I am writing in response to Wednesday's letter "Clotheslines a hazard for children." I loved the tongue-in-cheek letter about rogue clotheslines. I could imagine those heinous downed nylon wires lurking in the shadows just waiting to pounce on some unsuspecting victim, the clothespin springs beckoning the innocent, and the ruthless sheets laying in wait to cause those "zooming" children to fall off their trikes.
While reading this, one thought kept recurring in my mind: Where are the parents of these children? Are they turned loose to run wild with no supervision? It would be logical that a concerned parent would repair those downed wires, cull the worn out clothespins and educate their children about the dangers of zooming along without a care. I would be more worried about cars than sheets and more concerned about a possible abduction than a menacing sheet or clothespin spring.
I agree, clotheslines aren't aesthetically pleasing, but they're not villains. Countless thousands of us grew up around clotheslines, and we managed to survive. Why not admit you don't like the look and be done with it? As I said, in the beginning I thought this writing to be intended as a fairy tale of sorts, and then I realized the authors were serious … how sad.
