There is nothing so beautifully utilitarian as a metal folding chair. I’m sitting in a small orderly array of such chairs now, in a church basement, and noticing for the first time the triangles, lines, and curved surfaces that, when opened, lock into each other ironly with simple little rivets and design. It will accept the exact weight you bring to it and give that weight a certain rest. And with a flip up of the seat, this whole organization can snap into a neat iron silhouette for leaning and stacking.
I’m looking at an empty chair off to my right front and thinking about it. I’ve remembered from somewhere that triangles are the strongest shape; when a force is added to a triangle it is spread evenly through all sides. I think also that the clean lines and gentle curves complement each other, and the dull color keeps it knowing what it is. Nothing gaudy here.
Because of the job I held for most of my adult life, I had to regularly plan and/or be a part of numerous functions and ceremonies wherein dozens, and occasionally hundreds, of folding chairs were used. I became familiar with chair sets of varying designs and materials with different types of rolling racks for stacking, etc. Chair setup for functions is an art, an art that has some OCD fun in it, and so we’d always set up the chairs with razor precision. Setup and breakdown became science.
And, to really make the case for folding chairs, we have to say that folding chairs attend most of life’s most memorable moments: births, deaths, & weddings of course—but also award ceremonies, sporting events, fairs and music festivals, and parties to celebrate one thing or another. You get the association.
But I’m not talking about that kind of chair.
I’m talking about a church basement metal folding chair. And this morning we are talking about Ernie, what a character he was, and how we’ll miss him. Up until yesterday, he would have been sitting in that folding chair over there, against that wall, with his Sharon. Many people here have known Ernie for a very long time and there is largely a sad and warm collective processing going on here today.
There are so many triangles in AA. When a force is added to it, it will be spread evenly through all sides. And it will accept the exact weight you bring to it and give that weight a certain rest.
Penultimate 