Why not bigger tree houses? We need bigger tree houses to better suit our taller bodies!
I’ve actually thought a long time about this…a long, long time and I’ve wanted to write about it but it’s a difficult and personal thing for each individual. Someone that is 5’10” is going to want something much different than someone who is 7’8″. And the difference between males and females is also going to vary greatly as well. I think what I personally would like to change is going to be very, very different than say, a guy that’s 6’10”. But I guess we’ll see.
The more I thought about this the more I couldn’t narrow it down to one thing. I can think of one thing that I want more than others, but there are multiple things that I want. Typical female…I moved my list around so many times although my #1 stayed the same. Here goes!
If I could change 1 (okay, more than 1) thing because I’m tall it would be:
1. Airline Seats–now I know this one is obvious but I wouldn’t actually change the width because I fit fine in the actual seat. It’s the distance between the seats needs to be longer! My knees are right up against the back of the seat in front of me. And if the jack-hole in front of me chooses to recline in their seat…I’m going to be a very unhappy passenger. Or, the airlines could save the bulk-head and exit row seats (provided we can assist in the event of an emergency) for passengers over 6’2″ AND NOT CHARGE US EXTRA!!!!
I chose this for my number one because I travel a lot. I spend so much money on extra leg-room and checking my luggage that my trips become much more expensive than I’d really like them to be. An extra $25-$45 for the leg room both ways and then another $20-$25 for my bags, we’ve now added another $100-$150 to my already expensive trip! Yikes.
Who has extra cash? Apparently me…
2. Tall Clubs International—TCI (Tall Clubs International) is such an important part of height awareness and they have so much to give as a social club and as a charity, but unfortunately the group is dwindling. The club began in 1939 and there are still approximately 50 clubs throughout the Unites States with nearly 2,000 members however there was a time when the active membership was nearly 5,000. I’d like to help get TCI back on the map with some beefed up membership and more active members but I’ll be honest, even I haven’t been very active myself lately. Life tends to get in the way. More membership, more advertisement, more sponsors…we need to get more activity!
My 6’4″ friend Megan who is a former President of Tall Clubs International and of course, Moi on the left.
3. Clothes–okay, let me be a little more specific because personally I don’t have a terrible time finding clothes however there are 2 categories of tall people who need help with clothing:
- Tall, plus sized-this combination is nearly impossible for women to find good, quality, and reasonably priced clothing. Most women can’t spend $100 per shirt or $150 per pair of pants. That’s simply too much for the average woman so there needs to be better availability of tall, plus-sized clothing as well as better pricing.
- Clothes for the super tall-allow me to explain further. I have a friend, Chris, who is 6’9″. He shops at 1 store for almost all of his clothes. 1 store! I don’t know how he does it. For those men and women over 6’6″ with inseams over 38′, they need specialty stores that also aren’t horribly expensive and they also need greater access to these stores.
This is Chris and these are actually his hats. Wait, that’s not true. He really wears hats like this to distract people from his 6’9″ height. Okay…that’s not true either.
4. Height Awareness-I’d like to change some perceptions that people seem to have about tall people. We all play basketball, we are all freaks, tall women only want to date taller men (okay, for those of you that read my last blog yes, I am searching for a tall guy but that doesn’t mean I haven’t dated shorter guys in the past. Don’t judge) and all the tall men only date women under 5 feet. We all get labeled somehow. We’ll I’ve come up with a few examples of things I’d like for people to know that it’s NOT okay to do or say.
- It’s not okay to come up behind me when I’m not looking and stand back-to-back with me while your friends take your picture. You might get punched, seriously.
- I may or may not have played basketball and unless you know me, you probably should be careful what you ask. Is it okay to touch a pregnant women’s belly? Consider my feelings like that pregnant women’s belly…tread lightly.
- To point and stare at me as I walk by is downright rude. Learn some manners (unless you are under the age of 8, then it’s acceptable)
- Thinking you are funny by saying something clever like ‘How’s the weather up there’ or ‘What’s up shorty?’ is really your way of indicating your very low IQ
- Please don’t ask me to compare hands with you. Yes, my hands are probably bigger. I’d also wager that so is my brain.
- No, my parents aren’t tall. They are very short, I’m a mutant. Who can explain science?
My family! All right…my dad is really tall, so is everyone else in my family.
So there you have it. 4 things that I would change and I KNOW I didn’t touch on some topics that others would want to change. I wonder how much would actually change if I could at least get my wish with the first 4…..hmmmmm, I think I’ll go ponder that for awhile.
The Tall Blog 