Death of the Front Porch

When I was little, my mother and I used to eat our lunches on the front porch in the summer. (I can't remember at all where my older brothers were, but this is my blog, so it doesn't really matter.) Because of the shrubs in front of the porch, we could see people walking by, but they couldn't see us. It was kind of a game for us. We also read while we ate because we both were (and still are) avid readers. To this day, a baloney sandwich (or peanut butter and jelly) and barbecue Fritos is one of my favorite meals. One day, my mom grabbed a tartan throw to keep us warm, and we sat really close, and we watched the thunderstorm around us.

People don't sit on their front porches any more. Every summer, there is a National Night Out, to encourage people to sit on their porches and/or talk to their neighbors. Why don't people sit outside any more? I blame air conditioning.

If you read enough books, particularly those written by Southerners (such as Eudora Welty, one of my favorite storytellers), you'll come across passages about how the family would sit on the porch every evening and talk or play music or whatever. None of these books is written in the current day; they are all memoirs or stories set "way back when". The reason people would sit outside was because they didn't have air conditioning, and, late in the day, the house would be hotter than the surrounding air, and there was a breeze, or at least a chance of one, outside.

We had central air conditioning, but my mother didn't want to turn it on until we were dripping sweat. I'd spend the evening outside, playing Wiffle Ball with my best friend (we had a lot of "ghost runners" on our teams) or even throwing a Frisbee with my brothers. (Wait. Where did they come from?)

Nowadays, people get home and lock themselves inside a temperature controlled box with their televisions or video games. Gone are the conversations, evening constitutionals, and porch gliders with comfortable cushions.

I like to sit on my veranda when the weather is nice. (I take advantage of the weather because it gets so hot here in the summer.) I read until it's too dark to see. I watch traffic going by. I enjoy the breeze. I chat with my neighbors. I watch my plants grow. If I sit really still, I can hear the hummingbirds' wings. Sometimes, I even eat a baloney sandwich and barbecue Fritos.