My sisters and I did this for my mother.
THIS IS
FUNNY AND QUITE TRUE...WE ARE PROBABLY THE LAST GENERATION THAT WILL REMEMBER
WHAT A CLOTHES LINE WAS.........
THE BASIC RULES FOR
CLOTHESLINES:
(If you don't even know what
clotheslines are, better skip this.)
1. You had to hang the socks by the
toes...NOT the top.
And now a POEM...
To neighbors passing by,
There were no secrets you could keep,
When clothes were hung to
dry.
It also was a friendly
link,
For neighbors always
knew
If company had stopped on
by,
To spend a night or
two.
For then you'd see the "fancy
sheets
And towels" hung upon the
line;
You'd see the "company table cloths",
With intricate designs.
The line announced a baby's
birth,
From folks who lived inside,
As brand new infant clothes were hung,
So carefully with
pride!
So readily be known.
By watching how the sizes
changed,
You'd know how much they'd
grown!
It also told when illness
struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe too,
Haphazardly were
strung.
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged,
With not an inch to
spare!
New folks in town were scorned
upon,
If wash was dingy and
gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their
brows,
And looked the other
way.
For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home,
Is anybody's
guess!
I really miss that way of
life,
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other
best...
By what hung on the
line.
H/T To my friend, Marie!
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