A few years back I attended an outdoor concert at Barrington’s Metra Station unprepared. I didn’t have a car or a folding chair to watch the band. As it happened, I didn’t need one. After exchanging smiles with Karen Cirrincione of South Barrington, she invited me to sit on her bench. Yes, her bench. “Come on, sit down. Enjoy the concert with us,” she said. Curious, I asked, “You brought a bench with you?” Her wide smile indicated I was not the first one to ask her this. “It folds up easily. I bring it so everyone has somewhere to sit.”

Not being one to dismiss the kindness of a stranger, I sat down. We talked and laughed and danced to the ABBA tribute band, then found respite back on the bench. It can fit four to six adults. “The more the merrier,” Karen says.

Since then, I have seen Karen at summer concerts in Barrington and at The Arboretum of South Barrington, always with her bench. She screams at the sight of me and throws her arms up in the air. I do the same. So easily, we have become friends. She says her “meet and greet” bench sits well with the warm summer air, the beat of the music, and friends old and new. “These concerts give me a warm, fuzzy feeling. It’s all about making memories.”

She likes disco and ‘80s music best but will jump in to dance to country music and other genres. At outdoor concerts she’s often accompanied by her “bench girls.” The question they ask before the concert is not “Who’s coming?” but “Who’s on the bench?” Friends of friends, family, and strangers who become friends are always welcome.

Other than serving its role as a social magnet, the bench provides a practical solution. “Some people may be coming from work. They don’t have a chair, so the bench is an easy fix,” Karen says.

Our chance encounter causes me to wonder what the world would be like if we all had a bench. A spot to offer anyone a place to rest, to laugh, and share life’s moments with. I think that would be a wonderful world.