| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| gramadinah |
Posted - Jan 02 2012 : 08:43:52 AM
I copied this from face book but it really spoke to me.Thought this was to good not to repost! Must read all the way to the end.... Checking out at the grocery store recently, the young cashier suggested I should bring my own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. I 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 about one thing -- our generation didn't have the green thing in “Our” day. So what did we have back then…? After some reflection and soul-searching on "Our" day here's what I remembered we did have.... 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 repeatedly. 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 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 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 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?
Farmgirl Sister #273 |
| 13 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| FARMALLChick |
Posted - Jan 31 2012 : 12:40:43 PM
Amen to that!
Lora
If it ain't red, leave it in the shed.
www.CountryFriedAcres.etsy.com
www.farmallchick.blogspot.com
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| Bensgrandma |
Posted - Jan 13 2012 : 5:51:20 PM
So true. I passed it along to all my friends from "back then"
http://www.etsy.com/shop/HugsandStitches
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ACharmingExperience |
| mudpony farmgirl |
Posted - Jan 11 2012 : 09:28:33 AM
Too true! My grandparents weren't necessarily thinking about saving the environment when they turned worn out clothes into a quilt, but they were thinking practically, a mindset that is getting lost in the "going green" fad. Folks were practicing "Reduce, reuse, and recycle" long before that catchy phrase came along.I still think there's great value in what my Granny always said, "Waste not, want not." :) |
| Bear5 |
Posted - Jan 11 2012 : 08:40:37 AM
I love your post, Diana. Thanks for sharing.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
| Acelady02 |
Posted - Jan 08 2012 : 4:01:54 PM
Thanks for sharing
(((((Hugs All)))))Penny
Farmgirl Sister #3343
God gives Miracles to those who Believe, Courage to those with Faith, Hope to those who Dream, Love to those who Accept, & Forgiveness to those who Ask...
http://ourgeorgiafarm.blogspot.com |
| texdane |
Posted - Jan 08 2012 : 12:08:03 PM
My mom had emailed me this recently. It is so true, not just of her generation, but mine, too. It's amazing how much our world has changed just the past twenty or thirty so years. Thanks for sharing, it was great to read it again. One of my favorites.
Nicole
Farmgirl Sister #1155
KNITTER, JAM-MAKER AND MOM EXTRAORDINAIRE
Chapter Leader, Connecticut Simpler Life Sisters
Suburban Farmgirl Blogger
http://sfgblog.maryjanesfarm.org/ |
| Sally55 |
Posted - Jan 08 2012 : 11:28:09 AM
I love this....thanks for sharing. Brings back to mind the stories my Mom tells me...she will be 94 this month!
Farmgirl Sister #3766 |
| amarquardt |
Posted - Jan 05 2012 : 8:01:02 PM
This was a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing. Isn't it amazing how the perspective of things has changed.
Amy
http://www.farnorthfarmgirls.blogspot.com
http://www.marquardthealthcoaching.blogspot.com |
| Rosemary |
Posted - Jan 03 2012 : 11:06:16 PM
Brilliant. I wish I knew whom to credit for a story worthy of Gene Weingarten, Dave Barry, Barbara Ehrenreich or any other of my favorite writers (who just happen to be older, like me, and come to think of it have all won Pulitzer Prizes for their amazing work).
And how about clothing that was made nearby, that didn't have to be transported to the nearest store by fuel-guzzling planes, trains, ships and trucks? Made, oftentimes, with a foot-powered treadle sewing machine! :)
Thanks so much for sharing this.
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| edlund33 |
Posted - Jan 03 2012 : 8:31:58 PM
This story is so true. Thanks for sharing it Diana!
Cheers! ~ Marilyn
Farm Girl No. 1100
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
| antoinette |
Posted - Jan 03 2012 : 6:19:24 PM
Diana, This is so true!! I am going to pass this on!! Thank YOu!! |
| Heather B |
Posted - Jan 02 2012 : 09:15:18 AM
WOW! I really enjoyed this and plan to pass it on to a few freinds for thier enjoyment. Thank you for sharing!
Heather
http://homesteadincity.blogspot.com/
http://littlehouseonthebumper.blogspot.com/ (My "glamper" page)
"Only your real friends tell you when your face is dirty"
Farm Girl Sister #662 |
| heritagehunter |
Posted - Jan 02 2012 : 09:05:18 AM
I like this!
I don't think we should be "green"; we SHOULD have common sense and responsibility!
Thanks for posting this. |
