The screen door let the air in and kept the flies out. That was the negotiation. The screen door was the compromise between inside and outside. The door was open but the door was closed. The screen door was both things at the same time. The air conditioner ended the compromise. The air conditioner said the inside air is better than the outside air and the door stays shut and the flies and the breeze both lose.

The screen door had a spring. The spring pulled the door shut behind you and the door slammed and the slam was the sound of summer. Every kid who walked through a screen door heard the slam and the slam was the punctuation of going outside. You did not leave the house quietly in summer. The screen door announced you. The slam said the kid is out. The mother heard the slam from the kitchen and she knew.

I had a screen door on East Seventh Street. The screen had a patch in it where the cat pushed through. The cat did not use the door. The cat used the screen. The patch was duct tape and the duct tape held for six years. The screen door with the duct tape patch was the most honest piece of architecture in the building. It said something broke and somebody fixed it and the fix was good enough and good enough was the standard.

The screen door is gone from most buildings in the city. The buildings have sealed windows and central air and the air comes from a machine and the air is the same temperature in every room and the temperature is chosen by a thermostat and the thermostat is chosen by the landlord. The screen door let you choose your own air. The screen door trusted the outside. The sealed window does not trust the outside. The sealed window says the outside is a problem. The screen door said the outside is the whole point.

See also: Tenement Window, Window Shade