Meteor

What was it about Adam Vonn?

When you see a man so large, you don't expect him to tell you he works for NASA. You don't expect him to know the difference between looming over someone and overwhelming them. You assume that if he caught you stealing his car, he'd punch your a hole in your chest the size of a basketball. His hands are big like a bear's paws and his voice is deep like a trench in the ocean. In his voice, you can hear the conflict between the right and the left sides of his brain.

In his actions, you can see the restraint of a gentle giant. Big enough to play in the NFL and walk away leaving destruction in his wake yet controlled and neutral from an agony of self-awareness. To a man like Adam Vonn, being accused of bullying is a kin to being called a domestic abuser. In the mirror, Adam Vonn sees the danger of seeming like a rogue elephant or a time bomb clocked down to zero. Being a bully is the biggest weakness you can show the world and when you do what Adam Vonn does, weakness goes hand in hand with catastrophic failure.

For Adam Vonn, disagreements are voiced while sitting down. If a disagreement becomes an argument, Adam Vonn takes his place across the room and behind any possible barrier. If an argument becomes a fight, Adam Vonn stops talking and lets the fight end before it can begin. Fights are one sided with a simple philosophy: better to take the blow and bear the brunt than fight back and be mistaken for an ogre. For Adam Vonn, self defense comes at a much higher price with a far more meager yield.

When Adam Vonn is challenged, the deficit is automatically his. The luxury of implying a sense of physical intimation is automatically yours. Once the suggestion is planted, Adam Vonn has no say in the matter. Either he continues to answer the challenge or he risks taking on the aura of aggression. He must choose between backing down as a weakling, his size rendering him a trophy, or standing up as a giant, his size speaking louder than this words. Being Adam Vonn is being built with an automatic alarm system available to the world; one that requires no more empathy, patience, or responsibility than screaming of a non-existant fire in a crowded room. His size is both intimidating and easily neutralized depending on the whims of the other.

His size evokes childish and instinctual treatment from some; fetishistic assumptions and comedic value from others. The dichotomy between his size and his intelligence is as ripe for satire as it is capable of it's own brilliance. He is both Goliath and the Jolly Green Giant. He is both the man at the top of the beanstalk as well as the man whom most assuredly played basketball as a teenager. He can reach the top shelf in the kitchen while simultaneously holding discourse upon viable methods with which to provide clean burning ethanol fuel.

You wouldn't expect such a contrast. Yet there he was.

And he was terrified.