“Yankees traditionally build porches that will sag after a decade, and tack them on houses built to stand a century. I think it is a custom smiled upon by church fathers, because it ensures that the porch will be a barometer of the morale of whatever occupants may be therein….New England is a harsh climate not only for crops but for neighbors and porches as well.  Any flagging of morale – any passing of days skulking indoors in a state of depression …any slacking of righteousness – and down goes the porch.’’

-- Mark Kramer, in Three Farms (1980)