MONROE, MICH. – Lafayette, Tenn., resident John Spencer counts himself among the lucky ones, thanks to his furniture. His home was destroyed, along with those of hundreds of other Macon County residents, in a massive tornado outbreak that swept across the southern United States on Feb. 5, but Spencer made it safely through the storm – while sitting on his La-Z-Boy furniture.
“Normally they’ll say when there’s (a storm) coming, but I missed that,” said Spencer. “I was sitting on my furniture and I didn’t really hear the storm coming – and all of a sudden the windows were blown out.”
When rescue officials arrived nearly two hours later, they found Spencer’s house – and all of his possessions – completely destroyed. Amazingly, Spencer survived without a scratch – and so did his La-Z-Boy recliner.
“The wind tried to pull me out of the recliner, but I (thought) no, I’m just going to sit back and relax a little bit – and then it was over,” said Spencer. “I lost everything except for my chair, and I guess I happened to be in the right spot at the right time.”
Although Spencer is currently staying with his daughter, he is looking for a new place to live. And thanks to La-Z-Boy, he will be able to furnish his new home. Upon hearing his incredible story, La-Z-Boy gave him the gift of comfort – a $1,000 (USD) gift certificate that he can use on new La-Z-Boy furniture to match his “lucky” recliner.