Clearing Things Up

The other day I wrote about seeing a midget near our friends' Joyce and Danny house. When I did so I indicated I did not know the difference between a midget and a dwarf. It seemed like a good idea to clear that up in case anyone else was curious.

A dwarf is an extremely short adult who stands less than 58 inches in height. So any human being shorter than 4'10" in height is considered a dwarf. Good news Mom, you made it by an inch or so. The term "dwarf" refers to someone with one of the several varieties of dwarfism caused by specific genetic conditions. A dwarf has disproportionate body parts. The physical conditions affecting them can include malformed bones, nerve compression, joint disease and disoriented growth of some organs.

The word midget is consider offensive. It is considered more appropriate to use the terms "short person" or "little person". It is considered most offensive when used to describe those with dwarfism. A midget or short person or little person is someone who is of small size but normally proportioned when compared to an average person. A person with dwarfism has disproportionally short limbs.

Then is gets confusing for old guys like me. Dwarfs or dwarves in legend or folklore are legendary creatures resembling an old man who live in the depths of the earth and guard buried treasure. They are endowed with supernatural powers and skilled in crafts or metalworking. They are depicted as short and sometimes clashing with elves. So the guy the other day was out mowing his yard. Does that mean he came out of the ground away from the treasure he was guarding for a while? Was it an attempt to distract us and hide his supernatural powers? It would seem the only way to find out for sure would be to capture an elf and see if they clash. Would Disneyworld miss Tinker Bell?

As a final thought I received the following message from a reader who shall remain nameless. "Listen next time you see a midget mowing don't let your better judgment get to you. For the sake of all of us you must capture this historical event." Rest assured readers my next encounter with a midget or dwarf will be preserved in pictures. I hope it will be this bunch.