Tall and Proud?

What is it like to be tall? I hear this question all to frequently. To me it's really no big deal, aside from the obvious benefit of being able to paint a ceiling without a ladder. Since I tower over just about everyone I come into contact with, I often take my height for granted. Nearly everyone makes the same type of comment, "Gee I wish I had your height" or "Do you play basketball?" In my younger years that latter comment often iritated me more than anything. As I have a distaste for the sport. I know I should have went pro, yada, yada, yada. Now I take it with a grain of salt.

I have come to the realization that I have what a LOT of people desire. To be "taller", after all tall people are said to command better salaries, attract more attention, have more prospects for romance, and a slew of other "perks". I often wondered if this was actually true. I did not think my height was commanding respect, until I learned how to read peoples body language. Yes being tall does intimidate some people.

A lot of women often write personal ads seeking a tall, handsome man. Why is this? What exactly do they consider tall? 6' or more? Most woman are not tall by my standards. The average woman's height is somewhere around 5'6". Do they just want someone to look up to? Do they want someone so tall it pains their neck to to kiss them? Can you imagine a 5' tall woman dancing with someone my height. That's almost comical, and attention grabbing to say the least. All my life I have wanted to avoid attracting attention to myself. Being very tall this is not an easy task, as I tend to stand out in a crowd.

I once dated a girl that was 6'2". She was the tallest girl I have been with. Wrapping my arms around her was like hugging a man though. That for me was a complete turn-off. I tend to like the smaller, curvy, soft type girly girls.

Am I proud of my height? Hell yes, most of the time. Are there times when I wish I was normal height? I would have to say yes, being tall does have its drawbacks. Whacking my head on ceilings fans, and having strangers in wally world ask me to get something off the high shelves is not exactly a trait I cherish. Finding nice clothes can be a PITA. Most of my youth I had problems wearing what the other kids were wearing. As the pop-culture clothing icons tended to not make jeans in my size. I wear a 36" inseam at a minimum. I could not find a pair of Guess jeans in that length ever. I was stuck with the plain ole Levi strauss variety as they were the ONLY jeans made in my size.

If you found this blog because you are tall, I would love to hear from you drop me a line. Let's compare stories, notes, accomplishments. What benefits/detractors have you noticed in having extreme height. Till next time..

Mike aka "Stretch"