Thursday, July 31, 2014

Goodbye to My Faithful . . . Chair

Eons ago, when I was still an unpublished author, I sprang for what at the time felt like a really expensive desk chair for someone who'd yet to sell a book. I suffer from a bad back thanks to a serious tobogganing accident in my misspent youth, and so I ordered a chair that was custom built to give me the support I needed. It didn't look like much, but it was a wonderful chair.  Every single book I ever published--and a few I didn't--I typed in that chair. When I moved from Australia to New Orleans, it came with me.

Eventually the fabric began to fray. I thought about recovering the seat, but there always seemed to be something else to do. When it went through Katrina, I refused to set it out on the huge trash pile that lined our street and simply scrubbed it down with bleach. My family said, "Don't you think you ought to get a new chair? That thing is embarrassing." I said, "I know. But it's so comfortable. And it's been with me through so much."

But eventually, the foam seat started to disintegrate. The adjustment mechanisms quit adjusting. Even my cleaning lady (tired of sweeping up bits of crumbling foam) said, "I think you need a new chair." And so, last Mother's Day, we trooped down to Ethan Allen and ordered a replacement. Today, it arrived. Yes, it's beautiful. Yes, it's comfortable. I guess after twenty years and twenty-two books, the time had come.



12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah!!! It is very beautiful. I hope it supports your back for many, many more books to come!!! Sabena

JustWingingIt said...

Yeah, I'd say you were definitely due for a new chair, lol. Love that you kept the red color though so perhaps, even though the chair is new, the spirit remains the same. Here's to many more years of writing!

Veronica

Anonymous said...

C- good for you - if anybody deserves a great chair for writing in its you!!! may you have many happy hours (and many more books) of writing in it. and i too love the color red. best, ali

Anonymous said...

C- good for you - if anybody deserves a great chair for writing in its you!!! may you have many happy hours (and many more books) of writing in it. and i too love the color red. best, ali

Lynne said...

It's gorgeous, Candy...elegant, sophisticated, just the thing for a successful writer! And those foamy guts won't be all over the house anymore. How about pictures of you in the chair for when you're on book tours? I'm thinking it will make you look very impressive:)! Particularly because it's red...yumm...

hwueste said...

Good for you. Success brings comfort to your little backside. Hope this one brings you the happiness and creative juices needed to keep your faithful audience breathlessly anticipating the annual arrival of Sebastian and Hero's next adventures. Keep 'em coming.....

cs harris said...

Sabena, here's to 20 more!

Veronica, I do need that red jolt.

Ali, thank you!

Lynne, my sister has one like it, and when I sat in hers, I was lost.

hwueste, I can also rock it back and forth when I'm thinking.

JustWingingIt said...

Okay, I can't speak for anyone else but I am DYING for something, anything, about the next Sebastian book. A little crumb of info? Yes, I am begging. :)

Veronica

cs harris said...

Veronica, did I ever post the first chapter of WHO BURIES THE DEAD? Or is it the one after that (the one I'm writing now) that you want to know more about?

JustWingingIt said...

You did post the first chapter of Who Buries the Dead and it was wonderful! I'm willing to take any teasers from any book, I'm not picky, but seriously though you can just ignore me. I'm being greedy, greedy, greedy.

Veronica

cs harris said...

Veronica, it is a rather weird book, I must admit. It has all these heads in it...

Susan J. said...

The chair looks very nice, I love the colour. Have you ever tried Tai Chi exercise for your back? My husband used to have a bad back but we've been doing Tai Chi for about twenty years and his back problems disappeared after a few months of starting it. It also keeps us supple and is a good weight bearing exercise for the bones.