In the line at the store the cashier told the old woman that plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”
That’s right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day. Back then they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But they didn’t have the green thing back her day.
In her day they walked up stairs because they didn’t have an escalator or elevator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a gas guzzling 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.
She’s right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.
Back then they washed the baby’s diapers because they didn’t have the throw-away kind. They 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 … they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.
Back then they 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 pizza dish not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail they used wadded up newspaper to cushion it not styrofoam "peanuts" or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then they didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.
She’s right. They didn’t have the green thing back then.
They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled pens with ink, instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
But they didn’t have the green thing back then.
Back then people took the streetcar and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they 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.
They didn’t have the green thing back then!
Further Reading:
excellent! Our modern recycling programs are silly compared to the day when dairy companies, for example, took responsibility for delivering bottles and picking up empties at your doorstep! The bottle was reused thousands of times. Waste problems are a policy problem not a technical problem. Putting the onus on the consumer to recycle is a total sham. And we think we are so progressive now, when we were far more energy and material sensible 50 years ago!
Here in the library I’m sitting now I see half the people buying a cup of coffe from the coffe automat use two paper cups in one not to “burn” their fingers!
Nice!
Good article!
Great post :)
That “old” Lady is right, but back in her day wasn’t THAT long ago I’m sure.
Back in MY day I remember the Apollo Landing, the whole street went round to our neighbours house, 15-20 kids in a scrum to get a good view; we watched it on their TV because it was the only one in the street! We all took home made pies round, made form rhubarb from the garden, and home made sweet mince made form leftovers, back then mothers had time to show us kids how to make stuff, because they didn’t need to go out to work just to be able to afford stuff we didn’t need, it was great as a kid in my day!
My favourite weekly trip with my farther was rummaging on the local tip for old toys my dad could fix up for us, we didn’t have health and safety laws to stop us like today, back in my day we used common sense, something else that’s also lacking today!
I’m only 47 & 1/2, yeah THAT old ;^)
I enjoyed reading this.
Thanks
It’s strange – some older people have that attitude, but many others have a “waste not, want not” attitude. There’s a real dichotomy.
My grandmother gets a week worth of meals from one BBQ chicken. She sews and repairs clothes for the rest of the family. She plants the seeds of fruit she eats and gives away the fruit trees. She keeps pieces of plastic wrap and aluminium foil, getting several uses out of each one.
We can learn a lot from the older generations. Well, some of them at least :-).
Good thoughts – BTW, popcorn was also considered a good packing material (no butter of course!). It took heat to make it, but when you got a package with such packing, you put the popcorn out for the birds.
Beautiful Article !!
Did you just disparage my blender? I love my blender. A fraction of penny of electricity to save mountains of toil and chewing. A stupendous device!
And my clothes dryer? 75 cents of electricity to save half an hour of pinning up and taking down dozens of annoying little pieces of clothing. Another bargain I’ll take any day.
Excellant Post Jim!
I am only 38, but most of those things you mentioned are things that I remember from my childhood, so things have changed rapidly in the last 30 years! I grew up with one TV in the house, glass bottles that were returned to the store and milk that was delivered to the door in glass as well. There was no street side recycling service, but things were re-used more than recycled back then.
Oh and for fun we rode our bikes, climbed trees and made cubby houses in the bush. We were always outside in amongst nature. Overweight kids were a rarity, not the norm!
thumbs up!
Thanks for the nice comments. You all really got what I had in mind. I just came across this and it’s amazing this little piece made it all the way to Australia.
Ahaa..the good old days..