” You didn’t have the green thing.”

Posted on July 1, 2012 by KG

By commenter Jonno:
‘At the cash register of the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman that she should bring her own shopping bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days.”
The cashier responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations. You didn’t have the green thing.”
She was right — our generation didn’t have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soft drink 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 recycling. 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 in our day.
We walked up stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every shop and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 275 kW 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 nappies because we didn’t have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine at 230 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 and cousins, 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, not a screen the size of the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 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 wrapped up old newspapers to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn’t fire up an engine and burn petrol 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 water from a tap when we were thirsty instead of demanding a plastic bottle flown in from another country. We accepted that a lot of food was seasonal and didn’t expect that to be trucked in or flown thousands of air miles. We actually cooked food that didn’t come out of a packet, tin or plastic wrap and we could even wash our own vegetables and chop our own salad.
But we didn’t have the green thing back then.
Back then, city people took the tram or a bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mothers 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 computerised gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 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?
Remember: Don’t make old people mad. We don’t like being old in the first place, so it doesn’t take much to piss us off.’

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28 Responses to ” You didn’t have the green thing.”

  1. Katie says:
    July 2, 2012 at 01:01

    The funny thing we didn’t consider it recycling, just smart business sense.

  2. K2 says:
    July 2, 2012 at 06:04

    In California, the “anti-bag” policies were around roughly 35 years ago. This lasted about 5 years when the trendy cause died because it was “so yesterday” and it was exposed that recycling paper bags didn’t help “the environment” because the paper came from sustainable tree farms. Of course, 35 years is about the right amount of time to re-cycle a trendy meme (see return of 1930s progressivism in 1970s and 2010s) because the people who can remember don’t want to mention their own stupidity to their grand children.

    • Ronbo says:
      July 2, 2012 at 22:39

      The Left Pig Mayor of Seattle and the city council of Obama boot lickers ruled that “Rain City” shoppers will have to purchase thin paper bags to haul away the goodies.

      This coup after YEARS of resistance by The Tea Party and businesses.

      This will REALLY work well in city that gets over 300 rainy days a year, as paper tend to fall apart when wet. :mrgreen:

      Repeal soon, I predict. :mrgreen:

      • Darin says:
        July 2, 2012 at 22:57

        And the plastic todays modern shopping bags are made from is over 80% calcium so they break down faster in the environment and use less expensive resin and coloring.

        Wonder where the paper pulp will come from for the new old school grocery bags?That’s our eco-wacks,always watering deserts by drying up oceans.They have no faith in the free market to maintain a balance so they feel the need to play god.

  3. Cadwallader says:
    July 2, 2012 at 06:06

    Love this. I am old enough to remember much of these practices. I recall a bottle of Pepsi being 5d ( 4c for you younger ones) and if you returned the bottle you got 1d back.
    The need to attend gyms has always amazed me. If one can walk to work and take a few flights of stairs each day; there is all the exercise a desk-bound person requires.
    Another measure I enjoyed was the ability to have open-fires. The Greenies have killed this practice in the interests of the environment, now we have unhealthy air-regurgitating “heat-pumps” and similar devices to cosset us all. :?:

    • Darin says:
      July 2, 2012 at 13:58

      I remember deposit bottles,when I was 8 or 10 my friends and I would take off walking to the country store about 2 miles from the farm.Along the way we would find enough empties to cash in for a couple full ones.Ice cold Coca-Cola or Barq’s from a slide door cooler that kept it just cold enough not to freeze,but still manage a few random ice crystals in it.Life was good!

      They kept people employed,kept us kids out of trouble and we didn’t get fat even though the drinks had real actual SUGAR in them.

      • Cadwallader says:
        July 3, 2012 at 11:32

        I haven’t had a Dr Pepper in years…still taste good?

        • Darin says:
          July 3, 2012 at 12:12

          When you luck up on one with real Sugar in it,most of them have Corn sweetner in them these days which just isn’t the same.

  4. Mistress Mara. says:
    July 2, 2012 at 09:07

    The woman’s big mistake was to apologise. Very old folk still tend to do that. If I’d been in that queue, that checkout fool would still be praying that I didn’t reappear in the store anytime soon. She WOULD remember me. :evil: Ha, gotta take your pleasures where you can. :lol:

  5. Anonymous says:
    July 2, 2012 at 09:37

    I remember Leed Lemonade and crates of sport drinks :mrgreen: ….

  6. barking toad says:
    July 2, 2012 at 11:11

    Gays and hippies support the ban on plastic shopping bags. Because of the social engineering I’ve stopped recycling – everything goes in the bin.

    On another note – I went outside and spoke to the plants yesterday- “you cunts are are costing me money now I have to pay for plant food from 1 July!”

    No answer!

    A bit like cry boy Albanese when Bolt asked him how much the tax on plant food was going to change the world temperature.

    Bring on the election

  7. LesterPK says:
    July 2, 2012 at 13:22

    Yeah, Bolt nailed him good yesterday. I always watch his show, sums up the week in politics in one easy half hour, even the kids know not to bother me between 10-10.30 :-)

  8. Mistress Mara. says:
    July 2, 2012 at 14:33

    The green thing is amusingly covered on you tube … “Penn & Teller Bullshit. Environmental hysteria.” Evidence of how easy it is to brainwash people.

    • Darin says:
      July 2, 2012 at 22:12

      I think Jim Carey nails the eco-wack activist pretty good in this skit :grin:

      http://youtu.be/P8tfuBIutLI

      • jonno1 says:
        July 3, 2012 at 21:35

        (I inadvertantly placed this comment in the wrong place below, sorry).

        Both great links, thanks. And something else for your amusement & edification:

        The other day God was looking down at Earth and saw all of the wicked behaviour going on, so He sent one of his angels to earth to look into it.

        When the angel returned, he told God, “Yes, it is bad on earth; 85% are misbehaving and only 15% are being good.”

        God was not pleased so He decided to e-mail the 15% that were good, to encourage them and to give them a little something to help keep them going.

        Do you know what the e-mail said?

        NO?

        OK, I was just wondering because I didn’t get one either.

  9. Adolf Fiinkensein says:
    July 2, 2012 at 17:18

    “…..We don’t like being old in the first place…..”

    Piss off, Noddy. I’m rather enjoying this decline into senility.

    After waiting in the line at Woolworths yesterday and hearing the interminable ‘have a nice day’ I put my meagre purchase on the counter and asked the girl with the piece of number eight wire in her nose “Has your day been a real bitch yet?”

    The old dear behind me in the queue smiled.

    • Darin says:
      July 2, 2012 at 22:04

      Woolworths?You still have Woolworths down there?My mother’s great aunt used to cashier for one,great store,at least it was then.

      • HarvardPotatoHead says:
        July 3, 2012 at 00:40

        !!Krapola!!!Woolworths? BlackBerry used to lift* his make-up there when yrs trly was his klassmate@Harvurd. OOppss got a call of nature tata Yrs Trly HarvardPotatoHead

        *lift – D 5 finger discount

      • pinkofreezone says:
        July 3, 2012 at 09:17

        Different Woolworths.

        There are Woolworths in South Africa, Australia and NZ which are mainly supermarket chains which were originally subsidiaries of an English chain (I think).

        The US Woolworths was a dollar store type operation I believe.

  10. Anonymous says:
    July 3, 2012 at 14:10

    Woolworths in Australia and New Zealand have no connection with either the failed Woolworths UK or the US company (now trading as Foot Locker). They were started by Percy Christmas, who didn’t want to commercialise the name “Christmas” and chose to name his venture “Woolworths” after the American group.

  11. jonno1 says:
    July 3, 2012 at 21:32

    Both great links, thanks. And something else for your amusement & edification:

    The other day God was looking down at Earth and saw all of the wicked behaviour going on, so He sent one of his angels to earth to look into it.

    When the angel returned, he told God, “Yes, it is bad on earth; 85% are misbehaving and only 15% are being good.”

    God was not pleased so He decided to e-mail the 15% that were good, to encourage them and to give them a little something to help keep them going.

    Do you know what the e-mail said?

    NO?

    OK, I was just wondering because I didn’t get one either.

  12. KG says:
    July 3, 2012 at 21:35

    :shock: Rats…I thought it was spam and blocked it.