It may have been a sleepless mother or father of a new infant, who could see the advantages of a chair that gently moved back and forth in a swaying motion of comfort. Many folks enjoy kicking a chair back on its hind legs and sitting that way; as long as the chair doesn’t slip or the legs break . Whatever the inspiration, I’m grateful for the invention. There’s nothing like a rocker.
A rocking chair just symbolizes calm to me. It beckons you to come sit and take a load off your feet… and your mind. There is Rocking Chair Therapy for convalescents, and for people with diseases that cause the urge for repetitive motion. The motion of rocking has proven to aid digestion, and keep muscles and tendons flexible in the elderly. Songs have been written about these moving chairs; Old Rockin’ Chair and Rockin’ Chair Blues for instance. I had a friend who would refer to men, that he didn't think worked as hard as they should, as "being in the rocking chair" ; making movements, but never really going anywhere.
Whatever your personal likes about a rocker, everyone agrees that it is relaxing. Cracker Barrel, and a few other restaurants, found that having rocking chairs on the porch and in the waiting areas didn’t only make the place look folksy and welcoming; they soothed weary drivers and impatient folks waiting to get a table. Executive offices often have desk chairs that rock; a tension reliever for sure. People just feel compelled to sit and rock when they see these chairs, especially old wooden ones. We Americans love rockers. Patty and I have four rockers at home.
Our back porch has two rockers adorning it. Patty and I love to sit in these chairs and take in the sight and smell of the blossoming fruit trees in the spring and the flower beds in summer. We sit in these comfortable seats to break beans and shuck corn after the harvest, or to pick walnuts or pecans. We sit in them a lot at the end of each day and talk. Our joys, fears, sorrows and even disagreements are often expressed from the comfort of these rockers. Yes we love to sit there and talk. And sometimes, well… we just sit.
I love to watch the fading sun lower on the western horizon from my rocker, and feel the quiet of evening settle the business of the day.We love our outside rockers. We have inside rocking chairs too.
One old chair belonged to my great-great-aunt. She and her husband owned a furniture store in the early 1900’s. I’m guessing that this ornate oak piece was one they purchased way back then.Anyway, it has a bit of history with it. My aunt was sitting in this particular rocker when someone tried to kill her. A shot was fired through the window at her; the bullet hit the Bible in her hand at an angle, and deflected to the next chair. The deflected bullet killed her husband, my great-great-uncle. A cousin went to prison for the murder; but most folks believed it was his girlfriend (who my aunt vehemently disapproved of) that actually pulled the trigger.
The fourth rocker at our house is an old oak rocker that I received as a gift from Patty not long ago. I wrote about it a little in the blog titled “Mark Twain Christmas Walk”. I found it in a Hannibal, Missouri antique store. The chair reminded me so much of the rocking chair that my Great Grandma Armstrong had in her room, and sat in so much of the time. The last time I visited with her she was sitting in that old rocker, laughing and talking. I resisted buying the 'Mark Twain' piece, but my wife knew how much I wanted it, and arranged to have it purchased for me for Christmas. It's a grand old piece of sitting furniture, and I often wonder what stories that old chair could tell.
It is a love affair that I have with old rockers. When I think of the books read while sitting in them, or the stories told from them, I know that rockers creak through many miles in their lifetimes .
I think of the fretful babies quieted, the songs softly sung, letters from overseas anxiously read, and the evening hours spent reflecting, in a wooden chair that moves peaceably back and forth. Like an old boat riding the waves of time, an old rocking chair gently moves generations of folks through a lifetime of memories. Kids love them, old folks love them, and I think we all need them... to help bring a little piece of mind to ourselves now and again.
This piece of Americana is a wonderful addition to any house that becomes a home. A house without a rocker seems to me to have an empty space, a void inside it. To me, an old rockin' chair is just, well, part of the family.
If you’re ever by the Chicken Ranch, drop in. Pattys’s a great hostess and the chickens are friendly. If you drop by some evening, there’s a mighty good chance I’ll be on the back porch, just sittin' in my chair, lookin' out over the flowers to the West…rockin’.
My Great Great Aunt Noras' Rocker My " Mark Twain" rocker
