Adventures and Thoughts of Team Cross

I found this great article on front porches and community. It is excellent.  I’ve been passing it along to lots of people.  It is especially fresh in my mind as spring is starting to finally show up.  This past weekend I actually sat on the front porch (in a folding chair) and read for a bit.  Yes, 46 is a little chilly to be just sitting in the shade of the porch, but it felt nice.  I noticed some kids I hadn’t seen before and observed neighbors and guests wandering around.

This paragraph is a great summary and alone makes some great talking points:

This intermediary social nature of the porch is its strongest asset. The porch is a physical space that is both personal to its owner and hospitable to guests and strangers. It is a threshold of community: neither a place of anonymity, nor of complete intimacy. It is a place where new connections are wrought and old connections are strengthened. One can be invited onto a front porch even as a passerby; it provides opportunities for welcoming the stranger.

What are your thoughts on the front porch?  Why has most of our culture move to the back porch?

It also brings to mind the Alan Jackson song, “Where I Come From.”

Technorati Tags: Community, Front Porch, Alan Jackson

January 10th Hagar the Horrible Comic Strip – ArcaMax Publishing.

I submitted one of my photographs for the Minneapolis Institute of Art‘s Foot in the Door4. Basically any Minnesota artist is able to submit a piece of art as long as it fits within a 1 foot cubic area.  You can see my photo here:

So if you come visit between now and June 13, we’d be happy to take you by to see  my famous art work!