"Good Things Come in Dwarf Packages"

After watching The Golden Globes Sunday night, I saw a little man deliver a big speech, reminding us all about the horrors of bullying. Or, as George Carlin would probably say, “I saw a little guy remind us of how many big, stupid people there are in this world.”

Peter Dinklage, in his acceptance speech for supporting actor in a TV series, paid homage to an English bloke by the name of Martin Henderson, a dwarf now partially paralyzed after he was attacked last year. Some stupid thug approached him outside an English pub and without saying a word, he simply picked him up and threw him to the ground.

“I saw a little guy remind us of how many big stupid people there are in this world.”

No arrests have been made, but it’s suspected that the bully was influenced by some rugby players who took part in “dwarf tossing,” shortly before the incident took place.

For those of you who aren’t aware of Dwarf Tossing, the game is very much as its name implies and involves tossing dwarfs clad in Velcro padded suits onto mattresses or Velcro-coated walls. The idiot who throws his dwarf the farthest, wins. In other circles, it’s also known as “Smeagle Throwing.” Sounds funny, I know. But when you factor in the danger and humiliation for all the Smeagles of the world who are participating in it, somehow it ceases to tickle the funny bone.

"No arrests have been made, but it’s suspected that the bully was influenced by some rugby players who took part in 'dwarf tossing,' shortly before the incident took place."

Martin Henderson can no longer find work as an actor and one can only imagine how far the anger within him must now run. Perhaps the idiot who tossed him believed Henderson was a dwarf from Middle Earth with magical gravity powers. Unfortunately, Mr. Henderson was not any different than the rest of us. And that’s just the point.

In my new novel, Time Warped, one of my favorite characters is a rather feisty midget by the name of Esme. I suppose that’s why I felt so strongly pulled to defend all the vertically challenged people of the world today. Though Esme is small, she be mighty, and it would do well for all of us to remember that good things in life do often come in dwarf packages and should never be tossed.