DEAR ABBY: I am among that growing segment of our population known as "the graying of America." Many of us require couches and chairs we can comfortably sit on and gracefully rise from without strain. Younger people with "athletic knee" or back problems are in similar situations.
I recently moved from my home of many years to a retirement village apartment. I willingly abandoned my sofa and chairs, knowing they would be difficult for me and my contemporaries to use.
In the Cincinnati hospital where I went for physical therapy, the waiting room was furnished with couches and chairs that were much too low to be practical. (I chose to sit on an end table.)
I fervently hope that designers will consider our need for couches and chairs from which we can comfortably rise. -- MRS. VIRGINIA HARRY, DAYTON, OHIO
DEAR MRS. HARRY: Thank you for a letter that I hope will inspire designers to come up with some useful furniture for a growing market of consumers.