Tall Girl on TV…

So, let me put this out there right away:  I’m not going to be on TV.  However in the past couple of months I’ve noticed a dramatic uptick in the number of emails I’ve received from ‘TV Producers’.  Over the past few years since I started writing on the Tall Blog and since I joined Tall Clubs International (and won the Miss Tall International pageant), I always seemed to get a request or an email about once a month from someone indicating that I should contact them regarding a new, exciting TV show about Tall people.

The first time it happened I was SO EXCITED!  I was living in Portland at the time and this is also during the time when the TLC show ‘Little People, Big World’ was really gaining momentum.  I thought that maybe I had a shot of becoming a hit reality series especially since the Roloff’s live right outside of Portland.  I could totally relate!  That new star could be ME.

Me…on a bike! Cool.

The producers and I exchanged many emails and I sent multiple videos answering their many questions.  I thought I was a shoe-in!  This went on for several weeks.  And then….nothing happened.  Each day I’d excitedly check (and re-check) my email until one day I finally realized that I wasn’t going to be a star.

Now fast forward several years later, multiple emails later, and many videos later.  I’m still not on TV and I’m not as naïve to the process.  I still think I’m quite funny, witty, and totally TV material…but I’m not on TV.  And actually now that I’m a little older (and wiser?  Yes, definitely wiser) I think I have good material to be on TV, but I don’t think I should play myself.  But that’s a whole other blog.

What I find interesting (and definitely a learning experience) about this whole process is the direction that each of the producers wanted to take the series.  Lonely, TALL woman can’t find a man because she’s so tall.  Woe is her.  Well…that’s not real life.  It might be real for some women, but it’s all about choices.  This makes me digress into another quick story.

I could’ve been on TV.  Right after I moved to Madison, WI in the fall of 2012 I got an offer to be on the Steve Harvey show to be part of a dating show.  They asked me to be the Tall Girl and they would have 3 Tall Guys that I could pick from.  They would then film a ‘Dating Game’ if you will, and the winner and I would then go out on a date.  Which of course would be filmed for TV.  I declined the chance to be on the show citing my brand new job as my main reason, but I also wasn’t completely comfortable with another outlet providing the message that Tall Women can’t get dates.  That seems to be the usual message.  Hmmm….frustrating.

So I suppose the whole purpose of this blog isn’t to stop producers from emailing me.  Quite the opposite in fact.  Keep those emails coming, however let’s focus on real life.  I’m a normal person who happens to be a little taller than most people.  That’s it.  For now let’s continue with all of the glorious adjectives that describe me….and we’ll also go with the fact that I’m normal, but taller.

So you wanna start a Tall Club, eh?

You’re tall.  You feel like you hang out with a lot of tall people.  You think it would be fun to start a tall club.  So you talk to your other tall friends and everyone seems to think it would be fun and a great idea.  Now what?  Well, that’s what I’m here for!  I’ve got the inside info on how you can start your very own tall club and also how you too can become affiliated with Tall Clubs International.

The basic requirements:

1. Men must be a minimum of 6’2″ and women must be a minimum of 5’10”.
2. All members must be at least 21 years of age.
3. Start-up clubs should be active for 6 months prior to application for membership
4. Minimum membership prior to application for membership is 15 members.
5. TCI annual dues are $3 per member, minimum of $45, due in January of each year.

The basic steps

1. Name your club and elect officers
2. Publicize your club (Facebook, Twitter, Meet-Up, etc)
3. Begin having regular meetings and social events to attract more members
4. Write your bylaws (samples available)
5. Open a bank account and start collecting dues to fund events
6. Once you have 15 members it’s time to apply for members ship!  (you must have authorization by a majority vote of your members directing the club president to seek membership through TCI)
7. Contact TCI’s Vice President of Membership (tci-membership@tall.org) at least 60 days prior to the annual convention (usually the last weekend in June) to submit your application for membership.  You will need:

• Letter of Application from your Club President
• Letter of Sponsorship from another TCI club in good standing (find one that’s close in proximity to you or perhaps make friends with someone in a club OR contact me and I’ll direct you to someone close to you)
• Send a check for 1/2 of the annual dues (minimum $22.50 for 15 members)
• List of founding members (Include: names, officially measured height barefoot, zip code, and email address)

If all is in order, your new club will be nominated for membership at the annual Delegates meeting during Convention.

Some of my tall club members at Convention in Las Vegas in 2009 when I won Miss Tall International.

Why should I become affiliated with Tall Clubs International (TCI)?

• Charity–TCI is affiliated with several charities so your funds go to some great charities such as Marfan Syndrome and Habitat for Humanity.
• Parents–TCI is a little like your parent.  You have your local club and then TCI above your local club.  It’s a great dynamic.
• Parties–do you like to party?  Yeah, me too.  And so do many of the TCI members.
• Tall People–do you like to party with tall people?  Yeah, me too…..see where I’m going with this?
• Tall Stores–what better place to swap stories about tall stores or even better swap clothes.  Or how about this, many tall stores offer discounts to members of TCI!!!
• Miss Tall International–Are you single, female, and always wanted to wear a crown and a sash?  Perhaps you should consider running for Miss Tall International.
• Ummmm…FUN–I don’t think I need to expand on this

Me and my tall friend Jan. This was taken at a Tall Christmas party!

Now, if you’d like to start a tall club please do!  If you would like more information on this please feel free to contact TCI Vice President (currently Genie Williamson) at tci-membership@tall.org.

I can also assist if you would like to contact me at misstallgirlramblings@gmail.com.  I can direct you to clubs near you or directly to TCI for further assistance.

If I could change 1 thing because I’m tall it would be…

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 Convention

Where has Holli been???  Yes, I have taken a little vacation from writing but now I’m back because I have stories.  And I have to tell you where I’ve been.

Last week the annual Tall Clubs International Convention was held in Seattle, WA and let me tell you I had one of the best times ever!!!  I laughed and I partied until 3:00 am just like I was young (er) again.  It was an incredible time.

Ylian shot video after video and they are awesome!!!  I’m unfortunately not going to say much on my first day back at blogging I will, however, leave you with this wonderful link to go check out the videos for yourself.  Don’t stop at the first one, there are about 10 videos from 2011 as well as many videos from previous Portland Skyliner events.

Incidentally, Miss Talisha Tolliver is your new Miss Tall International 2011!!!

Miss Tall International 2011, Talisha Tolliver

You all should be checking out your local TALL clubs because this is too much fun not to share!!!

I Take Pictures With Short People

I never turn down a photo opportunity particularly when it’s with a person shorter than me. Now I know that may sound a little odd (that’s me!) but let me explain. These photos ALWAYS turn out great. Even if you look horrible, the picture itself is usually priceless. For example, when I was in New Orleans for Tall Clubs International Convention this past June I took this picture with the bartender at Johnny White’s.

Lil' Lucy and me.

Johnny White’s became famous during Hurricane Katrina for being the only bar in New Orleans to remain open during the chaos of the Hurricane. Here’s another interesting tid-bit about this bar, well about the bartender. I attended a Mardi Gras back in 2001 or 2002 and a close friend of mine and I came to this bar during the day for something to wet our whistles. This particular bartender was working here! I remember her because of her crazy, sarcastic attitude. It was awesome. Just like our picture.

Fun with shorties in Ireland!

Here’s a picture from my trip to Ireland that I think is just hilarious. In order to understand the hilarity behind the photo, I must point out a few things that happened while taking this picture. The man in the back is standing on a crate. He brought it from the back because the other chaps in the pub were giving him a hard time for being ‘short’. The woman directly in front of me is a little person. She is also standing on a crate that she uses in the front because she works at this pub as a bartender. The other woman in the picture is my best friend from Iowa, Molli. She’s only 5’3” so when we are together it’s Mutt and Jeff. But seriously, isn’t this a fantastic photo!!

I’ve noticed that both of my photos have been taken behind a bar so in order for you not to get the wrong idea, let’s switch this up. I have another really geeky photo from Ireland that I’m going to include because it truly shows the difference in height between Molli and me. She barely comes up to my shoulders but again, the picture is awesome in its badness.

Horrible picture, but you get the joke.

My next picture is taken with a friend of a friend so I don’t recall his name but he was definitely the shortest guy in our birthday party group.  Now he wanted his picture taken with me so of course I took the picture, but I had a little fun with it too.  I’m standing behind him but I’m not standing on anything.  This is a true depiction of both our heights.  I think he enjoyed the picture. I know I did and I hope you are too.  See, isn’t this fun?  (Notice the Iowa Hawkeye sweatshirt in the background…Go HAWKS!)

Stranger Danger!

That’s probably enough for now.  I love taking pictures like this because there is a story behind every one.  I have many more and I’m sure that those of you who have experienced the tug on the shirt and the exclamation of: “Wow, you are so tall.  Can I have a picture with you?”You probably have some of these pictures as well.  Unless you aren’t like me and take your own pictures too.

Man…I LOVE being tall.  The things that we can get away with…

Attending the Tall Convention

If you missed the FB post last week, then you might bit know that this weekend I’m heading to the Tall Convention happening down in my hometown of New Orleans.

I fully expect to feel completely inadequate and normal. It’ll be like the last time I was in Holland, where “signature gathers” looking for Dutch voters would walk up to me and ask me to sign something. In Dutch. To which I would respond with a simple face pet.*

I fully expect to get in some fun dancing with women appropriately sized for me. I’m wondering though if these vertically endowed ladies will do what their tinier counter parts do, which is force me to constantly pick them up. Fortunately, I’ve been exercising so hopefully if it occurs I will be able to handle it.

I look forward to meeting what I hope is my numerous readers in New Orleans! I also look forward to all of you saying “I thought you’d be taller.” It will be the first time in my life.

See you all soon!

*ok, the face petting didn’t happen, but the rest is true