As millions of Egyptians yell for their elected president to hand over his authority, I’m grateful on this 4th-of-July-eve that we still have a working mechanism in this country for the peaceful transfer of power and I wonder at the various ways people have decided in the course of history that one person or another will get to make the decisions.
The Scots have used various methods, including the sword and the bludgeon. This is the anniversary of the day in 1996 when Scottish people learned that they would be getting their precious “Stone of Destiny” back.
And here I thought “Stone of Scone” was the way a dyslexic barista refers the 2-day old pastry at Caribou.
But no, it seems The Stone of Scone is an actual rock that royal people have to sit on when they get crowned. So much for the comforts of rank. But whether the current stone is really the stone of legend and lore is open to question, since it has been stolen and moved back and forth over the border that separates Scotland and England. That’s a lot of travel for a chunk of Earth that weighs over 300 pounds. But it might have even more stamps on its passport if it is, in fact, “Jacob’s Pillow” stone from the Bible, as some have said.
Or maybe it’s a meteorite and is not of this Earth at all.
For a rock this thing has a remarkably complicated history. In addition to being stonenapped at least once, several decoy versions are rumored to exist in various places. The original perching place of kings and queens might truly be in Edinburgh Castle waiting to be transported back to London for the next coronation. Or that one could be a forgery and the real stone might be in the town of Arbroath, or maybe it’s hidden inside Dunsinnan Hill. Or perhaps J.K. Rowling had Harry Potter steal it, and it serves as a coffee table in one of her houses.
So the Stone of Scone remains mysterious. Even when you’re looking at it, you can’t be one hundred percent sure you’re really looking at it. But then that’s what you get when you invest so much power in an ordinary thing. It’s the sort of magical transformation that can only be accomplished through storytelling.
Describe your favorite chair.
Trail Baboon 
Good morning. I am afraid that I am a completely typical American male with regard to choice of chairs. It is a reclining lounger. I have had a series of these over the years. The latest was picked to fit in with the other furniture in our front room and doesn’t fit me as well as some we have had, but it is okay. I have no trouble falling asleep in this chair in front of TV fairly frequently. However, I probably could fall asleep in front of the TV sitting on the Stone of Destiny.
LikeLike
Rise and Shine Baboons!
My fave is the antique rocker which sits in my living room. I seemed to bond with this old piece as a child. It comes from dad’s side of the family dating to the 1870’s. I took it to Antiques Roadshow when they came to ST. Paul about 10 years ago. (The guy who appraised it was not very nice–Flahrety was his name. I still boo him when he is on the show). It is quite common to the Midwest during that era, therefore, not worth much monetary value. But my Great Grandmother got it when she married the Norwegian Peter Hoel. There she rocked her 11 babies. It moved with that family to Washington STate and back in the 1890’s when they tried life by the Pacific, then returned to Iowa. My Grandma rocked my dad in it and my parents rocked us in it. I did not have it when my son was little. But now I rock myself in it.
Meanwhile, I took Lou to the airport this morning. He is off to Seattle, then a Geezer Motorcycle trip with his friend Bill (age 78), Bill’s son and his son’s friend. They will travel by the ocean shore, then tour theRedwood National park and return home through the Cascade Mountains.
LikeLike
Jackie, I love the idea of the generations that have been rocked in that chair. Its value, regardless of its worth, is clearly not measurable in dollars. I have an old trunk, made in 1863, sitting in our dining room. I purchased it from an old Danish man in 1961, two years before its 100th anniversary. He sold it to me for 50 Kroner, pretty cheap, but I had to promise him that I wouldn’t paint it, and I never have. The trunk still has its original, very primitive iron key, worn thin by all the hands that have turned it over the years. I love to imagine the stories that old trunk and key have been part of.
LikeLike
LikeLike
Nice! Too bad that the video showing the story behind the man in above video has been blocked due to copyright issues.
LikeLike
When I was redecorating my home, an early purchase was a stuffed chair I found at Room & Board. It struck me as the most comfortable chair I had ever been in: it had the perfect shape, size, height and degree of softness. I called it the Comfy Chair. It was soon obvious that this was a chair anyone could fall asleep in.
Then I developed rheumatoid arthritis. RA will teach you so much about chairs! I learned that many chairs were dangerous, for once I had settled into them I couldn’t rise again without other folks to help me. I attended a seminar at my medical clinic, and it took a big effort from two people to help me rise from that chair. The Comfy Chair had arms built exactly right for me to grip when I needed to get up from the chair. I learned how to rock back and forth, grip the arms and explode upward without anyone’s help. By contrast, my computer chair (an Aeron) had short arms that didn’t help me get up. I had to practice other techniques for escaping from that chair, and sometimes I would try to rise and only get halfway up before falling back.
The Comfy Chair became the center of my world when my RA was at its worst. I would sometimes spend a whole day there, sleeping in it at night. I don’t mean to be gross, but when it was too painful to walk to the bathroom I kept an empty plastic bottle under the chair. I learned to stow everything I needed, like pills and a “grabber,” around the Comfy Chair so I could manage my world when walking was almost impossible.
The RA is nearly all gone now. I can bounce up from any chair in the home like people without RA can do. All the time I spent in the Comfy Chair is evident from the way the fabric is wearing, and I’ve begun to have the complicated emotions toward my chair that I’ve only known when a beloved pet was showing sings of old age. My world is no longer confined to the Comfy Chair, and yet it is still the most comfortable place in my home to be.
LikeLike
My scoliosis issues have made it really hard for me to sit in any chair that is too soft. I have to keep my back really straight in any chair in which I sit, since I have lots of sciatic pain upon standing up from a soft chair. I am very happy to report that after only two physical therapy appointments and doing the exercises that I was assigned, my body is feeling much better. I can’t believe how out of shape I allowed myself to get. I will have to find a way to maintain the flexibility and strength I have gained when i am set loose by the PT. SIgh. That means regular exercise.
LikeLike
Renee, I have similar issues with the lower part of my spine in really bad shape due to arthritis. Exercise is really, really important for the condition to not get worse. Silver Sneakers here I come!
LikeLike
Steve, so glad the RA is nearly gone – do you know what, if anything, you did that helped? (I have a s-i-l…)
LikeLike
BiR, every patient is somewhat indiosyncratic in terms of how RA hits them and what medications (if any) reduce the impacts. I had RA for over a year before my rheumatologist learned that a drug called methotrexate was effective against my RA. The next step in the process involved moving to what is called the “Triplet drug program.” Methotrexate and two other drugs work together. I went on that program in late winter/early spring. I have been getting better and better every week since then. Amazingly, I am more symptom free today than I was even just two weeks ago. It is hard to be precise, but I’d call myself 95% symptom free as of this morning.
I had one rheumatologist who was so wrong for me that I abandoned her after two visits. The new guy is great. I’ll send his name to your private email.
LikeLike
LikeLike
Trust you Dale to confuse the famous Stone of Scone with the slightly less famous Scone of Stone that results from a lack of baking powder.
Currently, my favorite chair is the used Mission rocker I bought for $50 while in college. It was a lot of money for a chair I really didn’t have room for in the dorm, but it has cris-crossed the country with me several times, been the reading and rocking chair when the s&h was still small enough to fit in my lap (seems like yesterday) and is currently surrounded by stacks of books and baskets of yarn.
Then there is my old favorite chair, currently up on blocks in the garage awaiting a re-cover. Classic 50’s square chair with big flat broad arms we used to sit on when our mother used to read to us. Later, I annoyed the entire family by using those arms as really big pin cushions when I would sit in it and sew while watching tv. My folks said they were going to get rid of it at the last move, so I found a service that connects people who want something picked up with people who have a truck who are “going that way” to bring it to the Cities. Looking forward to having that chair back in operating condition.
LikeLike
like the scone of stone
LikeLike
Yes! love Scone of Stone!
LikeLike
Morning all. My favorite chair is my favorite, not because it’s all that comfy but because of the memories associated with it. Like MiG, it’s the rocking chair in my living room. A girlfriend gave it to me decades ago and I finished it and put it in the living room. And rarely sat in it. But then the Treasure came along and the rocking chair became an integral part of our life together. The Treasure had trouble falling asleep for several months after we got home from China… it almost seemed as if she didn’t want to go to sleep. She would pull her hair (the only time she did this) which would keep her awake a little longer. So for the first few months of her life here, I rocked her to sleep in my arms in the rocking chair. Eventually she’d be too tired to even pull at her hair and as soon as she was asleep I could walk her up the stairs and put her in her crib. When she was 10 months old, she stood up and then the next day walked and it was right then that she started falling asleep on her own without having to be rocked and without any hair pulling. So I don’t sit in the rocking chair much any more but I’ll never get rid of it.
LikeLike
I saw that old chair that Dale pictured in Westminster Abbey last February. The stone was not there. I think it is in Scotland.
LikeLike
I guess its official name is St. Edward’s Chair.
LikeLike
my favorite chair is sittng in my warehouse waiting for me to recover it.it is the bog old overstuffed big butt wide armrest model with ottoman to match that was the tv chair when i was growing up. there was a couch and a chair and this was the chair. when my family was divvying up the loot before my parents downsized had the forsight to ask everyone what they wanted. i took the chair and the art and the books
the art turned out to be something everyone wanted in the years that went by but the chair and books they let me have no questions asked. the chair was recovered 3 times so far in its life and the first year or two it is a stiff backed overstuffed chair like all others but after enough sittings the big old back cushion turns into a very mushable pillow that wraps around your torso as you waft in the comfort of the worlds greatest chair. chairs dont recover easily or cheaply these days but its worth it to have a lifelong friend along for the ride. id better get to it so i can enjoy it.
LikeLike
tim, this sounds A LOT like the chair I have in my garage. It would definitely be improved with an ottoman (maybe one that opens up and stores yarn!!!!) If I ever get around to recovering and cushioning mine, I am going to have to figure out an ottoman for it. Such great chairs.
LikeLike
When I was young my Dad and Mom completely rebuilt an old couch. In those days they didn’t have very much extra money and my Dad spend many long hours fixing up our old house. I knew my Dad could do all kinds of repairs. Never the less, I was surprised to find out that he could completely rebuild a couch with my mother’s help.
LikeLike
LikeLike
Morning–
I’ve had a few. One was a straight back wood chair with upholstered seat. Had wheels on the legs. And came from the old ‘Elizabethan Room’ restaurant here in Rochester. You couldn’t take a nap in it, but sitting in it made you feel regal.
Another chair was a low, rounded back chair maybe from the 60’s. Low to the ground, but very comfy.
Out on the deck, my anti-gravity chair…. there’s a chair built for napping.
Shall we talk ugly? My parents had an orange and red paisley couch. They got it when I was a kid. I inherited it with the house. One of the first things Kelly and I bought after our marriage was a couch expressly so I could get rid of that one.
I’ve never liked paisley and I blame the couch.
LikeLike
Our transitions of power are made much smoother with the liberal application of money. Oh…I’m sorry, did I say that out loud?
If I had a favorite chair, I think I’d like to name it “Neptune’s Winnebago.”
LikeLike
OT: today’s Strib has an article about Clayton Moore, the guy who played the Lone Ranger on TV for so many years. My dad met him a few times. Dad did a lot of business with General Mills, so he was in their offices often, and Clayton Moore treated the GM offices as his second home. Dad was clear about one thing: Clayton Moore had more fun being the Lone Ranger than he ever did being Clayton Moore, and it was almost spooky to see how much he lived “in persona.” At the slightest provocation he would yell, “Hiyo Silver, AwAAAAAAAY!” in a voice loud enough to echo throughout the office.
LikeLike
I can’t wait to see Johnny Depp as Tonto. 🙂
LikeLike
Mine is a small stuffed armchair that I took with me when my PDI group, where I worked as office admin., dissolved the partnership. Brought it home in the back of our Suburu. It’s lived in almost every room of the house, is now in the living room. Needs recovering, but has some arm protectors somewhere that could hide the worst. (Both cats died before they totally ruined it.) It’s just the right height that my legs are comfortable on the floor, is just roomy enough that I can curl my legs up if I want, arms not too high… the perfect reading chair.
Anyone else remember a Northern Exposure episode where Maggie gets a new chair that isn’t comfortable for anyone except, finally, Joel Fleischman? (“First Snow”, 5th Season – I just looked this up)
LikeLike
My naughty terrier asks me to tell you all that her favorite chair is any chair with piles of clean laundry on it, especially if she can wedge herself on throw pillows and gaze out of the living room windows. Ginger the cat loves the back of any upholsteredchair when there is an afghan draped over it for warmth and added softness.
LikeLike
LikeLike
Excellent – who are they? (Just says Bob Dylan at the top)
LikeLike
I have no information about that group. I also like the way they did that song.
LikeLike
It always amuses me on those days where I check into the Trail later and discover yet another novel subject! Who’da thunk that one’s “favorite chair” would generate such a run of unique stories??
I have never had anything akin to a “favorite chair”. Many of my fellow esophageal cancer survivors write that they can only sleep in a recliner. The surgery removes both the pylorus and the sphincter; this, in turn, means that only gravity can hold down the stomach’s contents so we must forever sleep in a semi-upright position. For me, this means a couple of pillows positioned atop a foam wedgie.
I do have a spot where I spend 80% of my waking hours: a small love seat in the den. This is also where I see clients, so I can rest up against one arm of the little couch and stretch my legs out during sessions. There is a rather unusual aspect to this over-used arrangement, though. I have a calico cat named Izzy who’s afraid of her own shadow and she’s long since taken to burrowing under the love seat’s slip cover whenever someone else is in the den. My new clients have been pretty startled when they can’t help but notice a big hump moving across the top of the couch from beneath the slip cover! This hump even growls if it’s touched. Most of my clients have yet to even see this fur person as she spends most of her waking hours hiding out. Kinda like her mom.
LikeLike
Fun scenario with Izzy & new client.
LikeLike
I’m thinking this is one of those “there are 2 kinds of people” situations: Those who will notice and say something, and those who will notice and try not to notice.
LikeLike
PSA. If you haven’t seen the notice, we’re moving Blevins Book Club to 1 p.m. (instead of 2 p.m.) on the 21st.
LikeLike
Eight years ago when I had a knee replaced, a friend insisted on bringing over an old raggedy and worn, but very comfortable, recliner for me to use during my recuperation. Up until that point, we had never owned a recliner, and had never considered buying one because we both thought them ugly. During the three months that I sat in that old recliner, it became clear to me that I needed to replace it with something equally comfortable, if not quite so ugly, when we returned it to my friend. My “new” recliner is a mission style leather chair, reasonably attractive and very comfortable; good for reading, watching TV, and if I were better at napping in a chair, would lend itself well to that as well. As it is, it is by far my favorite place to sit if a deck chair on the QEII isn’t an option.
LikeLike
I have another favorite chair, though it’s not so much for comfort – Husband made it by hand. It’s kind of a modern design, which he copied when he saw it in a store window decades ago. Actually went in and took all the measurements there… took him quite a while to make, then he gave it to his dad upon retirement – we have it now.
LikeLike
I have a big old wicker chair on the front porch. I rescued it from an alley where it had been discarded. I like to go out there Sunday mornings with my coffee and the Sunday paper.
I think everyone should have a big old wicker chair for Sunday mornings.
LikeLike
Me too.
LikeLike