The Long and the Short of It

I was considering writing a short essay when the idea of "short" grabbed my attention and took me on a very interesting journey.  Allow me to relate that journey to you.

My first steps were in thinking what we mean when we say something is "short" and, conversely, when we say something is "long".  A thing is short when it is shorter than something long, and it is long when it is longer than something short.  But where is the point that something short becomes something long, and is there a range in which something is neither short nor long?  I propose that it has a lot to do with what ever that "something " is that you are qualitatively regarding.  Shortness or longness is also closely tied to the perspective of the beholder.  (I may have taken some liberties in using the word "longness" since my spell-check seems to object, but, if there is shortness, there must be longness.  Who of us has never experienced longness of breath?