Porch Sitting

Tuesday 23rd October 2012  

This is a picture of a rocking chair sent to me from a very good blogging friend. I find this topic very fascinating and she has sent me a couple of pictures for me to use in this post. This lady has become a very close friend. I thank her greatly for these wonderful pictures that she has allowed me to use..

Porch Sitting….

Porch sitting, i.e., sitting on a front porch or stoop, usually of a private residence is a leisure activity which can be a direct or indirect form of social interaction. While engaged in “porch sitting”, people may “cat call” or talk to and comment on those passing by. This activity is a staple of most urban areas in the United States, and helps contribute to a lively atmosphere, for those sitting and also those passing by. This activity is most common during good weather, especially on warm summer nights and weekends.

Porch sitting was once considered to be a status symbol.

As well as being a good way to connect with neighbors, it also is an important form of community security, helping to prevent crime. Front porches were originally mandated in the planned community of Seaside, Florida as a way to reduce air conditioning usage. Its planners then perceived an enhanced sense of community and front porches subsequently became an important element in the New Urbanism movement. During the summer of 2006, All Things Considered broadcast a series of stories dedicated to the role of the front porch in US life and literature.

There are now thousands of porch sitters unions in all 50 states in the United States of America and at least three other countries.

                           

History..brief..

Though Benjamin Franklin is thought to be the inventor of the rocking chair there is no historical evidence of this. Historians can only trace the rocking chair’s origins to North America during the early 18th century. They were originally used in gardens and were just ordinary chairs with two rockers at their bottoms. It was in 1725 that early rocking chairs first appeared in England. The production of wicker rocking chairs reached its peak in America during the middle of the 18th century. These wicker rockers, as they were popularly known, were famous for their craftsmanship and creative designs.

                               

Above is another couple of special photographs that my great blogging friend sent me of her porch rocking chairs..They are perfect for this post..

My Want…..  Many years ago way back when, I do not like thinking of it, I had watched films and musicals and old blues artists playing their guitars. We can always see a rocking chair on a porch in the background or as part of the main scene. The black blues musician sitting and rocking and a playing his blues, and Gene Kelly dancing around one, and not to forget ‘The Walton’s’. It has always been a wonder or curiosity of mine, but now my  little bubble has burst and here we are… 

The American icon, no it is not a famous film star, it is not Oprah Winfrey or Dave Letterman.. Yes you guessed it, it is the ‘Porch Rocking Chair..’

After talking at great lengths with my friend I have made it a goal, yes a personal goal, I really want to and intend to sometime to come to America and be part of this American icon and sit in one and play my guitar and apart from singing my own song, I will be rocking gently playing Johnny Cash -I’m Gonna Sit on the Porch and Pick on My Old Guitar. This my ultimate dream and want..I also know which porch to christen my dream..As well as to say while doing this it has become quite emotional for me..so I really do hope ye’all enjoy this post as much as I have in compiling it….

And a very big Thank You to my great friend, and would like to dedicate this post to her….

Famous Rocking Chair

President John F. Kennedy made the P&P Chair Company rocker famous. The President was prescribed swimming and use of a rocking chair by his physician in 1955 because the President suffered from lingering back problems. The president so enjoyed his rocker he brought it on Air Force One when he traveled around the country and the world. He bought additional rockers for Camp David and the Kennedy estates, and gave them as gifts to friends and heads of state. The Kennedy Rocking Chair is shaped, stem-bent and assembled while green according to the original design.                                                                                       Some info gained courtesy of Wikipedia.

          My New Dream….