bob reeder and i have decided that we will buy nohrnberg a chair, that he can put outside his office door, for students to sit in while waiting to see him. waiting outside his office is an integral part of the nohrnberg experience, and a chair would benefit generations of students to come, so we're leaving him a practical and lasting legacy before we both graduate, i said self-importantly. it would really be a present for ourselves, he pointed out, as we're the one's who are always waiting to see him. von says i'm dreaming if i think i can get a nice looking chair for less than $100, but bob and i think that we can turn it into a project, if we chip in $30 each, and ask the renaissance graduate list if anyone wants to contribute to the norhnberg chair fund. do you think we can raise $100 for it? actually, do we want to leave a chair that costs hundreds of dollars in the corridors of bryan hall even if no one in this school may steal it? besides, it's for us mortals, not nohrnberg to sit in, so we aren't exactly looking for a throne. can't be nicer than his own chair, you know. we went down the corridor and sat on every chair there was to find out what kind was coolest. (if you want to know, it's deborah macdowell's. it sags and looks grubby, but is cushily satisfying to the derriere, and has arm rests) i've looked online but shipping in most cases is so expensive we might as well save it for buying a better chair in cville. i considered ottomans and bean bags and inflatable chairs too, but those are undignified, and might make things hard for the cleaners. and i thought of a rug, that could be kept rolled up and unrolled if anyone comes along, and you could sit meditatively on it, but i'm afraid it'd be pinched, or people would wipe their feet on it thinking it was a welcome mat. hm. suggestions from people or knowledge of chairs to donate, email me.