Ubiquitous

Ubiquitous comes in multi colors, one material, and slight tweaks in design. The adjective used to be called on to identify phone booths, the ones, usually red, that once appeared on street corners and had a door that closed for privacy and quietness. Now I think it certainly calls to mind those extra yard chairs that can be found on grassy spots, front porches, or even in abandoned lots. Safari has a site for images of plastic chairs and a designation for them. They are defined as monoblocs. When you see a stack, you have no idea where in the world you are.

In the beginning, the first ones were wooden. The slant back and wide arm rests were constructed in 1903 by Thomas Lee for use at his family retreat on Lake Champlain in the Andirondack Mountains, hence the name. They could easily be constructed from 11 pieces of wood. The incline was perfect for moments of doing nothing. David and I even spent mornings in them on a Chesapeak Bay vacation while watching children taking sailing lessons. On the downside, they were cumbersome to move, and swinging legs over the extension for stretching out while pulling yourself up from reclining took more strength than grace.

In the 1960’s, designers started utilizing the material of the future: plastic. Some are still shaped to recline. Some are more chair like and can be pulled around a table if needed. Best of all, they can be stacked and found at hardware chains or mom/pop stores for a reasonable cost. Most are white, yet I’ve seen colors of the rainbow. You almost ignore them until one in an unusual place catches your eye. For a while Jen Thiel collected photos of the chairs. Among the his favorites are one of a plastic chair in a hiking camp on Mount Kilimanjaro, and another taken outside a library in northern Afghanistan of a man sitting on one while toting a gun.

Few lawns in the area I walk are without one – and usually two. I have four green ones that came with the house and two tan ones purchased because they were more upright. Four houses away, a group of young couples bring their chairs to make a large circle in the driveway for virus visiting, sending laughter and voices down the street. I’m tempted to make this a contest. Send in your story or chair picture and win an ice tea bag for participating. Unsettling circumstances still reign, and ordinary work fills a day. In the evening, tasks are completed, the temperature drops, a breeze picks up. The time comes to find a shady spot, take a seat and settle for a rest.

They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid.

Micah 4:4