When our son, Rich, was somewhat newly married, his bride, Cynda, spotted the makings of a porch swing at an area auction. I say "makings" because it was apparently in pieces, as she now describes it these 20-some years later, in a heap -- but with all the pieces there.
She says now that, had she known, as she does now, that his construction abilities were not top-notch, she would not have been so confident in buying the pieces and expecting a finished product. But, being a starry-eyed newlywed, she had every confidence that he would come through. And he did, reconstructing the old porch swing, fitting the wood pieces with the screws and chains until it was ready to hang on the front porch of their new-to-them old house in Siloam Springs.
There the porch swing hung for many years, as they spent romantic interludes on their front porch. Then a little boy was born into the family and enjoyed the rhythm of the swinging. Visitors came by and enjoyed a sit-down on the front porch, as a front porch is meant to offer in many cultures and many ages. Now when the little boy was three years old, they decided to take him from his Siloam Springs family (oops, that was an editorial comment from Grandma) and they all moved to California. The old porch swing stayed behind. And that was the end of that, they thought.
They have lived in a number of homes since that time, in California and now in Galveston, Texas. In their Galveston home, there is a porch swing on the big front porch of their large, older home. But, apparently, there has not ever been, in Cynda's heart, a replacement for the Siloam Springs porch swing.
So when they recently returned here for a visit, their time included a drive past the "old place" and she noticed the old porch swing, at the side of the house in the yard, and her heart jumped. She determined to try to have it again.
They stopped at the property but found no one at home to inquire about the porch swing. Later that day, Rich drove back by, as she and other family members strolled in the much-improved downtown streets, stopping in at the little shops now found there.
When we all gathered back at our home, Rich arrived with, Voila! the beloved swing in hand! He had found another young couple at the house, with another little one in their family. The swing was still assembled, just sort of neglected and laid aside. They said they had intentions of rehanging it in time. Rich told them his sentimental story, offering to pay them for it of course, until, as he jokingly told it, he discovered he had very little cash in his pocket! But that didn't matter; they were also romantics at heart, no doubt, because they said he could have it. We all rejoiced with them on their good fortune in finding a generous young couple on Cornell Street.
So he hauled it back to our house, washed it off with our garden hose and the help of the long-ago little boy now an almost 17 years old, laid it on our entry walk for display and for drying off.
It will find a happy home on their big Galveston porch, probably never to leave their possession again, wherever they might live in the future.
-- Jan Mullikin is a Siloam Springs resident and former employee of the Herald-Leader. She can be reached at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 07/23/2014