Sit down a spell. That can wait.

That's the motto of the Professional Porch Sitters Union. It's a motto I can live by.

I became interested in the Professional Porch Sitters Union after watching a news segment about it recently on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. Who, by the way, has gotten a really bum rap in the media during the past few months over the news show's ratings, but alas, that's another blog for another time.

You can read about the PPS Union here, but in a nutshell, the Union encourages people to "sit around with friends and neighbors shooting the breeze as often as possible or practical."

I liked the sound of that. But I take my union memberships seriously, so I decided to give it a test run before I committed.

Two weekends ago, my husband and I sat on our screened front porch, which has three rockers, a ceiling fan and an old beer keg with a wooden checkerboard on top. It's really the perfect place for union meetings. We sat out there for a while and as we saw neighbors come outside for one thing or another, we yelled (yes, we're country and don't always believe in using the telephone) at them to come over. By the time it got dark, we had four other people on our porch.

It was a great time for a couple of reasons: 1) We had several cans of cheap, old beer in our fridge and one neighbor loves the cheap stuff. This was a great way to unload that beer. 2) No one knows their neighbors well enough these days, and it was nice to visit and get to know the people who live around us.

Last weekend, we ventured over to another neighbor's porch and sat a while.

After two weekends of giving this union a try, I'm ready to make a commitment to sittin' down for a spell. I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce all residents in the Lake Bonny area to PPS Local 1633, at your service.