September 29, 2006

Distance

CP and I attended our first concert in our town’s new megamillion-buck symphony hall last evening to the tunes of Ravel, some other composers we never heard of, and Branford Marsalis playing classical alto sax of all things. 

It’s not easy to concentrate on the music down there. Though the acoustics are splendid, the opulence gets in the way. Even the New York Times recently scolded us for that.

Less noticeable but no less important, the hall is about three inches too tall. CP is five-two and, in some venues, just a tad short to reach the ground when seated. We remedy that at home with rather attractive footstools here and there where needed. What, however, does one do when left suspended out in public for a couple of hours at some performance, no matter how intriguing, when circulation begins its inevitable distraction?

It occurred to us that there may be a potential cottage industry lurking herein. Why not devise an attractive portable, maybe needlepointed, footstool? It could be about the size of a purse or a small briefcase and capable of being inflated or unfolded just to fit the distance (S, M, L, XL)  between one’s feet and the floor. Our new hall has conveniently located wet bars where these could be offered as an additional courtesy, of course, for a small fee. Or it could simply provide adjustable seats to enhance the opulence.

OoN welcomes suggestions, designs, other ideas.

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