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I saw this sign in a park near where I live. Sorry, can't hang your clothes here to dry! People in the West might find a sign like this strange and amusing, but it just goes to show how tight space can be in other places in the world.

Watch out for the rules!

People often take for granted the things that are in abundance or readily available to them in their daily lives. When young, many people don't give much thought to their physical health since there seems to be an endless supply of strength and vitality only to wish they had kept their bodies in better shape when the joints and muscles start to ache when their hair starts graying and the wrinkles start showing. The same goes with space. Growing up in a relatively small US city, I had always assumed that everyone on this planet had an almost infinite amount of space available to them and that they could do basically whatever they wanted with it.

As usual, this misconception is not the case and the value of space is very evident in crowded cities like Taipei.

Though this park sign may seem funny to those in the US, where many people have washing and drying machines to conveniently do their laundry, it is very relevant in a place like Taipei where many folks don't have an energy hogging drier to dry their clothes. Most people here hang their laundry out to dry in the humid air, usually on a small apartment balcony. Some don't even have such space to hang their clothes up and so use open spaces like parks to dry their laundry.

Though I used to think it was amusing whenever I saw signs such as this, I now have to stop and think that most people in the world don't have the luxury of space that I had when I was growing up in the States. If you have elbow room, appreciate and make good use of it because a lot of people out there don't even have the space to hang up their laundry.

Last Updated ( Monday, 26 March 2007 )

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