An older shopper schools a young cashier on caring for the environment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older
lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are
not good for the environment.
The woman apologized to the young girl and explained, "We didn't have this
'green thing' back in my earlier days."
The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did
not care enough to save our environment for future generations."
The older lady said she was right that our generation didn't have the "green
thing" in its day.
The older lady went on to explain: 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.
Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags that we reused for
numerous things. Most memorable besides household garbage bags was
the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was
to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school)
was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our
books on the brown paper bags.
But, too bad we didn't do the "green thing" back then. 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
energy. 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 blade 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
in the family's $45,000 SUV or van, which cost what a whole house did before
the "green thing."
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 23,000 miles out in space in order
to find the nearest burger 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 smart ass young person. We don't like being old in the
first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off... Especially from a
tattooed, multiple pierced smartass who can't make change without the cash
register telling them how much.
We also didn’t have a phone, in case of an medical emergency or fire. We
would have to run a half mile to a neighbor’s house, hope they were home
and ask to use their phone. Try diagramming that sentence.
You are correct. We didn’t have cellphones.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We did it better out of necessity. Having been born in early 1943, I remember
all of these things that the old shopper mentioned.
There's little that smells better than cotton clothes dried by the wind and the
sun. We had clothes lines in our back yards until I was 20.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older
lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are
not good for the environment.
The woman apologized to the young girl and explained, "We didn't have this
'green thing' back in my earlier days."
The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did
not care enough to save our environment for future generations."
The older lady said she was right that our generation didn't have the "green
thing" in its day.
The older lady went on to explain: 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.
Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags that we reused for
numerous things. Most memorable besides household garbage bags was
the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was
to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school)
was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our
books on the brown paper bags.
But, too bad we didn't do the "green thing" back then. 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
energy. 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 blade 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
in the family's $45,000 SUV or van, which cost what a whole house did before
the "green thing."
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 23,000 miles out in space in order
to find the nearest burger 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 smart ass young person. We don't like being old in the
first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off... Especially from a
tattooed, multiple pierced smartass who can't make change without the cash
register telling them how much.
We also didn’t have a phone, in case of an medical emergency or fire. We
would have to run a half mile to a neighbor’s house, hope they were home
and ask to use their phone. Try diagramming that sentence.
You are correct. We didn’t have cellphones.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We did it better out of necessity. Having been born in early 1943, I remember
all of these things that the old shopper mentioned.
There's little that smells better than cotton clothes dried by the wind and the
sun. We had clothes lines in our back yards until I was 20.
