Personal Space

I have a very strong sense of my own personal space.  If you ever see me standing in line at a grocery store or the bottle depot, you'll see me at least a few steps behind the person ahead of me in line -- never closer.  It's just a matter of where I feel comfortable, and I don't feel the need to be any closer to people beyond Amanda and my family.

But not everyone feels that way.  I can't count the number of times I have a feeling while I'm waiting in a line, and I realize that someone is standing *right* behind me, and is literally breathing down the back of my neck.  I don't understand it.  There's more than enough room and no reason to bunch up like that, yet many people still crowd as close as possible.

I was in Japan in 2007, and to me, it felt less intrusive to be crowding onto a train in Tokyo than it is when people stand too close behind me in line.  Maybe it's not so much *my* sense of personal space as it is my disbelief that other people don't have the same sense of personal space.  Or maybe I'm just self-centered and can't believe that people don't have any respect for my personal space.

At any rate, if you see me in public and are in line behind me, please leave an extra step between us.  I won't say anything, but I'll be grateful.