I don’t want to seem like too old-fashioned a guy, but I’ve noticed a lot more hugging between men that was not prevalent just a few years ago. I was reared that guys shake hands. During my 30- year Air Force career as a fighter pilot, that concept was reinforced. We didn’t high five or bump fists or even beat forearms together — we just shook hands.

Now I know that Tom Cruise did some hugging in the movie “Top Gun,” but he was pretending to be a Navy fighter pilot and, well, they are a little different. I think much of the blame rests with Hollywood. However, I would hate to be the guy who went up to John Wayne to give him a hug. He’d have a couple slugs right through his abdomen before he got within two feet. Imagine approaching the Duke with your arms open wide and a big smile on your face.

I know Richard Simmons does a lot of hugging, but I’m seeing all sorts of athletes embracing one another. I think it’s all right for football players because they have pads and cups and all sorts of other protective stuff on their bodies, so it’s just kind of pad to pad. But when these scantily clad soccer players jump on one another, it’s a little embarrassing.

It’s not that I don’t like to hug. It’s just that I like to hug girls because they are soft and pretty and they usually smell good. Guys on the other hand are none of those things.

Maybe it’s because I’m somewhat vertically challenged that I don’t care for the guy-hugging routine. You know how two guys approach and they clasp their right hands together, arm-wrestling style? Then they put their left arms around the other guy’s shoulder and pull each other in for a warm embrace. The problem with this is that I’m usually in the other guy’s armpit struggling for fresh air and wondering about this new strange habit that we have adopted.

Now I don’t want to seem insensitive. I really tried hard to be a sensitive guy of the ’90s. I listened to people and pretended to care about their problems and what they were saying. But it just didn’t work for me; I couldn’t see the advantage to it. All I did was end up doing a lot of listening and wondering: When is this person going to stop talking?

I just went to a high school reunion for old folks and most all of the guys just shook hands. Oh, there were a few who approached with arms outstretched and a warm smile on their faces and said “give me a big hug.” They honestly seemed hurt when I said no thanks.

They would inevitably ask if I had a cold or the flu or some rare contagious disease, and when I answered in the negative and stated that I just didn’t like to hug hairy, smelly guys they went away. That was all right with me because most of my old buddies just wanted to shake hands anyway.

It is virtually impossible to watch television and not see a couple of guys hugging — and I’m not talking about French guys or those Arabs who kiss each other on the cheeks. I’m talking about normal guys who would have balked at the practice 10 or 15 years ago.

Well, I for one am going to buck the trend. I’ll hug my sons and grandsons, but not the rest of you guys. Let’s shake on it.