The Green Thing

*The Green Thing* (not really sure where this should go but as it made me smile, I've put it here; Mods: move it at your discretion)

In the line at the supermarket, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologised to her and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."

The attendant responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation didn't care enough to save our environment."

She was right - our generation didn't have the green thing in its day. Back then, we used to return milk bottles, soft-drink bottles and beer*bottles. They were sent back to the plant to be washed and sterilised and refilled, so that the same bottles could be recycled over and over again. 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 department store and office building. We walked to the corner shop 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 240 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; 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 that takes up a whole wall. > 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 post, 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 petrol 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 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 tram or bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mums 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 computerised gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest fish & chip shop. But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old fogeys were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Re: The Green Thing

Fabulous post Karen !
I want to scream every time I see 'excess'. We watched some home improvement shows - not anymore, the so called improvements they made, were ridic and excessive, stereos in bathrooms, gadgets to shut curtains, and to top it all - lights everywhere ! Even all the way up the bloomin stairs ! Stupid - idiotic - mindless whims - Ggrrrrrrrr

Re: The Green Thing

When my youngest granddaughter read it she asked if I ever took pop bottles back for money and I told her yes, I did! We'd even stand eagerly waiting for a family member to finish the bottle and we'd race off to get the money back. I remember mum washing out milk bottles and putting them out on the step before going to bed. My granddaughter asked 'what was the point of that' - it's as though reuse isn't readily understood anymore and she thought it wasn't hygienic! All the more reason to feel so glad we were born when we were

Re: The Green Thing

Absolutely - I'm so grateful to have been born when we were ....