Writings in the Sand

A View From Below (the desk)

I was considering a few ideas for the blog this morning, some of them topical, some philosophical. But, as I type this, I am sinking below the level of the keyboard, and below the high-toned conversations I intended to have on important questions of the day. The only question on my mind right now is: "Why does my chair hate me?"

Finding the right chair from which to conduct all online business is a serious matter. And for many years this chair provided all I could desire. It was adjustable to a perfect height, it swiveled for easy exit or even just for dramatic flair, and it didn't roll away out from under me too quickly. I had a chair with fast rolling wheels once that threw me onto the floor and then I couldn't sit for a week.

No, this chair doesn't roll too easily. In fact, it barely rolls at all. I don't mind that. I don't mind the spots where the fabric on the seat is torn or unsightly. That's what they make duck tape for.

By the way, "duck tape" is the original name for the tape. I know it sounds wrong, which is why many people assume it must be "duct tape" and also because you're much more likely to need to securely tape ducts than you are ducks. Taping ducks sounds like animal abuse. The name "duck tape" refers to the waterproof material from which it was originally made. It's also a brand name. Nowadays however, the term "duct tape" is just as widely used to describe the product, and most people don't care what you call it as long as you have some when something needs to be repaired or the ducks get loose.

So, the ratty appearance of the chair doesn't bother me and it never tries to pitch me out by speeding across the hardwood floor. The only direction that this chair goes unbidden is down. I've just had to stop typing in order to get up and raise the chair to desk level. This is the third time since I began this blog post. Already it is ratcheting down an inch at a time. I can continue typing for a bit, until the chair is so low that I am reaching up to hit the keys.

Someday, I will need a new chair. But new chairs are not broken in to fit personal contours. New chairs roll too well. I don't feel that I have the patience to break in a new chair or to wait for enough cat hair and lint to gather around the wheels to form a natural brake. This chair doesn't always lower me to the floor, after all. Sometimes, it goes for tens of minutes at a time without losing height. It's the devil you know, isn't it? Sometimes, it's better to take a little duck tape and patch up the problems as best you can, than it is to buy new problems that duck tape can't fix.