They didn’t need The Green Thing, It was a way of life!
Just remember, The Green Thing is not new! So before you judge others, get the facts:
I wrote a post a while back Living Green and Saving Money – Our Grand parents did it why can’t we? When we stop and think about it, the older folks, our parents and grand parents, were doing the Green Thing, they just didn’t name it. It was a way of life.
I recently came across this fun little anecdote that has been floating around the internet for a while. It just makes me smile so, I thought that I would share it with you.
It Gives some perspective to what Green Living really is and how we should not judge:
In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.”
That’s right, they didn’t have the green thing in her day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled,
using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But they didn’t have the green thing back her day.
In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks. But she’s right. They didn’t have the green thing in her day.
Back then, they washed the baby’s diapers because they didn’t have the throw-away kind. They 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, they didn’t have the green thing back in her day
Back then, they 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 pizza dish, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used wadded up newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, they didn’t fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human
power. They exercised by working so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she’s right, they didn’t have the green thing back then.
They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty, instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled pens with ink, instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But they didn’t have the green thing back then.
Back then, people took the streetcar and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus, instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they 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 that old lady is right. They didn’t have the green thing back in her day.
Instead of the younger generation lamenting on how wasteful the old folks were just because they didn’t have the green thing back then, why don’t you take the time to learn from the so called old folks.
They had the Green Thing, they just called it life.
They were definitely onto something, something that got lost over time, thanks to our never ending love affair with convenience.
“Please Share this with all of the selfish old folks who need a lesson in conservation from some know it all do-gooder who just jumped on the Green band wagon!”
And before anyone tells me they have seen this one before, have you heard of recycling? It’s kind of a Green Thing!
Just remember, The Green Thing is not new, it’s just a matter of remembering how to slow down, live simple, eat simple and enjoy life.
Sense it is also a healthier way of life you may even get to enjoy it a little longer!
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Category: Ask the Go Green Guy
About the Author (Author Profile)
Creator/Host of Go Green America TV
Jeff (Jf) Davis aka The Go Green Guy is from Maine
Moved to LA to follow his passion as an actor
these days he is still acting, lives in LA with his wife and two boys
an writes about Green Living for his website Go Green America TV
that will soon be a TV show!!
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