Sitting on the porch

Have you ever noticed that a lot of houses these days have beautiful lawns, lovely entryways and a total absence of a front porch?

A real front porch where you can sit and feel the breeze ruffle your hair and ripple your clothing as it passes light as a touch over your skin in the cool of a summer evening - a porch where you can pass the time saying everything or saying nothing and either way is fine.

Most houses have a little front entryway just large enough to let one or two people get a bit of shelter from the rain while waiting for admittance into the home of a friend. That's all well and good, but the conversations that happen on the expanse of a front porch beat the heck out of a well appointed entry any day.

When you sit on the porch, there is no pretense. People who sit on the porch are wide open. They are willing to just sit without ever opening their mouth just in case you might need to say something or nothing at all. Time passes pleasantly on a front porch because it becomes a visible extension of our emotional ties to each other.

Maybe that is the antidote for our lives. Build more front porches and take the time to sit out on the steps or in a nice rocker. Wave to the neighbors who pass by even if you don't know their names, you know their smiles. Let the dog greet them and share the evening breeze as friends who just haven't met yet.

I think I need more time on the front porch.