I miss you Sam!!

I miss you Sam!!
I miss you Sam!!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The Green Thing!

Now, before you read this, please do understand that I'm well aware of the need for recycling and whatever it takes to save our planet -- however these are some thoughts I have when some youngsters want to preach, although I do have a stack of cloth bags to take shopping and I recycle everything that I can. This is a little long, but a good look back at "the way it was" even though we need to focus on "how it is now"!!



Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned 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 we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we 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 handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana . In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we 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 walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we 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 we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in  conservation from a smarta$$ young person.

Remember: Don't make old People mad. 

We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to pi$$ us off.
 


14 comments:

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Very 'tongue in cheek' Sylvia, I love young people but they certainly can be so bl...y! self righteous, they'll find out one day haha!

Reader Wil said...

This a post to my heart! We didn't have the green thing, but we had no plastic things either. We had a rag-and-bone man, who collected anything you wanted to get rid of. And I also washed diapers. I cannot remember how many a day.
Well Sylvia, let's enjoy this time as much as possible! Your header is lovely again as always!

Pat Tillett said...

I LOVE this! And it's so darn true!

genie said...

You go girl...you tell it like it is. Nope, we didn’t do the green thing back then. We did much better if you ask me....and we are continuing with the same mind set in our old age. genie

Hootin Anni said...

I posted this quite some time ago, but it's STILL a good read. And oh so true. Isn't it? Sylvia, your "Our World" post below this post is just stunning!!! "May We Never Forget" cemetery plot with the deep rich red roses in the foreground...really makes me stop and think and thank silently those who gave their lives for my freedoms. Wow, the mountain scene is breathtaking. And your shadow shot of the wing back chair along with the tulips and other images ...well, you know....perfection as always!!

It was a busy holiday weekend for us, so I'm very far behind in paying visits to all who have left me comments in the last three days. Thanks for stopping by and taking time to leave such a positive comment for me. Hope your week will treat you kindly!!!

Melbourne Australia Photos said...

Too true, Sylvia! The thing is we still do many of those old-fashioned things in our household.

BlueShell said...

Great...and I enjoy reading!
Thank you!
BShell

Maude Lynn said...

This is so true!

Arija said...

Yep, I remember them well, and still whisk things by hand because the cakes and breads turn out tastier that way and kneading bread is therapeutic. Sure we have a kitchen wizz but only because the other half is a gadget freak, not because I like the fifty seven moving parts in it that have to be washed every time you use the 'labour-saving' device. We bought degraded land and planted a few thousand trees for wild -life corridors when we noticed that kangaroos had disappeared from the landscape but, I guess I haven't moved with the times and am one of the old crock who just is not up with 'the green thing'!

Loved your gentle reminder Sylvia.

Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio said...

LOL! That is priceless and so true! Back then, people just did the right thing without being told (or paid) to do it.

Margie's Musings said...

Good one, Sylvia!

Kay said...

Oh ain't it the truth? Great post, Sylvia!

Unknown said...

How right you are Sylvia.
Love your post.
Younger people should give a little thought about living "the older way".
Costas

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

You hit the nail on the head Sylvia. I was in high school before my Mother got a drier. We lived up in the mountains and shut the heat off completely at night in the winter. Made for some frosty mornings.

What Can I Say?

What Can I Say?
I'm interested in almost everything. Use to like to travel, but it's too expensive now. I take Tai Chi classes, swim, volunteer in a Jump-start program for pre-schoolers. I'm an avid reader and like nearly everyone these days I follow politics avidly. I'm a former teacher and Special Projects Coordinator for a Telecommunications company, Assistant to the President of a Japanese silicon wafer manufacturing company. Am now enjoying retirement -- most of the time. I have two daughters, one son-in-law and two sons scattered all over the country. No grandchildren.

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