6 Foot Town

I heard this song quite a few years ago and it still really speaks to me today.  Whenever I’m somewhere and my height gets in the way I think about how life just isn’t made for someone taller than average.  I’m sure life isn’t made for someone shorter than average either (that’s why they call it average right?) but I don’t have any experience in that direction.  What I can (and will!) talk about (whether you like it or not) is what life’s like when you’re 6 and a half feet tall.

I’m sure there are lots of things that are easier being tall, and that I take for granted.  I’ve come across a few of them (reaching high things!).  What I usually tell people when they point these things out to me is that the world has more opportunities to make yourself grow (or extend your options with tools) than there are to make yourself shrink.  I may joke about cutting off my feet, but that’s never really going to happen.

Part of my problem is I’m not only tall, I’m thick, and wide.  My shoulders are the biggest problem, they are about 30″ across, so I almost span the average sized door frame.  That means anywhere narrow for regular people is -really- narrow for me.

Over the years I’ve gotten rounder as well, which hasn’t helped – that’s something I’m working on getting more control over, but let’s be honest – I’m an IT technician who codes and writes in his spare time.  Not a recipe for an athletic build.

Now – I don’t want to make it sound like I’m complaining, I’m quite happy with my life and the meat sack that I’m stuck in.  In fact I’m having such a great time in general that I want to share my successes … and maybe even my failures.  There’s generally more of the latter, and they’re probably more entertaining.

Over the years I’ve also come across lots of situations that many people take for granted and I have a really difficult time with (like buying shoes! omg).  For some of these things I’ve got solutions, and for some of them I’m still having trouble sorting things out.  This part of my writing will go through some of those challenges, and what I’ve learned.

I’m always happy to hear some of your stories as well, or maybe you have some questions (how do you fit in a tub? do they make chairs for people your size?).  Feel free to ask, or tell, or criticize, or make stuff up.  I’m looking forward to connecting with people out there that share my struggles, or have some of their own 😉