> House after house where no front yard has anything for anyone, and quite long distances before you get somewhere you might be welcome, or have a chair.

This is very bizarre to me. I never once thought about a chair as a child. _If_ you got tired you just took a seat anywhere or just laid down.

An empty lawn was the perfect place to play any number of things. Even better was when 2 empty backyard lawns connected and there wasn't much/any landscaping for some really big activities.