Mark Twain doin’ some serious Porch Sittin’
Thanks to Kent Burke for recommending “Porce Sittin'” on our Facebook Wall:
“Thank you for a profoundly dull website. Has anyone out there explored the dullness of front porch sittin’? It’s been a passion — without excitement of course — for many years and I highly recommend it.”
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Porch sitting, once part of practically everyone’s life in the summer, has been been fading away for a long time now.
But, if you find a place to do it, it is most enjoyable. It’s a fine form of Safe Excitement; we’ll be adding it to our Safe Excitement section.
The demise of porch sitting is due to:
- Air conditioning. People no longer need to sit out on the porch on summer evenings to sit in air that cooler than inside the house.
- “Decks.” Many front porches have been replaced by “decks” on the backsides of houses.
- TV. People would rather sit inside to TV than sit outside to watch the world going by.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in 1974, ran an interesting little article about this:
The info set out above if mostly from Wikipedia, and there’s more there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porch_sitting
cool air
sunrise
leaves in the wind
clouds disappearing in the sky
a long pleasant yawn
lines of ants
birds on the fence
the warm setting sun making the sky orange
full moon in a dimly lit outback town
what a day
what a night
what a wonderful dull existence
My wife and I bought a house 3 years ago primarily because it had a good front porch. We have been sitting on it as much as possible. No need to talk to each other…an occasional “hello” to a neighbor walking by. Hot, warm , cold, cool…we still find a way for some porch sittin. It refreshes the mind, helps mend the soul and is a great way to do nothing…we love it