And galship I guess it would be called.
There is something about a porch. In the Bubba shrimp world of porches, there are Arizona rooms, Screened porches, Sleeping porches, Rain porches, Porticos, Loggias, Verandas, Lanais, Sun porches, Stoops.
Band camp, we usedta drive to Eureka Springs with a group of friends. We'd rent a house with three bedrooms, and two cottages - one on either side. Of course, vacations include out-and-about, and there's plenty to do in Eureka.. a brief recap for us: shopping (complete with a rabbit that takes your credit card, then hands you your receipt), the heavenly views of NW Arkansas. a kajillion places to dine (including an old haunted hotel), a halfa kajillion places to hear live music (including the one that was next door to the house/cottage we rented. Saturday night was live music, Sunday in the bar was church service, uh huh, you read it right). But.........
From the tippy toes of morning...first one up makes coffee of course.. we all plopped on the front porch that runs the width of the house. We spent most of our kajillion hours on this porch. Tippy toes (early am) to top of our head (late, late at night.) Stories, about nothing in particular. Laughs, about all of us in particular. People watching. Hiding safely from the rain, sun. Porch = relaxation. We coulda saved a lotta money and rented a house in town where we live, but, there'd be no rabbit, beautiful, mountainous NW Arkansas, employed rabbit, or, bartender turned pastor.
That's just one porch. I'm certain you have fond memories of a specific porch, and, that you enjoy planting your bod there still today. I dated a gal that "I wouldn't live anywhere that didn't have a screened in porch." We helped a guy, in one weekend's time, enlarge his 8' by however long into a 16' by however long porch. He was quite proud, in fact, had a Tee shirt made with the picture of a 2x4, "I've got a BIG deck." We calmed him down a bit and told him "With your BIG deck, you're going to need to make more friends."
Friends gather on porches. Relatives gather on porches. "Can Timmy come out and play" happens on porches. Door knock or doorbell ring, pamphlet handed to you, "No thank you" brief conversation, or lengthy JW conversation.
Forgive me, as I know I've related this before. Dad would pickup my 86 year old grandfather, he'd immediately head to the front porch, swing back and forth and back and forth on the porch swing. (Porch + porch swing = double relaxing.) Then, he'd go for a walk. We lived in a white house with a front porch the width of our house. Grandpa would not come home, and would not come home - where it got to the point of concern. I'd go with dad in the car, and uh huh, 7 doors down, there on the front porch that ran the width of our neighbor's white house, was grandpa swinging back and forth and back and forth. I can hardly await the neighbor porches I can explore someday, the Good Lord willing.
Apartment living is interesting. I have very small porch (and no, I'm not going to buy a Tee Shirt documenting same).. Thrice. Thrice in this big ole house turned into three apartments I've had my shivers timbered by THREE... VERY LOUD.. VERY QUICK.. KNOCKS (RAPS).. KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK. Normally, it takes my almost 70-year old body awhile to put my drawers on, huh uh, them three knocks skeered me.. drawers on, door opened, there on my porch, TWO, two cops. "Are you so-and-so?" No. He/She lives in #1, or, #2. Whew. The only times I can remember a porch not being fun.
"I'm an old-fashioned guy.. I want to be an old man with a beer belly sitting on a porch, looking at a lake or something." Johnny Depp
Minus the lake, I'm already there Johnny, and I agree.
Regardless of what I'd told my "I've got a BIG deck" friend, numbers don't really matter. Front porch with just one person is heavenly. No noise, no electronics, no commercials, no CNN, Fox, no nuttin', but you, and nature.
Porch for two can, of course, be really, really yummy. Witness the cartoon meme of the naked couple and the comment "Since we started doing this, our neighbors built a privacy fence all around our yard at no cost to us."
Memories. Parents. Grandparents. Siblings. Cousins. Friends. Best bestus friends. Neighbors. Teammates. If we close our eyes, we can go back there. I love moments in life where we go back and visualize what once was. If it was baseball season, it was assured my other grandfather was on his front porch, transistor tuned to the St. Louis Cardinals. We all have memories of "Man I wish I could see that again" so, why don't we close our eyes and do that. Color me crazy, I do that.
I see fellow neighbor kids, in their age back then, back when we could all run, sled, jump, skateboard, kick.. yummy. There. There on the front porch I can see/hear them come knocking at age 9... or 12.
I very much like the person who is presently the MU basketball coach. (I'm not as hep on how his team's have done, but peoplewise, dunno if there is much better.) He was raised very, very poor by a single mother, and I assume little or no porch. She would gather him in the car when he was a child and take him to Open Houses with spectacular front porches, verandas, et al. "You can be this" was the message. Proudly, he has.
The front porch is a place of discern. Do you have a mask on? Can I see your vaccine card? JUST KIDDING. We are here to relax. It is a place of discern the matter of business of those you don't know (say maybe, a kajillion Girl Scout cookies bought) or, some entrepreneurial snotnose with snowshovel in hand, or, lawnmower parked just off the porch)..
Or, if friend or foe has been established and it's a yummy friend, hugs, laughter, visits, often topped off by hours of relaxation on the porch. The back porch, I think, is more like Johnny Depp was talking about. Oh the backyards, views. Fido, running to and fro chasing squirrels, neighbor kids, cars (we had an alley between our house and neighbor house.) BBQ grills on the porch. Please no makey fun of my friend who has caught two, count 'em two, back porches on fire whilst cooking a Thanksgiving turkey. A forever porch story (or two.)
Last one, and I promise I'll get out of your hair. Yes, and I'm sorry, I've told this one before too. For years, we'd often sit on the front porch and welcome our mailman friend Ronnie. Ronnie, may he rest in peace, was loved by all. All, except Magic, our small yap dog. Magic would be on a chain to use potty or simply enjoy the weather. But, when mailman Ronnie was spotted 3 doors down and heading our way Magic would begin FRANTIC coronary-like yip-yip-yipping, bark-bark-barking. Ronnie would deliver our mail, then, knowing exactly how far Magic could go on his chain in his little circle, Ronnie would sidestep him en route to our next door neighbor's house. Magic's barking volume had to be heard all the way to the old Downtown Square. This. Went. On. For. Years. And. Years. He hated Ronnie, and Ronnie was such a great, great man.
Anyways, we moved. Ronnie was the softball manager of our old guy team. House we moved to, proudly, had a BIG deck on back. Steps away was the swimming pool. End of season BBQ for softball teammates, spouses, kids. There musta been 30 of us on the back porch, all clad in our softball unis, or, shorts/tees, swimsuits and the like. Magic was having a hayday. You see, they'd (all our friends) had been vetted at the front door, so there was no need for Magic to discern friend or foe. Until. Until that is, Ronnie, with only a big old smile like Ronnie had, said "VIC! Magic doesn't recognize me!", katy bar the door, Magic recognized the voice and it took three of us to separate his jaws from the death grip he had on Ronnie's ankle. Porch ouch. Porch fun. A porch story.
I hope you too have a yummy recall of porches, times past. Tune in next time and I may tell you about the 37 times I repaired the screen on our front after baseballs had someone found their way through them.
"I want to be that cranky old man that stands on his porch and yells at the neighborhood kids." Robert Lansing.
No I don't. I love children.
"I'm not the type to sit on the porch and watch life go by." Sally Rand.
I am. I love sitting on the porch, watching life go by. (I think it was Sally and her hubby that had the neighbors build their privacy fence for free.)
Love, Victurd
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