Here’s another Frequently Asked Question addressed to little people. We’re typically willing to answer this simple question that doesn’t probe the psyche or demand intimate details. But the answer may trigger a fact check.
If you asked me today how tall I am, my answer would be 40 inches (1.02 meters or 102 cm). But anyone who read the first book in my memoir trilogy, Dwarfs Don’t Live in Doll Houses (1988), might remember my reported height as 42 inches (1.07 meters or 107 cm). So what’s with the discrepancy? It’s not a case of exaggeration; both are correct.
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In the 35 years between now and then, I lost two inches—height I can’t afford to lose by the way! Age is the culprit for this loss from increased curvature in my spine and shrinkage in the discs that cushion the vertebrae. In the 16 years between my marriage to Robert and his hip replacement surgery, he gained an inch (2.54 cm). I married him for richer or poorer, better or worse, but who knew it would be for shorter or taller?
Some people find it hard to believe someone could be so short. Take, for example, the night a Florida traffic cop pulled Robert over for speeding. Robert willingly turned over his driver’s license to the officer, but was puzzled when he shined his flashlight backwards and forwards between him and the license. Then the officer asked Robert, “how tall are you?” When he said, “three-feet-six,” the officer retorted, “that’s not what it says here.” And the officer was right. The license recorded Robert’s height as six-feet-three! Apparently, a driver’s license bureau clerk didn’t believe a driver could be three-feet-six and flipped the numbers.
A clerk at the New Zealand (NZ) Department of Internal Affairs (comparable to the United States State Department) had the same problem. I applied for a passport and showed my height as 1.08 meters. The clerk perceived an error and called to query the height. At first, I agreed there might be a mistake. (It was about the time of NZ’s conversion to metrics and I wasn’t confident my conversion was accurate.) She said, “1.08 meters means you are only three-feet-six inches tall?” I replied, “Oh yes, I did do it right.” She decided she had done it all wrong by questioning my calculation.
Height questions are legitimate when lining up for amusement park rides. In this case, minimum height requirements for riders are imposed for safety reasons. For example, you must be tall enough for the shoulder harness to securely lock you in place. If you’re too short you could be thrown right off the ride or fall out when it’s upside down. Or, in the case of Space Mountain at Disney’s Magic Kingdom when safety standards weren’t enforced, I thought my head was going to fall off. My neck, my spine, and falling two inches short of the height requirement screamed out that this ride was hazardous to my health.
So this dwarfism awareness month, what’s your experience with height questions?
For more of my writings, go to https://angelamuirvanetten.com where you can find retail links to my dwarfism memoir trilogy and subscribe to my weekly blog on dwarfism and disability guided by faith and justice.