How wasteful our generation was
In 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 what you call the "green thing"
back in my day.”
The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Likely, your generation did
not care enough to save our environment."
He was right, our generation didn’t have the green thing in its day.
Back then, we returned our milk bottles, soda bottles and the very few 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 we really did recycle.
But we didn’t have the green thing back in that elderly customer's day.
In her 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, rip-roaring machine every time we had to go a block or two.
But the lady 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 mega-watts of 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 from the latest fashion center or a catalog with an UPS burning diesel to deliver them.
But that old lady is right, they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.
Back then, we had a TV it was one TV, more than likely a radio, in the house
not a TV in every room. The TV had a small screen the size of a hanker-chief,
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 through the mail, we used a wadded
up old newspaper 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
with 5,000 watts of light burning overhead.
She’s right, we didn’t have the green thing back then.
We drank from a hydrant or fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a plastic
cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled our 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, handle and all just because the blade got dull.
But we didn’t have the green thing back then.
Back then, a few people, needing to a great distance, 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. We didn’t have every kind of after school enjoyment such as
soccer, ballet, music, and things like that to go to.
We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen
appliances. We didn’t have or 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.
Our phone hung on the wall and didn’t require an update every 30 days.
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?
In 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 what you call the "green thing"
back in my day.”
The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Likely, your generation did
not care enough to save our environment."
He was right, our generation didn’t have the green thing in its day.
Back then, we returned our milk bottles, soda bottles and the very few 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 we really did recycle.
But we didn’t have the green thing back in that elderly customer's day.
In her 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, rip-roaring machine every time we had to go a block or two.
But the lady 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 mega-watts of 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 from the latest fashion center or a catalog with an UPS burning diesel to deliver them.
But that old lady is right, they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.
Back then, we had a TV it was one TV, more than likely a radio, in the house
not a TV in every room. The TV had a small screen the size of a hanker-chief,
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 through the mail, we used a wadded
up old newspaper 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
with 5,000 watts of light burning overhead.
She’s right, we didn’t have the green thing back then.
We drank from a hydrant or fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a plastic
cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled our 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, handle and all just because the blade got dull.
But we didn’t have the green thing back then.
Back then, a few people, needing to a great distance, 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. We didn’t have every kind of after school enjoyment such as
soccer, ballet, music, and things like that to go to.
We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen
appliances. We didn’t have or 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.
Our phone hung on the wall and didn’t require an update every 30 days.
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?