Fifty years ago on a shady street in a sleepy Ohio river town, it was, on any given summer day, the most coveted seat in the neighborhood.
It sat on the high porch of paternal grandparents Granny and Pop (Mildie and Hap to the neighbors) and when sat upon, became an entertainment center.
For the world — albeit the small world that was upper Vine Street in Martins Ferry — was at the beck and call of those who partook of the old green glider couch with its stiff, plastic-covered foam cushions and relentless musty smell.
Not only could grandparents keep a close eye on the country grandkids playing with the sometimes risque city kids, the comings and goings of the neighbors would be noted. It wasn’t to feed any block grapevine but rather to offer a hearty “Hello! What’s new?” or a “Where are you off to?” and a “Goodbye!”
But more often than not, the glider offered the kind of rejuvenative respite that seems so lacking these days. It was, even for a kid, home to a series of wonderfully contemplative moments as life’s background rhythms complemented those of the squeaking glider moving to and fro on its horizontal track.
A long search for a new glider, built in similar fashion to the old, ended in the summer of 2015. It’s a darn good reasonable facsimile of the Ohio glider, though “Caribbean blue” instead of forest green and with more of an arcing, rocking motion than the truly horizontal movement of old.
The glider will return to its place of honor for another summer after a fresh coat of front porch paint is applied and fully dries, hopefully in the next few weeks. Then, as each day begins to fade, neighborhood kids (and even some of the younger parents) once again will compete to sit on — and giggle about — this newfangled old contraption.
But once they’ve departed, it will be my turn. And each night, with eyes closed and with life and glider rhythms in sync for another season, the soul will be transported back to a lovely little place during a lovely little time.
Colin McNickle is a senior fellow and media specialist at the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy (cmcnickle@alleghenyinstitute.org).
