The Little Car That Can

Lately I have been fighting some back issues that won't seem to go away. Thanks to a good chiropractor and a good massage therapist, I get periodic relief, but it has become increasingly clear to me that the problem is I spend way too much time in front of a computer.

I had decided that I need a new chair for my home office (and probably one at my work office, as well, but I'm going to see if I can't get the company to pay for that one) that would offer better support for my aging back. This morning when I headed toward the furniture store in Smithville, I did not really think I would find a suitable chair. I had in mind to purchase a new mattress and box spring set. The one I've been sleeping on for the past TWENTY or more years has more than given my money's worth and I made up my mind that I deserved a new bed for my new antique bedstead. And the furniture store was having a great, big sale. I do love sales.

Before I went bed shopping, I strolled around the store to see what else might catch my eye. I had been there less than 5 minutes when I heard a seductive whistle from the vicinity of the office furniture. There sat a beautiful chair that I knew would fit in with my antiques. I sauntered over, gave it a good examination and then sat down. Oh, my goodness. It was soft. It had lumbar support. It had an oak pedestal. It had decorative metal studs. I was in love.

Next to the chair was a very nice barrister's bookcase that was giving me the come-hither, but close examination of it led me to believe I could do better in the bookcase department, so I sat back down for another blissful, cushiony moment and then made myself get up and go in search of the bed department.

After twenty years, I was in for a bit of sticker shock at the current price of mattresses. Once I had recovered from that, I proceeded to lie down, roll around, briefly close my eyes, and savor the comfort of about a dozen mattresses. (I was not the only one performing this weird little ritual. The sale brought out lots and lots of shoppers.) I settled on a mid-price set by Sealy, with a cloud top and a latex foundation. I was very tempted to take a nap right there in the store, it was so comfortable.

The mattress had to be ordered (I get the distinct impression that few people purchase full mattresses these days and in fact even after I specified full, the salesman wrote down queen, which fortunately we discovered before I left the store). The chair, however, was ready to go home with me, provided we could squeeze it into Big Red.

Now, Big Red is deceptive to the casual observer. You would not believe how much you can haul in my baby when you put the back seats down. I had absolute confidence that the chair would slide right in and I would be on my way.

But the awkward angle of the chair back made it impossible to close the hatch top. The men helping me load were standing around considering how easy it would be to disassemble the pedestal and I was getting more apprehensive about how well I would be able to re-assemble it when I got home. That's when I pointed out the nice little anchor rings in the floor of the cargo area and suggested we let me get my bungee cords out of the storage well to hold the hatch down. After all, I only had to drive 11 miles. That was all the go-ahead they needed and before I could blink twice, they had conjured up some twine and had me safe and secure for the ride home.

The only hitch in the whole proceedings was when I unloaded the chair and knocked one of the wooden leg covers off. It took me awhile to figure out how the things fitted onto the metal legs.

I soon had the new member of the household in place and Mojo and I have been trying it out all afternoon. I think it will be a great comfort to my achy back.

The fine weather has brought a resurrection to my soul. After weeks of allergy troubles and back troubles, I have not felt like doing much. But today, once I was home and had Big Red unloaded, I fell in and began clearing out the front flower beds that have gotten so wild over the long, hot summer. While Coco sun-bathed on the back deck, Mojo stood guard as I pulled weeds and cut down errant tree sprouts. We feel a little less like worthless couch potatoes this afternoon. (Coco is still a worthless couch potato. That girl knows how to avoid work in favor of a nice nap in the sun.)

Tonight I head out to see a co-worker in a new play at the Opera House. A group from the office is meeting for some pre-performance appetizers. I fully expect to thoroughly enjoy the evening.

Too bad that the new mattress isn't here yet. It would have been the perfect ending to a very nice day.

LSW