Friday, July 29, 2011

Redneck Break: Porches

I love sitting on the porch on a hot summer night. What we have right now, unfortunately, is a wrap-around deck, "deck" being modern for "we don't have enough money or sense to put a roof on the porch". It's still pretty nice though: the dudes can sit out and smoke if it's their wish, and there are plenty of chairs on the back porch as well.

It's really important to have that cooling-off place, especially if the house is crowded like mine usually is any time of the year. Some day, we're going to act Shakespeare out off the landings (it makes a great stage) and once it's roofed, it will be perfect for any time of the year. It's ideal for family portraits, and easier to mark a boundary for small kids so they stay in sight, and it's nice to sit out when the weather's a little cooler and eat barbecue. The porch is probably considered more of a rural necessity than an urban one these days, since socializing on the porch means no or minimal internet access, and you'd need to know and be friends with a tolerable large amount of people in your town in order to porch-sit together. An internet cafe, it is not. That's a good thing, since it helps you stay connected with the people Providence placed around you- one of the best visits I had for someone's wedding, I sat out on the groom and his roommates' porch with the bride as well, and we ate pizza and drank beer into the night, passing time with talking about rock n roll and different beer companies.

I think internet's a great tool (cough writing on blog cough)but I'd rather not need it to stay in touch with people. If you are blessed with a porch or balcony area, try sitting out on it; saying hello to anyone who passes by your step and see if anyone says hello back- even if no-one does, the look of surprise is always entertaining.

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