Don't Harass the Tall Girl

Scenes 75-175: Wedding and Honeymoon

We're finally back from our honeymoon - a 7-day cruise to four Hawaiian islands. We had an awesome time. There were SO MANY tall comments - at least 10 a day. I'm not kidding. Because we had to wait in a lot of lines, there was a lot of standing around in large groups, and therefore a lot of height questions and comments. Also, we went on a lot of small tour groups, so we had to introduce ourselves a lot. With introductions come questions about name, occupation, home state, and, for us, height and basketball. Plus everyone was on vacation so they were all pretty friendly and talkative in the elevators. Here are a couple snippets of situations I can still remember..

At our wedding... we are running around outside of the reception, having pictures taken in our wedding attire. People see us and say: "Look, they just got married! Damn, they're tall!"... Later, at the hotel where we have our honeymoon suite booked, I get dropped off at the valet in my wedding dress. Someone says, "Look, a bride!" then someone else says, "That's one tall bride!" Then people started yelling congratulations and everyone in the valet area started clapping. Aweee...

The next morning at the airport.. Three different security personnel asked us how tall we were and whether we played basketball.

Getting on and off the cruise ship.. We had to swipe our shipcards. There were 3 attendants making sure we did, as we walked past the first attendant, she says, "Woah, how tall are you guys? Do you play baskeball?" The same scenario repeated as we walked past the second and third attendants.. as well as 3 more times when we returned to the ship after a shift change....

Also, port security asked a lot of tall questions too. We usually just answered quickly and zipped on through. One boy stood out though, because he came up to me all formal-like and said, "Excuse me ma'am, can I ask how tall you are?" I said, "Sure, 6'5." He asked about basketball. I said I didn't play and he seemed sincerely disappointed.. I hate letting the kids down, but what can you do, lie?

In line at the breakfast buffet.. A lady comes up and asks me if I've ever played basketball for the University of Connecticut. Strangely enough, I get asked that a lot. That and whether I play for the New York Liberty (WNBA basketball team). I knew immediately she thought I was Rebecca Lobo. "No, I'm sorry," I say. She says, "Oh you look like someone on that team." I say, "I know, Rebecca Lobo.. I get that a lot."

During our 3.5 mile hike through Hawaiian backcountry with 4 other couples.. A guy couldn't reach the ripe guava on a tree we were hiking past, so he asked for help from "the basketball player," aka, Brian. Brian went over and helped the guy get his guava. The guy then says, "You do play basketball, right?" Brian says no and everyone in the group acts all surprised cuz they just assumed he did. They didn't bother asking me at anytime though. I surmised that it must have been because of my apparent lack of athleticism on the hike. :-)

At a souvenir shop in Lahaina, Maui.. A couple comes up and asks if I play basketball. I say no, and the man says, "Well, you should." Motherfu@*er. Not another lecture on what I should have done with my life.. I say, "No I shouldn't. You've never seen me play."

Getting off the plane back at home.. A drunk loud guy yells out, "Damn you guys are freakin' tall! I wish I was tall!"

Like I said, there were countless other remarks, but I was on vacation, so I wasn't diligent about remembering them.

posted by Cladeedah @ 2:36 PM