Risking Touching

IN A PUBLIC PLACE, a woman whom I know but not well approached me from behind, placed her hand flat on my back, greeted me, and told me that someone wanted to speak to me across the room. I jerked away from her spasmodically, reflexively, ran out of the room shrieking, yelling for help, called nine one one, and asked for assistance in preventing an incident of sexual harassment. The cops came, took her away in cuffs, filed charges, proceeded with the legal process, and she ended up doing five to ten in the pen, another sexual predator off the streets.... Well, not really. Actually, when she put her hand on my back, I turned to face her, listened to her message, then went and found the person who wanted a word with me.. The first version sounds more exciting, and, somehow, much more in keeping with current societal circumstances, so, well, I went with it, until, overcome by guilt, I came clean, right before your very eyes. Everybody agrees, or seems to agree, that our American society has evolved considerably over the past generation or so, and that behavior which previously would never have been considered sexual harassment, now is. And so be it. Good for us. I recall about thirty five years ago, at work, there was a woman who kept touching me, innocently, out of sheer habit, when she spoke to me. Then, one day, when I touched her on her back, she gently but firmly told me not to do that, not to touch her. I thought: "sheesh". I'm still thinking "sheesh". I'm almost tempted to think sheesh about the woman who put her hand on my back the other day. Would I get away with that if the situation were reversed? Obviously, it matters not. Who cares? But this I know: i will be damned if ever again I even think about touching another human being, no matter how harmless my intent. As they say: better safe than sorry.