Passage 2 

Is American society full of untouchables? From my own experiences, I would say no. In fact, it never even occurred to me that some people might be annoyed by a friendly pat on the shoulder. But after our discussion about this in class the other day, I visited several friends on the matter.My family and I seem to be somewhat in the minority. 

For example, my family, while not being made up of the greatest cheek -kissers, has always been very generous with hugs, hand squeezes, arm-in-arm walks, and comforting shoulder pats. All of this is spontaneous. Nobody has ever said to me, “Now, Linda, go kiss your Aunt Ada.” It just so happened I thought enough of my Aunt Ada to want to kiss her now and then when she had been especially nice. When Dad introduces me to anyone, he always has that big protective arm right around my shoulders that tells me he is proud of me far better than his words could. 

I wouldn’t think of walking into Grandma’s house without grabbing both of her hands in a tight squeeze and smiling into her eyes so that she can get a good look at her granddaughter. 

My husband and I went bowling with my cousin and his wife the other night, and he often threw his arm around my shoulders or Virg's as we visited.I didn’t think that was queer at all. In fact, I thought it was very sweet the way he has accepted Virg in the family. 

How comforting it was to have my aunt, s arm around me after my Grandpa，s funeral! She knew how very close we were, and her words would never have been warm and understanding as that arm was. 

Several people I talked to about this had different thoughts. One lady I work with said she didn’t like people“pawing”her. A girlfriend said she had no reservations about kissing her husband, but couldn’t kiss her parents, although she wished she could. 

My answer to that would be for heaven’s sake TRY!!! Don’t regret it later that you didn’t.I was uneasy about going into a swimming pool for the first time, and even after that first step was taken, it was a long time before I felt comfortable in my role as a swimmer. Now I love to swim and I think what a loss it would have been if I had been afraid to try, then follow through. I think the analogy holds for life. If you want to be more affectionate with your loved ones, just try, and keep at it. Soon it may become so natural that you will wonder what all the fuss was about. 

Don’t be like my cousin Jo, who loved her father dearly but just couldn’t show it. When she was 18, she finally brought herself to kiss him, but it was too late;he was in his coffin, unable to feel the delightful sense of touch the living have to share, if we only will. 

46. What does the passage mainly discuss?