Technobarbarian wrote:
>
> "Portland's professional cuddler calls it quits"
>
> "Cuddle Up To Me" opened in 2013 as a house call service for platonic
> cuddling, but after 9 years and thousands of sessions later, Samantha
> Hess is calling it quits."
>
> ""Cuddle Up To Me" first started as a house call, outpatient type of
> service.
>
> "I would go to people's homes, movie theaters and lots of park
> sessions. People are not scary or dangerous that reach out for this
> type of service. I've never once had to end a session early. People
> are very kind and respectful," Hess said. "People have never had the
> opportunity to go see a movie with someone that wasn't their family
> and it's really nice to have that opportunity to snuggle up next to
> someone and watch a movie."
>
> Within a year, she realized the demand was greater than what she could
> do by herself. She opened her first storefront office in 2014, hired
> employees and trained them in the art of cuddling using a training
> program she created herself.
>
> Hess' unique business idea caught national headlines almost
> immediately and it even caught the eye of "America's Got Talent"
> producers. She flew out for an audition where she cuddled up with host
> Nick Cannon on stage and then was brought back and cuddled with guest
> judge Neil Patrick Harris before getting four X's and not moving on.
>
> "I love that this work is silly. I like to think of this as
> inner-child work," Hess said.
>
> Hess, a self-described extrovert, was loving her work. Then the
> pandemic hit.
>
> "It destroyed my world when the pandemic hit," Hess said of the
> isolation and lack of touch she was able to give or receive.
>
> As a way to connect with her clients, she created a virtual eye-gazing
> video. Hess met outdoors, seated apart at a park, then moved indoors
> with windows open as the restrictions began to lift.
>
> Her business downsized from a 4,000 square foot retail space to a
> single room office that was less than 100 square feet.
>
> After more than 3,200 sessions that ranged anywhere from 30 minutes to
> five hours and cost anywhere from 80 to 100 dollars an hour, Hess
> packed up her small office and shut down "Cuddle Up To Me.""
>
> https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/portland-professional-cuddler-quits/283-bb65d1b8-5394-4211-9d3a-d6913e662847

Well damn. At the end of the day going forward, I literally can't
believe I hadn't heard of something that's been around for 9 years.
Now I'll probably go to my grave without ever having a professional
cuddle. If you're going to continue to be the RORT Designated News
Aggregator, you should reorient and try to be more timely going
forward, because as you can see, the significance of the passage of
time is significant.

--
bill
Theory don't mean squat if it don't work.