They’re short and there’s nothing they can do about it except learn to live with their shortness. For this reason, we respect them and think they’re cool.
If you’re really, really short, you feel it, because this is your life:
• Forget seeing anything at concerts. Sure, everybody loves being behind you, but at what price? The standing area is a bad scene and mosh pits are strictly off limits. No, you’re stuck sitting at the bar or watching from the balcony.
• You can’t reach anything. Kitchen cupboards and closest shelves are bad enough, but the worst is when you find yourself somewhere alone and stoolless. People, if you’ve ever found yourself climbing the hotel bar fridge to reach the coffee filters or stepping on the metal grocery store shelf to reach the hot sauce then you know what I’m talking about.
• You can forget about that pro-volleyball career. You might still make it as a referee, but that’s about it.
• You’re constantly adjusting driver’s seats and mirrors. On top of that, really, really tall people complain when they get in the car after you and have to adjust everything because they can’t fit.
• Some roller coasters are off limits. Minimum height requirements are clearly relics from a discriminatory society that inhabited this land before us.
It really is a tough life.
So next time you see a really, really short person, break out the empathy. Remember: they’re short and there’s nothing they can do except learn to live with their absolute shortness. Sure, they buy cheaper children’s clothes, find the best spots in Hide and Seek, sleep easier on couches, easily avoid walking into tree branches, are more comfortable at movies, and curl nicely into cramped spooning arrangements, but they also have to live life with a lot of limits. In this upside-down and inside-out world, that’s worth something.
So go on and throw them a smile and a nod, a cracking high five, and some quiet and humble respect.
AWESOME!
