The Green Thing.... Older Veiwers Will Appreciate This One

[ivor4781]

Checking out at
the supermarket, the young cashier suggested to the much older woman, that
she should bring her own grocery bags because Plastic bags weren't good for
the environment.

The woman apologised and explained,
"We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days."

The young cashier 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, lemonade bottles and beer bottles to
the shop. The shop sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilised
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 shops bagged our
groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused for numerous things, most
memorable besides household bags for rubbish, was the use of brown paper
bags as book covers for our schoolbooks. This was to ensure that public
property (the books provided for our use by the school), were not defaced by
our scribbling's. Then we were able to personalise 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 a lift in every supermarket, shop and office building. We walked to the
local shop and didn't climb into a 300 horsepower machine every time we had
to go half a mile.

But she was right. We didn't have the "green thing" in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's
Terry Towel nappies because we didn't have the throwaway kind. We dried
clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 3 kilowatts
– wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days.
Kids had 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 radio or TV in the house - not a TV in every room and
the TV had a small screen the size of a big handkerchief (remember them?),
not a screen the size of Scotland 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 petrol just to cut the lawn. We pushed
the 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 tap or 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 Mums into a 24-hour taxi service in the family's
£50,000 ‘People Carrier’ which cost the same as 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 computerised gadget
to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in
order to find

the nearest Pub!

But isn't it sad that 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 arse
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 smartarse who can't
work out the change without th

[ummmm]

Thank the Lord that things have moved on....

[rockyracoon]

Amen to that ^^^

[mccfluff]

omg, is it that sort of day?

[ivor4781]

got to agree with ya .lol

[EcclesCake]

Did I miss the BOGOF for rose tinted glasses at Specsavers?

[murraymints]

Brilliant !!

[dannyk13]

That brings back a few memories

[stewey]

You just know, Ivor, don't you, that some tattooed, multiple pierced smartarse who can't work out the change without using a calculator is going to come on here and say: "Well if it wasn't for the computer you wouldn't be able to post this kind of nostalgic pap."....By the way; I liked it.

[berniecuddles]

excellent

[quizzywig]

I love it! I'll certainly forward it to my friends and family who'll also appreciate it.

[Connemmara]

very well said and written

[netibiza]

.............and stewey it was the older generation who invented the computer!!!!

[society]

This bring back some memories. I remember using brown paper bags to paper books and package lunch.

[murraymints]

[x-ray]

Very good ivor.
Agree with what you say - certainly does bring back memories of the "good old days"
Having read all that, I realise just how old I am

[murraymints]

Ignore me..wrong thread !

[andres]

Don't forget the cane baskets we used to have . Oh, and the prams with compartments under the mattress for shopping.

[askyourgran]

We used to recycle paper by cutting it into squares and hanging it in the loo, no fancy cushioned toilet paper in those days. Hearth rugs were made of rags in some homes. I remember Dad put his old shoes to burn on the coal fire one evening to save on coal.

[Pragmatist]

Thank you Ivor, from one oldie to another you have certainly brightened up what was a previously extremely sh*tty day! You missed out co-op jam jars (Mum got a halfpenny for them) and string and wax on the parcels! I remember the wax well... 'cos I aways got the job of having to pick it all of before it could be rolled up for next time!