I can understand how writing something less than flattering about a political figure, athletic team, region of the country or hot dog condiment preference can raise the ire of readers. It is widely known that people have strong feelings about such topics — even stronger, I have learned, if they are misspelled.
But sometimes I am surprised to learn a news story I’ve written that I felt so uncontroversial as to be worthy of a spot in my “Benign-Boring†clip file can produce howls of outrage.
A case in point is the blockbuster I produced for Friday’s paper that appeared under the headline “Upscale tent camping comes to 4 state parks.†It was about a new arrangement between the state parks system and an Airbnb-type outfit that books stays at non-roughing it campsites across the country.
The West Virginia State Parks sites will be equipped with pre-pitched canvas wall tents outfitted with queen-size memory foam mattresses, end tables and propane heaters.
The tents are perched atop raised wooden decks that are also furnished with Adirondack chairs — those low-slung, high-backed outdoor easy chairs with extra wide arms for holding snacks and drinks and supporting seating adjustments.
The chairs, designed by Thomas Lee, first appeared in the early 1900s on the shores of Lake Champlain in the small Adirondack town of Westport, New York, where Lee had a summer home, according to “How Things Work.â€
Using Lee’s design, Westport carpenter Harry Bunnell began building and selling the chairs, designed for stability on Champlain’s sandy beaches. They caught on with the locals, prompting Bunnell to patent the chairs in 1904 after modifying the initial design to make them a bit narrower.
While I have no strong opinions about Adirondack chairs, I have sampled a few and found them comfortable enough to doze off in, but, like everything not sold in a discount store, too expensive for my taste.
But, according to a reader who responded by email to the story shortly after it appeared in the newspaper’s online edition, “Anybody who has tried to get comfortable in an Adirondack chair knows it’s impossible,†adding that “even the locals in upstate NY don’t use them,†except as props “for the tourists.â€
According to the reader, the selection of Adirondack chairs as outdoor furniture for the new state park campsites “is a good example of the total lack of competence that exists in government. These people are completely worthless,†he vented, “and the lapdog media is just as bad.â€
He went on the suggest that any media outlet failing to challenge the deployment of Adirondack chairs at state park campsites, “while the thinking man or woman would prefer rocking chairs,†is likely to give the governor a free pass for alleged misdeeds, ending his missive by calling me and my colleagues “fakers.â€
In response, three things come to mind.
Maybe instead of Adirondack chairs or rockers, car seats should be placed on the campsite decks to provide a touch of rustic authenticity “for the tourists.â€
Maybe I’ve been played by a master, instead of insulted by a disgruntled conspiracy theorist who hates large wooden lawn chairs. if so, well played, sir.
If not, maybe someone needs to get a bit more fiber in his diet before responding to a soft-hitting newspaper article.
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