The Good Olde Days!

[Since1982]

When it was safe to walk on the sidewalk in ANY part of ANY American city with no fear of losing your life.

[Since1982]

The Green Thing..



In the line at the store, 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 -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

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 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 the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old 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 a wadded up old newspaper 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?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart young person.
In the line at the store, 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 -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

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 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 the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old 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 a wadded up old newspaper 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?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart young person.

The Green Thing


Some members complained about some of the posts in my "humor" thread, so I've moved them to a new thread called- "The Good Olde Days" Skip

[Since1982]

At least there WAS humor in my posts...and lots of truth. I lived back then and remember dragging my hand powered mower around the neighborhood 6 days a week all summer long to EARN my own spending money, AND gave half of the money to my parents to help pay all the bills just like my Mom did by babysitting children who's parents had a half dozen children and Mom only had one, ME. Yes, things were really horrible back then, no locks on doors, even when no one was home, if you saw a child walking alone on the sidewalk you waved and shouted out what a nice day it was and you didn't have to worry about someone calling the Police on you for speaking to a 10 year old you didnt really know. Yep, terrible times...I do really miss them.. Now all you need to be happy in an area filled with strangers is a place to hide from them and whatever weapon they had in their pocket. The good old days were really that, GOOD.

[Kirbstone]

There is a very successful businessman here named Bill Cullen who is my age and grew up in an inner Dublin slum helping his Mum run a fruit stall in the famous Moore St. market in the '40s & '50s. She mostly sold 'Penny apples' from a cart.
Their profit margin and lives were transformed following Decimal Day on Feb. 15th 1971. Prior to that there were 240 pennies in the Pound. Thereafter 100. She went on to be able to buy her own house and get her family out of the slum.

Bill the son got into the motor business, had a good brain and eventtually bought the Renault franchise for Ireland, borrowing 18 million to do so.
He wrote a book entitled: 'It's a long way from Penny Apples', all about his childhood and the grinding poverty they endured in the Dublin of the period. He very graphically portrayed life in the rabbit-warren Pimlico flats, where everyone was poor, helped each other on a daily basis, knew every family well, and always kept their doors unlocked.

This was in the halcyon days before the introduction and proliferation of drugs which have changed the face of every city and town in the land. Now, alas people are forced to lock themselves into their appartments, sometimes barricading the entrance to protect themselves from the addicts who terrorise whole districts mugging and robbing to support their habit.

Those 'halcyon days' are gone forever.

Tom K.

[ramoninaskirt]

Right on. Hit it perfect Skip ! I'm 65 and I remember it like it was yesterday. We didn't have anything back then you could call 'throwaway'. If you threw something away it truly was trash and could not be used any longer. When they introduced throw away diapers I remember thinking about the local dump filling up with them. It wasn't long after that they closed the dump and created a 'Landfill' and you couldn't dump there, you had to subscribe to a 'pickup' service. Things were different when I grew up for sure. I remember going into any retail store and everything was made in the U.S.A. That alone tells you about how old I'am. Every politician that wants to keep his or her job is talking about creating jobs. What a cruel joke that is. The only way is to nuke all the trade agreements and bring back the manufacturing jobs that actually paid something and had benefits, not all the entry level minimum wage no benefits jobs these jokers are talking about. These young people are more than willing to throwaway everything the oldtimers fought tooth and nail to get. Yes maybe we didn't have 'Green' back then but we had hope and dreams and were willing to get off the couch and did what needed to be done.

[Big and Bashful]

Brilliant Skip! that is one of the best summaries of our 'Green' world I have seen. erm, is the second half different? or just an accidental double post? anyway, excellent post!