THE OLD RED ROCKING CHAIR
The old red rocker sits out on the porch waiting for someone to settle back for a short rest. It is sort of rugged and really isn't much to look at, but there seems to be a little something special about this old friend.
Great Grandpa David Turner made the old rocker by hand around 1918 for his daughter Lucy to rock her babies. The seat is extra wide and the back nice and tall, just right to rest your head. The arms are wide and worn from countless hands which have rested there. One arm is ragged on the end where Ole Shep chewed years ago. Woven strips of bark in the seat and back seem to curve just enough to feel like a warm hug from an old friend. Hand carved rockers are a little uneven with small ridges that give a thump-ty-thump as you rock. Reminds you of how mamas pat a baby on the back as they rock them to sleep.
Folks say, "Just think of the stories that old rocker could tell". I think it does tell it's story. A quiet time sitting out back watching the wind blow in the trees bring memories flashing through my mind. I can imagine a young Lucy rocking away as she hummed to a baby on her sholder with another child snuggled by her side. My childhood memories are of Lucy sitting there pulling strings from a big bowl of fresh picked garden beans as she chats with a neighbor who stopped by for a visit. Sunday afternoons would find Lucy rocking away visiting with her grown children watching the grandchildren play in the long sloping front yard.
This old friend has been a comfort in hard times too. Seems Mamaw Lucy and others spent a little more time rocking as they sorted through memories of those who have passed on. Through good times and bad the old red rocker waits patiently to rest a weary body, sooth a troubled mind, or offer the contentment of a stroll through memories gathered over the years.
Mamaw Lucy and the old red rocker came to live with daughter Rema after the passing of Babaw John Ellis. Here it offered that special welcome to Mamaw Lucy's great grandchildren and now to her great-great grandchildren. Five generations have enjoyed the special thump-ty-thump of its worn old rockers.
Sometimes at the end of a long day I will sit out back for a while in the old red rocker and watch the wind wave over the trees on the mountain across the way. I wonder if what I hear is the wind in the trees or a soft "welcome" from the old red rocker.
Author
Nancy Short
HOME
MOUNTAIN LORE
INDEX PAGE
Please stop by my home page to sign the Guestbook and let me know what you think of my stories. Come back to visit real soon!
Friends to visit since May 22, 1999. Thanks!
Page Hosted By
Music Courtesy of
FREE Homepages!
Copyrite of Nancy K. Short, 1999. All rights reserved.