Everytime I turn around, I'm always hearing that what is wrong with
America is liberals, women's lib, you name it, I've heard it.
Personally I don't think any of those are the reasons. The reason we
are having so many problems in America today is we have lost the front
porch.
The front porch is something I miss from my childhood. Look
around, old neighborhoods in most places have houses with front
porches. With the front porch, you sat out front and saw your
neighbors, watched the kids playing in the yards or on the quiet
street. From the front porch you could see up and down the street and
watch the world go by. You got to know everyone on your street.
With the advent of the modern suburban neighborhood, we lost the front
porch. Life turned from the front yard to the back yard, where you
would know your neighbors on either side and maybe the neighbor right
behind. The world suddenly was reduced to a backyard and the immediate
surroundings.
The same goes for the stoop. The stoop was a gathering place for folk
in the big city in the old neighborhoods. People sat out front, others
leaned out the windows and watched the world go by while getting to
know everyone in the neighborhood. Now big city apartment
buildings are fortresses of concrete with a souless entry and no
connections to the buildings surrounding them.
We've become isulated from each other, with only our little world of
friends who we visit, where we drive up to their houses and scuttle in
thru a door fronted by a chunk of concrete, to go in and visit behind
closed walls, or out in the backyard, which most likely is surrounded
by a tall fence to block one's view of the neighbors.
I live in a tiny neighborhood just outside of town. Our mobile home has
a front porch and when the weather is nice (and the yellow jackets
aren't swarming) I love to sit out on it, watching the neighbors drive
by on their way to and from home, when they are out walking, waving
hello, maybe getting a chance to chat. It is fun to watch the kids buzz
up and down the road on their quad runners, under the watchful eye of
all the adults who happen to be out and about. I've chatted
across the wire fence with the folk who live behind, who sit out on
their front porch. When the weather is nice, friends come over and we
sit on the front porch visiting.Couldn't do that in a lot of homes I lived in growing up.
More homes need to be built with front porches, so people can come out
from behind their front doors and get back in touch with the
neighborhood.
There's been a song playing on the radio by Tracy Lawrence that I really like, called "If the World Had a Front Porch":
It was where my Mama sat on that old swing with her crochet
It was where Granddaddy taught me how to cuss and how to pray
It was where we made our own ice cream those sultry summer nights
where the bulldog had her puppies,and us brothers had our fights
There were many nights I'd sit right there and look out at the stars
To the sound of a distant whippoorwill or the hum of a passing car
It was where I first got up the nerve to steal me my first kiss
and it was where i learned to play guitar and pray I had the gift
(Chorus)
If the world had a front porch like we did back then
we'd still have our problems but we'd all be friends
Treating your neighbor like he's your next of kin
Wouldn't be gone like the wind
If the World had a front porch, like we did back then
Purple hulls and pintos, I've shelled more than my share
As lightening bugs and crickets danced in the evening air
And like a beacon that old yellow bulb, it always led me home
Somehow Mama always knew just when to leave it on
(Repeat Chorus)
Treating your neighbor like he's your next of kin
Wouldn't be gone with the wind
If the World had a Front Porch, like we did back then
America is liberals, women's lib, you name it, I've heard it.
Personally I don't think any of those are the reasons. The reason we
are having so many problems in America today is we have lost the front
porch.
The front porch is something I miss from my childhood. Look
around, old neighborhoods in most places have houses with front
porches. With the front porch, you sat out front and saw your
neighbors, watched the kids playing in the yards or on the quiet
street. From the front porch you could see up and down the street and
watch the world go by. You got to know everyone on your street.
With the advent of the modern suburban neighborhood, we lost the front
porch. Life turned from the front yard to the back yard, where you
would know your neighbors on either side and maybe the neighbor right
behind. The world suddenly was reduced to a backyard and the immediate
surroundings.
The same goes for the stoop. The stoop was a gathering place for folk
in the big city in the old neighborhoods. People sat out front, others
leaned out the windows and watched the world go by while getting to
know everyone in the neighborhood. Now big city apartment
buildings are fortresses of concrete with a souless entry and no
connections to the buildings surrounding them.
We've become isulated from each other, with only our little world of
friends who we visit, where we drive up to their houses and scuttle in
thru a door fronted by a chunk of concrete, to go in and visit behind
closed walls, or out in the backyard, which most likely is surrounded
by a tall fence to block one's view of the neighbors.
I live in a tiny neighborhood just outside of town. Our mobile home has
a front porch and when the weather is nice (and the yellow jackets
aren't swarming) I love to sit out on it, watching the neighbors drive
by on their way to and from home, when they are out walking, waving
hello, maybe getting a chance to chat. It is fun to watch the kids buzz
up and down the road on their quad runners, under the watchful eye of
all the adults who happen to be out and about. I've chatted
across the wire fence with the folk who live behind, who sit out on
their front porch. When the weather is nice, friends come over and we
sit on the front porch visiting.Couldn't do that in a lot of homes I lived in growing up.
More homes need to be built with front porches, so people can come out
from behind their front doors and get back in touch with the
neighborhood.
There's been a song playing on the radio by Tracy Lawrence that I really like, called "If the World Had a Front Porch":
It was where my Mama sat on that old swing with her crochet
It was where Granddaddy taught me how to cuss and how to pray
It was where we made our own ice cream those sultry summer nights
where the bulldog had her puppies,and us brothers had our fights
There were many nights I'd sit right there and look out at the stars
To the sound of a distant whippoorwill or the hum of a passing car
It was where I first got up the nerve to steal me my first kiss
and it was where i learned to play guitar and pray I had the gift
(Chorus)
If the world had a front porch like we did back then
we'd still have our problems but we'd all be friends
Treating your neighbor like he's your next of kin
Wouldn't be gone like the wind
If the World had a front porch, like we did back then
Purple hulls and pintos, I've shelled more than my share
As lightening bugs and crickets danced in the evening air
And like a beacon that old yellow bulb, it always led me home
Somehow Mama always knew just when to leave it on
(Repeat Chorus)
Treating your neighbor like he's your next of kin
Wouldn't be gone with the wind
If the World had a Front Porch, like we did back then
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