My morning crossword puzzle clue was "a town in Iowa" and the answer was Davenport. Suddenly my tongue caressed that word as foreign and yet so utterly familiar. I asked my husband if they used that word in his home and he confirmed they did. But when last have we heard that word? My trusty phone told me the word originated from a sofa firm in Massachusetts and soon became generic, like Kleenex. Who knew? Ask the next 13 year old you meet what a davenport is and I'm guess you will draw a blank!
But from my childhood, a davenport meant snuggling with a book, suffering on it during mumps/measles/chickenpox/whooping cough/pneumonia, settling in to listen to radio programs, lining up on it to play "Whisper Down the Lane", digging for stray change from Dad's pockets, sitting, bouncing, hiding behind, relaxing.
A full-bodied comfortable place for life.
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