saying some things I couldn't really understand, mostly because we were right next to the speakers. Anyway, I just thought she was exceptionally friendly and then for some reason she reached for my hand and kissed it. "She's hitting on me!" I thought. Well, it turns out she's really just that friendly with a lot of people. I'm still not sure why she kissed my hand, but that's my point.. I wonder if I was in another country, and culture, would I have been bothered by that at all? Or would that just be a sign of friendly affection? Who knows, I just wish I could give an old man walking with his walker, a pat on the back, and not feel like an idiot.