Tallness has its lows, but club keeps spirits high
By AMANDA LLEWELLYN
VIEW STAFF WRITER
jacob kepler/viewLas Vegas Tall Club member Blaine Platt shows off his shirt during the club?s meeting at the Blue Ox Tavern, 5825 W. Sahara Ave., Feb. 21.
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Limo driver John Allen is accustomed to ducking when he enters a room. It's one of the many small but real annoyances he has come to accept over the years.
"Any time I fly, it has to be first class," Allen said. "I don't fit in normal seats. It's the same with cars and a million other things other people take for granted as being normal."
At 6 feet 11 inches, Allen is the tallest member of the Tall Club of Las Vegas, a local chapter of Tall Club International, a social organization for men taller than 6 feet 2 inches and women taller than 5 feet 10 inches.
"This is a place where I can come and feel normal," Allen said. "Everyone here understands what it's like to be so different and be inconvenienced all of the time. They know what it's like to be stared at."
The Las Vegas chapter was organized 25 years ago by resident Carolyn Jacobs, who, according to current chapter president Sharon Borkowski, felt there was a real need in the community for an organization where people of similar problems and interests could converge.
"The membership has been steady and growing ever since," Borkowski said. "Our club was instrumental in advocating the position of tall people with American Airlines. It was us that convinced them to widen seats and isles for tall people."
Borkowski, who stands at 5 feet 10 inches, works as a nurse at Southern Hills Hospital and found out about the club seven years ago after marrying a member.
"We do things together that are very bonding," she said. "We have themed weekends and group outings and a yearly convention. It's more than a group of people who have this one thing in common. We are friends, we are family."
The group's next group outing will be a weekend trip to Disneyland in late April.
"We load up a camper and just go have fun," Borkowski said. "We really do get a lot of looks when we're all together. You can look at people's faces and see they're thinking 'Whoa! Those are some tall folks.' "
Six-foot-tall former club president Barbara Platt joined the organization in 1993 after seeing an ad in the newspaper.
"It said new members were welcome and I was a widow who needed something to do," Platt said. "I thought it would be nice to be around people who understand some of the problems I face myself."
According to Platt, some of the issues she's personally confronted include an inability to find clothing and shoes that fit properly and the perceived isolation of being the tallest person in a room.
"When I am with other club members I feel normal," Platt said. "I'm not that tall woman in the photo and I don't have to literally look down to talk to people."
Platt met her husband, Blaine, who measures in at a formidable 6 feet 3 inches, not long after joining.
"I joined looking for friendship and found a husband," she said with a smile.
According to Blaine Platt, there have been a number of marriages within the club.
"You spend so much time with people who have this thing, this being noticeably different than the rest of society, and there's a pull," he said. "It's not too shocking. Ours isn't the only story like this. There have been quite a few marriages as a result of club membership."
The club holds social meetings each Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Blue Ox Tavern, 5825 W. Sahara Ave.
"We have a few drinks and great conversation," Borkowski said. "We discuss club business, which usually entails planning upcoming events. But we always welcome new members."
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