The Lawsons did Dallas!

A Man and His Chair
July 8, 2007



Geeze louise...I'm trying to be funny, but my dang husband won't stop talking about fly fishing. I'm glad he has a hobby, but in my opinion, the only thing on this planet that's less funny than fly fishing is a puppy dying of heatstroke.

But I shall persevere, and try to think of something amusing while Jared clammers on about bugs made out of feathers and other junk like that.

Anywho...

This is my Unce Bill. And that is his favorite lawn chair. Depending upon your point of view, it can be classified in one of two ways--vintage or white-trashish. We all remember these chairs from the 1980's--when they were already old. They make that alarming crackling sound when your ass hits the mesh, the metal armrests either singe or freeze the skin off your forearms (depending on the weather), they take up half the trunk space in a Crown Victoria, and they look particularly nice in front of a 30 year old trailer home.

When I arrived at the Fourth of July parade last Wednesday, my Uncle Bill was happily planted in his beloved chair sipping on a coffee.

I was like, "Uncle Bill...you still have that chair?!?!"

He said, "Oh yeah. This is a good, strong chair Amy. And I wrote my name on it with permanent marker. I've never lost it after all these years."

So I took out my camera and said, "Ok. Well, sit right there, I want to get a picture."

As you can see, he happily obliged.

Then I said, "Now stand up, I want a close up of the chair all by itself."

Uncle Bill deeply chuckled and asked, "Why?"

And I answered, "Because I want the world to know that ESPN's Vice President of Productions, sits in a chair like this. I think they'll be surprised."

Yes, you read that right. My Uncle Bill has one of the most rockin' jobs in the universe. He was one of the very first employees at ESPN, and has grown with the company ever since. I'm assuming he's broken the $25,000 mark by now--so you can see by his chair that he is quite humble...and thrifty, too!

No, he won't get you a job.

But if you're interested, here's a very fitting quote of my uncle's that I found online:

"The Holy Grail for TV facilities [or lawn furniture] has always been reuse," says Bill Lamb, ESPN’s VP of systems engineering and electronic maintenance. "You make [or buy] it once and you reuse it as many times as effective."

**the words in the brackets we're added by me, but I'm quite sure that Uncle Bill would endorse them wholeheartedly**