By Staff
One of the greatest benefits of porch sitting is gaining a new perspective on the community.
This view is not accessed from secluded decks out back - it's gained by activities seen on the sidewalks, streets and other front yards.
From my front porch I see neighbor kids Rollerblading, mail carriers, pizza delivery cars and people talking with each other. This is community.
Community is an interesting word.
One out-of-date dictionary in my study associates the word "fellowship" with community.
I usually don't associate fellowship with community, but it makes a lot of sense when you think about it.
Most sources I consulted agree that community is a group of people living in a particular area and sharing common interests.
Of course, there are communities within communities.
For instance, a neighborhood is a community within a city or village.
A social group, such as a church, is a community within a neighborhood.
A community can also be a specialized grouping of tradesmen (excuse the sexism here), professionals or specific groups that transcend geographical communities - the medical community, the educational community and so forth.
Most of us move among many communities each day.
Communities exist, from a psychological need, the need for affiliation.
Briefly stated, communities help people meet needs for approval, support, friendship and information.
Affiliation also motivates us to seek the company of others to ease fear of anxiety.
In general, we tend to look for affiliations with people in situations and circumstances similar to our own, giving support to the adage, "Birds of a feather flock together."
Communities are built on affiliation. Affiliation is connection and we depend on numerous connections daily.
It has been said that it's not what we know but whom we know, and recently I found that to be true.
For several days I had been fighting the knob on the backdoor at our house.
Because I am mechanically challenged, I had only limited resources for fixing the problem.
Without warning the latch would lock and not respond to my coaxing.
My son and I removed the assembly three times and three times the latch won!
The last time it malfunctioned was on a Saturday morning. We had been in and out of the door several times and then it froze, locking us inside.
The dog needed to relieve himself but he couldn't get out; my wife, the Mrs. doctor in the family, was late leaving for SMC's graduation and would be left out of the academic procession if she tarried any longer; and my granddaughter needed to leave for her soccer game.
With all the fierceness, idealism and determination of Don Quixote, I attacked the windmill! I started with practical tools - screwdrivers - and soon moved to a hammer.
At last the metal gave way and both inside and outside knobs died, falling with unison thuds on either side of the door.
The innards were not as easily assailed.
Needing a swift attack, I found the crowbar in the garage and killed the rest of it - except the latch itself, which was stuck in the door casing.
But alas, the windmill still would not die! Then I remembered I was a member of community and I had resources and affiliations - I didn't know how to finish the wreckage, but I knew that Doug, the locksmith, knew.
Fortunately, he was home on a Saturday morning and he willingly came to rescue me from the windmill monster that refused to die.
Doug has saved me several times and doesn't laugh at my lack of mechanical skills.
Within minutes he had extracted the latch. Using the skills of a dentist he used pliers and a screwdriver to extract the stubborn "tooth" and finish the kill.
The door opened and my dog was able to relieve himself; my wife drove off in my Jeep; I packed three girls into the other SUV and sped to the soccer field.
Of course, the front door was accessible the entire time but we were all battling the windmill at the backdoor instead, forgetting about the easy way out. The moral of this? Don't wait to call Doug!
Without the multi-talented members of our community we would not live as easily or as well as we do.
We need each other in ways often not seen or even understood. But we are community. We are connected. We are affiliated. We are in fellowship. We are people living together for better or worse.
Even in times of disagreement, let's hope that our being connected is always for the better.