The Homeless Shake

[Exian]

So here's a tangent on the shake:

At the end of an encounter with a police officer, I offered my hand for a shake and said "thanks and stay safe." Now, I don't think I'm imposing or threatening. I'm 6' tall, 180 lbs., a runner, and in excellent condition. I am not heavy or a muscle-head. I have a clean cut, groomed face, and he'd already held my drivers' license, ran it, and held my DOD retired ID card. His response was "I don't shake with my gun hand."

Dork

*imagines a cyborg cop with a gun hand and a sweet red visor over his eyes*

Heh, yeah. Dork.

[Exian]

I probably wouldn't even think about it. Shake their hand on the way to the pizza place, eat with my hands, go about my day. At this point, I trust my body's doing it's job. I suppose it takes just one time for... whatever it is we're fearing will happen to happen, but even then I'd probably get over it.

[J a c k]

I basically shake hands with homeless people for a living. Heh. Part of my job. I shake hands, I let them cough to my face while I find ways to help them, sometimes I give them a hug on their way out. I have gotten sick, yes. I use a lot of hand sanitizer. I'm a few checks away from being homeless, though. Don't pay my rent? Find me a shady tree, please. They're people. So I get sick. Big deal. Such is life.

[chimp3]

I am a friendly person and have a bad habit of sticking my hand out to shake hands. Everytime I receive a handshake from anybody I feel a tingling alert on my skin and go wash my hands. No matter how clean the person appears or their apparent access to soap and water. Now , at home it is a different story. I am among my own micro-biome and right at home.

So I guess it is safe to say that you probably don't have oral sex on the first date. Republican?

It's totally neurotic. Oral sex is a must. Never has bothered me a bit. Don't feel the need for mouthwash. To be fair to the homeless I feel smarmy about shaking hands with republicans also.

[chimp3]

A hospital I worked at conducted their own research on hand washing. They had a group of people enter a room by using the door knob , pick up a phone , use a key board to type out a message , etc. Then , a percentage of these hands were swabbed and cultured unwashed. Some were swabbed and cultured after washing , some after using alcohol based hand sanitizer , then some after washing and using hand sanitizer. The effects were somewhat surprising. Hand washing alone performed as well as hand washing and sanitizer. Sanitizer alone did well but not as well as hand washing alone. The surprise variable was artificial nails. Those hands that wore artificial nails - after hand washing and sanitizer - cultured out more pathogens than the unwashed hands.
The lesson to be learned ? Wash your hands after shaking the hands of republicans with artificial nails.

[Gawdzilla]

Yeah, but every psycho killer that ever lived was a human being too. 

Most psycho killers are a bit to savvy to become homeless. I'll keep playing the odds 

H. H. Holmes certainly had a lovely home. 

[robvalue]

Sure, I would.

[Spirian]

On rare occasions I travel into San Francisco (city) to meet with business clients. The homeless population there is staggering. 

I'm struck knowing that many of them could become very potent people if they so chose to apply themselves.

Some people are homeless by choice. I mean I'm really just barely above that level myself. I live in a tiny ass RV and make just enough money to get by. Last year I worked 15 weeks. That way I can have time to travel and do other stuff with my life. Working sucks man. I have precious little time on this earth, and I'm certainly not going to waste it on a 9-5 job. Some 'homeless' people are just hippies and rainbow kids who would much rather do art then work. You can't group them all together.

Yes indeed, many are homeless by choice, and working 9 to 5 for someone else definitely sucks! I'm wasn't talking about the ones who'd rather not work so they can lead a vagabond life, I was referencing the ones who are viable, and could get back up on their feet if they wanted it bad enough. 

It sounds like you've struck a good balance in your life between "work" and "play" and to people like you (I meet MANY in my work) I always say "good for you!" Most people are so unsure of what they want from life that they coast through the mundane routine, never questioning the status quo, and thus waking up one day to realize their life has all but passed them by. 

I used to work a 9 to 5 for someone else, and then I began asking questions like "why?" and "is this all there is?" I found out that life is not this construct that society has concluded it to be, and that anything is possible for a person with vision and determination. I'm now a life coach working for myself and the betterment of my clients, and a HUGE part of my work is helping people find their passion, and then helping them to take steps to realize that passion fully. 

Many of my clients have quit their "stable" jobs to become artists, writers, dancers, teachers, etc. They've learned that they can indeed have a dream, all while making money doing something fulfilling and rewarding. In my case, I went from being a teacher working for a school district that wouldn't allow me to properly teach, to being a life coach working for the betterment of myself and others. I work about 20 hours per week on my own schedule, and I earn  considerably more money that I ever could have working as a district teacher.

You are a rare person - good for you!

[RozKek]

Next time I'll make sure to shake hands in a welcoming way

[energizer bunny]

It really depends on my mood, their vibe and their body language.