As you go through life, you find
yourself attached to many things. Perhaps a car from your college
days, that first home, or a best friend. We have all found these
things in our life. But I want to talk today about a simple item. For
me it was a simple little office chair.
The year was 1975. Gerald Ford was
President, Vietnam was lost, man stopped going to the moon, and the
Bearcats still had only five State Basketball Championships.
I had recently finished my degree at
Ball State and was getting ready to take that long walk down the isle
and begin married life.
When you are young and starting out in
life, you need many things. And also being young, you don't have a
ton of cash to begin that new life.
I remember my father and I (along with
a tape measure) driving to Sears so we could measure a coffee and
end table. I told the salesman that we needed to measure it and
verify that it would fit in my new apartment.
He swallowed the story hook line and
sinker. My goal was to get measurements so I could go to dad's wood
shop and make my own coffee and end tables. Like I said. No money. So
much for making a fortune as a radio DJ.
Don't worry, I'll get to the chair in
a second.
We also needed a refrigerator and some
basic furnishings. One of my dad's friends came to my rescue.
Tom Feeney did some contract work for
my father at Westinghouse. He had a nice old home off of State Road
Three, north of Muncie and invited me to come out and go through some
stuff he had in storage. I was told I could have any of it for FREE.
Being young and broke, I was not passing up a deal like that.
So off we went to visit Tom Feeney.
Tom was one of the nicest, kindest men
I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Although I did not know him
well, he treated me like one of the family.
I came away with a kitchen table,
chairs, fridge, and a large oak desk. Along with the desk came a
nice black office chair. I am sure there were other items, but
memories fade. After all, it's been forty three years since that day.
The wedding was in April, and we
outfitted our first apartment.
We soon moved to Illinois when I was
hired as Afternoon DJ and Program Director at WTIM radio. So we
outfitted our first house. I had a large office in the basement and
spent many hours at that desk sitting in that black office chair.
Many times, I would think of Tom Feeney and the kindness he showed a
young newlywed, just starting out in life.
In 1979, I was afforded the
opportunity to return to The Muncie area as Operations Director at
WMDH / WCTW radio in New Castle. And we outfitted our second home.
By
this time, the refrigerator had gone to the big appliance center in
the sky, but I still had the kitchen table, the oak desk and that
office chair.
As life progressed the marriage ended.
I moved into an apartment in Muncie. I didn't have room for the desk,
but I did get custody of the office chair.
The chair came with me to Florida in
1989 to my apartment, another house and still another house. It was
the only item from that day in 1975 that I still possessed. I never
wanted to part with my old friend as it was a large part of my life.
I designed a ton of radio stations while sitting in that chair. I
talked to people all over the world on my Ham Radio while sitting in
that chair. I wrote my two novels in that chair. (Hopefully soon to
be published) Many times I would look up and thank that kind man from 1975.
I don't remember seeing Tom after that
day in 1975, but the memory has stayed with me all these years.
After a long and fun career in
Broadcasting, I retired the and of January 2017. My wife Penny and I
downsized from a huge Victorian home we had renovated in 1991. We
moved to a smaller home, but that office chair came with me, and the
memory of Tom Feeney.
However, time had taken its toll on my
old friend. The arms were worn, the seat springs non existent. The
back of the chair leaned like the Titanic on that cold April night.
And when I sat down, that poor chair squealed like Hillary on
election night.
My sweet wife got tired of hearing the
noise all over the house and says to me “It's time to get a new
office chair”
“I can't,” I replied. “I like my
chair.”
“Honey, it's just an old office
chair,” she said shaking her head in disgust.
My heart sank. She just didn't
understand. To me it was more than just an office chair.
To make a long story short, she found
a nice used office chair for me, and tagged along with me to pick it
up in my truck. I think she went along just to make damn sure I
picked it up.
I knew it was time to say goodbye to
my friend. Even though Penny didn't understand my feelings for this
piece of furniture, I knew she was right.
So off it had to go to the big tall
landfill. As a fitting goodbye, as I lifted my old friend into the
back of the Tacoma one of the wheels fell off.
The chair is gone now, but I
discovered that the memories remain. As I sit here in my new chair, I
can still think of Tom Feeney and I can smile as I remember the great
memories that a simple gift from a friend gave me all those years
ago.
This new chair will never mean as much
to me. But then again, I don't have forty three years left to get
attached an office chair.
Life goes on. Penny still doesn't
understand my feeling for a chair. But then again, she doesn't
understand my love of Indiana High School Basketball. After all, she was raised in West Virginia.
(Just kidding, honey)
See you all, next time.
