Did I say, that I hate laundry day?
Laundry day, today, is so much different than when I was a
child. I remember washing the clothes, then hanging them out on the line to dry.
Yes, all year around. I remember bringing in clothes and sheets that were frozen
solid. Once the clothes dried on the line, they were brought into the house, and
using a large bottle with a cap with holes in it, all the clothes would be
sprinkled, rolled up and placed in a basket. Then would come the time to iron
everything. Yeah, that was laundry day back then.
Then, in the Marine Corps, laundry came once a week. In boot
camp we washed on cement tables, then hung them up to dry. In Vietnam, we didn't
have any laundry service, so, when you thought about it you would soap up your
face, and utilities, then rinse, and wear them while they dried. The rest of my
time in the Corps, I did my own laundry, which entailed washing, using a dryer,
and ironing. There did come a time when I was able to send a lot of my uniform
items to the cleaners.
Well, today, I find myself walking the 34 steps from my
apartment to the laundry room carrying two laundry baskets of clothes. When the
dryer is through cooking them, I fold them up and put them away. Well, it does
take some time. Washers have a 30 minute cycle and dryer has a 45 minute cycle.
So, it takes me about three hours. Then on other days, when I include the sheets
off the bed, that entails three loads and adds another hour and a
half.
Some might say, find yourself a wife and let her do the
laundry for you. Nice thought. I have had three of them, and found out each
time, if you want it done right you do it yourself. How well I remember my first
wife, wanting to perform her wifely duty, and doing my laundry; she washed my
"wool worsted shirts" in hot water. Yeah, you guessed it, they shrunk up almost
half the normal size. I guess people must no longer be taught to separate whites
from coloreds. One of my wives turned my white tshirts pink. Definitely do not
go well with military uniforms.
Well, if I haven't said it before, please know I hate laundry
day. But like so much else in life; you do it, get through it, and go on with
life.
