Front Porch Monthly

Have you ever gazed at a brilliant sunrise, wrapped up in a blanket, with your sweetheart? Being all cozy with your woman or man on the porch early in the morning can and will make all the difference in your day. So, you say, you have to work so much you can’t do something so silly? Try cutting off the television early instead of using it as a numbing sedative at night. After all, how many times have you sat down to watch television to unwind for a few minutes before bed and found yourself still wide awake at 2:00am? Scratch cutting the television off early – just don’t watch it at all! It’s funny how one little lifestyle change can alter (for the good) your entire being.

 I decided some time back that the negative blasts from the television were doing me absolutely no good. Instead of seeing unbiased reporting on the news channels I found myself being told what to think. For me that is a waste. Give me the facts and I can make up my own mind. Ha! The facts… Wonder what those are? Yeah, me too! Whether it be a liberal or conservative slant, almost every news service has to put its version of the truth out there to influence our behavior. For the love of all things – just give me coffee and a sunrise.

Being a basketball fanatic, I enjoy watching college basketball and some regular season NBA games on the tube. I don’t get into the politics of whether the game is rigged or not. What I want to see is some good defense and those who make good defense look weak. But for some reason, I still enjoy those first rays of light peaking past those oak and cherry trees.

At times I have been known to get into a good book or a good magazine. Patrick McManus has entertained me for hours at a time. He has written some of the funniest stories from his childhood that could ever be penned. One story had two buddies and a dog in a truck coming down a logging road. When it was all said and done (the truck brakes gave up the ghost midway down the mountain) the dog was driving. I love it when I read what someone writes and I can actually see it happening. Funny though, I let loose with more laughter and get more out of a read when I am on the porch feeling the warmth of that morning sun.

Blankets and front porches are better than blankets and beaches any day. You never have to shake the sand out of the blanket on the front porch. Nobody is staring at your hind quarters on the porch either. If they are, please recommend they remove themselves from under your chair - unless, of course, they did a one-legger over your shoes and barrel-rolled under your chair; in which case all is forgiven. After all that you can allow them a moment of composition and a look-see at your hiney. Oh yeah, you don’t find crabs on the front porch either. Just thought I would mention that.

Is there anything you can’t improve on a front porch? Well, for the most part you can’t pull your car up on the front porch and work on it. But that is why you have a gravel driveway full of little rocks that jab into you every time you change oil. Shoot, that is too much like work to start with. You shouldn’t work too much on your front porch. I understand doing some writing on the porch. That can be pretty rewarding work. But, try not to put the car on the porch. I have seen it attempted with pretty sad results. Just leave it in the driveway and gaze at the new wax job as the morning sun glistens off the hood.

Does anyone like back porches? I certainly do. It’s a good place to sit and watch the sun go down on cool evenings. More work seems to go on out back though. There is always someone wanting to shell or break beans. Lots of peas get hulled. Sometimes a big old batch of walnuts gets hammered to death for those tasty nuts that lie inside. Corn gets shucked. Man, there are a lot of rewards on the back porch, but a lot of work too. Alright, I give; let’s go back on the front porch!

Shift work, day shift, 9-5 – it doesn’t matter. Make time to get on the porch with your wife or husband, your family, your neighbors, the cat, the dog – use any excuse. Get away from what ails you. Watch the sun come up while wrapped in that blanket. Listen to that rain pelt the roof as you fade off to sleep.  Be at peace for a while. Life is good on the front porch….