Butch: Everyone Should Have a Porch Swing

   As I mentioned in an earlier column, very few new homes have an open front porch nowadays. That’s a shame, because I believe every house needs a front porch, and along with it…a porch swing. The farmhouse that I lived in as a youngster had an open front porch that was eight feet wide and as long as the front of the house. For our family, it was like another room and we spent many hours there…playing, working, relaxing and watching the world go by. My earliest remembrance of the porch, at approximately age 4, was securing a towel around my neck with a safety pin, letting it drape down across my back, and then running the length of the porch to leap off the far end with outstretched arms…”It’s a bird, it’s a plane…it’s Superman!”

   At some point in time Dad built a large wooden swing and hung it from the porch ceiling. I enjoyed sitting in that swing, especially in the evenings when there was a cool breeze, or on a rainy afternoon. Even during a thunderstorm, I always felt safe in that swing. Through the years, each member of my family spent time in the old swing. My mother often sat in it, gently rocking my baby sister and baby brother as she fed them their bottle. To earn extra money for our family, Mom took in sewing and stitched many a garment while sitting in the swing. After a hard day’s work, Dad liked to sit in the swing after the evening meal, with a glass of ice tea or lemonade, newspaper in hand, and watch the cars go by on our county road.

   One of my sisters played with her dolls while on the swing, and if she had friends over to stay the night, the two of them would sit and talk about the myriad of things that girls enjoy talking about. My brother and I made our own three hole golf course and a baseball diamond in the front lot. After playing for hours and hours, it was nice to grab a popsicle and sit in the porch swing to cool off and relax. If we heard a car coming down the road, we often played a game where we tried to guess what color it was…or who was driving. One day we began rocking back and forth a bit too hard…to see how high we could go…and pulled out the eye bolt, which the chains were attached to, from the ceiling…and subsequently crashed to the cement floor. But thankfully there was no damage to the swing, and Dad drilled another hole to reattach the bolt.

   When Dad could no longer make a decent living as a farmer, and my folks moved to town, they took the old wooden swing with them and hung it on their new front porch. They spent many an hour on that swing, and many of their neighbors did, too…enjoying a cold drink or cup of coffee and talking about all of the goings-on at school and in the community. That wooden swing remained there for many more years until my folks passed away. I often wonder how many stories…and jokes…and conversations…that old wooden swing heard through the years.

    After your evening meal, instead of turning on the TV, or getting on the computer or your iPhone, wouldn’t it be great to head out to your front porch…perhaps take a magazine or good book with you…a cup of coffee, hot chocolate, or cold drink…and sit in your swing and just relax? Take a deep breath. Peace and quiet. The world’s problems can wait.

John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 36 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.