A maddening itch between your shoulder blades feels *so good* when you scratch it, and *even better* when someone else scratches it, and better still if that person hits the right spot because they love you and they've done this for you so often and attentively, they know *exactly* which spot to hit. -- If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog: https://pluralistic.net/2026/09/25/other-people/#right-there 1/