The Swing Porch

by Sarah Clark
(Oxford, Michigan)

Porches can be nothing more than a couple cement steps and a landing or they can be as impressive as the one at the Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island,Michigan. Most porches fall in between somewhere but, regardless, summer and a porch were meant for each other.

Before we moved to the church house property some years ago, we had a turn of the century house with 3 porches; one being screened in and included a porch swing. We lovingly called it the “Swing Porch”.

It was a cozy spot reached from a door off the dining room where we could sit and read the paper and catch a breeze on a warm afternoon or evening. It proved to be the perfect spot to hold a baby and swing the child to sleep or to catch a few winks ourselves.

As our girls got a little bigger, it was understood that green beans always tasted better when they were snapped and prepared for dinner while sitting on the porch swing. And didn’t all those Laura Ingles Wilder books come to life as we spent an afternoon reading aloud on the swing while sipping lemonade?

It was a spot Grandma told her grand daughters stories of what it was like when she was a little girl; all those years ago. In addition, the swing porch was a place to have what we called a “fire fly night”, watching the little bugs flash on and off. And, yes, occasionally, the swing was a “time out” spot for a less than cooperative child. Imagine that!

It was a very special spot in our house because we knew that life just seemed to slow down when the swing porch was opened for the season. Simple pleasures became very special, drinks were colder, games were more fun, stories were more imaginative and time with family was very special.

Here’s to you and your porch story. You might have a stoop or a deck but memories can be made there also. If you have not already done so, start making those memories today; you can go back there anytime in your mind and enjoy your porch all over again!

PoPs green swing

by TEE
(AUSTIN, TX)

My great great grand father built the house my grandmother lived in till she passed away a few months back. It had the great old southern porch with 2 swings that faced each other from opposites ends. My "PoPs" would sit out there after dinner in a swing he painted a shade of green that can only happen when you mix paints. LOL! I laugh every time I see that swing. My grandmother was a fussy sort that always had things just so. But when Pops hung that swing up that summer she just nodded her head and said well I guess it could have been worse!
I figured out that summer what love was.

They are both gone now... And the most priceless thing I have of theirs is two old porch swings. They now hang on my porch. The green paint is gone (only because it was chipping so bad) but the love of the swing is still swinging on.

Pictures Painted on Screened Porch Windows

by babyc1954
(Mass)

I can remember as a child, we had pictures painted on our screened porch windows. You could have the windows open with the screens showing a picture on the outside of the ocean. If you looked in my porch, you could not see me standing there, but, I could see you outside, that's in the daytime only.

I don't have a picture but I wish I did. I am still looking for a place where I can get this special picture I have in mind. Need to decorate four windows with some kind of view.

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Thank you very much for sharing this memory. We would love to see a picture of your painted screen porch windows. That sounds enchanting and we can see why you remember that so vividly!

This topic, painted screens, is so intriguing to us that we did a little research to learn how it is done. We learned that the reason the painting disappears when looking out from the inside is due to the outside light coming through the screen.

The outside of the screen is painted with a light blue paint to mimic the sky. It's painted with a fairly dry brush so that the pores of the screen do not get clogged with paint.

After the paint dries (about a half hour) the rest of the design is lightly outlined with chalk. The shoreline, palm trees and grasses are painted black or dark green. The ocean is painted a deep blue. The clouds are painted a soft white and sandy areas are painted a beige color. You can even add a boat to the scene.

When the painted screen window is done, it can be preserved with a coat of poly to protect it. We found this info on hgtv.com

We'd love to find a nice picture of the finished results. Would be wonderful to actually see painted screen windows on a porch. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.

Two Stories For The Porch

by Dave
(Nashville)

Two Stories for the Porch!

Story Number One:

Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.

Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.

To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.

Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.

Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object.

And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.

Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.

One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify the wrongs he had done...

He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified.

Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street . But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.

The poem read:

"The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still."

STORY NUMBER TWO:

World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.

One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.

As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.

The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.

Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent. Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly. Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction. Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.

Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft. This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor.

A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.

So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2.


SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?


Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.


author unknown