Rhett Butler should have made his presence known in the Somerset Hills of New Jersey,
If he had, he might have stumbled upon an open house in Bernards Township that boasts a sleeping porch off the master bedroom.
A porch? Designed for sleeping?
Long before air conditioning was invented, Scarlet herself would have swooned on a hot summer night in New Jersey, where the humidity can become more oppressive than Mr. O'Hara's overseer.
Whether a home was a formidable cotton plantation or a more every day abode, the sleeping porch was a common feature throughout the deep south.
Traditionally, ceilings and overhangs were painted blue, the color believed to be the same as in Heaven. As with many traditions, beliefs come and go. And so have the modern take on the need for the sleeping porch.
Still, I cannot help wondering if the sound of crickets whistling through a sleeping porch screen would be more soothing than air conditioning whooshing through a squeaky air vent. --OpenHouseScribe
