The Clothes Line

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Do you remember? The clothes line.... a dead give away. Do the kids today even know what a clothes line is? For all of us who are older, this will bring back the memories. THE BASIC RULES 1. You had to wash the clothes line before hanging any clothes. Walk the length of each line with a damp cloth around the line. 2. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order and always hang whites with whites and hang them first. 3. You never hung a shirt by the shoulders, always by the tail. What would the neighbors think? 4. Wash day on a Monday........... never hang clothes on the weekend or Sunday for heaven's sake! 5. Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you could hide your 'unmentionables' in the middle. 6. It didn't matter if it was sub zero weather..... clothes would 'freeze dry.' 7. Always gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes. Pins left on the line was 'tacky'. 8. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item. 9. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket and ready to be ironed. 10. IRONED?????????? Well, that's a whole other subject. A POEM A clothes line was a news forecast 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 upon the line; You'd see the 'company table cloths' With intricate design. The line announced a baby's birth To folks who lived inside As brand new infant clothes were hung So carefully with pride. The ages of the children could 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. It said, 'Gone on vacation now' 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 gray, As neighbors carefully raised their brows, And looked the other way. But clotheslines now are of the past For dryers make work 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!