Online

  I was riding down to my local Walmart, going down a country road, when I see this lady hanging clothes. It brought a smile to me face I was taken back in time. There was a light breeze and those clothes were waving hello. I saw sheets, tee shirts, shirts and pants. And yes, a few unmentionables were also out getting some fresh air. A long pole was propping up the line. For just a moment it was 1968.

  Today we hear the experts talking about spending quality time with our children, that activity was a portion of my quality time with mother. I wasn't aware of that at the time and neither was she. The clothes had been washed and needed to be hung out, that was the reason for that activity. Often when she had sheets to hang I was summoned to help. Two people make that chore a lot easier. I would help carry that wicker basket loaded with those clothes out to the clothes yard. The clothes yard was just a place in the backyard where, you guessed, the clothesline was. We lived on the edge of Northwest woods and the clothesline was strung between trees. We didn't have poles in the ground. A broken limb or an old piece of lumber was used for a prop stick. The clothespin were in that little cloth bag swinging from the line.

  I remember well the procedure for hanging the different pieces of clothing. Pants are hung by the waist but shirts are always hung by their tails, you don't want to put creases in the shoulders, those little peaks could be hard to iron out. It's been well over fifty years since I hung any clothes on the line but I remember. I remember doing that when it was freezing cold and you hurried because your hands were so cold. I remember doing that on hot summer days when you took your time just enjoying the breeze. It's starting to rain! You would rush out and take in those clothes as fast as possible. When I was little I would tag along with mom and she would tell me stories. Quality time of the highest quality indeed. A simple time, a simple chore and a million memories.

  I remember when Mom got a clothes dryer. It was an electric one and the latest thing. No more hanging out the clothes! Well, that didn't last long as soon as Dad got the electric bill that dryer didn't seem so great after all. Mom agreed and said she didn't like the way the clothes smelled either. Those clothes needed fresh air. And so that dryer was only used occasionally. I left for the Navy and when I returned Dad had sold our house and was moved into the new place. There was no clothesline there, just a washer and dryer. With just the two of them Mom figured it would be alright, no clothesline. I guess she got used to the smell. 

  I have never had a home of my own where I could have a clothesline. Well, that's not exactly true, I could have, but didn't. Even living here in Caroline county Maryland, a rural farming area, you don't see many clotheslines. I expect they are out there though, perhaps hidden behind those white plastic fences, six foot high that surround back yards. Not many people "airing their laundry" at all, we just didn't air our "dirty" laundry. Today all that dirty laundry is on Facebook or Tic-Tok! I'm thinking clothes lines have gone the way of front porches, just not many being used anymore. It's a shame too, we really should be using both of them a lot more. You know, it's good for the environment. I'm not talking about climate change, I'm talking about quality time and people getting along with each other. Those front porches sure were good for that. Hanging out the clothes with Mom, that was good for my environment too, even when I didn't know it. I guess you could say we were "online."