The
Old Coot is off his rocker.
By
Merlin Lessler
I
took a test ride the other day. In a rocking chair! I don’t know why. It just
dawned on me that I hadn’t been on one in years and wanted to experience it
again. Just like I did with a swing set at the park last year. I thought it
would be relaxing and help work out some of the kinks in my aging, muscular-skeletal
structure. It’s what JFK did quite often when he was president, to relieve his chronic
back pain from injuries he suffered during World War ll.
It’s
a really clever device, the rocking chair; it eases back pain; it helps your knee
and hip joints and reduces stress. Feeling nervous, edgy, stressed out? Take a
ride in a rocker. It’s much better than plopping down on a sofa or a plush
recliner. The rocking motion stretches muscles, tendons and all that other junk
that makes up your anatomy. Your whole
body benefits when you limber up in a rocking chair. It has the same rejuvenation
benefit that the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz received when Dorothy oiled his
joints.
The
rocking chair hasn’t been around all that long. Most historians credit it to
American ingenuity, invented by an unknown woodworker in the 1700’s who took
the idea of curved rockers on cradles and applied the concept to a simple
wooden chair. People tried it; they liked it. The rest is history.
It’s
not just old guys like me who can benefit from a rocking chair. Young people
too. Especially, moms (and dads) with new babies or young toddlers. You get
double duty from a rocker; the baby settles down and you do too. It even works with
antsy, twitchy kids; don’t make them stand in a corner; let them rock it off in
a rocker. It works better than Ritalin in some ways.
Some
people, mostly men, can be seen rocking in a chair without rockers, tilting
back and forth on a four-legged kitchen chair, sitting backwards with their
arms resting on the chair back. Every so often they rock beyond the point of no
return and crash to the floor with arms flailing as though making an angel silhouette
in fresh snow. You can see this “man in flight” performance every once in a
while, on America’s Funniest Videos. Save yourself from an appearance on national
TV and get a rocking chair. I’m going to.
Comments?
Complaints? Send to mlessler7@gmail.com
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