My neighborhood is approaching its 1 year anniversary. I live in an over 55 development in North Carolina. It truly is a special place, populated by special people. Apparently, Southerners sit on their front porches or, in the case of my neighborhood, on their driveways in the late afternoon.
Tonight, I was sitting in front of my neighbor’s house with “C “and his wife. I was enjoying a Pacifico and we were talking about the blog, telling jokes and remembering days long gone. I mentioned that I was having a writer’s block and asked if there was a topic he or his wife would want me to write about.
“C” immediately responded, “Write about the health benefits of sitting outside with your neighbors and forming new friendships.” “C’s” idea is brilliant. In Illinois, I had friends in the neighborhood, but I never remember sitting on the front porch in the evening greeting my neighbors. In my Illinois community, all the action occurred in the back yard and was inherently a more private affair.
In my neighborhood in North Carolina, a group of six neighbors started sitting in front of one of their houses. Their laughter could be heard from one end of Manor Stone Way to the other. Their openness was amazing, welcoming anyone walking by. Typically, everyone introduces themselves, the host offers a chair, a drink and we talk as if we had known each other for years. If this is the highly touted southern hospitality, I love it.
First of all, an hour in the front yard welcoming relative strangers and turning them into friends is much better than living mostly in the backyard. The second health benefit is derived from getting old people (the guys are old, the women appear much younger) out of the house, into the afternoon sun and being more active. The benefits of laughter are well documented, and we laugh a lot. If I’m there, our laughter involves the topic of sex. Some of my neighbors initially were taken aback by my lewd jokes but they have loosened up and are, themselves, becoming lewd.
Hmm, loose women and lewd men could be interesting. The list of health benefits goes on and on. Lisa was right. I’m a lucky man! So far, I haven’t met a person I couldn’t call friend.
Here’s your joke:
What’s the difference between an oral and a rectal thermometer? The taste!
I read your blog about neighbors meeting in the front yard. In Austin, Texas many neighborhoods have started the Turquoise Table project. You can read the book, The Turquoise Table, by Kristin Schell, to learn how neighbors have a turquoise picnic table in their front yard, just to invite neighbors to sit and chat.
Thank you for your input. I’ll add the book to my reading list.