Unusual things have happened to me all my life. Perhaps my friends are right: I possess a dark aura that attracts surreal experiences.
Last July, my son-in-law, Mitch, was in the throes of moving himself and our daughter to Montreal. Buried by boxes and worn out by the family dog, Pips, who’s mostly Jack Russell terrier, he seriously needed rescuing. The two of us escape up the street to the local Italian bakery for a much-needed café latte.
Standing by the cash register, I become aware of a mountainous presence and look up – way, way up into the kindly face of the largest man I have ever met.
Jerry Sokoloski, a true gentle giant, stands 7’8″ in his size 25 shoes. His fingers span 12 inches: he holds out his hand offering me a comparison. My size 8 hand looks like an infant’s!
Jerry is at the café to be interviewed. He sits at one of the elevated tables where ordinary mortals stand to drink their coffees. Mitch and I are struck by the difficulties Jerry faces in daily life: driving, riding the bus or streetcar, getting clothes that fit, attending a movie theatre. The list goes on and on.
Jerry trained with the NBA and recently completed filming David and Goliath. (Three guesses which role he played.) I invite you to meet this sweet and patient man in this Youtube video.
Mitch and I head back to packing. At 5’9″ I rarely feel short. Meeting unusually tall people, feels welcome, yet at the same time, somewhat overwhelming and intimidating. I tell Mitch this but he is having none of it.
“Welcome to my world,” he says. (He’s 5’6″.)
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