A clothesline is one of the best things a backyard can have. You can keep your pools, rock gardens, and landscaped lawns. None of them match the contentment and serenity I feel when I see those two metal poles with rope strung between.
Those of us who grew up with a clothesline remember the tapestry of colors and shapes that hung there when we were young, whipping in the wind like pennants and snapping and twisting with each warm breeze. Our lives were on display every washday. All we had to do was look at what was pinned to the clothesline.
There was Dad’s favorite shirt, the one he wore after working all day. Mom’s polyester tops all looked the same; the explosions of bright flowers and big, round buttons waved warmth from where they hung.
Clothes of varying sizes showed
