But, we didn't have the green thing back in our day...

[ravip]

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman that she should bring her own shopping bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days." The 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, pop bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so they could use the same bottles over and over. Yes, they really were recycling.
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 in our day.

 

We walked up the stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every shop 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 washing 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 suburb of Jogeshwari. 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 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 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 water from a fountain or a tap when we were thirsty instead of demanding a plastic bottle flown in from another country. We accepted that a lot of food was seasonal and didn’t expect that to be bucked by flying it thousands of air miles around the world. We actually cooked food that didn’t come out of a packet, tin or plastic wrap and we could even wash our own vegetables and chop our own salad. But, we didn't have the green thing back then.

 

Back then, people took the tram or a bus, and kids pedalled their cycles to school or walked instead of turning their mothers 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?

 

Let the young turks know how happy were the (G)olden generation!

[chickenslegs]

I'm nominating this for 'Post of the Day" - The best combination of funny, but true.

[White Christmas13]

10 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

I'm nominating this for 'Post of the Day" - The best combination of funny, but true.

+1

[faraday]

5 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

I'm nominating this for 'Post of the Day" - The best combination of funny, but true.

It's absolutely right, & completely true.

 

[sirineou]

Ahhhh!!!!! the good old days

[faraday]

Yes, Evian Water, bottled in France then sent 6000 miles, to be drunk in Thailand.

 

If, someone had said 50 years ago that we'd be doing that....

 

Quoting what my father might have said:

 

" Don't be so damn silly"

 

 

[sirineou]

1 hour ago, faraday said:

Yes, Evian Water, bottled in France then sent 6000 miles, to be drunk in Thailand.

 

If, someone had said 50 years ago that we'd be doing that....

 

Quoting what my father might have said:

 

" Don't be so damn silly"

 

 

The worst is "Fiji water" sold in the US, it is actually worst than US tap water but it has being marketed and people are buying it. Not only it has to travel around the world to get to the US but the Fuji islanders are running out of water.

[Daffy D]

9 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

I'm nominating this for 'Post of the Day" - The best combination of funny, but true.

+2

[tifino]

yes the story is a goody, albeit an oldie; and still holds true...

[bert bloggs]

9 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

I'm nominating this for 'Post of the Day" - The best combination of funny, but true.

post of the year ,of the centuary ,every blooming snowflake protester should be made to read it ,but they couldn't care less ,because they have no idea what life was like without the "essentials" that they must have ,like an i pad .

[faraday]

These 'snowflake protesters' look to me as if they're having fun, getting noticed so they can yak yak to their friends.

 

Still, I'm only a white haired pensioner, with a slight limp:

 

"can't take that old geezer seriously"

 

What would I know...

[Sheryl]

It is not only the younger generation that are using/doing all the eco-unfriendly things mentioned.

 

Yes back in the old days we all did XYZ but how many of us still do?

 

And the politicians failing to act on this are in fact mostly older people. Though the "Millenials" do have a lot to answer for in terms of voter turnout and political engagement.

 

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

[sirineou]

Fore those holier than thou older guys , Rampant consumerism perpetuated by Madison Ave. has its genesis in the 1950 . Remember  Betty Furness, and the Marlboro man? I dont and I am 62 years old, So unless the OP is 100 years old  all the things he remember are not things that he did but things he abandoned. 

Interesting article on Madison Ave in the Fifties  for those that are interesting :

https://waverlyhs.weebly.com/us-history-blog-may-2016---may-2017/1950s-consumerism-television-and-madison-avenue

 

[sirineou]

The Op seems to suffer a bit from selective memory, as most memories of the "good old days" always are.

So I checked and according to his profile the OP was born 1958 , so the memories he has are from the 60s and 70s.

Here are some more Green Memories from the good old environmental days.

Cuyahoga River fire of 1969: rivers so polluted that would catch fire.

Silent spring , DDT and other pesticides

Smog in Los Angeles , New York and most major cities.

Oil spills too many to mention

Atmospheric Nuclear Bomb tests

Love Canal

To mention a few of the "Green Practices" of the good old days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 9, 2019 by sirineou

[chickenslegs]

5 minutes ago, sirineou said:

So I checked and according to his profile the OP was born 1958 , so the memories he has are from the 60s and 70s.

Here are some more Green Memories from the good old environmental days.

Cuyahoga River fire of 1969: rivers so polluted that would catch fire.

Silent spring , DDT and other pesticides

Smog in Los Angeles , New York and most major cities.

Oil spills too many to mention

Atmospheric Nuclear Bomb tests

Love Canal

To mention a few of the "Green Practices" of the good old days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Firstly, the topic was posted in the "jokes, puzzles and riddles - make my day" section, so not intended to be taken 100% seriously.

 

Secondly, the OP's age is irrelevant - he was quoting a story about an old lady speaking to a supermarket cashier at an unspecified time.

 

A light-hearted tale with some truths in it.

[sirineou]

9 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Firstly, the topic was posted in the "jokes, puzzles and riddles - make my day" section, so not intended to be taken 100% seriously.

 

Secondly, the OP's age is irrelevant - he was quoting a story about an old lady speaking to a supermarket cashier at an unspecified time.

 

A light-hearted tale with some truths in it.

 I think the OP posted this to make a point. and  the story  of the old lady was a device to develop the point

I did not see him disagree with the old lady's story so I Thought I would provide an opposing view. 

But if it only a jock, then no need for as to offer our views on the subject 

So Ha ha ha  then. Sorry for the intrusion.

As to the OP's age "She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day " his age places the "our generation" comment in context 

Edited October 9, 2019 by sirineou

[wgdanson]

And even the music was green, The Beatles only had 30 watt amps to fill Shea Stadium, with music that is far 'greener' than some of the s..t we get pumped at us these days.

[brokenbone]

they didnt have the climate death cult back then,

otoh they had the hippies,

i think these plagues will pester mankind for as long as industrialization & subsidies provide resources for it