Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Old Lady Fun

I recently received this in an e-mail and thought it was cute. Hope you enjoy it.


GREEN-BAG


Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman that she should bring her own grocery 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 clerk 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 or didn't call it "green."

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 diapers because we didn't have the throwaway 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 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 streetcar 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 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-ass young person.

 Remember: Don't make old people mad!

 We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to tick us off.

Until next time
Quote for Today
Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example. -Mark Twain-
                                                      



12 comments:

  1. SweetIronSnaffle has left a new comment on your post "Old Lady Fun":

    Granted I am one of "those young people" but i definitely smiled while reading this. I couldnt agree more. :)

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  2. billie has left a new comment on your post "Old Lady Fun":

    LOL - and all true!!

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  3. Linda has left a new comment on your post "Old Lady Fun":

    That's GREAT! Words of wisdom. And I like the part about not pissing off old people, they're already ticked about being old!

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  4. Ms Martyr has left a new comment on your post "Old Lady Fun":

    I read an article once similar to this where the writer reflected that her mother washed and re-used plastic bags "back in the day." If that isn't recycling, I don't know what is.

    Loved the closing sentence. Reminds me of the old Oil of Olay commercial ' "I don't intend to grow old gracefully. I'm going to fight it every step of the way."

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  5. Sandra has left a new comment on your post "Old Lady Fun":

    That's bringing up some memories! My grandmother was one of those women who washed and re-used plastic bags. She also saved all the last bits of bars of soap to boil them up and make a new bar. When I grew up we never threw anything away that could still be used and we had to walk or cycle everywhere. Great post.

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  6. Máire has left a new comment on your post "Old Lady Fun":

    That is all so true. Makes you think...

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  7. An American in Tokyo has left a new comment on your post "Old Lady Fun":

    Love IT!!
    Not sure if I am part of the "older" generation or the "younger" generation, but the message is great!!
    Thank you for sharing!!

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  8. Jen has left a new comment on your post "Old Lady Fun":

    You know what kills me? We just chunked a DVD player because it would cost more to fix it than it would to buy a new one. Ridiculous.
    I hate waste :oP

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  9. Calm, Forward, Straight has left a new comment on your post "Old Lady Fun":

    This post cracked me up. :)

    Guess I'm somewhere in the middle on the generation thing, but not the green issue. My grandmother, a thrifty farmer who grew up in the first great depression, never threw anything away, and she did rub off on me. Reuse, renew, recycle!

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  10. Greener Pastures--A City Girl Goes Country has left a new comment on your post "Old Lady Fun":

    I'm almost to the point of washing and reusing plastic bags just like the old days! I've been very conscious of wasting paper plates, tin foil, etc., partly because of the cost, but also because of the environment.

    I especially like the one where people used to get exercise by working in the old days, not going to the gym and using electricity on a treadmill. I have friends who hire people to mow their lawn and then they go to the gym. I just don't get that. And they wonder why I can eat so much. Because I work myself to the bone mowing, weeding, hauling dirt and manure... You kill two birds with one stone that way. And save the environment!

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  11. Wolfie has left a new comment on your post "Old Lady Fun":

    OMG, I related to everything on that list! Yes, I am an "older woman" and proud of it!! :-)

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  12. Joy has left a new comment on your post "Old Lady Fun":

    I remember some of those, think I got in at the tail end, so I just about qualify as an 'oldie' I think! But yeah, great post - the way the young go on & the media right along with them ... HUMPH!!

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It's so nice of you to take the time to visit. I appreciate your stopping by and commenting on what I've written. Even though I sometimes don't have the time to reply to each comment, I do enjoy reading them.