Gerald Baily had enormous hands. Each one was as wide as his torso — if he held his hand as if showing the number five, they measured thirty-four and a half inches from the tip of his pinky to the end of his thumb. In all other respects, Gerald was normally proportioned.

His unusual hands were first noticed when Gerald was still in his mother’s womb. The doctors marveled at the size of the tiny infant’s hands — at that point they were bigger than the foetus’ head. Gerald had to be delivered by cesarean section as the risk to his mother was too great for a normal delivery.

For his arms to support the weight of his hands, Gerald’s quickly grew strong. Even at an early age, he was able to lift very heavy items.

His hands made him a popular choice in school to participate in certain sports. As a young boy, he played goalie his school’s soccer team — he never allowed a single goal, much to the chagrin of the opposing teams. In high school, he lettered in swimming and was the star receiver on the football team. He never missed a pass.

The enormity of his hands presented certain problems. He could not wear normal clothing, for example — his hands would not fit through the sleeves. His mother had special shirts make for him that snapped down the sleeves. He could remove his shirts very quickly, if necessary, thanks to these snaps.

Contrary to what many people though, Gerald was very dexterous with his hands. As a hobby, he painted people’s names on grains of rice and sold them at the state fair in a small booth, next to the deep-fried bacon stand.

Gerald met his wife in college. As soon as he saw Barbara, he knew they were destined to be together. She had an enormous class load, and Gerald had a lot of respect for her work ethic. They were married a few years later by Elvis in Las Vegas. Not the real Elvis, just an impersonator, but it was still a happy day for both of them.

Gerald and Barbara had three children together, all of which had normal size hands. Secretly, Gerald wished that at least one of them had gotten his gift of giant hands.

Years later, when Gerald was an old man, one of his children, Robert, had a child of his own named Ben. Ben was born with enormous hands. Robert and his wife Cindy were very happy.