The woman apologised to him and explained that ' We didn't have the green thing back in my day '. The cashier 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 OUR DAY.
Back then, we returned milk bottles, soft drinks bottles and beer bottles to the shop or off-licence. They sent them back to the plant to be washed, sterilized, refilled and re-used so that it could use the same bottles again and again.........so, they really were recycled..........
BUT, WE DIDN'T HAVE THE GREEN THING IN OUR DAY.
We walked to the local shops and didn't climb into a 300 horsepower machine every time we had to go to the supermarket.
We bought fruit and veg loose .......... and washed them at home. We didn't have to throw away bins full of plastic, foam and paper packaging and need huge recycling plants fed by monster lorries all day, everyday..........but, he was right..........
WE DIDN'T HAVE THE GREEN THING IN OUR DAY.
Back then, we washed our babies nappies because we didn't have disposable ones and we washed up as we didn't have dishwashers.
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.
Children got hand me down ( mostly hand made and hand knitted ) clothes from their brothers and sisters, not always brand new clothing, shipped from the other side of the planet. But, he was right ..........
WE DIDN'T HAVE THE GREEN THING BACK IN OUR DAY.
Back then, shops repaired things with funny things called spare parts .......... we didn't need to throw whole items away because a small part failed. Back then, we had one TV and one radio in the house .......... not a television in every room and, the television had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of Wales.
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 post, we used lots of newspaper to cushion it, not bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn petrol just to mow 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 brightly lit, air conditioned gym to run on treadmills that operate on electricity and then drink millions of bottles of that special water from those plastic bottles but, he's right ..........
WE DIDN'T HAVE THE GREEN THING BACK THEN.
We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a plastic cup or a plastic bottle every time we wanted a drink of water.
We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new plastic pen and ..........
.......... we replaced the blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole plastic razor just because the blade became blunt, but..........
WE DIDN'T HAVE THE GREEN THING BACK THEN.
Back then, people took the bus and children rode their bikes to school or walked, instead of turning their parents into a 24 hour taxi service.
We had one electrical socket in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power dozens of appliances..........and, we didn't need a computerised gadget to receive a signal, beamed from satellites 2,000 miles in outer space, to find our way, but then ..........
WHO WOULD WANT TO LIVE IN A TIME WHEN WE DIDN'T HAVE THE GREEN THING ?
DON'T FORGET TO RECYCLE WILL YOU ?
images 1, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14 : via Brown Dress with white spots, image 2, 6 : We Heart It, images 3, 4, 17 : Crush Cul De Sac, image 15 : Ahhhlala, , image 16 : by Claire, image 7 : Vintage Rose Collection, image 11 : Lucyina Moodie, image 13 : The Telegraph,
