Our Hills Hoist 
by Lyn Eather

I’m going to tell a story you wouldn’t think is fact
Our Hills hoist has nine lives just like a cat
When you hear this tale I bet you’ll think as well
That our cloths line is under a CAT spell

“I need another cloths line” was what my mother said
Off Dad went to town, a purchase in his head
He thought of what to buy, forgetting her last word
“I want a MEDIUM one.  Darling, have you heard?”  

Well you know how men are, when they go to town
Thought he’d make her happy and like a silly clown
Not heeding what she said, about a middle size
Bought the BIGGEST close line, typical of guys  

To big for the ute, the pipes to long to pack
Propped in the tray overhanging the cab laid the stack
And then off to get the groceries to buy a thing or two
Was proud of the hill hoist that was very new  

At the shopping centre; parking spaces there were few
The under cover parking seemed the thing to do
Dad went to park the ute in the parking under ground
Until he heard that god all mighty sound!  

The shiny new cloths line that was sitting up high
When he drove under, was pointing to the sky
Until it hit the concrete which made a crumpled mess
He took it home in pieces, Mum not happy you can guess  

But Dad is pretty handy and can fix a broken line
A little tap here and there and it was looking fine
The line was erected in the back yard
It did the job of drying cloths, but had a little scar  

And I reckon you would think, what’s the chance of that
But now I’ll tell you why I think our line is like a cat
A storm built up one hot afternoon…………
It caused lots of rain a bit like a monsoon 

Although LARGE cloths lines have a lot of length
Problem with the structure is there are issues with the strength
There were blankets on the line, when it began to rain
They were wet and heavy, the line bent with the strain

The bends this time were not quite as bad
But still the line and Mum, still looked pretty sad
Dad straightened it by hand this time, but it couldn’t spin around
Because he tied it to a rope and pegged it to the ground

Not long after that, a wind blew really strong
Again the poor cloths line, didn’t last real long
Back to the shed he went again, to straighten all the bends
And I bet you think that’s where this story ends

Dad’s new repairs helped it to handle lots of breeze
But another storm came, that damaged lots of trees
The biggest tree in our yard that had lived for many years
Fell directly on the line.  It bought my Mum to tears

Underneath the leaves and branches, you could hardly see
The poor line lying helpless beneath the fallen tree
Dad got out the chain saw and cut the tree away
And again fixed it up in the shed, he spent another day

The tree had made a mess it broke the pole in half
Dad wielded a steel support to make it really tuff
Tough it was, so very strong the line could last for years
But inside it was feeling sick as the welding broke the gears

The windy thing that you turn, to lift it up and down
Was made of plastic Dad forgot when it came from town
The welding that my dad did, made the pole quite hot
The plastic melted inside and the mechanism stopped  

Dad didn’t know the winding thing couldn’t turn around
And continued to concrete it, firmly in the ground
Our hills hoist still does the job of drying cloths
Why it’s set so low? Mum makes sure everybody knows

Every time she pegs the cloths, her face is angry red
Her neck is bent her back is arched as not to bump her head
Our cloths line is now the strongest in the region…………..
And fingers crossed, it will last another season

So that’s the tale of our Hills Hoist…………
If you’re laughing or crying I bet your eyes are moist……..
The life it’s lead so far has been a risky one
And if it’s really got lives like a cat I hope it’s still got some!