The Phenomenon of Front Porches

I am from the south...I mean, honestly most folks don't associate Virginia with the south, but they just aren't real familiar with history. Richmond, the state capital of Virginia, was also the capital of the confederacy during the Civil War. When I was in school, we did not get a holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday alone-no it was commonly referred to as the Lee-Jackson-King day. That is Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Confederate heroes yes, but not exactly proponents of equal rights and freedom as was King. Ironically, Virginia was the first and for some time the only state that ever elected an African-American governor-but alas I digress. Just trying to prove that Virginia is definitely a southern state. In southern states, folks tend to sit out on the porch in the summer time.

I happen to be doing that as I write, sitting on the porch and watching the life within my neighborhood pass by. It was a pastime in my hometown, and almost like a social event all summer. My parents porch is the gathering place for the well traveled, seldom seen, good Christian, bottle toting little bit of everybody within their neighborhood. People will be driving by and stop for a minute, leaving hours later. The front porch is to community relationships what the kitchen is to the family.

I remember when I started to drive and I would go down my block back home I would just raise my hand out of the window for the enter street-as to "speak" to everyone sitting out on their porches in the summer. My grandmother said it "didn't take nothing to speak to people," so I had best not some neighbor see my folks out and say I saw your son, "but he aint speak." Not cool. So now, when I sit out I give a wave or a holler to any other neighbor doing the same and in essence that is what builds community.

I live in the city, but in a little piece of peace within all the hustle and bustle. The front porch and pretty large park beside my home were two key selling features for me. For the first few years I owned the place however, I did not spend much time on the porch...did not even do alot to the front of the house. Recently, my wife and I have made significant changes-plants, paint, shrubbery, furniture, etc. that create the subtle outdoor room feel. Extending the space, and allowing us to actually live in the city not just inside a house in the city...feel me?

A front porch also gives you a view of your neighborhood...the cars that go up and down all day, the different folks walking by...what your neighbors really look like because you can stare and just make it seem like you just chilling. It also let everyone know that you are present and accounted for, and fully invested in your block. Seeing is believing right. I just think the front porch is an essential piece of the home. I hope to always have one...