jmcquown > wrote in message
...
==> Jill's Living Room: Then and Now <==

I also grew up in a time when the Living Room was where guests were
entertained and the fine furniture was showcased. The Rules for Continued
Living On This Plane of Existence were simple and direct: Break the Rules
and your next conversation would be with St. Peter at the Pearly Gates.
Little Brother and I didn't really "test" either parents' adherence those
simple tenets until well into our twenties.

What really stunned Little Brother and me growing up were the parents that
had entire homes that were showplaces. Those boys' mothers were fanatical in
keeping chaos contained -- usually all males were penned to a small section
of lawn or courtyard, fed (if lucky) and watered like hamsters, and then
shooed to another boy's home (usually mine and Little Brother's) so they
could scour the bricks clean or fluff the lawn back into proper order.
Imagine which boys were the most troubled and troubling...

Nowadays, I don't think "living rooms" is a term that many employ when
putting a house on the market. Study, den, or simply room were what I
remember seeing them labeled as. I know we combined our living room into a
larger area and simply call it The Hall because that's where we hold
gatherings. It's open, simple, and the furniture is comfortable.

The Ranger