The Giant Dwarf

Life was anything but easy for Adam Rainer. Born in Graz, Austria in 1899, he spent his teen years living in a war ravaged nation constant seeking new recruits for the front lines, and enforcing stricter rations on civilians. In 1917, when he and his classmates reached their 18th birthday, he watched as one by one his male peers were suddenly absent from lessons as they were sent off to fight in the closing moments of the first world war.

Adam’s 18th birthday came and went, with no such assignment to take up arms. When he reported to the recruiting office, he was refused entry into the army on account of his standing just 3 feet ten inches tall. Adam’s height officially classified him as a dwarf.

The war ended shortly after his birthday, and he took up the course of living a somewhat normal life while what was left of his classmates returned home from the war. All available accounts of those who knew Adam described him as a happy person, who accepted his lot in life well, and made the best of it. Adam had wrapped his head around the fact that he was a dwarf and was completely fine with it. He was no different than anyone else. He was just short. He was one of the shortest men in all of Austria. Until he wasn’t.

Just a few years later, in his early twenties, Adam experienced an astonishing growth spurt. His body sprouted upwards at a rate of 3.6 inches per year climaxing at a height of seven feet eight inches. This incredible growth rate left his body sapped of strength and soon left him bedridden.

It would later be found that secretions from the poor man’s pituitary gland went from a small trickle to a torrential downpour shortly after his 21st birthday. The malfunction caused his body to devote all its resources to unabated growth leaving him too weak to stand on his own.

Ten years after the growth spurt started a doctor put Adam under Anastasia and discovered a benign tumor that had been pressing on Adams pituitary gland causing it to excrete large quantities of growth hormones. After a quick and successful surgery, the tumor was removed, and Adam’s growth rate slowed dramatically, but the damage was already done.

Adam never regained the ability to stand on his own and lived out his life in a “home of the aged” until passing away at the age of 51. At the time of his death, he was measured at seven feet eight inches tall, double his height at 21, and officially the tallest man in Austria.

The average American does not start saving for retirement until they are 31 years old. This might not come as a shock to hear but starting that late is not optimal. All else being equal, an investor starting at age 24 will have double the savings at retirement as some who begins saving at 31. I will not be the first, nor will I be the last person to extoll to you the benefits of saving early.

There are two lessons that can be learned from the tragic story of Adam Rainer however. While his body indeed got a late start growing, once it did start, it did so at such a ferocious pace that it left him completely devoid of energy and with no quality of life. Adams body could think of nothing more, and do nothing more, than put every ounce of strength it had into adding inches to his height.

So as Adam’s body did, many Americans after getting a late start, begin throwing anything and everything they can get their hands on at retirement savings. This may also not be a wise choice. Life is meant to be lived. Saving to aggressively can take away your quality of life, and while it will not leave you bedridden, it will likely leave you on your sofa eating mac n cheese, while your loved ones are enjoying a night out.

There is meant to be balance in all things. If you find yourself behind in your savings, do not hit the panic button and stop all spending. Work to develop a plan that will get you where you want to be. Stay disciplined to that plan, and you will be able to get there.