The environment is a hot topic in politics these days. And yes, of course we should protect nature, our fellow animals and our planet.
But some in the younger generation are very quick to point out that we elderly people weren’t mindful enough of the environment back in the day, and this tendency is becoming more and more common.
But are they really right?
I found this story online earlier this week, I absolutely love the grandma’s reply! Now that’s what I call a comeback!
I have no idea if the events in this story are real or not. However, I think it really doesn’t matter whether it’s true or fictitious – it’s got a great message, and that’s enough for me!
‘I was at the supermarket checkout this morning, and the young female cashier told me in a stern tone that I should bring my own grocery bags next time since plastic bags aren’t ‘green’, and that I was harming the planet.
The green thing
I 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 didn’t care enough to save our environment for future generations. You almost blew it and ruined the planet.”
She was right about one thing — our generation didn’t have the green thing in our day.
So what did we have back then?
After some reflection and soul-searching, here’s what I told the cashier…
Back then, we returned milk bottles, lemonade bottles and beer bottles to the shop. The shop sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles repeatedly. 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 shop and office building. We walked to the shop 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.
Cut the grass manually
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 Scotland.
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 old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or 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 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 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 computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.’
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 share this if you liked and agreed with with the grandma’s reply!
