A Perch on the Porch for Any Time of Day

Thank you for Joel Achenbach’s wonderful article on “porching” (“The Best Seat in the House,” March 28). I have been porching most of my life, whenever I could find time for it. After being forcibly retired (read: laid off) earlier this year, I am now engaging in the act of porching almost every day.

My only decision each day is which porch to occupy. I have found that my front porch works best in the morning and evening when colored lights play in the sky over the distant mountains. My back porch works best in the afternoon when shadows form interesting patterns in my tree-shrouded backyard.

My porching activities are probably only temporary. Retired friends tell me they are so busy they don’t know where they ever found the time to work. So I am sure that as stuff fills an empty closet, bills fill a larger income and necessities fill a bigger purse, busyness will begin to fill my time. But when I finished Achenbach’s article, I picked up my cup of coffee and when out to my front porch to give it an imaginary hug. After almost 40 years of working, I am truly enjoying porching.

JOANNE LAW

Chatsworth