Going "green" - then versus now
This is one of the best posts on going "Green" I have read. I love it, thanks Juli. I only wish the younger generations could appreciate how simple in a lot of ways life was as I say "back in the Day". Well that would be something my Mother would say.
Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the olderwoman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bagsweren'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 notcare enough to save our environment for future generations."She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles tothe store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed andsterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over andover. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thingback in our day.Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was to ensure that public property, (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribbling's. Then we were able to personalize our books. But too bad we didn't do the green thing backthen.We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every storeand office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climbinto a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. Butshe 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 thethrow-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobblingmachine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry ourclothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes fromtheir brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But thatyoung 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 everyroom. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief(remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana . Inthe kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't haveelectric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragileitem to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushionit, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire upan engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mowerthat ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need togo 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 ora plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilledwriting pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced therazor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor justbecause the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing backthen.Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode theirbikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hourtaxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entirebank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need acomputerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we oldfolks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?Makes you think a little, doesn't it?
Scottsdale and Cave Creek Real Estate
Juli Vosmik
Dominion Real Estate Partners, LLC
480-710-0739
Helping you make smart informed decisions whether buying or selling homes in Arizona. I know the area - I live here.
A portion of all sales is donated to the Arizona Humane Society.
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