Posture

  I seem to have always had rounded shoulders.  I'm not sure why, but I can't remember a time, when I didn't.  When I got into elementary school, my posture seemed more pronounced.  I couldn't sit up straight in school.  I was always slouching in a chair.  I thought it was because my head weighed more than my body.  After all, I was pretty skinny, and I was pretty smart.  My teacher thought it was something else, and she told my parents that I needed to be seen by a doctor.

 I really didn't want to go to a doctor about this, but my parents were worried.  They did a battery of tests and x-rays.  They found I had scoliosis.  I saw the x-ray and the curving of my spine.  I had no symptoms, but it came as a shock to my parents.  The doctor suggested that I wear a back brace to see if my spine would straighten up.  My parents bought a back brace from a mail-order company.  It was made of stretchable material and was kind of like wearing a backpack.  Before going to school, I would put it on under my clothes.  I couldn't move around much, but it did force me to sit up straight in a chair.  I know that some kids wondered why I had changed my posture, but I never told them I was wearing a back brace.  I didn't want to be teased.

 It got to the point, where I didn't want to wear the back brace anymore.  It was just too confining.  I had difficulty breathing, especially at recess.  My parents insisted that I wear it, so I would put it on in the morning; take it off at school; and put it back on going home.  I know that it didn't do much good that way, and my parents didn't see any improvement, so they told me I didn't have to wear it anymore.  Success.

 As time went on, I continued to slouch and be hunched over, but I just learned to live with it.  When I got to college, I found that it was an advantage to hunch over.  I would be walking to the mall at Anderson, and some nice lady would stop and ask if I needed a ride.  Of course, I did.  It worked especially well, when it was cold.  Yes, I manipulated people back then.  When SC had a governor who bent over, I would be mistaken for him.  We kind of looked alike.  I got a free cheeseburger at Wendy's because of that.  

 As far as I know, my spine is still curved a little.  I have done exercises in the past that have helped me get straighter.  But, I will probably always slouch.  It feels good.  And, I actually think I look cooler than those old sticks in the mud who have to sit up straight all the time.  I have learned one lesson, though.  If someone offers you a ride, you had better know who they are.  Times have changed.  A word to the wise.