[AT] Remembering Mom's Clothesline OT

[Bo Hinch]

Dave , had NO idea you was as old as myself .
Bo Hinch   S/W La.    where the water is plentiful again



On Mon, Feb 13, 2012 at 5:13 PM, Dave Rotigel <rotigel at me.com> wrote:

> Remembering Mom's Clothesline Author unknown
>
> You have to be a "certain age" to appreciate this one. I can hear my
> mother now.
>
> 1. You had to hang the socks by the toes... NOT the top.
>
> 2. You hung pants by the BOTTOM/cuffs... NOT the waistbands.
>
> 3. You had to WASH the clothesline(s) before hanging any clothes - walk
> the entire length of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.
>
> 4. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites"
>
> with "whites," and hang them first.
>
> 5. You NEVER hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What
> would the
>
> neighbors think?
>
> 6. Wash day on a Monday! NEVER hang clothes on the weekend, or on Sunday,
> for
>
> Heaven's sake!
>
> 7. Hang the sheets and towels on the OUTSIDE lines so you could hide your
> "unmentionables" in the middle -- perverts & busybodies, y'know!
>
> 8. It didn't matter if it was sub-zero weather...clothes would
> "freeze-dry."
>
> 9. ALWAYS gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left
> on
>
> the lines were "tacky"!
>
> 10. 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.
>
> 11. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the
> clothes basket, and ready to be ironed.
>
> 12. IRONED? Well, that's a whole OTHER subject!
>
> 13. We had a long wooden pole (clothes pole) that was used to push the
> clotheslines up so that longer items (sheets/pants/etc.) didn't brush the
> ground and get dirty.
>
> And now a clothesline POEM
>
> A clothesline 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 lines;
>
> 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!
>
> 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 also said, "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 their wash was dingy and gray,
>
> As neighbors' carefully raised their brows,
>
> And looked the other way.
>
>
> But clotheslines now are of the past,
>
> 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 out on that line.
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> AT mailing list
> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
>