Monday, August 10, 2009

Matchmaking by Height

So, this post has a minor spoiler from the Julie and Julia movie, so if you hate Spoilers, please check out this funny blog instead, and check back here next week, when this posting will have rolled off the page...

There is a cute scene in the movie where the 6'2" Julia Child and her husband try to set up her even taller sister with a very tall friend at a dinner party. The tall man arrives, only to find Julia's sister hunched over and talking quite intimately with a very short man...whom she ends up marrying.

This reminded me of a hilarious incident of matchmaking by height that happened to me when I lived in America's heartland. I haven't thought of this story in years, so I can't have bored anyone with this recently.

A male coworker came into the little conference room where I, my supervisor, and a temp had set up for a months-long project we were all working on. My coworker--let's call him George, started quizzing me on my personal life...

George: So, Jo, I'd really like to introduce you to my cousin sometime. He's a really nice guy, I think you'd like him...and he has trouble finding dates because he's really short. But so are you...you'd be great together! You don't have a boyfriend or anything, do you?

Me: Well, actually, I do have a boyfriend.

George: (surprised!) Really??! But you only just moved here a couple of months ago, right? How did you find a boyfriend so fast? It can't be very serious...

Me: Um, well, actually, he moved here to be with me when I got this job...

George: Well (dismissively), what kind of a guy follows his girlfriend to another town...what is he, some kind of loser?

At this point, I am getting really uncomfortable--you and George will both learn why in a second. I am trying to stammer out some kind of reply to get George to back off without offending him, when my supervisor, Anna interrupts. She has been sitting in the room for all of this--as has the Temp, and she bursts out laughing. When she catches her breath, she introduces George to our Temp:

Anna: George--you should really meet our Temp--this is DH. DH, say Hi to George! George, DH is Jo's boyfriend--I thought you might like to know!

DH turned and waved at George, wearing a sheepish smile on his face.

George turned BRIGHT red, closed his mouth, and turned and left the room without saying a single word. For the next year, he would turn and walk in the other direction when he saw me coming. Poor man--how embarrassed he must have been!

We had gone through several temps on this project, and since DH was looking for a job after having moved to be with me, we decided to bring him in to help out. Either he would also find a job within weeks, or we would have a temp who stayed longer--a win for me in either case.

One coworker commented that it was nice that we had hired a temp that I could carpool with. DH and I were careful not to let on at the office that we were dating. After we got married and I brought him to the office Christmas party, people assumed we had met AT the job, and seemed to think it was cute. Only my supervisor, Anna knew the facts...oh, and George too, of course, but I am pretty sure he didn't tell anyone.

1 comment:

  1. I never knew this story. That is aboslutely hysterical. Maggie and I were out one night and a gentleman hit on her, to which she said "No thanks, I'm married", he said "then good, he'll never know". She looked at me and said, "well that's kinda tough since he just heard you". He had the same reaction as George...hysterical.

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