have a laugh parkies

[shasha]

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, pop 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 nappies 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 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 smartass 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

piss us off.

[Hidden]

F###en love it , you are so right sha

Al

[Danny2401]

Hi alsh59, until I read your story, I did not realize how green we had been, I would like to add the waste today is crazy, shops throw out good food into bins, which could have a better home, and how often do you see food just dumped on the Street, We could not waste it, because it cost to much.

Bye

Danny

[Lionel]

Shasha,

I wish I had written your article - why? Because it's a brilliant piece of work!

You hit so many nails on the head with your insight and recollection of the way it was for us years ago - I too never realized just how green we were before the word had ever been applied to recycling.

But don't be too hard on the young cashier, remember every YOUNG generation thinks they invented every idea worth having, and all that went before is old hat. I was the one of the world's smartest guys when I was a teenager then realized just how dumb and inexperienced I was when I grew up!

Thanks for the memories Shasha, surely one of the best articles I have ever read.

[Hidden in reply to Lionel]

Shouldn’t we feel like we know more as we get older instead of less?

I also remember thinking how I was going to change the world when I first got out of college.

[Joealt]

I am amazed at how much the world has changed in just the past ten years. New Technology can't even compete with Newer Technology. We have become slaves of fashion. Our entire economy seems to be based on cellphones.My daughter is on her fifth phone because mobile phones are forever obsolete.

[shasha]

THANKS TO ALL WHO LIKED THE ARTICLE - BUT I CANNOT CLAIM IT AS MY WORK ...IT WAS SENT TO ME BY MY SISTER IN LAW --- STILL I HOPE WE ALL APPRECIATE THE MESSAGE !!

[PatV]

I love this too. Love clotheslines, open windows instead of AC (but then you have to listen to the neighbors' AC:() , mopping by hand. I do love my flatscreen TV and my dishwasher, but the rest you can keep. It's amazing to go to a small town like where my mom lives. WHere is everyone? We were all told, go outside and play and don't come back until dinner. (that is, if we had done all chores: fold clothes, wash dishes, mow lawn -- no motor!--the one chore I could have done without it iron everything: sheets, dad's boxers, dishtowels, what's up with that?) Then outdoors to ride bike, skate, play tag, hide and seek. WALK to school. Once a week I was driven to another town to take a piano lesson. That was it! Having PD gives me appreciation for those 'green' experiences.

[shasha in reply to PatV]

thanks for your interesting comments xx