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martin
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« on: August 29, 2011, 03:22:22 PM » |
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found on another forum - can almost forgive it for being US -orientated!
"The Green Thing.......
In the line at the store, 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 apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."
The clerk responded, " That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."
He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.
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.
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 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 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 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 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 tram or a 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"
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Unpaid volunteer administrator and moderator (not employed by Navitron) - Views expressed are my own - curmudgeonly babyboomer! - http://www.farmco.co.uk |
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azps
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« Reply #1 on: August 29, 2011, 06:29:27 PM » |
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Ah yes, back then ... killer smogs, acid rain, lead in petrol, lead in paint, all almost electricity and home heating made by coal, asbestos cladding, CFCs ...  |
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martin
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« Reply #2 on: August 29, 2011, 07:14:46 PM » |
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and everybody smoked, yet asthma was virtually unknown...........  |
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Unpaid volunteer administrator and moderator (not employed by Navitron) - Views expressed are my own - curmudgeonly babyboomer! - http://www.farmco.co.uk |
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desperate
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« Reply #3 on: August 29, 2011, 07:32:58 PM » |
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............so was a long lifespan........ah the good ol' days.
Desp
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Crazy old duffer
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martin
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« Reply #4 on: August 29, 2011, 07:41:49 PM » |
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My grannie (who I suspect modelled for Giles) lived to 95 (all her sisters reached similar ages), aided by oodles of bottled Guinness, and at least a packet of Craven "A" cork tipped per day.......  Lead in paint? - kids then were smarter, they knew not to chew painted things, could probably be trusted with matches from the ago of six (to light the fire), and were given a penknife shortly after.......... |
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Unpaid volunteer administrator and moderator (not employed by Navitron) - Views expressed are my own - curmudgeonly babyboomer! - http://www.farmco.co.uk |
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desperate
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« Reply #5 on: August 29, 2011, 07:49:22 PM » |
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Fair enough, we all know some crusty old relly who smoked 90 a day for 90 years, and built assy sheds for a living, but just read a few headstones to see all those who didn't make it.
Desp
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Crazy old duffer
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biff
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« Reply #6 on: August 29, 2011, 09:53:43 PM » |
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my old man smoked like a train,the pipe and john player,he would have a bad cough after a binging session or as frank mc court would say,"2 weeks on the batter"he would down a couple of beat up raw eggs(lacesd with whiskey) to restore his nerves.
he seemed indestructable but then he became seriously ill when he was 88 and had to go into hospital.kidney trouble.he wanted no machine near him and said if he could,nt make it on his own then it was no use,so he began to fade,then rave when the toxic went to the brain, my sisters signed the papers to put him on the machine and then he got well again,apart from having to go to the hosp every 3 days to get dialysis his quality of life improved dramatically and he was on the go from morning to night,at the age of 94 he decided to change over to gas and phoenix got the contract,the plumbers moved in and installed the new boiler,etc,they only had a few hours work left to complete the job when they went home on friday night.
on sat morning the old man goes out in the car to get the paper,parks at the front of the house,walks in to sit down and read paper but topples over dead.the sister found him stretched out on the floor.where we come from there is no big deal in someone dying at such a ripe old age and he did go well, we had some good laughs at the funeral.one of the best ones was the face on the plumber when he turned up for work on monday morning,he was distraught.we told him his money was safe but he was terribly upset,white as a ghost and we thought he might have a heart attack himself.the neighbours were fantastic and everyone got on well, but 94yrs is a lot of fags and whiskey. biff
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Big Wal
Newbie
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Posts: 20
-- -- -- -- I SEE -- -- --
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« Reply #7 on: August 30, 2011, 11:28:45 AM » |
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Posts: 25 Re: The green thing « Reply #1 on: August 29, 2011, 06:29:27 PM » Quote Ah yes, back then ... killer smogs, acid rain, lead in petrol, lead in paint, all almost electricity and home heating made by coal, asbestos cladding, CFCs ... What's Changed AZPS Look at the outputs of ,CHINA,INDIA,PAKISTAN,SOUTH AMERICA |
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