Far Out Futon

From 2009 August

In the Fall of 1990 Frank French of Far East Futon Company made a futon for Mary and me. A great big 8-inch thick, king size futon. He also made some pillows for the bed and some bolsters for our couch. Mary was pregnant with Caitlin at the time and we asked if he could make a mattress for a cradle. He, of course, did but he refused to charge us for that piece saying he would not make money from a baby. We brought that futon home in the hatchback of Mary's beloved Nissan Pulsar.

They were sweet folks at Far East Futon. I had no clue of the musical connections at the time. I was just keen on getting a big deep futon and happy to have found someplace like that. Now I have a bit of fanboi-ish glee knowing that it was made by someone who also has so many connections to music that I enjoy: Indigo Girls (a concert Mary and I will never forget), Drivin'N'Cryin, and others.

I have really liked that futon from the day we got it. It has been the best mattress I have ever slept on. It is the perfect firmness: very, very. Mary and I, with the kids joining in for quite a while and sometimes a cat before they were banished (sorry, allergies), have slept on it for 19 years. I still really, really like that futon. A lot.

Mary liked it mostly at first. She tolerates it now, but just barely. A few years ago I had to get a foam topper to appease her enough to keep it for a few more years. But really she has had enough of the futon. It is just too firm for her. It has been agreed that she gets to choose the mattress that we will have for the next 19 years. She promises to make a choice that will be as good as the one I made.

When we switch to something else we'll have to do something with this wonderful, beloved, comfortable (yes, dear, cutting it out now), massive futon. The first thought was to give it away to someone who could use it. That might still be what we do because that would be a good thing. But it would be gone then. I decided that I would really rather keep it, if I can. Caitlin also mentioned she wants a futon to sleep on for her room (that's my girl).

So, I want to have this big ol' futon broken down into two or four smaller ones. Unfortunately, the Far East Futon Company is not in business any longer. It would have been really cool continuity to have them remake it into the new ones, but, oh, well. If we can't find someplace nearby that will do it a reasonable cost, we will just have to do it ourselves. When I mentioned this, and Nelson chimed in on how that would be a good idea, Mary said for us to just have fun with that.

I'm not quite sure how we'll do it yet, but we will either end up with a big pile of raw cotton or a few smaller futons that will last, I would hope, for another 20 years. Yeah, that would be far out.