It's true, I wish I was taller. Oh sure, I also wish I was thinner, smarter, richer, etc. But today we are talking about height. Some people don't think that 5'4" is all that short. Trust me, it is. I have the strained calves, pulled biceps and pain in the neck to prove it. I'm forever grasping for something out of my reach--a trip to Italy, say. Kidding! And though many of us do the same thing, I am speaking literally. My back once went "out" from trying to open our garage door because the remote wouldn't work. Problem was I couldn't get enough traction with my feet planted firmly on the floor and I had no real upper body strength to speak of. Who knows? Height might have helped me then. I'm grateful that hub-Russ is 6'2" and my daughter Katie is 5'9" because they are the ones who come running (and reaching) when I constantly whine, "Can you get the so-and-so down? It's up too high for me!" Usually it's something in the kitchen cabinet--like a box of grits or a jar of chow-chow. Sometimes it's a pair of heels in the shoe box in my walk-in closet. Recently it was my passion vine tentacles sprouting themselves onward and upward beyond our porch columns, past the roof of our Wilmington cottage.

Some people dream of winning the lottery and buying a new home, a new car or a new life. For me, I would LOWER all of the shelves in my current home. I think the builder was counting on a couple of giants moving in here because as best I can tell, being 6'10" would be the perfect height to reach each and every shelf, nook and cranny in this home.

I have been accused of buying way too many shoes because I am vain; constantly trying to dress trendy, matchy-matchy or just because I grew up in a shoe store. For the record, I did not literally grow up in a shoe store. I worked in one, my parents' Bootery Shoe Store, from age 14 on; but I did not live in it. The real reason I shop for shoes is because the heels make me taller. Fair enough.

And another thing: Maybe I'm not short so much as I am abnormally weight-distributed. What I'm saying is, maybe my weight is fine, though I've tried every diet and exercise plan on the Planet Earth. I just need to be four inches taller and I'd be perfect, according to the medical charts.

I wonder what it would be like to be a giraffe and see things from a higher place. Better yet, a bird that could go higher and higher at will. The funny thing is, I'm afraid of heights. Put me on a roller coaster and I'm freakin' out! Whether it's the speed or the height, I don't know. But that's why I never climb light houses or tourist monuments. I did once dine among the stars (not movie, but celestial) with my Dad in Atlanta on a shoe buying trip. As I remember, the building swayed a little--or was that my naivete at the time? Looking around that night, buildings looked as small as ants.

But if only I was taller. Everything would be within my reach and I wouldn't have to beg for favors. Not that people seem to mind too terribly. But if only...

Ann Ipock www.annipock.com amipock@ec.rr.com