Memories

It snowed in Louisiana yesterday.

Real snow – not just a flurry – but from what I read measured in at just over 3 inches in the Baton Rouge area. When I moved south over the summer to escape the harsh conditions which Iowa winter’s provide.

Iowa winter’s are the essence of bitter.

I’ve lived all over the country and there is nothing as desolate as an Iowa cornfield after you’ve been hit by a full night of ice and snow. But when I woke yesterday morning and looked out the window to see the soft, white cover that had befallen the area it made me miss those Iowa winter’ just a little. And this made me think about rocking chairs.

I have a lot of great memories from when I was young and I’m trying to imagine a memory from my youth that didn’t involve, at least in some respect involve a rocking chair, at least in the background of work or play. You see, in much of the Midwest and throughout the country rocking chairs are a staple of Amertican life.

This may sound a bit odd, but most of the good memories I have from my youth involve my Grandfather and most of his life after my birth involved working in his garden and sitting in his favorite wooden rocker. I remember crawling into my grandpa’s lap as he rocked away the afternoon outdoors or in front of the television in the evening while he watched boxing or “Greatest American Hero”.

Remember that show – goofy schoolteacher with a great fro, Ralph, gets visited by an alien race who give him the powers to save the world with the help of an FBI agent who almost killed him with his vehicle. Ralph accidentally loses the instruction manual and hillarity ensues.

ANYWAY, rocking chairs have become a part of the American tradition, and if you think about it hard enough, you may be able to think of a few great memories of your own, whether they are sitting in a rocker on the dock fishing, soothing your child back to sleep during the night in a comfortable glider or just sitting around relaxing on the front porch and slipping lemonaide on a hot summer’s day.

While modern rocking chairs are available in a variety of styles and materials, such as aluminum, wicker and even eco-friendly recycled plastic, they still illicit that feeling of Americana and youth every time I see one on someone’s front porch or resting by the fireplace in the den.

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