The Right To Dry

I'm a little late in posting this but I wanted to make you aware that yesterday was "Right to Dry" day. People across the country are trying to make it possible so that everyone has a right to use a clothesline in their own yard. It seems silly, really, that this is even an issue but many communities have made it the rule that clotheslines are not permitted. In an effort to become more "green" and environmentally friendly I hope to see this movement work. I'm so relieved that we don't have to deal with that issue here (though some of the subdivisions may indeed have different rules). You can read a recent post of mine about clotheslines and my thoughts on them.

There is also a whole website devoted to clotheslines, their use, and this movement. The Laundry List is a wealth of information!

In honor of "The Right To Dry Day" (one day late!) I wanted to post this poem that I love.

The Clothesline

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 on the line;
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 were limp and bare.
It told, "We're back!" when full
With not an inch to spare.

New folks in town were scorned upon
If their wash were dingy gray;
As neighbors raised their brows
And looked disgustedly away.

But clothesline now are of the past
For dryers make work less.
Today 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 up on the line!