The Rogue Experiment: My Results
I’m not much of a tactile person, and I don’t come into close contact with many people on a day-to-day basis, so I figured that I could manage not touching people for three days. I told my husband about it, and while he did a formidable puppy-dog pout, he was on board.
Day 1: Got covered, head-to-toe, and went out to breakfast. I found it tricky eating with gloves, so I took them off, but I had to spend breakfast being very conscious of where my hands were. Later I went shopping, and had the same difficultly, unable to pick up produce while gloved, worried about my hands when I had them off. So, being completely covered was irritating, but I didn’t touch anyone.
Day 2: It got into the 50s, making gloves awkward. I resorted once again to just being cautious with my hands and any exposed skin. It went well until evening, when I was curled up with my hubby, watching TV. I got distracted and we both reached for the bowl of raspberries at the same time. It was only a split-second of contact, but still, I zapped him. Later, as I was falling asleep, he was rubbing my back, and unbenonced to him, my shirt bunched up. Zap #2.
Day 3: I made brownies for a meeting of my hospice volunteer group. I wore gloves to the meeting, but had to take them off when passing around papers, and accidentally grazed the woman sitting next to me while handing her a handout. Later, I was being thanked by another volunteer for the brownies, when she laid her hand on the space between my sleeves and gloves. It was the longest physical contact of the three days, and just my luck, it was with a Holocaust survivor. I’m glad I didn’t have Rogue’s power for real, otherwise I would be having some horrific nightmares.
Conclusions: Being completely covered is nearly impossible and feels very awkward. The constant vigilance needed to avoid any unwanted contact is exhausting. I failed in not touching anyone, and would have knocked one person out and made two others dizzy, had I been Rogue. Even a non-tactile person such as myself needs some contact, and I was relived when I could kiss my husband and hold his hand again.
