aughters Too Tall

ome time ago Baron Von Lodge was the head of a small country near Switzerland known as Lilliland.

Lady Angela of Alpine Castle, the Baron’s fiancée, would often be at the regular meetings with the Baron’s chief advisor, Professor Hamblin.

The topics they talked about were not always about state matters of great importance, but sometimes about the things that seemed to bother the citizens.

Lady Angela said that she spoke several times with a concerned mother about the fact that her two eligible-for-marriage daughters were too tall. Most of the bachelors that they brought home were somewhat shorter than the girls were. The mother wondered what to do, if anything.

Professor Hamblin thought about the situation and said that he did not want to touch that issue. The Baron said the same thing. But upon Lady Angela’s insistence, they offered a few points.

The Professor observed that the purpose of marriage was a union and companionship for life. The couples were not supposed to qualify as models in a travel poster for some vacation destination. Approximately one-third of all couples were about the same height, about a third found the man taller than the woman, and the other third was when the woman was taller. “But,” the Professor added, “that is only while standing or dancing. When a couple sits down you often cannot tell who is taller. Why the big fuss? It’s compatibility that counts.”

More questions arose. What about age compatibility? Should the husband be older than the wife? What about that? The Professor said, “Well, as long s they are members of the same generation, that should suffice.” The Baron agreed on this point.

“Give me a good reason why the man must always be taller and older than the woman? There really doesn’t appear to be any reason except by custom, I suppose.”

“What if we added religion and education to the discussion?” Lady Angela added. “Well, here they should be as similar as possible. Some religious beliefs and some education values add to the compatibility factor.”

Getting back to the mother with the two too tall daughters: Perhaps the mother should have looked within herself to see what values she projected into the situation that may be of only minor importance. The Professor said as the final decision, “If the daughters are over twenty-five year of age, they should decide for themselves what is best for each of them. But they should still respect their mother’s concerns and wishes.”