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Another Take on Being Lectured by a "Green Person"


pappysmarket

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Well worth the 2 minute read.  This woman gave it right back to the young clerk who tried to shame her.

 

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are not good for the environment.
The woman apologized to the young girl and explained, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days."

The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

The older lady said that she was right -- our generation didn't have the "green thing" in its day. The older lady went on to explain:
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.

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 scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags. But, too bad we didn't do the "green thing" back then.
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 blade in a r azor 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 in the family's $45,000 SUV or van, which cost what a whole house did before the"green thing." 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 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger 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.

We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off... Especially from a tattooed, multiple pierced smartass who can't make change without the cash register telling them how much.

 
 
 
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The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

 

The young clerk was talking about the wrong generation. It was the one following the "old Lady".

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1 hour ago, jonnyintrouble said:

I feel you pain but it's a better "read" than a Jehovah rant at your front door in the AM.  

I think you missed the point.  There's no "pain" involved here. Just a very clear little story that illustrates the gap between the generations.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Takes a lot more than something like that to get my panties twisted. Now...dogs in restaurants...haha, no not that either!

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We have yet to try, but do have a nice central AC in our little house. I don't get out much now, anyway, but the truck also has AC, as does everyplace else.....Besides; we are out in the country, or it wouldn't be called a 55+ Country Club, would it? 

I must register a complaint about being called, "prune juicers", since we are both still quite capable of eating our prunes whole; even spitting out the pits, when we fail to buy the pitted ones, due to misreading the label.

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On 4/2/2019 at 6:32 PM, jonnyintrouble said:

My shoes are older than you.  Please move on, there's nothing to see here 😉

Wait, if you're a '44 model how do you have shoes older than giltner?

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On 4/2/2019 at 1:31 PM, RVGRINGO said:

We have yet to try, but do have a nice central AC in our little house. I don't get out much now, anyway, but the truck also has AC, as does everyplace else.....Besides; we are out in the country, or it wouldn't be called a 55+ Country Club, would it? 

I must register a complaint about being called, "prune juicers", since we are both still quite capable of eating our prunes whole; even spitting out the pits, when we fail to buy the pitted ones, due to misreading the label.

Is life in the Valley better or worse than in Tucson?  Thinking strongly of being there.  Why Alamo rather than Mission?  Best to you and your wife, always enjoy your posts even if I don't agree always.

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24 minutes ago, MtnMama said:

The problem is that after conserving and recycling, too many people quit and moved to over-consumption. Probably including the 'little old lady' if truth be told.

...And what evidence do you have to support that conclusion?   ...If truth be told you have a chip on your shoulder methinks.

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2 hours ago, pappysmarket said:

Wait, if you're a '44 model how do you have shoes older than giltner?

He didn't say he bought them new.....!   😉    Just more recycling and conservation at work, good shoes can last pretty much forever, >>  who will get them after JIT?    

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Pappy:

I don't know which might be 'better'; Mission or Alamo, but we are quite satisfied here, even though it is a 'dreaded gated communitiy, with HOA fees!'  There is the constant danger of being run over by a golf cart, which we non-golfers try to avoid.  We like the ameneties here, and the low maintenance brick homes, security, and very quick & easy access to either McAllen or Weslaco, as well as the FM-1019 route into Nuevo Progresso, for dental visits, etc.  All of that is more convenient than in Tucson, and we have more social contact opportunities. Of course, it is a lot lower elevation than Tucson, which helps my breathing. Our RV days are over, so we have not even explored Mission; although my wife does have one medical provider with an office in Mission. We just became 'Texas Homesteaders', which lowers the real estate taxes.  Medical services seem quite good for both of us, and are centered in McAllen. Send a PM, if you are coming this way, or have more questions.

We are way off topic......Going green, is a nice term, but most recycling fails & gets buried anyway; everywhere! It even creates a heavier carbon footprint, in many cases, due to separate facilities, collection, and handling.....Then burying most of it anyway, or shipping it to Asian countries where poverty forces them to take the money and the trash, which is now burying them.

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1 minute ago, RVGRINGO said:

Pappy:

I don't know which might be 'better', but we are quite satisfied here, even though it is a 'dreaded gated communitiy, with HOA fees!'  There is the constant danger of being run over by a golf cart, which we non-golfers try to avoid.  We like the ameneties here, and the low maintenance brick homes, security, and very quick & easy access to either McAllen or Weslaco, as well as the FM-1019 route into Nuevo Progresso, for dental visits, etc.  Our RV days are over, so we have not even explored Mission; although my wife does have one medical provider with an office in Mission. We just became 'Texas Homesteaders', which lowers the real estate taxes.  Send a PM, if you are coming this way.

Great news hearing you guys are happy and yes, the Homestead Exemption is a nice plus in Texas. Progreso is a great place to go for Rx, dentals and good lunches also. They used to claim to be the friendliest place in Mexico and they sure were.  Every price was in USD, no pesos wanted!

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1 minute ago, pappysmarket said:

They used to claim to be the friendliest place in Mexico and they sure were.  Every price was in USD, no pesos wanted!

 

Nuevo Progresso is also known as having more dentists than dogs.

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All still very true!   :)

However, walking up and over that damned bridge wasn't difficult 20 years ago; but now it is!  But, once there, our dentist is right at the foot of the bridge & she is quite good....even gives an additional 5% off for INAPAM.  

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People in the good old days did not have a choice so really there were no better than today.. no point being self righteous about the good old days. The minute women could get diapers for their babies and did not have to wash the dirty diapers they went on to the new thing... 

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40 minutes ago, bmh said:

The minute women could get diapers for their babies and did not have to wash the dirty diapers they went on to the new thing... 

Just like some people and their need to have the latest electric gadgets.

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12 minutes ago, bmh said:

Have you ever cleaned diapers with blood on poop on? Obviously not if you are comparing that to using the latest electronic gadget.

I thought we were talking about the impact on the environment of the manufacture, use and dispose of items, like disposable diapers and electric items. Excuse me.

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No I was being much more selfish. I cleaned dirty diapers and frankly It takes a big effort to want to go back to that versus using disposable diapers.. I also learned how to ron  before the electric irons were available as in Europe we got  the appliances way later because of the war and I do not want to go back to the good old days.. Also washed by by hand and hang clothes outside and took them down when t threaten to rain and so on and I do not want to do that again either...I can do without a tv but that or electric can openers or knives but that is about it, we could all go back to the good old days but frankly I do not care to.

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I would gladly go back to the good old days, as it was just 50 years ago that I was dreaming about sailing the world's oceans. Then, I made it happen.  Or, maybe 60 years ago, when I fell in love, married and had kids, while the government sent us to interesting places. Yeah! I would go back!  🧞‍♂️

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3 hours ago, bmh said:

People in the good old days did not have a choice so really there were no better than today.. no point being self righteous about the good old days. The minute women could get diapers for their babies and did not have to wash the dirty diapers they went on to the new thing... 

True enough...but also no reason for the younguns to lecture us either.

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