Chair memories.

   Chairs don't have memories. At least I don't think they do - there was a whole episode on Sesame Street with John Cleese about inanimate objects not having feelings, so my theory is, if inanimate objects don't have feelings, they don't have memories either. And what is on Sesamie Street must be true, right?

But I have memories and some of my favorite ones are of chairs!

   My most recent memory (well, it is a borrowed memory) is of Dad's new chair. It is one of those remote control models that heats up, massages the back, lays flat with the foot rest out, and tips up to make getting out of easier. Not that he needs it to tip up to get out, but he does like it to lay back nice and flat for napping. All of this is done with an attached remote control.

It is a fun chair! Here the stuffed animals are enjoying it as a slide.

   The memory is actually Mom's memory, but the story of the chair has made it my own. I guess you could say I sometimes live vicariously though the memories of others.

   As Mom tells the story, she and Dad were sitting in the living room together watching TV. She commented on what they were watching. Since Dad is rather hard of hearing, he leaned forward in his chair to listen to what she was saying. As he did so he accidentally sat on the remote control. He often sits on remote controls, as can be noted by the car doors sometimes opening randomly or the alarm going off. But I digress.
   
   Mom continued her explanation to Dad, and as she did so, the back of the chair began to slowly lay back. Dad listened intently, unaware that the chair he sat on was in motion. Mom seeing the chair moving, struggled to keep from smiling as it lay farther and farther back. Turns out the chair lays really far back - more than just flat - the back can nearly touch the floor!

   Conversation drew to an end, and Dad, satisfied that he had "heard" everything, leaned back. Only now the chair that had been in the sitting position was now more of a bed that tilted toward the floor. Unaware of the change, he was caught off guard. Back he went and up went his feet. Mom, unable to contain herself any longer, burst out into laughter. Dad, his head now near the floor and his feet higher than the rest of his body, struggled to get up and find the remote to the chair (he was now laying on the remote). At first he was going to be mad, but realizing the ridiculousness of his predicament, he too began to laugh.

   Heck, hearing the story the next day caused much laughter. It is amazing how the innocent misfortune of another can be such amusement for others. Well, he wasn't hurt, just rather surprised! Which reminds me of another, older chair story, from my days of working in an office setting...

   At this particular job, I worked in an open office setting, which means there were cubicles, but the walls did not go up more than 12", so you could see everyone an everything going on in the office. Even the president's office had glass walls, so he too could see all that happened in the office, from workers at their desks, to someone using the copier in the filing section of the office. I believe the conference room and the break room had walls, but I am guessing this was just because the designer

didn't like to watch people eat, and those are the places we would eat our lunches.

   As is often the case, furniture eventually wore out or broke, and like many offices, stuff did not always get disposed of in a timely manner... Enter the chair. One of the office chairs had lost one of its wheels. Unable to be repaired, a sign was affixed to the back of the chair that read "Broken, do not use." The chair was then promptly placed in the copier/filing area of the office where there were a few empty cubicles and then completely forgotten about.

   Well nearly forgotten about, anyway. We occasionally had computer consultants that would come into the office to work with staff on the programs that we used for business. It was during one such visit that our consultants (a husband and wife team) set up shop in the empty cubicles in the copier/filing area of the office. Unfortunately the "Broken, do not use" chair was still occupying this space. How it managed to lose its signage is a bit of a mystery.

   The consultants were great. They were quick and intuitive, responsive and hands-on team, amicable and very well liked.  During this particular visit, the husband of the team was setting up shop in the copier/mail area of the office while his wife, a few feet away in the employee cubicle section, was catching up with the staff. Suddenly, her male counterpart made an odd, strangled noise, all of us turned just in time to see him as he tumbled backward, feet flying in the air.

   It was minutes before any of us could stop laughing long enough offer assistance. My friend was the first to recover asking if he was all right between her tears. His wife in the meantime, had to sit down and hold her sides. Fortunately, he was only surprised and laughed along with the rest of us. He really was a good sport. I still giggle when I think of the expression on his face.

 Still don't know what became of the sign.

   What is it about chair misfortune that sparks such mirth?

And it is not just me, I bet you have chair memories too!