Chair Saga (¶1)

When we arrived in country three months or so ago, the work spaces had office chairs that were not uncomfortable to sit in, but they were falling apart, and started to “die” at a rate of about two a week. First the arms fell off, then the upholstery would simply rip or tear, often a castor or two would break in half, and then the weld at the top of the telescoping pedestal that connects to the underside of the chair would break, and that would be it. We managed to ‘conserve’ our chairs until well into April, and in the meantime I discovered that no one knew of any plan to replace the chairs. April 15^th I ordered some new ones, was told the wait would be considerable (three weeks or more). Here is a picture of a chair of the ilk that was here when we got here (observing this particular specimen, which is still functional, is kind of like observing a Tyrannosaurus Rex in Jurassic Park).

I’d like to thank Greg for the package I received yesterday—Thanks, Dude, you have made a positive impact on my snack regimen for weeks to come. I also received an encouraging snail mail from Judy (thank you for your regular notes, they are bright spots in my life), and a MotoMail from my Mom. Congratulations to my Dad, who achieved three gold medals in swimming events at the regional Senior Olympic meet—Dad, keep up the good work, and there may be more gold in your future at the State meet.

Semper Fi, Jon G.