Someone asked me awhile back what happened to neighborly ways of life. It dawned on me the other day as I was driving through a neighborhood... front porches! No one has a front porch and swing anymore. Newer homes now have " stoops"

I love front porches and front porch swings. They were important when I was growing up. It was the gathering place for young and old. It was " base" when we played tag, a place to run to when it started pouring rain. We hung out with friends on this porch at night.. playing guitars or giggling about boys. The front porch swing was where my first kiss happened. Moms and daughters would sit on the swing on their porch and talk about broken hearts.. dads and sons planning the next fishing trip. This was our place to be right after supper. When a neighbor saw you sitting out on your porch swing in the evening, it was an invite to come sit a spell. People walking by would stop to say hello. If you didn't see your neighbor out on their porch for a day or two, you would go over to check on them.

Now, you can live next door to someone for a year and never even say hello. How often do we hear about someone being found dead in their home after not seeing them for days? You rarely heard that back when I was a kid.

Yup, the front porch and swing was an important piece of life back then. Sadly, it's merely a memory for many.

Ah yes the front porch swing and the rockers...
Miss those days