Dear Mik and Mike: My friend and I signed up for a stilt-building class just to do something different. We’re really excited about learning how to walk on them and make costumes. The class is for the whole weekend, all day Saturday and Sunday. It’s Saturday night and we’re not sure we can go back for the second day. The problem? Our teacher smells SO bad that a couple of times we actually started to gag. The teacher is a woman and she’s really great other than the stench. When she showed up on Saturday morning her hair was wet and we could smell shampoo but in two hours the room, and it was a big warehouse, was unbearable. When we left and got in the car to go home our clothes had the stench too. We really want to finish our project but we need help!
Just to get you through the weekend, buy some Vicks VapoRub, and put a little dab under your nose. This will mask the smell. It’s not something you want to do often as it will irritate your nose, but for a few hours, it’s an easy solution. I’m sure she knows she reeks but can’t do anything about it. The shampoo smell tells me she showers. She might have a serious illness and you’ll feel like insensitive morons if you say something to her and later find out she died. Why endure? Just buy some stilts!
I would find another stilt building class. There are so many classes offered and so many stilt walkers these days that this seems to be the easiest solution. If for some reason you don’t want to take the easy way out maybe you could send her an anonymous note that says “You stink, take a shower” or something like that. Or how about a friendlier approach? A gift pack of deodorant?
Photo by Brian Fitzgerald
