Green Things

I Received the posting in my email today ... I have lived through this time, and could add a bit more to it. Civilization is a demanding lady, and there is a price to pay for growth. I added my notes at the end...   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 shes 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 was 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 store bought Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.  Oh, no, they didn't have the green thing in her day. 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 shes 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 in her day. 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. No, they didn't do the green thing in her day. That old lady was right. They didn't have the green thing back in her day.  Taking care of the environment wasn't a problem because they also didn't have all the destruction caused by OUR day.     My notes: Back in the day we didn't have antiperspirants, wash & wear clothes, instant cell phones for emergency calls, air bags and seat belts in cars, canned goods that didn't taste like tin, hypo-allergenic vacuums and room air cleaners. Restaurants and public places were filled with second hand smoke. We brushed with baking soda or brushing talc.   Back in the day we could mail a letter for $.02, and Christmas packages were tied up with brown paper and string. Morning began with percolators bubbling merrily on the back burners. Back in the day we had sock eggs for darning worn heels and toes on socks, and we turned collars and cuffs on shirts and blouses to lengthen their use. Back in the day I used to sit at a mangle iron, relishing the whosh, pop and starchy steam from the ironing.    Back in the day a lot of folks didn't recover from illnesses we shrug our shoulders at today. I remember the fear of summers when one-by-one folks were picked off and held prisoners from polio. I remember the hospitals with huge rooms filled with iron lungs. I remember my sister in the hospital under a tent with pnemonia. We had aspirin for a headache, and nothing for migraines. Visits to the dentist would send chills down a child's spine.  We lined up in school for shots, but nobody told us our meat or egg sandwiches (wrapped in waxed paper) were simmering pools of bacteria after hours on the shelf.    Things I miss most are folks on their front porches visiting with neighbors and offering never-ending pitchers of iced tea or lemonade. Christmas shopping AFTER Thanksgiving, where everybody gathered downtown in a flurry of excitement.. later gathering for a cup of hot cocoa before making our tired, happy way home. I miss making homemade bread for friends, because it is their favorite thing. Getting dressed up for very special occasions to go out for dinner. Ladies wearing gloves. Men opening doors. Lollipops with loopy handles. Corn Soya. 5 Cent comic books. And caroling in groups on Christmas eve. The smell of the original Jergens lotion and Lanlay Oil for my legs.    Back in the day there was no "credit card debt". Folks saved their money and shopped with cash. Some things weave like a thread, staying with us and keeping us in balance. Church. Family. Libraries. Parks. Picnics. Board games. Laughter. Changes bring good things, while sadly some dear old favorites have to stay behind. How about you.. do you have something special you remember?