The view from up here. . . .

Don't mess with me, guys. I have a new professional commendation to add to my resume, delivered by the owner of the tour company that hired me to tour a group of 36 through Vizcaya Museum & Gardens yesterday.

"You have a very commanding presence," she said in all seriousness, at the conclusion of the tour as she handed me my check. All 4 ft. 11 1/4 inches of me, I said under my breath.

Commanding is not exactly how I would describe my less than towering height, but I do have a helluva loud speaking voice, a major plus with a large tour group. It must be that extra 1/4 inch that I'm desperately hanging on to, as gravity has its way with the 5 ft. stature I have endured since the age of 12. I was always the smallest kid in the class when they lined us up by height and I haven't made much progress since then..

Suzanne, the lady from the tour company, had e-mailed me that this could be a difficult group. . .it was something called The League, and she was finding them to have a bit of an "attitude". I wrote her back, not to worry. That was before I realized I had such a commanding prescence, and in truth, I was a trifle concerned. While I'm not new at guiding at Vizcaya, I am new at getting paid for what I've done for free for the past eight years. For free, if they didn't like me, that was their problem. This could ultimately be mine.

My apologies for channeling Sally Fields at the Ocars, but I think they liked me. . they really liked me. I could tell by the enthusiastic clapping at the end. We professional guides know that's always a good sign. They turned out to be a very nice group, well traveled. and fascinated with this wonderful seaside mansion that was built in 1916. Excuse me also for taking the opportunity to plagiarize Renee Zellweger and tell you, without an ounce of shame, that I had them from the "Hello, my name is Joan, and I will be your guide this afternoon. . ."

My new career as a professional tour guide is moving right along and I'm really getting the hang of it. It doesn't pay as well as my regular work, and I'm definitely not getting rich, but I am having fun. And growing taller, by the minute.
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Photo caption: Standing tall with the 6' 1" significant other. And I was actually wearing 3" heels in this photo!