A Post from One of Our Customers

A few weeks back, we at Fashionable Canes had the privilege to find a blog post online from a very happy customer with a rather unique perspective on his experience as he began using a walking cane. After a short correspondence with the author, he was willing to allow us to reproduce his work here on our blog. We thought we should share this user experience with our loyal customers because it offered an insight into the mindset of a man, as he begins to need a walking cane in his everyday life. Most importantly, though, we'd like to point out that before he chose his cane, he consulted his doctor. This is by far the best advice you can follow when choosing a walking stick. So here it is, with many thanks from the staff at Fashionable Canes: The Diary of an Old Curmudgeon.

The Diary of an Old Curmudgeon: When I Learned to Shake a Stick at the Whippersnappers

Men are many things. They are tough, resilient, hardy, competent. One thing men are not is forever young. As we reach our middle years we often resist admitting that our prime has passed, not wanting to be seen as past our ability to be tough and infallible. We skip doctors' appointments, push ourselves too hard, and all in all, become a disagreeable mess that our wives shake their fingers at when it is time for that lecture. Let's face it. We aren't actually infallible. Our knees got roughed up in our younger years, our backs deliver those sharp pains from too much stress years ago, and that football injury we forgot about has the tendency to flare up. We don't want to admit it, but we have to: sometimes we need a little help. My wife would drop her jaw if she read that last line and saw me finally admit it.

A cane. It has many uses, and in the years past, we thought they were all for shaking at "hooligans" and "whippersnappers" as they passed some old man's front porch swing. But, I think it is time that at least I realize, they are much more useful than that. I have what Gramps would have called a "bum knee", brought on by a lack of padding between my bones and kneecap (I'm sure my doctor would give you a much better explanation). I also have pain in my hands as the day wears on, perhaps the early signs of arthritis. I'd like to keep the severity of both of those conditions hidden from my wife for as long as possible. Silly, maybe, but I don't want her to stop asking me to open the ketchup or climb the ladder to clean the second story windows. So I bought a cane. The way I figure it, It'll keep me opening pickle jars and climbing ladders for a few more years than I would without it.

I keep one in my car, it's a folding cane, made with a nifty little collapsible device that keeps everything compact and easy-to-assemble when needed. When I'm not traveling, I have the main cane that I use around the house and take to the store, etc. When I bought them, I didn't want to be that guy who had any old cane, and certainly not the plain aluminum one my doctor tried to stick me with. After all, in a few years, when I am shaking it at some whippersnappers, I want them to see that it is a real mans walking cane being shaken.

Most importantly with my stick (it helps if I don't call it a cane ... go ahead and laugh, you hooligan), It has an ergonomic handle that is very easy to grasp. Of course, I cleared it with my doctor first, but he was thrilled since it would help with my arthritis - er - hand-cramps. So, I have a stick. A walking stick and I'm not ashamed. Call me old if you like, but mine will keep me trucking for years to come. And just because you young' uns' can outrun me, doesn't mean that I'm not still every bit a man as I used to be.