Photo: WBZ NewsRadio / Jay Willett
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — With Tuesday being "National Hug A Newsperson Day," WBZ's Matt Shearer and I had to take full advantage of the day and see if Bostonians in Downtown Crossing would be willing to share an embrace with us. What we found is that the hugs unlocked a deeper human connection— as people opened up to us and shared their life stories.
All it took was a hug for passerby's to say their days were made, and while there were some who opted not to get close, others said the body squeezes were a nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle of downtown Boston on a weekday.
To make our intentions known, Matt and I stopped inside the nearby CVS to make a sign that read "Need A Hug," something we thought was open-ended enough to give people the option of coming up to us— and it worked like a charm. We ran into people with all sorts of stories. A young woman stopped us outside a local Starbucks and said she was just laid off from her job and could use a hug. A couple outside the pharmacy advocated that nowadays, hugs go a long way— though their dog "Nana" that was tucked underneath their jacket begged to differ with a soft growl into the microphone.
Eventually we ran into a recurring character on our TikTok page: Chris the Florist.
While he wasn't too sure about a direct embrace, Chris met us halfway with an air hug on the side of Washington Street, but not without a few colorful comments in the meantime.
"It's like we're going to prom like 'leave space for Jesus in the middle!'" Chris said.
Shortly after our sign was made, we ran into Peaches, a mother of several and a grandmother of several more, who lives alone. She said getting an unexpected hug was a welcome surprise for her.
"I don't get hugs much, and I don't see my children as much— you changed my day and everything," Peaches told us.
Over passionfruit and dragonfruit smoothies at a local café, we learned that Peaches lives a healthy lifestyle full of early rest and nutrient rich dietary choices. To our surprise, Peaches told us that despite her name— she doesn't even like peaches, mainly for their texture. Because she's not a coffee drinker, Peaches was over the moon to learn that NERO has a few smoothies on the menu, a fact that Matt was happy to share with her.
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After that, it was hug after hug— and as we went, each felt less and less about National Hug A Newsperson Day, and more about just giving an embrace and audience to people in need. Droves of people lined up beside Matt for a hug in Boston Common, where one woman confessed she needed the hug because her Uber driver had made her late for a tour of the Freedom Trail.
It's a two-way street too, working in the news business is an avenue to hear these stories, some that may have never been discovered if the right questions weren't asked, and the answers weren't listened to all the way through. I for one, was glad to be on the receiving end of hugs from strangers, and learned that everyone (not just journalists) could use one from time to time.
WBZ's Matt Shearer (@MattWBZ) reports.
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