“You can tell a lot about a person from his underwear.”
Yesterday was summer. It started on the deck in the morning with coffee and the papers and ended at the bottom of the ninth, another Sox win. My friends invited me to dinner on the deck. We drank frosty Creamsicles, played Phase 10 and ate hamburgers and deviled eggs. We laughed as we always do together. Candles were lit and the smell of lemon filled with air. It was quiet everywhere else in the neighborhood but not on that deck.
Today is cloudy and chilly. I went out with my coffee and papers and came back inside two pages later. It may rain, and by the looks of the sky and the feel of dampness in the air, this afternoon will get wet.
An editorial in the Globe gave me a laugh this morning. A state senator has proposed a bill prohibiting homeowner associations and the like from restricting solar-clothes drying devices; however, the bill is not without controversy. Some associations demand the bill restrict these devices to back yards. Last year the city of Concord passed a right to dry measure, but it is in conflict with the current state law. The Laundry List, a national right-to-dry advocacy based in New Hampshire, has an on-line petition urging the First Family to put up a clothesline on the White House lawn. I have a vision of unmentionables blowing in the breeze near the West Wing.
I went hunting and found The History Bluff and an article about Presidential underwear. It came as no surprise that Harry Truman often liked to go commando or that Richard Nixon preferred whitey- Tighties. The only underwear conversion came when Calvin Coolidge, who wore whitie-tighties for the first two years of his presidency, switched over to boxers after being ridiculed by Vice President Charles Dawes. Although Coolidge admitted it felt strange for the first few weeks, he was glad for the change and was grateful to Dawes.
It seems that a President is required to write down his underwear preference for his staff so that they may purchase underwear for him when necessary. I’m thinking that’s going too far. Some things should just be kept private. My advice to the President is pack more than enough in case you have to stay longer. I always do.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: Briefs, clothes lines, Laundry, Undergarment
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
June 17, 2011 at 1:18 pm
The rain poured down most of the day but now the sun shines again. But the winds are so strong that it feels much colder than it is. I think autumn came early this year 🙂 🙂
So there´s actually a need for such a law 🙂 I don´t think we have any need for one over here. Anything that saves energy and therefore doesn´t let out ant carbon dioxide is seen as fantastic 🙂 🙂
Good advice for the president!
Have a great day!
Christer.
June 18, 2011 at 12:49 am
Christer,
It was ugly all day but it wasn’t until tonight that it really rained. It was supposed to be sunny-boy was i disappointed!
Some places just don’t allow clotheslines-think them unseemly. I love the smell of clothes and sheets fresh off the lines.
June 17, 2011 at 3:48 pm
I can’t even think of a person interested in a president’s underwear. But it was a bit of history I never read before. Do people really need a law denying them the right to dry their clothes on an ourdoor clothesline? I see plenty of them down here.
June 18, 2011 at 12:50 am
Z&Me,
One of the other pieces that gave me a chuckle was President Ford often showed up for morning briefings in his pj’s, robe and slippers.
Some home associations have internal laws denying people the leave to put up a clothesline. They think it looks demeaning to the association.
June 17, 2011 at 5:24 pm
Here in Texas it is hot and dry yet another day. One could probably dry the clothes faster in the back yard than in the electric cloths dryer. When you mentioned ‘solar-clothes drying devices’ I thought immediately of an electric cloths dryer in the backyard with a huge solar panel on the top. Then, it dawned on me that they are talking about cloths lines. High technology is taking over my common sense.
I would have never thought of Harry Truman going sans underwear. I can understand his going without pants since Bess Truman wore the pants in that family.
I am sure that our last commander in chief, George W., wore boxers so that he could easily reach down to see if he had any family jewels before invading Iraq. He didn’t, but Cheney had enough big brass balls for the both of them.
June 18, 2011 at 12:53 am
Bob,
Today was chilly and damp and it rained tonight. I know what you mean about technology taking over the brain. I do crossword puzzles and often miss the simple answer as I try to fit in the more complex.
Maybe Bess is exactly the reason!
George W and Cheney in the same paragraph is a sight I didn’t expect to see again. It’s still painful.
June 17, 2011 at 6:39 pm
Hi Kat,
I know several people who live in areas where they are not allowed to have an outdoor clothes line. It’s un-American! It’s my yard and I can put whatever I want in it as long as it’s not illegal, immoral or unsanitary and no one should be looking at my laundry anyway. What’s wrong with them? 🙂
I have a wire dog run strung between two trees and it makes a very good clothes line, too. Unless the dog is on it. He tends to run back and forth and pop all the clothes pins off.
June 17, 2011 at 7:33 pm
If you live in a deed restricted community, your homeowner’s association may have tremendous power over what you do with and to the outside of your home. They can have restrictions on roof top TV antennas, the color you paint the exterior of your house, the height and material of your backyard fence, prohibition for car ports as well as having large trucks parked over night in front. And, they can have the power to modify the deed restrictions without notice.
These quasi governmental organizations have a lot of power over a home owner. They can even get leans against the property for fines that are not paid that they levy. If you want total freedom, make sure you don’t buy a home in a deed restricted neighborhood. Townhouse and condo owners are usually stuck with these restrictions.
June 18, 2011 at 12:57 am
Bob,
My nephew lives in a restricted community, and he has to have his Christmas lights up and down by certain dates; has to keep his lawn green and I forget what else. It seems a new sort of servitude.
I know there are some down here on the cape. Most are retirement communities.
June 18, 2011 at 9:20 pm
It’s the decline of the Republic, Bob. Very sad.
June 18, 2011 at 12:55 am
Hi Caryn,
I loved the sheets on the bed which were fresh off the line. They had the best smell. I haven’t the p;ace for a line, and I’m afraid of something triggering my allergies on my clothes.
I’m laughing at the sight of your dog popping all the pins!
June 18, 2011 at 9:24 pm
Sometimes she just slid them all down to the end of the line so that all the clothes were bunched up together. Great for wrinkles!
June 18, 2011 at 12:20 am
The president has a long laundry list, and he should help us now. Whitey Tighties for Nixon. You can’t imagine what image THAT brings up.
June 18, 2011 at 12:58 am
Lori,
I don’t even want to imagine Nixon at all but Id think tighty whities perfect for him.
June 18, 2011 at 6:20 am
But it was Bill Clinton who had his underthings itemised for a charitable deduction.
Cheers
June 18, 2011 at 11:07 pm
Minicapt,
Thanks for the laugh!