Being tall does have its advantages

Not to brag, I’m a tall man. At 6’4, I’m in the upper quartile of tallest men in Kenya. Some women have described me as hot, handsome. The line ‘Aaaw! I like your height’ from random female strangers is something I have grown accustomed to. But I will be honest and say, it is mostly drunk women who consider me hot and we all know the optical illusions a few bottles of beers can imperil on any individual.

Doesn’t dance

Like women, men of the 21st century like being flattered. Or flirted with by random female strangers. The more beautiful, the more fulfilling the experience. And women in Nairobi, and surprisingly in many urban centres in the country, are quite very bold. And I have been a recipient of this flattering and flirting that reminds me about the beauty of life and how rich life would be if all of us were just a little bit kinder.

Like all tall, cool men for instance, I don’t dance. But several women in nightclubs and social functions often propose that I dance with them. Despite my protestations, I’m often dragged to the floor and asked to just stand there as they wiggle their bodies around and about my frigid, electric-post-like body. Some have often volunteered a lap dance in house parties and such experiences often leave me feeling like Silvio Berlusconi. Trust me, getting a free lap dance from a beautiful stranger is something that very few men receive in life.I have received more gifts from female strangers. Like this one who gave me Frank Peretti novel once at Dubai airport. She had seen me with a novel over a long layover and we struck a random conversation on books, only to discover that she was a book enthusiast despite being a chemical engineer or some other awful career that does not encourage book readership in Kenya.

The book

She gave me the book. Regrettably, we never exchanged contacts; neither do I recall her name. But there is something incredibly sexy about a woman who reads good books. The confidence knowledge gives a woman is unparalleled, in a way that not even beauty can match.

And then there are female strangers who give us their numbers without giving us the usual bull of ‘I don’t give my number to strangers’ or the dumber college girl favourite ‘I don’t have a phone’. Better is the one who picks her phone. Best is the one who agrees up for a date, trusting you without question or doubt that you may be a serial killer or a wanted rapist. I salute them.

Phone number

Giving your number does not make you loose or desperate. It makes you civilised. You never know when that man might come in handy. But the best gifts from strange women are the more questionable stuff. A cigarette. Or even the harder stuff that more and more corporate types are sniffing lately. A one-night stand is in this category and cherished the most. Such secret vices remind us that deep within every human being is a tamed animal that if unleashed, the world will be chaotic.

Thankfully, the society has rules. I urge women to be randomly kind to unfamiliar men from time to time. The book, the cigarette, the smile, the audience and all that always serves in reminding men that not all women are bad people, as it is often the assumption.

@nyanchwani

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Photos: www.lyst.com