The Green Thing

The following has changed my view about being "Green".  It's harder to be more green than how those of us among the "older generations" were raised!

The Green Thing

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older 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 she 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.  Kids got hand-me-down clothes and not always brand-new clothing.

But that's 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,  not one the size of  the state of Montana!

In the kitchen, they blended, stirred and washed by hand instead of having a machine to do it for them.  When they mailed a fragile item, they used newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn't 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 have to go to the gym to run on treadmills that use electricity.

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

They drank from a fountain instead of a plastic bottle when they were thirsty.  They refilled their pens with ink and replaced their razor blades instead of just buying new ones.

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 space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But they didn't have the green thing back then!