That "gentle hand" makes me want to puke...

.....I can't explain, even to myself, how much I abhor a certain style of writing or narration that poses as positive but plunges me into the vilest of depths.  For example, FB recently relayed the story of "Rose,"  an elderly college student, who inspired  a number of youths by her desire to attend college, DESPITE HER ADVANCED AGE.    I can't believe the story is true to fact, especially since there  are several venues utilizing the old lady's picture, some of them solely for the snarky value.  And the cloying narration:  "I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder."  Really, does anyone who is unexpectedly tapped on the shoulder perceive the quality of the touch?  Possibly I suppose, but what if she were a wiry, graspy sort of elderly lady; would that preclude her from being the subject of a romantic, smarmy anecdote? 
     I say great if the fictional or real Rose was made to feel good about the story, but there should be something better to aspire to, other than being patronized for breaths taken and years spent being alive.  If someone wanted to honor an eighty-year old, they should be aware it would take a biography of at least 500 words or so to do justice to any sort of life lived.  Rose is now an old crone: a picture of her with a recent hairstyle may or not reflect what she looked like as a young woman.  That she is now interested in education may or may not be indicative of  what she ever learned in her youth.  Slobbering sentiment belies who Rose used to be; nobody knows anything about her,except what is manufactured to make the inspirational article work.  Forsooth!