Fx4: Aunt Julie Airs Her (formerly) Dirty Laundry

I know, I'm a throwback. But in my humble opinion, there's something special about crawling in bed at night and falling asleep with the smell of sheets that have been dried on the line. Nothing like it!

In honor of Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Finish Fiesta, I'd like to share this little verse. I don't know the author, but it reminds me of my Mom and my grandmother and days gone by, when everything just seemed to smell sweeter!

Clothes Line 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!

POPrs Alert! A new POPrs Giveaway launches Sunday! Want to make your veggies...and your yogurt...sing? Make sure you tune in for Aunt Julie's maiden voyage in the world of bloggy giveaways!