Who can turn down a hug?

On the days that I'm not commuting with my dad to work in DC , I take the metro. At many of the metro stations in the DC area there is a person handing out free Washington Post Expresses. Not all of the news presented in this paper is substantial but at least it promotes the dissemination of information and awareness of current events - and it's FREE! The greatest part about this service, at least at the Rockville station is the man who hands out the papers. He is the cheeriest and most friend paper man I've come across. I'm usually standing on my ride or have other material to read, so each day I have to kindly turn down his offer but he still wishes me "a wonderful day!"

Well about a week ago, I was approaching from a distance and saw a woman walk up to this man, take the paper and they embraced in a huge hug. At first it seemed that they knew each other. But as I got closer I saw not one, but two other people give the paperman a hug. And they didn't stay to chat, but moved on with their days. I saw it happen again a few days later.

Whether these people were strangers to the paperman or not, I was inspired. I finally got up the courage yesterday and as the paperman reached out to hand me a paper I impulsively said, "I don't want a paper but I sure as heck want a hug!" "You betcha!" he said as he pulled me into a great big bear hug and a smooch on the cheek" Alright maybe I could have done with out the smooch, but boy did the spontaneity of that hug feel good!

It reminded me of the Free Hug Campaign started by an Australian man. There's something uniquely touching (no pun intended ;) about connecting with fellow human beings this way. Maybe it's the randomness of it or the fact that there's no qualifications to deserve such a gift either way, it's a good reminder that love can be (no, it is) present, no matter where you are or who you're with.