Professional Porch Sitters Union

I know my saying this will rattle a few cages; it can be a pretty conentious issue.

I’m not a fan of labor unions. In my opinion, they’ve outlived their usefulness in American culture. Further, unions seem to be much more about the leadership’s agenda than the interest of the workers. My father was part of a postal workers union for a couple of years, but bowed out of it after becoming irked and tired of the robotic political drivel pubslished in their regular newsletter.

However, I recently learned of a union I might be interested in joining. Professional Porch Sitters is, according to The Orion Grassroots Network,

an informal organization with a large and growing grassroots membership. To become a member you simply need to say you are a member and agree to sit around with friends and neighbors shooting the breeze as often as possible or practical. Preferably on a porch but that’s not critical. There are no dues, no membership requirements, no mailings, no agenda, no committees, no worries. PPS believes that the radical act of sitting around sharing stories with no specific agenda is critical to building sustainable communities.

I was reminded of an NPR story from July on the same Porch Sitters union a couple of nights ago. As I gaze out of the window, our neighbor’s back porch is visible over the a well-manicured vacant lot and between some tall trees. Sadly, I don’t know these nieghbors; they’ve only lived in this house for six months or so. However, one thing I do know about them is that they enjoy sitting out on their back patio. I regularly see a fire lit on their patio. Two days ago, a house-fan provided a breeze for them as they lounged in the early evening.

In August, another NPR story went into detail about the revival of front porches — a revival spurred on by the Florida design firm Duany Plater-Zyberk. New Urbanism came to realize that porches encourage community — as do detached garages and communal mailboxes. Modern suburbia, with it’s attached garages, big yards and lack of porches do little to encourage such community.

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