The PNW politeness suits me very well, but I can still call on NY if absolutely required. The elbow comment came from someone I talked to yesterday who'd been through open water swim training and said they were told by the trainer that there are sometimes people who will just swim right over you, literally, and if that happens, use an elbow or two to get them off you. So, only in self-defense, is what I meant...
"My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved;I have been given much and I have given something in return...Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and an adventure." O. Sacks