The "Green" Thing...

MorelCabin

Quilting Extraordinaire
Joined
Jul 19, 2008
Messages
3,163
Reaction score
3
Points
168
Location
Northern Ontario Canada
In the line at the grocery store, the cashier told the older woman that plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."

That's right, they didn't have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were
recycled.

But they didn't have the green thing back her 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's 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 pizza dish, 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 wadded up 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 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 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 they didn't have the green thing back then!
 

moolie

Almost Self-Reliant
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
2,741
Reaction score
14
Points
188
I've sent this to my Dad, as he's "not into" recycling and doesn't believe in taking his own bags to the grocery store :rolleyes:

I just know that he'd counter with how much power it took to turn on those few lightbulbs and electric appliances, particularly the early tvs and even the tv we had when I was a kid in the early 70s.
 

dacjohns

Our Frustrated Curmudgeon
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
2,405
Reaction score
5
Points
160
Location
Urban Idaho.
Kids played outside instead of consuming natural resources to power and make their electronic toys.

People sat on their porches and enjoyed their friends and neighbors instead of staying inside an airconditioned house watching TV.
 
Top