November 8, 2011 shop online at www.broadcasteronline.com Page 7 LAURA ON LIFE One Good Chair My bedroom also doubles as my of?ce. We do have an actual of?ce in our house, but my husband’s computer menagerie has been procreating, it seems. He collects computer parts and peripherals like some people collect stamps or coins. Unfortunately, computer parts do not ?t neatly into an album. As a result our of?ce has become our computer parts museum. He has everything from a Commodore 64, still in its original box, to a ?oppy drive from the Middle Ages. My bedroom is the only remaining haven where I can write, compose e-mails, and conduct business (like making grocery lists). It stands to reason that I would spend a lot of time in there. For this reason, I need a good chair. The one I had was okay, but the cushioning had gone ?at and I had to place a small pillow in the back for lumbar support. I think that is where I keep my lumbar, anyway. This situation was okay, but not ideal. I would have kept my chair if my husband’s chair didn’t break. It was the second chair he had broken in two years. I saw his misfortune as my ticket to a new chair. The plan? He could take my old chair and I would get a new one for my “of?ce.” Lest you think I was being sel?sh to suggest this, you need to consider my willingness to take his old iPhone when my contract was up so that he could upgrade to the new one. We have a give and take relationship. Sometimes he does the taking and sometimes I do. He wanted a new iPhone. I wanted a new chair. Besides, men’s posteriors are accustomed to sitting for hours on metal bleachers and ?shing boat benches. My chair with its 1/2 inch of padding would be no sacri?ce for my husband. In fact, because he is over 6 feet tall, his lumbar would probably be at least six inches above mine. If my old chair had any support at all, it would ?t his lumbar much better than mine. Finding a chair that would ?t me, however, proved to be quite a challenge. Not only was I looking for more padding in the seat and built-in lumbar support for my irregularly shaped behind, but it seemed the more chairs in which I sat, the more features I decided I needed. The ?rst one that drew my eyes was an executive chair with Laura Snyder ?ne Corinthian leather. It may have been “pleather” for all I know, but it looked like something in which Ricardo Montalban would sit, behind a monstrous mahogany desk. No matter that my “desk” was actually a plastic card table, complete with a calendar, a grammar cheat sheet, a card with the warning signs for a heart attack, various scraps of paper with information I don’t want to forget, and pic- & Dining Entertainment Coyote Twin/ Vermillion624-3546 Theatre 624-3331 • Coyote 1 Nightly 7:00 p.m. Fri., Sat. & Tues. 9:10 p.m. IMMORTALS No Passes PUSS IN BOOTS Fri., Sat. & Sun. 5:00 p.m. Sat. & Sun. Matinees at 1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m. - PG - Coyote 2 TOWER HEIST Nightly 7:00 p.m. • Fri., Sat. & Tues. 9:10 p.m. Sat. & Sun. Matinees at 1:00 p.m. and 3:10 p.m. Vermillion Please -R- - PG-13 - JACK & JILL Nightly 7:00 p.m. • Fri., Sat. & Tues. 9:00 p.m. Sat. & Sun. Matinees at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. - PG Check us out online at www.marchfilmsinc.com No Passes Please tures my children have drawn for me over the past 5 years, scotchtaped to the wall behind it. Yeah, okay, leather was too cold to sit on anyway. I needed a cloth chair. A high back would be nice, too, in case I wanted to rest my head. Truthfully, if I wanted to rest my head, I could walk 5 feet to my left and crawl into my bed. However, writers have to be disciplined. I can’t lie down simply because I’m tired. If I had a “real” job, I’d be ?red. So, I decided a high back is a must. I wouldn’t want to be forced to ?re myself. It would be awkward. Armrests are really unnecessary, but they are a luxury I can’t resist. I thought it would be nice to not have to support my arms all by myself. Sometimes you just have to pamper yourself. When I ?nally lit on a chair that met my many criteria, I bought it and brought it home. To add extra fuel to the ?re of my husband’s envy, I asked him to help me build it. I could see that he was as jealous of my new chair as I was of his new iPhone, but he took my old chair, knowing that his only other option was perching on one of his 1980’s CRT monitors. Considering his habit of breaking chairs, he wouldn’t want to take that chance with the contents of his computer museum. Laura Snyder is a nationally syndicated columnist, author & speaker. You can reach Laura at lsnyder@lauraonlife.com Or visit her website www.lauraonlife.com for more info. Tell them you saw it in the Broadcaster! 624-4429 BUY ANY COMBINATION 1-27, 2 DRINKS & GET A COMBINATION FOR 1/2 PRICE (of equal or lesser value) with coupon Not valid with any other offers or discounts. 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Monday & Tuesday, Nov. 14 & 15 7pm Marshaltown Schoolhouse Directions: 10 miles N. on Hwy 50 on University Road or 1.5 miles South of Hub City on University to Marshaltown St. then east 1 mile. Sponsored by USD Department of Political Science and the Vermillion Area Chamber & Development Company Legislative Affairs Committee