Tools: There are a number of tools available to you that will help you determine how the schools in prospective areas are performing. The internet can be a valuable tool and is the obvious choice when if you are moving to an unfamiliar area. GreatSchools.com is a good place to start and will give you some basic statistics about many schools. There is a review feature where people can comment on particular schools, but the schools that you are interesting in may or may not have reviews.

Most states’ departments of education will provide important statistics such as performance on various test and student/teacher ratios. Be sure to examine both the current rating and past ratings so that you can see trends. Are the schools getting better, worse, or holding steady? It is important to understand the trends in your area of interest. If the schools are declining that could adversely impact property values as many people will want to live where they can send their children to good schools.

Tips for the research process: If it is practical, visit some of the schools in the area to get a sense of what they are like. Are they in good condition? Do they seem overcrowded? Do they have good facilities and equipment? The answers to these questions are obviously important if you are planning to send your child to school, but even if you aren’t consider what other people moving to the area might think?

If you wouldn’t send your children to the schools in your area, then it’s probably the case that many other folks wouldn’t either if given the choice. This can have the effect of lowering demand for properties, which naturally in turn means lower home prices. Protect yourself from this problem by putting in the effort to research the schools in the area you are planning to move to before buying a home there.

Thinking of moving to Boulder Colorado? Visit Automated Homefinder for instant, free access to over 65,000 homes for sale.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joel_D_McDonald

The following year the fires were back bigger than ever before. This time half the city of 100,000 people were in danger with half of Malibu CA over the hill cut off. Many lost their homes and few lost their lives unable to get out of the canyons in time. The fire moved so fast there was little time to escape. This year the fire was believed to be arson related, although no one was ever caught. That year there were other fires all burning simultaneously around Northern and Southern CA and parts of Northern Nevada.

That is when The Car Wash Guys, our company decided that they would get involved. Although many of us live in very green areas, where fires have a tough time getting started, once they do get going they generate their own wind and heat and little stands in their way. The most important strategy is to catch them early. Of the nearly 20,000 brush fires annually in the Western States in the Forest Regions, few ever get out of control, but the ones that do we all remember. By uniting the entire community and working together we can decrease the number of fires intentionally started and a better response to those that are started by negligence or by Mother Nature such as lightening. We must work hard to preserve our area and make our community one of the best places in the World, a person could ever hope to live. We have a great community and we intend to guard against the loss from fire. We want our community to be the greatest in our state and our citizens, friends and families to know that we are all looking out for them and they are looking out for us. No longer will the temptation exist for an unethical situation to occur from an arsonist. Arsonists will know that our town is a no fly zone and that it is not only a police car, fire department vehicle or the USDA Forest Service truck that they need to be concerned with. They will be caught if they attempt anything by the first person who sees them. The Schwann’s delivery truck, the school bus driver, an electrician, a plumber, a real estate agent, anyone and everybody will be observing while driving around in their normal course of business. With this same group of people we too wish to interact with Mother Nature to keep the natural forest fires to a minimum. We intend to protect our families, homes and beautiful serene area from devastation that can be prevented or quickly contained.

You may wish to consider setting up a neighborhood arson watch in your area as part of community effort. If you are interested in learning more, we have written a free online 21-page E-book, which is available at:

http://www.lancewinslow.org/arsonwatch.pdf

Perhaps you might look through it and see if this is a potential solution for your community during this next fire season?

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

For the neighborhood kids growing up in the late 60’s, the fort was a representation of both our independence and ingenuity. We had a place to call home on those beautiful and endless summer evenings where it stayed light until well past 9 p.m., signaling we would not be called back home until darkness fell. Summer meant no school and an extra hour or two with our friends swapping stories. More important, we designed and built the BoGaKoTeZa sanctuary with our own hands. What a pleasurable reminder this was of our early team building efforts.

Growing up on The Hill, as it was commonly referred to, was an exercise in youthful utopia. In the 1950’s, many young married couples pushed slightly westward in the Chicago suburbs to secure an affordable home with a small piece of land. Most of the homes were similar tidy brick ranch structures with 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, a family room, and a 1 car garage positioned on a quarter-acre (or less) of land. The very rare split-level would occasionally interrupt the sea of small ranch homes. Situated behind the houses on our block were sloping dense woods where we would walk, play, and socialize for hours. Kids ruled the neighborhood. It seems that nearly all the parents were in their middle to late 20s, of Bohemian or Polish ancestry, and had several kids in tow. The neighbors at the end of our block had 6 children, and our next door neighbors – the “Za” in the name of our fort — ultimately had 8 children. We were the exception — Irish Catholic with a relatively paltry 4 children.

This was a period when kids went outdoors and played. Perhaps in the spirit of pre-video game suburbia, kids were forced to congregate, play sports, communicate, and learn from each other. Our backyard, like that of all the neighbors, and in stark contradiction to Robert Frost’s admonition that “good fences make good neighbors”, was devoid of a fence and represented an open invitation of friendship. The backyard, meanwhile, was never an appropriate advertisement for Scot’s Turf Builder. Instead, our backyard was an active child’s paradise, simultaneously torn up to construct a mini golf course, beaten down in straight lines where we frequently ran the bases, or shredded completely to accommodate a lawn hockey game complete with homemade nets constructed of wood and chicken wire. Perhaps the greatest news was that our parents would either help in the construction of the various backyard games or, at the very least, enjoy having all the neighborhood kids visit and play. Except when we would inadvertently destroy the same sapling that my dad tried to plant, year after year.

The Hill was not only a haven for kids. For some relatively strange reason (strange by today’s standards anyway), the parents all got along seemingly well, too. They were part of bowling leagues, social clubs, invitees for each other’s parties, and communal workers when the water well needed to be repaired. This was a group of young people who rarely had two nickels to rub together, but who always helped each other and pulled together in time of need. These neighbors never moved. To this day, 50 plus years later, there remains a handful of the old guard still living on The Hill. Our 40-year home tenure was probably the norm.

The Hill was also a place of great experimentation. Most of the neighbor kids had their first communal taste of alcohol or nicotine, represented in the form of a beer or pack of cigarettes surreptitiously pilfered from someone’s house. And many more kids had that first kiss with the neighbor girl. With the assistance of my best neighborhood friend, a girl with whom I enjoyed that first kiss, I even unintentionally lit my first and only forest fire. It certainly didn’t help matters that as the fire started to spread, we tried to “smother” the conflagration with dried leaves to the horror of the volunteer fire department. That’s a story for another time.

From a child’s perspective, we were engaging in exciting yet debaucherous and sinful activities that might forever condemn us to hell. Forty years later, it is obvious that these were innocent and perhaps even necessary steps in our adolescent development.

Fort BoGaKoTeZa lasted a couple of summers and in the end was torn down or died of neglect as we grew older. I can’t remember which. But I do remember the pride in its construction and the joy we all felt hanging out there. These were simpler days, forever gone, only to be pulled from our memories. I miss The Hill.

http://www.dailyharangue.com

The Daily Harangue was started by a group of friends who had much to say, but agreed on little. These candid discussions on topics ranging from politics to music, nature to art, life, love, and the human condition have always been a free flow of ideas that serve to strengthen, rather than to destroy, the bonds of our friendship.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brian_Gaynor

In many ways such as architecture, interior designs and arts, the balance of nature is being revived and preserved in our very busy lives. At the beginning of the 20th century, domestic architecture tried accomplish this goal— to have a more rapid combination of home with its environment.

In mild climates areas, gardens might be continued inside the house. But, since most people live in apartment style houses, where space is very limited, a lot of architects look for to integrate natural elements into their unique and environment friendly interior designs. Water fountains and indoor pools are enjoying unquestioned popularity in, offices, homes and even shopping malls. They provide a sanctuary of cool serenity in an otherwise chaotic world.

What are garden waterfalls? These are frame sized decorations with natural designs that enrich the natural world with a relaxing, exciting water sounds that reach the voluble waterfalls to blathering stream. Crafting this material is very exacting and delicate to give people greatest satisfaction of both visual exquisiteness and the spellbound sounds of the water.

Garden fountains and waterfalls can be best put in outdoors and indoors. Its main attraction is the seemingly real scenery and atmosphere because of its fantastic views and beautiful water sounds.

Here are several styles for you to choose from in getting your own garden waterfalls for your home.

1. Quirky fountain and waterfalls sputter shed in stone from innovative and artistic designs. It has also calming waterfall sounds.

2. Water bell fountain. Merges relaxing, mild flowing water sounds, and amazingly toned musical sound just like a chime.

3. Multi tier carved slate fountain. Magnificent hand carved multi-tier slate styles with great water sounds. Just right water fountain for any garden or patio.

4. Multi tier rock style waterfalls. With natural stone finishes and great water sounds.

5. Stunning Japanese style garden fountains that create very relaxing, peaceful water sounds. Materials include granite and ceramic.

6. Pond fountains. This magnificent collection includes unique hand crafted copper striking solar pond fountain.

7. Oriental etched glass fountains. This one of the elegant fountains. This is made from stainless steel and glass cascade with a picture of a growing tree carved in glass inside the frame made up of stainless steel.

Any one of these dazzling pieces will surely bring you comforting joy for many years, and will add tranquility and calm to your home garden, patio, deck or any outdoor and indoor environment. Get your pick now!

Magicalwatergardens.com has all the information and ideas you need for a perfect water garden. You’ll find tips on artificial water gardens, water garden ideas & tips. Learn more today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_W_Smith

The single characteristic that makes this plant very hard to control is because of its underground stem system, or rootstock, which has the ability to produce new plants. A small part of the rootstock, one weighing 0.7 grams and as big as the nail of your little finger, is a viable plant and very much capable of growing into a four foot plant by the end of the summer.

If you think you can easily get rid of them using the usual weeding implement that you use well then think again. The root of this pesky plant can grow three meters in the ground. Yes, that’s almost ten feet deep into the soil. Not only that, they can grow to up to seven meters horizontally. And no, the frost won’t be able to kill them. The rootstock can survive subzero temperatures as well as tolerate a wide range of soil and weather conditions.

There are basically two ways that you can approach Japanese knotweed removal: the use of herbicides and the less aggressive way of controlling it which is through a systematic method of killing the weed through natural means. If you want to get the best result you must use a technique which targets the roots since these are the most viable part of the plant.

The most effective herbicide to use for the complete riddance of Japanese knotweed is glyphosate. This is a broad spectrum herbicide which is used to kill perennial weeds. It is usually sprayed to the plant and the leaves readily absorb it. It can also be injected into the trunk of the plant. It works by inhibiting the enzyme production of the plant. Take note that it is only effective in plants growing actively and its effects are insubstantial as a pre-emergence weed control.

But before you decide on using glyphosate, or any other chemical for that matter, you have to be aware of the risks and other considerations. First concern is if your garden, especially the patch of Japanese knotweed, is located near a body of water. In the UK, consent is required from the Environment Agency if you will be using herbicides near waterways. Also, health and safety issues must be considered. Herbicides must be used as per label instructions if not it is deemed as an offense.

If you choose the natural way of eliminating the invasive Japanese knotweed for good, be ready for a long and arduous process. This is the way to go if you are dealing with just a small patch such as the one you found in your garden since it doesn’t involve chemicals. Just remember to dispose of the plant accordingly. Regular pulling will eventually weaken the rootstock and kill the plant, but this can take years. Cutting can also be done. Just be sure to collect all the cuttings after, dry them out and burn them, or you can have them disposed in a licensed landfill.

Jo is a content writer for Japanese Knotweed Solutions, (http://www.jksl.com), specialists in Japanese Knotweed elimination. If you are a devoted gardener, a home builder or a nature lover, sooner or later you will come across this pervasive nuisance. Japanese Knotweed is one of the most destructive weeds, producing enormous amounts of damage every year to homes, public building, and the countryside.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jo_Alelsto

Some only allow you to search by counties. While others are more detailed, allowing you to search by street. Most can be found by clicking on a link for your State Police website.

Sex offenders are not the only criminals lurking in your neighborhood. Would you want your child playing near the home of a convicted drug felon?  Probably not. But where can you find information this information? The internet is littered with “free public records” sites. After clicking on these you will be given a form to fill out and mail in to obtain your information.

Today’s technology is so great that most of us are a little spoiled. We don’t want to wait. We want to download our information now! Your daughter is getting married and you want to know if her fiance’ has any type criminal history? Please wait 7-10 business days for a response. Really? There are several different programs available online that offer you instant answers. Most have a membership fee. Although I believe that most people will not mind spending a few dollars to ensure that they’re children and family members are safe in their community.

Click Here!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michelle_Haskins

A neighborhood association is basically a group that organizes crime watches, welcome wagons and special events. A neighborhood yard sale or block party can help people raise money and meet new people. If you are really ambitious you could even start a neighborhood newsletter. It is community efforts like these that help neighborhoods grow closer and give each other the support system that is so important – especially during tough times like these. There is a comfort in knowing who your neighbors are, knowing that they will be there for you during difficult medical or financial times or even just when you need a friendly shoulder to lean on or a cup of sugar.

The first step to starting a neighborhood association is deciding on a place to meet. Usually a community resource like a youth center or school will let you use space for free. You could even use a room in your house if it is large enough to hold a moderate-size group of people.

Next you’ll want to print out flyers announcing your initial neighborhood meeting. It doesn’t have to be fancy or elaborate, just a simple sheet detailing the purpose of the meeting, location, time and date. Hang flyers up in prominent areas in the neighborhood such as churches, grocery stores, schools and recreation centers. It may also be appropriate to leave flyers on people’s doorstops. My neighborhood association set up a refreshment stand during Halloween and offered a sign-up sheet for people interested in joining the association. Later they could use the contact information to get people together for neighborhood meetings. However you get the word out the next step is preparing for the event/meeting. Some planning is a good idea at this time. Write an outline of the points you want to discuss and some plans you have for the future of the neighborhood. Next you’ll want to provide some coffee, fruit punch and maybe some baked goods for the meeting.

At this first meeting you can talk about the different functions that you would like the organization to perform. For example, you’ll need a committee to oversee the neighborhood association. Other possibilities are a welcome wagon which will welcome new families, introduce themselves and provide a basket with neighborhood information, coupons from local businesses, and possibly a little welcoming gift. Or possibly a group of neighbors would like to work together on a neighborhood newsletter to keep the neighbors up to date on the goings on in the area, such as births, deaths, school and church events, weddings, etc. You can also set up a group to act as a crime watch to either patrol the streets at night or at least keep an eye on homes while the residents are out of town.

You won’t believe the feeling of belonging that comes over a neighborhood when the members of it is working on making it a safe, clean, peaceful and friendly place to live.

For more information on becoming active in your community, please visit http://www.lendahandri.com

Jenn Carpenter works as a freelance writer, blogger and internet marketer from her home in Warwick, RI. She is a mother of three as well as an active member of her community. To learn more about her amazing story check out http://www.livingmybigdream.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Carpenter

Isolation Results in Unpalatable Choices

Maturing is a daunting prospect for anyone, irrespective what their financial or social circumstance. Many retirees find themselves almost forced to enter into moving from beloved homes that they have spent decades in, particularly when they’re single or don’t have family living close by. The reason most seniors give for moving out is that they’ll be unable to perform the daily errands required to maintain their household.

Growing old implies a loss of independence, and this engenders a resistance to asking for help. No one wants to burden younger relatives and friends with responsibility for their daily existence. An attractive alternative might be to hire someone to perform all these necessary errands for you. Somebody that can take you to the physician or hospital, who buys your groceries, performs simple household repairs, and assists you in bank transactions.

Unfortunately not everyone can pay for to lease a personal assistant. But think about one other option, one that several communities across the United States have adopted. What if you could create an infrastructure that pools the resources of a group of retirees and hire an assistant to provide for all their needs?

Facing the Challenges Together

Communities like Beacon Hill Village in Boston have indicated the way. By pooling the powers of a group of resourceful individuals, they have created a model for transforming a neighborhood into a good place to grow old in. The creation of such a surrounding is not a haphazard affair, and ought to be sustainable to make certain continuing support for member as long as they require it.

The initial step is to create a core group or plank of directors. Someone has to be responsible for running the establishment and overseeing daily pursuits. Creating this foundation is not really as challenging as it seems, but it is essential to get the correct info about the way to start. The first steps ought to be getting facts on how this was done in the other rooms, and asking about local governmental regulations which will or hinder your efforts.

The financial aspect of the establishment has to be solid if it is to last. The most basic funding will naturally come from membership fees. If you are starting from a tiny group, then you’ll have to identify service providers in the region that you can life-partner with. Marketing will be essential in order to attract more members and boost more commercial partners. Locating additional funding, from both private and government entities might be an alternative.

Keeping the Family Together

Of key importance to this procedure is the network of human relationships that it establishes on. A weight for one can be lighter if shared among many. Volunteer aid from younger family or neighbors ought to be encouraged, but foundation should never be entirely contingent upon them. Retirement communities home grown from neighborhoods are no longer an impossible dream, with the specific planning and management, you can stay in the area you love without sacrificing your dignity or security.

Collin has been writing articles online for nearly 5 years now. Not only does this author specialize in weight loss, fitness and diet, you can also check out his latest website on Outdoor Cat Enclosure and Bark Collars for Dogs.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Collin_Nixon

After answering several inquiries regarding our success at eradicating weeds from Sluice Pond and raising funds to establish weed control, I thought an article describing a successful process would help others in Massachusetts and New England.

A brief history-Sluice Pond is a 50+ acre body of water with approximately 165 homes that abut the pond. Sluice Pond, fed by the Cedar Brook and natural springs, is one of five ponds located 10 miles Northeast of Boston that meander in a “Strawberry Necklace” through Lynn, MA to the Atlantic. There is a public boat ramp in a northern cove at Briarcliff Lodge that enables the general public to access the pond for boating, fishing and swimming from their boats.

The pond has 12 deeded right of ways that each enable about 65 property holders on nearby parcels to egress (enter or leave the pond). These pond paths were once water access paths for cattle, which were deeded to neighbors when older farms and estates were divided into building lots. Basically, there is a good deal of access to the pond as a four seasons recreational resource for both the general public at the boat ramp and through deeded egress for neighbors via the paths. The same public access is true at neighboring Flax Pond, which has a public beach for swimming. These access points helped us to qualify for public funding.

Evaluation & Water Level

Last summer Sluice Pond was at the lowest water level in 20 years due to a new gate system that remained open and there was tremendous weed growth. Preliminary research (backed by the experts in the evaluation process) showed that some of the rapid weed growth might be due to the low water level, which enabled more sunlight to hit the ever present weeds on the bottom of the pond in a greater number of places than usual causing rapid growth along the shore.

This year the Sluice Pond Association designated a Gate Liaison who communicates regularly with the local water commission and the water level has been much higher. Consequently, there are fewer weeds visible than this point in the summer last year, even in the coves which are largely overgrown by now. No treatment for weeds has taken place yet. We continue to record and investigate water level weed control. Weeds are also plants and respond to fertilizer run off from abutters lawns, so we have initiated an effort to ask abutters to please not fertilize near the lake edge.

After several discussions regarding the abundant weed growth last summer, we called Aquatic Control Technologies, ACT (there are only two weed treatment groups in the state). ACT had been the choice in 2001 when the pond received a chemical treatment. ACT sent an evaluation team upon request, a free service. They went around the shoreline in a boat last November to inspect the weeds and to provide us with an evaluation of the types of weeds present. They gave us a preliminary estimate for the treatment. I wrote up a summary of everything they said including that we did not have Milfoil, a weed that has been treated successfully biologically with weevils that eat the weeds and die. Other weeds don’t have these biological solutions, like weevils that eat Milfoil.

Our weeds included native Broadleaf and other invasive weeds (brought in by boats), but not Milfoil. The Milfoil was successfully treated by ACT in 2001 and has not returned. Dredging was discussed since that was the choice method 25 years ago for one of our coves. Today it’s too costly and not as effective as the chemical treatments available. ACT also provides dredging services, but not often on larger bodies of water now that safer chemicals are available. Sluice Pond is not a drinking water supply pond, so our estimate was much less than the hundreds of thousands of dollars in estimates for some communities that are trying to treat their water supply ponds.

All of the chemicals ACT proposed using have been EPA tested and approved with no detectable effect on fish or wildlife in proper doses. The application requires 1-3 days of no swimming, fishing or boating and no use of the lake water for irrigation for 90 days. Since Sluice Pond is not in an endangered species zone; all that was required was a permit from the state DEP and approval of the local Conservation Commission. The license is good for 3 years in this state. It helped that our local city councilor works for the state in environmental protection. We received the information we needed easily regarding the permitting process, the application and the timeline for hearings. He helped manage the timetable for local hearings with the Conservation Commission.

Funding

We have received city, state and perhaps federal funds for the Lynn Ponds Restoration Project and conducted successful private fund raising. We only knew that finding funds would be necessary after we had an evaluation and an estimate for treatment in hand. Based on 2001 when the weed treatment cost the Sluice Pond Association $3,500 we initially thought we could get the money together from our local fund raisers without grants. After the evaluation brought in an estimate closer to $20,000 only for immediate weed treatment without a long term maintenance plan, we knew we needed assistance.

We requested and received information from ACT about the treatment, wrote a plain English, non-scientific summary to notify pond property owners and abutters of our intentions. We held meetings to organize the Sluice Pond Association, elect a Board of Directors and organize a Weed committee. We created a web site at www.sluice.org to help us raise funds. Prior to submitting our application for treatments with the city and state, we took the information from the ACT evaluation of our weed problem and

(1) vetted the issue among property owners and abutters with the newsletter,

(2) hand carried notices to all abutters every other week for six week prior to the local public hearings,

(3) held several SPA meetings prior to the official meetings to hear concerns,

(4) asked our city councilor to attend eight monthly meetings and to plan the project with us so that we could get help to secure funds from the city and the state,

(5) set up a tax exempt organization, an organizational budget and a project budget,

(6) submitted an application for federal assistance from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to be used with other funding sources and the city/state,

(7) held a raffle and raised money for ACT to complete the initial permit applications for the state and city,

(8) attended the official hearings with ACT to make a presentation and an appeal,

(9) worked with our local state reps to access state funds in case the federal money did not emerge and

(10) worked with our local city councilors to get the Parks Commission, Water Commission and City to provide matching funds for grants and help with permits.

Whatever your situation, a publicly used recreational pond might qualify for weed treatment funding. If it is a private use pond with no public uses you might want to get an estimate from ACT (free) or a local water technology group and then determine if the abutters can handle financing the treatment or if there is some private support through local foundations with interest in preservation of land in your city or town.

We did the majority of the work to preserve a recreation area used by us, our neighbors and the public. But our motivation actually came from

(1) not wanting to see people drown in our backyards, tangled in weeds and

(2) the Supreme Court’s decision in Connecticut to take away personal property and give it to developers.

Long Term Maintenance

The Sluice Pond Association is still in the process of developing a long-term maintenance plan for weed control. We are busy sharing our fortunes at fund raising by first and foremost getting results for Sluice Pond, providing neighboring ponds with assistance in organizing or fiscal management and providing information for other citizen’s groups.

Sluice Pond is a 5-15 minute walk from a beautiful publicly maintained golf course and the nation’s 2nd largest urban park, Lynn Woods. Greater Lynn Senior Services is on the pond and we have many elder neighbors who have resided here their entire lives. However, we are just down the hill from private land developments behind the local Union Hospital.

Hopefully our state legislature will pass very stringent laws in Massachusetts regarding the taking of private property by imminent domain for “public good” that turns out to be “good” primarily for a tiny handful of developers. We are protecting ourselves and each other from economic predators by using the common issue of the pond weeds to create a strong, local citizen’s organizations that will not tolerate private property largess at town hall. We stay in close contact with the local ward councilor and city councilors-at-large. The new Board of Directors appointed a Government Liaison representative who attends every city hall meeting regardless of relevance to our pond. We are happy to supply any other groups of citizens who are trying to organize with information about our process.

About the Author

I remember sitting on my porch in Texas watching the fireflies
light up.  My friends and I would play games catching the fireflies
and putting them in a bottle. The person with the most fireflies
won the game. Summer nights were always special times. My friends and I could stay outside light at night running and jumping on the porch swings at the neighbors house.

I can still see my grandmother sitting on her porch. My grandmother
lived next door to us. She would call to me from her porch so I could
come over and get a treat. I had several porches in my childhood
because the neighbors would gather on someone’s porch and drink
lemonade and eat cookies. Everyone’s porch was available for an
impromptu get together.

Our porch was nothing elaborate just concrete steps that lead to a
wider expanse of concrete. The porch was wide enough so that the
family could gather outside when the weather permitted and enjoy
conversations, tell jokes and find out all the latest gossip.

Mr. Henderson and his wife lived across the street. I can still
see him rocking in his rocking chair watching the neighborhood.
We considered “The Henderson’s the noisy neighbors because they
knew everybody’s business. They would tell stories to the parents
about the antics of the children. Mrs. Henderson took her seat on
the porch in the morning and made quilts with some of the older
neighbors.

When I was transferred to California, there were no porches. In
fact my friends had never experienced the camaraderie of porch
sitting. They did not know that a valuable learning experience
had somehow escaped them because they never knew the joy of porch
sitting.

Porches are making a revival all over the country. Some homeowners
are searching for that connection to their childhoods. Some
homeowners who never had a porch in childhood see the addition of
a porch as an inexpensive addition to their living space.

A porch can offer a place to eat, a quiet place to read, relax
and experience nature. Porches are used to get acquainted with
nature. Sitting outside can provide the opportunity to chat with
neighbors and get to know them. These inexpensive additions can
provide a valuable tool for building and uniting a community unit.
The porch in its simplest terms can help the neighborhood become an
extended family.

Neighbors passing by feel free to say “hello”. They just might be
invited to the porch to share a glass of water. Americans are
emerging from a cocoon weaved from their need for privacy. Americans
are stepping out from their air conditioned homes and are moving
outside on the porch to meet their neighbors and enjoy nature.

About the Author

Tim Gorman