If You Think I'M Tall...

Some people, especially little ones at the elementary school where I work, think I'm tall. It's true that when my hair's fluffy, I reach the six foot mark. I was the tallest female in my family (besides my six foot tall mother) until my gorgeous niece, Vanessa Wetton, surpassed me. She's two inches taller! (And that's her studly baby boy, Lokk, in  the photo.)

As a teenager, when Vanessa realized she was inching up on me, she told her mother, "I don't want to be as tall as Aunt Shirley!"

Wish granted. Her DNA made her taller.

Then one day I embarrassed her at Parent/Teacher conference when I saw her talking to her friends 5 feet from where her teacher sat, slouched over so far that her shoulder blades stuck out in back. "Well," I said, pressing on her back in an effort to get her to straighten up, "the way you're standing gives a whole new meaning to the term, 'double breasted'."

She was mortified!

But guess what... she stood up straight after that, and looks much better for it! (Or else she darted a furtive look around to see if embarrassing Aunt Shirley was in the vicinity before daring to slouch.)

Has anyone ever embarrassed you for your own good?

Or did they just do it for a laugh? (Which was also for your own good if you managed to laugh along with them!)

Shirley Fat Face

I have a wide face just like my Swedish great-grandmother Cecelia, but with the swelling from oral surgery, my cheek grew even broader! Yet in the aftermath, I've remembered to be grateful for modern surgery techniques instead of the old barber in a blood-splattered apron forcing my mouth open and inserting a pair of rusty pliers to rid me of a troublesome tooth. 

With my sore face, I I decided to let myself take it easy for the past three days. It's been very nice and pressure-free, even though not writing can create its own kind of pressure. But I'm not feeling badly about it. This is healing time.
I have to wonder how the surgery actually went... it's reported by eye-witnesses that when I was under anesthesia, I pointed upward and said, "It's glowing!" I have to wonder if that was that the light at the end of the tunnel or what?

This picture reminds me of one more thing... I once came across a diminutive woman trying to fix the part in her hair while looking in a mirror. Looking up at my reflection in the glass, she quipped, "Shirley, you're lucky. You're so tall you don't have to worry that people will see a crooked part in your hair."

"That's true," I said, "but on the other hand, everyone can see up my nose."

This photo proves it. I just need to remember to keep my nose cleaner than most people.

Physical features are important to include in writing about various characters. What's your favorite feature? Why? Do you have a least favorite, or do you just love everything about yourself?