On Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:44:11 +0100, "'Mike'"
wrote:

At the till, in the supermarket, 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, that generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, they returned their milk bottles, soda bottles and beer Bottles.
They were sent back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled,
so the same bottles could be used over and over. So they really were
recycled.

But they didn't have the green thing back in that customer's 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 shops and
didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go a few
hundred yards.

But she was right. They didn't have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby's nappies 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 handkerchief, not a screen the
size of the Isle of Wight.
In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn't have
electric machines to do everything for them.
When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up
old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn petrol 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.

But she's right, they didn't have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain or tap when they were thirsty instead of using a
cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water.
They refilled their writing 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 bus and kids rode their bikes to school instead
of turning their parents 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 take-away.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful old people were
just because they didn't have the green thing back then?

I Like it. Only us oldies will understand or appreciate this.
Thanks

Pam in Bristol