"In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."
The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. The former generation did not care enough to save our environment."
He was right, that generation didn't have the green thing in Its day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But they didn't have the green thing back in that customer's day.
In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks. But she was right. They didn't have the green thing in her day.
Back then, they washed the baby's diapers because they didn't have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts. Wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right, they didn't have the green thing back in her day.
Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a hankerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn't have electric machines to do everything for you. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right, they didn't have the green thing back then.
They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But they didn't have the green thing back then.
Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.
But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful the old folks were just because they didn't have the green thing back then? I remember all of that."Food for thought!
8 comments:
Hi Wendy, I remember those days too growing up. We didn't have a washer or dryer so all the laundry was done by hand and line dry. My daddy too used the razor blades instead of throw away razors. We didn't have video games or a color TV so we much rather play outside or ride our bikes around. We hardly ever went out to eat since there was always delicious home made meals at home. Eating out was a 'treat'. We rode the public bus to school or work. We only used the car int he weekends to take day trips. But I guess all these things were the 'norm'. That just life was and we never thought or knew about the impact is was making in our lives or the environment.
I love this post :-)
Excellent! Mo
That is brilliant! Thank you for sharing it Wendy.
Brilliant Post !!!
Wonderful post. Thanks so much.
Really Great post.
Amen! I guess you could say that the Green Thing is recycling also, the past returning. Only I think they did it much better back then. I remember taking our pop bottle back and the push mowers. For myslef I refuse to get a riding lawn mower but I don't regret the loss of a push mower. We have a steep hill and I love my self-propelled mower now that I'm in my fifties.
I guess you could say that being green is even recycling for history sure does repeat itself. We have a long ways to go to be as responsible with our resources as our ancestors were. Thanks for taking me down memory lane.
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