Ahh yes. Sipping tea and rocking on grandma's front porch while listening to the sounds of chirping birds and tales of days gone by are reveries typically associated with an era characterized as one of "simplicity."

It's an era many have longed to resurrect as the world enters into the 21st century.

Could the hopes of reviving such a dream be relegated to the realms of unrealized nostalgia?

Not so for two Orangeburg women who have decided to put their collective heads together in an attempt to bring a little bit of the "good ole days" to 2002 Orangeburg County.

Through a collection of essays and pictorial presentations, Nancy Ayers and Noel Jernigan of Orangeburg have embarked on a publication endeavor titled, "Porch Reflections of Orangeburg County."

The essays, interspersed with photographs of the county's porches, will aim to shed light on the thoughts and values of previous generations through the art of storytelling.

"We want to tie into a lot of the morals and lessons to be learned there," Jernigan said, commenting on her desires for the book's outreach. "We want it to be a book to teach people by bringing them back to the simpler things in life. A time when people could sit down and just enjoy life."

The seed for the effort was Ayers' inspiration from Deb Austin Brown's 1997 book "Lessons from the Rocking Chair."

After reading the book, Ayers, who is a member of the county's Community of Character family subcommittee, thought it a good idea to consolidate the lessons into a radio spot format.

Upon receiving approval from a North Carolina Character Development Group, which had rights to the book, Ayers approached Boswell Broadcasting's Charlie Boswell for his assistance.

Falling in love with the idea, Boswell approached The Regional Medical Center to sponsor the spots, and soon, WGFG and WIGL were daily carrying one- to two-minute lesson readings by various community leaders.

Proceeds received in the production of the commercials have been allocated for the Orangeburg County Community of Character initiative.

Seeing the "Lessons from a Rocking Chair" materialize, Ayers proceeded to compile essays from stories she remembered hearing from her parents and grandparents. It was at this time when she and Jernigan had a chance meeting in the Orangeburg Photo Center where Jernigan is employed.

An avid photographer, Jernigan showed Ayers her prints on the porches throughout the county, and before long, an idea was born.

The women would bring their respective talents together in book form with the hopes of county-wide participation.

"I was just writing in my journal on porch reflections when I went down to Orangeburg Camera where I saw paintings of porches," Ayers said, reflecting on the book's initial progress. "It was a divinely inspired idea."

Currently, Ayers and Jernigan have compiled roughly seven essays over a seven-week period and are in the process of searching for a publisher and grants to move the process along.

The women are optimistic about the book's potential.

"We are looking to receive 35 essays," Jernigan said, describing that the ideal essay would be short in length in an effort to not only keep the attention of adults, but children as well. "We want this book to be for everybody."

Proceeds from the collection will also go toward further development in making Orangeburg County a community of character, said Dede Cook, Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce president.

"This is a great heads-up for the county's Community of Character initiative," Cook said. "This is the greatest next step for character that we could have ever thought about."

Plans are for the first official book signing and showing to be held at the Orangeburg Arts Center on March 6, 2003.

"Do you have a sitting-on-the porch memory, a story with a lesson, or just words of wisdom?" Jernigan said. "Write to us and tell us about it."

Anyone interested in contributing to the "Porch Reflections of Orangeburg County" project is encouraged to call Jernigan at 536-9040 or send essays to Porch Reflections, c/o Community of Character, P.O. Box 328, Orangeburg, SC, 29116.

T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by calling 803-533-5551.

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