Green thing

[cateyes1]

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are not good for the environment.
 The woman apologized to the young girl and explained, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days."

The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

The older lady said that she was right -- our generation didn't have the "green thing" in its day. The older lady went on to explain:
 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.

Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags that we reused for numerous things. Most memorable besides household garbage bags was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize 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 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 diapers 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 blade in a r azor 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 streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service in the family's $45,000 SUV or van, which cost what 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 computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger 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 smart *bleep* young person.

We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to *bleep* us off... Especially from a tattooed, multiple pierced smartass who can't make change without the cash register telling them how much.

[lywb2168]

All so true, she is right, I do remember when my brothers were born, back on the early 80s, that pampers was a luxury that not everybody could afford and my parents only used them for long days out or for trips longer than 1 hour.

[moonangel]

what a lovely reminder of what it was in the old days.. life was so much simpler then.  in my town during the summers the only kids outside playing is the ones in my family.

[dwggs]

I love it .. great reply to the new generation.  I remember most of those things .. One Black and white TV, hanging clothes out on the line, walking to school.

[hkckk5]

That was a lot to read. However, I enjoyed it very much. I am 64 years old and can relate to a lot the lady was telling the cashier.

[catherinedwhite]

I've read that one before. It is a good one. Thanks for sharing it here.

[jgw007]

Love that story!

[countrygirl12]

Is this true as in something you witnessed?  Or a story someone wrote?  Just curious.  I have the reusable bags but I don't always remember to take them.  And when you do the stupid cashier packs 50 pounds of canned goods into ONE bag and I cannot lift it.  If a cashier ever said this to me I would promptly put her in her place and then call for the store manager.  OR I would tell her to GIVE me some and I would use them.  lol.  I also reuse the plastic bags I get at the grocery store.  That is if they do not rip before I get home.  Most times they do.

Our local grocery store has these little really thin bags that I guess they have been told to use for only a couple of items.  They are smaller than the regular sized bags.  If I see them using those I always tell them to use the regular bags.  I had one cashier that you could tell she got upset because she had to take it out of that too small bag and put in a regular plastic bag.

It is what it is and it really doesn't matter what we do this world is not going to last forever not matter what we do.

[marciaenglish]

What a great story!  I remember the old times she was talking about and it is all so very true!

[clickers]

Yes, that post takes us down memory lane. We will always be progressing. Each stage need the other to advance. The young lady will one day become the old lady; should she be graced to reach it. I myself can't imagine technology, and the 'green thing' becoming more advanced.

[tuyetmai]

I enjoy it a lot and thank for sharing.

[tantricia44]

Old Lady's right when my little bro. was born, last kid out of 6, the cloth/towel diapers was still being used! When he became a toddler mom started us the new convenient plastic diapers!