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littleroundman
01-05-2014, 09:03 PM
Checking out at the supermarket, the young cashier suggested to the much older woman, that she should bring her own grocery 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 younger days."

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

She was right -- our generation didn't have the "green thing" in its day.

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 over and over. So they really were recycled.

But we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day.

Grocery shops bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, that we re-used for numerous things, most memorable besides household bags for rubbish, was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our schoolbooks. 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 a lift in every supermarket, shop and office building.
We walked to the local shop and didn't climb into a 300 horsepower machine every time we had to go half a mile.

But she was right. We didn't have the "green thing" in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's cotton nappies because we didn't have the throwaway kind.
We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 3 kilowatts – wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days.
Kids had 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 radio or TV in the house - not a TV in every room and the TV had a small screen the size of a big handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of New Zealand 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 petrol just to cut the lawn.
We pushed the 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 tap or 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 Mums into a 24-hour taxi service in the family's $100,000 ‘People Carrier’ which cost the same as 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 Pub!

But isn't it sad that 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 arse 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 smartarse who can't work out the change without the cash register telling them how much it is!



Here endeth the bloody lesson!

okosh
01-05-2014, 09:36 PM
Checking out at the supermarket, the young cashier suggested to the much older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.


Plastic bags at the supermarket cost 15cents here.....Degradable bags are banned here in Tasmania.....

scratchycat
01-06-2014, 10:04 AM
Moving to a different town you have to learn the customs and this one strikes a nerve with me. The grocery store where we shopped in the other small town would pay you 5 cents for each bag that you returned to use or if you used your own recyclable bag. They also had coupon discounts if you used a store card. The store clerks here look at your really strange when you bring your own bag for groceries and they do not pay you for it or give a discount. When asked about a store card, the clerk looked at me like I must be from a very strange planet. Also the clerks in grocery store are not friendly, seem to be doing you a favor - whereas everyone was friendly in the other store. It is not so far and worth the travel but the roads are not good and with snow on the ground and -7 outside, we are adjusting to a new atmosphere but still using our own bags and adding a smile or two and a friendly word to the non-receptive person on the other side of the counter. You never know...

Eddie Haskell
01-07-2014, 02:29 AM
I remember well walking up to the local corner grocery store packing 16 oz coke bottles to turn in. They were like money in your pocket. You could by 22 bullets, canned goods, gas, meat, shotgun shells, basic tools and just all kinds of stuff all under one roof. I so wish I had a picture of that old place but I didnt have an smart phone at the time to take a picture. :RpS_lol:

laidback
01-07-2014, 09:33 AM
I remember well walking up to the local corner grocery store packing 16 oz coke bottles to turn in. They were like money in your pocket. You could by 22 bullets, canned goods, gas, meat, shotgun shells, basic tools and just all kinds of stuff all under one roof. I so wish I had a picture of that old place but I didnt have an smart phone at the time to take a picture. :RpS_lol:LOL, wassamatter Eddie was yer Brownie broke???

okosh
01-07-2014, 04:31 PM
I remember well walking up to the local corner grocery store packing 16 oz coke bottles to turn in. They were like money in your pocket.

Coke bottles were 20cents each when I was a kid....Cans were a cent each......Was a great way for kids to earn some extra cash and also helped to clean up the streets of trash...

Blue Wolf
01-07-2014, 07:00 PM
Back then, we had one radio or TV in the house - not a TV in every room . . .



One TV?

I must have been lucky.

When I was a young boy, my family had 2 televisions (one in the living room, and another in the family room).

I would usually watch TV in the family room, and back then we had no remote control. So I would have to get up and change the "dial" manually. There weren't that many channels, either . . . it only went up to channel 13, and some of the channels had nothing on them.

On the positive side, we didn't waste money on batteries for remote controls. Less pollution, too.

okosh
01-07-2014, 07:11 PM
One TV?

I must have been lucky.

When I was a young boy, my family had 2 televisions (one in the living room, and another in the family room).

I would usually watch TV in the family room, and back then we had no remote control. So I would have to get up and change the "dial" manually. There weren't that many channels, either . . . it only went up to channel 13, and some of the channels had nothing on them.

On the positive side, we didn't waste money on batteries for remote controls. Less pollution, too.

My mothers uncle had one of the first remote control for TV.....Was on a long cord connected to the back of the TV :RpS_laugh:

NikSam
01-07-2014, 07:49 PM
My mothers uncle had one of the first remote control for TV.....Was on a long cord connected to the back of the TV :RpS_laugh:


your uncle was lucky,


not many now can understand a close relation between pliers and TV remote control

6800


some point in my childhood , it took more than just walking up to TV to switch channels :)

okosh
01-07-2014, 08:09 PM
some point in my childhood , it took more than just walking up to TV to switch channels :)

A fist to the top of the TV followed by 15mins of playing around with the old rabbit ears antenna?? :pulling_hair_out:

NikSam
01-07-2014, 08:22 PM
Soviet HD TV from 1950 (huge zoom glass in front):
http://cache.zr.ru/forum/index.php?src=http://img0.liveinternet.ru/images/attach/c/0//44/796/44796204_gallery_1_11_20368.jpg



Soviet re-usable shopping bag - Avos`ka (fits into smallest possible pocket):
http://www.nasha.lv/siteimages/a/17/cb/6e6e7d64a8c14dcc2638bc8ef5cb8d.jpg


Power efficient casette tape rewinder:
http://s00.yaplakal.com/pics/pics_original/3/2/8/602823.jpg

NikSam
01-07-2014, 08:24 PM
A fist to the top of the TV followed by 15mins of playing around with the old rabbit ears antenna?? :pulling_hair_out:

I thougth only soviet TVs were fist –operated , good to know :)

NikSam
01-07-2014, 08:52 PM
Even drunks were eco-freindly and had those reusable foldable glasses with them:
http://08.img.avito.st/640x480/23526808.jpg

Buying beer to-go (in own jars):
http://melnicabiz.ru/images/pivo_na_razliv.jpg

scratchycat
01-08-2014, 10:11 AM
NikSam, that Soviet TV got me laughing and the others following even more, had to share with husband!! I remember those manual knobs for tv and radios and you are right it took screw drivers to turn them.

NikSam
01-08-2014, 12:29 PM
Coin operated soda machines, each had a reusable glass and equipped with a pressure washer:

6801


Juice and Beer bars were equipped with a standard fast glass washer:

6803


And surprisingly infectious diseases were way lower than they are today.


Also Soviets never ever produced the dispensable lighters and pens .

ribshaw
01-08-2014, 12:38 PM
[QUOTE=NikSam;64784Also Soviets never ever produced the dispensable lighters [/QUOTE]

The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals: Frank Partnoy: Amazon.com: Books (http://www.amazon.com/The-Match-King-Financial-Scandals/dp/B003R4ZBM8)

A fun read on an early financial fraud.

Family down the street had one of these, when they broke folks would just put another TV on top. Hillbilly Recycling..

NikSam
01-08-2014, 01:16 PM
I made a bottle bar from one like this :)