 |
 Canada’s tallest man Jerry Sokoloski with fiancee Lori Wheatley. (DAVE ABEL/Sun Media) |
Jerry Sokoloski is feeling 10 feet tall.
Actually, that's not much of a stretch, since Jerry, 26, is already 7-foot-7. He's Canada's tallest man, as approved by Guinness.
But things are looking up, even for Jerry.
His sciatic nerve -- Canada's longest, presumably -- is improving. His size 24 feet -- Canada's biggest, I hope -- are healed. He's lost 40 pounds, down to 460. And a future in wrestling or movies beckons.
But mostly Jerry Sokoloski is head over heels in love. The big lug is getting married.
To whom, Princess Fiona?
|
No, but you're close. She's a slim, 5-foot-5 blonde, Lori Wheatley, 36.
"My mom always said, 'Go big or go home,' " Lori tells me.
"My heart melted when I first saw Jerry."
The lopsided lovebirds have dropped by the Sun to tell me about their whirlwind romance.
Ever shake hands with a front-end loader? Jerry's mitts are a foot across from pinky to thumb. Guinness is pondering whether they're the biggest hands in the world.
For a second, I'm afraid he's going to hug me.
When I last saw Jerry in 2002, he was 7-foot-6 and his eyes were on the NBA. I went out to his Rexdale high school, Father Henry Carr West, and played him a little one-on-one.
When my nose stopped bleeding, I asked him about his dream.
"I want to be known as a great player, not just for height," he said. "I know I can do it."
Now, he's an inch taller, 150 pounds heavier and a ton wiser.
The NBA draft passed without Jerry's name being called, though he's half a foot taller than Shaq. Mind you, Mount Everest wasn't drafted either. Big, maybe, but slow.
Jerry has bounced around since, in publicity gigs after Guinness confirmed his record, and as security boss at a London strip club.
He and Lori locked eyes at a party last July.
"He was sitting, so I didn't see his height. Everyone thought he was intimidating. I just thought, here's this big, sweet, gentle giant.
"Then he stood up, and, like, wow!"
"She was wearing a red dress," adds Jerry.
"That's what I love about him," says Lori. "He remembers the little things."
They've shacked up in Lori's London house, which has 12-foot ceilings. A few weeks ago, he got down on one knee -- no small feat. The wedding is set for June.
Now, I know what you want me to ask them. How do they, you know, canoodle? I hear size doesn't matter, but ...
"Huge hands, huge feet, you do the math," says Lori, drily.
"Technically, things obviously don't line up, so you approach things differently. But if you want something bad enough, you can make anything happen."
Their first night together, he rolled over to spoon her and she nearly died of fright. "Imagine this massive arm reaching over you. But he scooped me up so gently and we settled in together and I knew we were going to be just fine."
There are other quirks in being engaged to Canada's tallest man.
She says "Duck!" a lot. Exit signs and sprinklers are especially hazardous.
She keeps stepladders scattered around the house.
"We have a rule," says Jerry. "Everything under five feet is her job, everything over five feet is mine."
Laundry is an adventure.
At the laundromat, a woman glanced over at Lori shaking out a pair of Jerry's shorts, blanched and exclaimed, "Mother of God!"
Shaquille O'Neal befriended Jerry years ago and still sends him custom clothes by the trunk-load. Otherwise, Jerry and Lori shop online for giant shoes and scour Toronto's big-and-tall stores.
"Oh, my," has been the reaction of wedding tux salesmen.
I can't wait 'til Jerry walks into a Christmas supply store and asks for a Santa Claus suit.
That's one of his ideas -- to do charity work as Canada's largest Santa.
Meanwhile, he's taken pro wrestling lessons in Windsor, there's talk of a reality show, surprise, surprise, and a Canada's Tallest Man tour. Plus, he hopes to break into movies. I can see him in the title role in Snows of Kilimanjaro.
Lori has him eating right -- though he makes short work of veal parmigiana and fries in the Sun cafeteria -- and has helped him with back woes and a circulation problem in his toes. (She's a home care worker for paraplegics.)
The big guy says she has healed his heart, too. After all, when you are Canada's tallest man, life can be a freak show.
"I've been happier since the day I met her. I'm more outgoing, more passionate, more positive about life."
And that's the long and the short of it.
MIKE STROBEL'S COLUMN RUNS WEDNESDAY TO FRIDAY, AND SUNDAY. MIKE.STROBEL@SUNMEDIA.CA OR 416-947-2265.