All the Bowl America lanes were busy when I entered the building. I could hear the bowling balls hit the lanes as they were being thrown. Less often, I would hear strikes along with the accompanying cheers.

I was here to meet some of the members of the DC Tall Club. I was interested in joining a local social group when I came across their webpage. Reading their webpage, I discovered that to become a member, you must be over 5’10” if you are a female and at least 6’2″ to become a male member. I barely met the minimum height and thought I would give attending a meeting a try.

Initially, I wasn’t sure how I could find them in such a busy and noisy place as a bowling alley. I had planned that if I couldn’t locate them myself, I would ask someone to point out the lane that had extremely tall bowlers in it.

Fortunately, as I was entering the building, someone came up to me and was able to lead me directly to their table once I told him the name of the club.

As I sat down with the members of the DC Tall Club, I was introduced to Emily and Bear. Emily was about my height, had long light-colored hair, and was the organizer for this event. Bear, a longtime member, stood over 6’8″, and looked every bit his nickname.

Unfortunately, the Bowl America manager came to our table and told us that despite having reserved the lanes for our bowling outing, the entire bowling alley had been rented for that time and we would have to leave.

Deciding to make the best of a raw deal, we walked the short distance over to Arties to have some drinks, appetizers, and conversation.

Both Bear and Emily explained to me as I sipped my logger that the DC Tall Club was originally founded several decades ago when it was very unusual to be over 6-feet tall and that there was a need to provide social opportunities where height wasn’t such a big deal.

Over the years, the DC Tall Club and their national organization have offered scholarships and fundraising to support medical research into diseases that affect muscle tissues that can lead to premature death. This disease particularly affects those above average height.

Emily explained that in the past, the club has sponsored wine tasting retreats, movie nights, and is planning mystery nights where the attendees participate in a murder mystery to be solved.

It was a great pleasure meeting both Emily and Bear and I look forward to meeting the rest of the members at future social events.