Porch Times

I get home from work and school. Damn it's exhausting. Mentally I am exhausted, my body tense and uneasy from sitting at my bench or in lecture halls for 12 hours a day. My head is full of plasmid maps, organic molecule diagrams, and trying to remember what I have to do tomorrow. Change the media. Start a transformation. Will colonies be on my plates tomorrow? Are the incubators sterile enough? How much ethanol could I put in my coffee before I went blind? A whirlwind of molecular biology, technical manuals, and Post-it note messages buzz in my brain.

Time to leave that all behind.

I grab a cold beverage out of the fridge. Today it is a glass of water with lemon flavoured ice cubes. I take my sketchbook and sit outside on my balcony overlooking the lawn and L Street. My chair has a soft worn groove for my bony ass to sink into. Feet on the makeshift coffee table I begin to let my mind wander on the page. Max comes out, we start to talk about our days, get the vaporizer warm, and plan out our evening.

That's the essence of Porch Times. Outside, with a good place to sit, a drink or snack, good company and good conversations.

The old people of a bygone era founded Porch Times. Get some iced tea/lemonade or mint julep, watch the world go by. Talk about war, recession, the youth of today, gardening, or gossip about the neighbors. A time for relaxing with friends, catching up, and strengthening community. People wander by and join in, others leave - ebb and flow. Too many people and it becomes a gathering. No, the moment has to be intimate.

It seems our generation has forgotten Porch Times. Caught up in the digital gestalt of Facebook and Twittering, texting people incessantly on the newest iPhone, these are the communities we create - a false network of face value friendships and threadbare conversations. Fast life, fast drugs, fast failings at good living. In the end what will our generation have? Bad health, large debt, obsolete gadgets, and the existential despair that comes with disconnect from others.

I repeatedly find that The Greatest Generation had it right, that for all the war, depression, and hardships they endured, they knew how to make the most out of nothing and not let life get them down. They had just as much free time as we did, and in talking to my Grandparents and various elderly friends I have, were much happier that we are now. It is interesting to note that whenever I visit with them it becomes a Porch Time. In my own weird way, I feel like Porch Times is a tribute to The Greatest Generation, both in it's simplicity, social function, and appreciating free time.

Porch Times is more of an attitude than an activity, a mindset that sets the pace of living. Keep it simple, keep good company, and relax.