They did not have the green thing
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 story foam 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 isn't it sad that they didn't have the green thing back then?
~~ldfrederickblog
Great post. That pretty much says it all about the Green thing.
I remember those days too.The younger ones don't because those conspicuous consumption things were always there and the commercials tell you you "deserve"it. Parents always wanted their children to have more than they did. But they may learn very soon. When China finishes taking over our economy the old days will seem pretty good. But then again, disabled people were stuck inside and couldn't go anywhere where there were steps, including church. Diseases could be shared from public water fountains and supposedly it's cheaper to use plastic bottles than it is to wash and reuse glass ones.( I much prefer glass)...so who knows? I'd miss some of the convenience stuff but I don't have a lot of it as it is.
I recently bought a cornbread mix that had a front lable of Easy Bake. I was amazed that it contained a plastic bag to mix the egg, milk and dry mix. After squeezing the bag, the contents were to be poured into a paper container that came in the box and then baked. The idea of it was that the cook did not have to wash anything. Wonder if this fits the green mentality?
Quote from: twirldoggy on April 19, 2011, 09:08:43 AM
I recently bought a cornbread mix that had a front lable of Easy Bake. I was amazed that it contained a plastic bag to mix the egg, milk and dry mix. After squeezing the bag, the contents were to be poured into a paper container that came in the box and then baked. The idea of it was that the cook did not have to wash anything. Wonder if this fits the green mentality?
I wonder how many people actually put all of that stuff in a stupid bag and then try to squeeze it all out .. what a mess and the time it would take...... faster to make it all yourself and wash up the bowl..
Perhaps for camping? I remember thinking it was fun to pour the milk into the little individual cereal boxes and eat breakfast out under the apple trees in the spring.
When my son and I went traveling and camping, his favorite was watching me slap a griddle pan on the old Coleman campstove and frying up some bacon and eggs at the same time. He just loved the good ol' greasy eggs. Life just didn't get much better than that for him.
Larryj
Talked to a student the other day who thought baking from scratch meant cooking with the box mixes as opposed to buying the cake already baked from the store. ??? :D :D
And I had to beat the batter so many strokes with a spoon, no mixer. Weren't we abused? ;)
Lol, I still DO use a whisk to beat my cakes and a spoon to mix everything else even bread....I still use a clothesline...I wash my dishes by hand...I cook meals, always have whether I was workin or not.....
I love cookin on a fire Larry...best coffee in the world comes off a campfire!
best coffee in the world comes off a campfire!
Right. Don't forget the "Hair on the chest" when it was so strong that a fork stood upright in it. Oh, yum yum
I still have my percolator that we used when camping. There are times when I just have to perk me a pot..........I must say, I still don't like a mouth full of grounds........but, oh the flavor.
(Oh, as long as I can when it is warm, I too use a clothes line...........even iron and it hasn't hurt me yet)
Thanks for the remember when! I like that.
I have only lived one place that had a dish washer and it was broken. It seemed a waste of money to fix it for just me. Did the Easy Bake taste good?
Yes Roma it did taste good. Teresa was right, it was a mess getting it out of the bag and wasteful as well. The cardboard tray scorched in the oven and I think it was dangerous as it might have caught fire in the oven. So I will just make my own the old fashioned way. I hope a few of the young cooks will keep to the old scratch cooking in heavy iron pans!
I treasure the recipes passed on to me by my grandmothers on both sides. On my father's side they had a thing called graham cracker pudding which was crushed graham crackers mixed with real whipped cream. My Dad thought it was wonderful.
I enjoy my clothes line and don't have a dishwasher. My grandson's wife didn't like to come visit at my house because with three kids she had to do laundry and she didn't know how to hang clothes on the line. But then she didn't know how to fold them when they got dry either. Would be nice if they could be taught things like that before they start having kids.
Quote from: Judy Harder on April 19, 2011, 01:32:36 PM
I still have my percolator that we used when camping. There are times when I just have to perk me a pot..........I must say, I still don't like a mouth full of grounds........but, oh the flavor.
My percolater finally gave up the ghost. It started leaking water. :( Need to find me another one. They come in handy when power goes out or your "mr.Coffee" dies a sudden death.
Pam thanks for the post. I too, make my bread by hand. I too do my dishes by hand, but I would rather have a dishwasher that heated the water to 180 degrees because it is more sanitary. That being said the fact that there is more bacteria on handwashed dishes probably explains why I have a good immune system.
David
David I learned to wash dishes watchin my Granma Smith....she kept the water so hot her hands turned beet red! Was a rite of passage to get where you could stick your hands in the dishwater without jerkin em right back out and hollerin LOL
No, we didn't have the green thing then. All the water was heated on top of the stove. The irons were heated on top of the stove. Clothes had to be ironed because they didn't come in off the line unwrinkled. Mostly they were all cotton and not perma prest. I made coffee in an old aluminum drip-o-later which I still have in case of an emergency like Mr. Coffee giving up unexpectedly. But--------------------
I wouldn't go back to those days for anything. I will do the green thing now and hang on to my electricity, central heat and air, automatic washer and dryer, automatic dishwasher, electric vacuum cleaner, Mr. Coffee. I like my first cup of coffee as soon as I get up and I like it hot.
Come to think of it, I did the green thing way back then, too. I conserved water because it had to be carried into the house from the well. I didn't waste electricity because we couldn't afford to pay a very big bill. We burned wood, mostly, because it was free for the cutting. I hung the clothes outside on a line unless it was too wet for them to get dry outside. I was lucky if I got to town to buy groceries once in two weeks. Saved a lot of gasoline. The good old days were just that, good old days, but I prefer my good new days and I can still do the green thing.
You are so right, Wilma.
My parents would have never had a dryer except when Mom was in her 80's and broke both hips in less than a year, we got them one so Daddy could dry the clothes inside.
Very good post!! As I did have lots of these things available, we didn't really have many of them. Had a dishwasher, didn't work. Only had antenna for TV until I was in Jr. Got a VCR and cable, but really didn't watch much TV. I was always on my bike going down to the low water bridge out by Pam's mom's old house in Severy, or we tend to make club houses around town at different peoples house. I lived in town, of course in Severy to me it was more rural than a town. Would love to go to Coop and get pop in a bottle and take bottle back to get a refund. We would save up to be able to get a little round salt block from Coble's feed store to suck on. Sounds gross now, but when we were young it was so awesome. LOL!!
Now, I don't have a dishwasher. I am not planning on getting one either!! Isn't that why we have kids????? LOL! LOVE LOVE LOVE to hang my clothes out, it's so much faster getting them done this way!!! I was out of pancake mix at the daycare last week so I looked up pancake recipe on internet and made it from scratch! They were the best!! I do make cakes from boxes, but try to make everything else from scratch. My daughters love to cook, so I have them help me. This is to help them learn how to. Also, they are in 4-H and my oldest has been in sewing for 5 years now, plus this is her 2nd year in the quilting project. She loves it. This is my middle girl's 1st year in sewing, but she is already bugging me to make a quilt. I told her that would come in time. I had to buy a new machine, just got a cheaper one at Walmart, and the guy said people still sew. I said, well yes, I patch alot of my girls clothes, make some of their clothes and my daughters love to sew!! He was amazed!! He said it is a dying art!! I laughed. I said not to me!! or to my girls!!
Isn't funny how we do tend to take the modern things as a need, not just a want.
I like to make my own baking mix and even make my own baking powder. That way I know how fresh it is and I know what's in it. It's easy. I do love my dishwasher because it washes so hot and use my dryer a lot, but also like to put sheets outside. I sometimes have bird problems because we have so many.