Charley Horse

Somewhere after midnight, I woke in my bed and tried to shift my position.  The instant I tried to move, a severe cramp knotted-up the calf in my left leg.  I immediately drew my leg up and rocked backed and forth in the bed, grimacing.

I am both a baby regarding pain and a bit vocal about it.  Though I managed to avoid screaming out, my rocking woke Desiree.

“What’s wrong?” Desiree asked with a tinge of panic in her voice.

“Charley horse,” I hissed between my teeth.

This morning, the thought occurred that Desiree may not be familiar with “Charley horse.”   My use of American slang often baffles her.

The term ‘Charley horse’ is a particularly strange one to use for a muscle cramp and appears to have originated with baseball players in the 1880s.  Some attribute the term as a reference to a lame horse named Charley that worked at the Chicago White Sox playing field.

I am limping this morning and will adopt that theory for today.

—Mitchell Hegman