Backdoor Guests Are Best

For many years a small wooden plaque that stated, “Backdoor Guests are Best”, hung on the backdoor to my grandparents’ house. While these words just seemed amusing when I was younger, the older I get the more I understand it really was a philosophy of life in better days in our nation’s past.

In simpler days, houses were in many cases situated where there was easy access to the backdoor. In fact, at my grandparent’s house the driveway ran right by their back door. If I thought about it I could probably count how many times I witnessed anybody come to the front door.

We have now built our houses with their perfectly manicured lawns and elaborate fences, meant more for looks than to invite others inside. At the same time, we have locked ourselves inside, somewhat by necessity, scared to death if anybody ever dared to knock on our backdoor. Whatever happened to neighbors just coming by for a visit.

Never do I remember having to knock on a door at either of my grandparents’ houses, nor do I recall having to call and tell them I was coming. They never seemed as we do, inconvenienced by a visit or ever tried to rush you to leave. Maybe that is why families seemed a lot closer in those days than they do now. Many times even when they were not in the house the backdoor was still open, just in case any family members happened to stop by.

Maybe we could become a better society if we developed a backdoor kind of mentality again. Imagine what it would be like to once again sit out underneath a big shade tree and just talk about what is happening in our family’s lives, instead of short conversations on the phone or worse yet a very impersonal text conversation.

Just as I recall nothing being more important to my grandparents than what was happening in our lives, maybe we should talk more and turn off the TV and other electronic devices. Perhaps we should all hang a plaque on the door that says Backdoor Guests are Best.