THE GREEN THING

[Grandad]

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE GREEN THING

"Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the 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 earlier days."
The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment f or
future generations."
She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.
Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store 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 truly recycled.
But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, 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 an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store 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 throwaway 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.
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 the state of Montana. 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 gasoline 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 streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms 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 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.
But 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 forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart ass young person."

[Horus]

I suppose I am one of those awful 'none greenies' as we used to do all that and more, don't forget all the composting we did to put back on the garden and those push mowers and hand shears we used instead of electric ones ............. And what about all that food we so carelessly recycled by using it up with something else the next day, I bet most kids think that 'Bubble & Squeak' comes out of a packet and rice pudding out of a tin.

[Grandad]

I found it on FB Horus and thought it was SO to the point that I posted it here.

And, apart from the recycling and other things you have mentioned, people were much more sociable and not 'grafted' to some electronic device. Kids made their own enjoyment and used to get out and about with their pals, even from quite a young age. And young men did national service which, in my opinion, made better MEN of them.

Sometimes we talk about the good old days and, to be honest, they weren't too bad at all.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Maybe just the mood I've been in lately but lately I've been thinking that the good old days were actually pretty darn good and living conditions pretty darn good too. The air was clean, we knew everybody, everybody knew us, time was slower but better. We recycled everything and even the final scraps went outside to the chickens we got eggs from and then ate and goats we milked (and ate too). The gardens were HUGE gardens and we canned only fresh veggies, jam, berries and the gardens never saw chemical fertilizer. Personally when I look back I was living in a completely recycled and good world. Maybe there were some areas we could have done better in but I think those were fewer and further between.

I know I often say on here I don't cook but when I do it is all only fresh stuff from scratch. Even to this day I eat very little that is full of chemicals and additives and preservatives. This isn't cause I'm some fanatical vegan nutter. It is just cause I'm still eating basically the way I ate years ago. I always make huge meals then divvy them up and freeze leftovers. I make my own little cuppies of stuff (i.e. applesauce) I don't buy them already prepared in stores.

Personally I blame TV and the Advertisers who have created this unfillable NEED in everybody. "YOU deserve ONLY the BEST" and then tout out whatever it happens to be. On seeing this I do believe needs and wants are created that are totally unrealistic but serve to drive the individual to get just this one specific item on the promise that then their life will be fulfilled. Couldn't be furthest from the truth.

I was never exposed to any of this as a child. I never compared my clothes to my friends clothes. I was basically happy just to have clothes! And the vast majority of mine - as in all - were hand me downs from the cousins. Wasn't anything though that caused me the least bit of angst. I was too intent on playing and/or spending hours with a book reading adventures I then re-imagined for hours inserting ME as the main character. Am not too sure kids today are doing this.

I could also while away endless hours outside. I was never bored as if my parents heard I was bored I'd of been given LOTS of WORK so as to not be bored. I went outside and just evaporated for hours returning only for meals.

I have few regrets in life but I do regret this way of life is gone and probably never to be seen again during my lifetime (if ever). This really was a good time generally.

[Grandad]

Can't argue with any of that LLL

And I might have told this before but my mother used to repair my school shoes (sole and heel) when my father was away in the war. Now that's real make do and mend

Who has shoes repaired these days? Nobody!

[LovelyLadyLux]

I'm not sure where there is a shoe repair shop except in Egypt and Trinidad!

My shoes were fixed in that I can remember having these metal things nailed into the heels when I wore the heels down. Am not sure that I ever actually had a pair of shoes resoled or not and really don't know if my parents did either. I can't remember ever owning a new pair of shoes until my teen years but I can definitely remember wearing shoes that were too big and didn't fit.

In those days - the day of the dinosaur - we traded lots. We had miles of raspberry canes and would trade berries (I had to pick) for whatever else another neighbor had lots of. Same with all the goats milk (morning and evening hand milking was MY job). We'd trade it. Am not too sure this is really happening these days.

I do know that nowadays people absolutely STUDY the labels on food they buy to see what is IN the food and presumably to determine if they're allergic or not. Way back when whatever I was eating was exactly what it said it was. The only additive to canned tomatoes was salt and lemon. If we made applesauce we added some sugar. Otherwise the MAIN or PRIMARY ingredient was APPLES!

I know how to sew, knit, crochet, embroider and do most any type of handicraft. Not too sure this can be said today. And way back when all the handicrafts actually turned out useful things. We were not turning out frivolous stuff. It was all used. Now embellishments to items are all machined at whatever factory the stuff originated from.

[Horus]

I reckon that the blame lies with the culture of 'instant gratification' nobody waits or saves for anything, you want it? here have it! and pay later, then scrap it very soon and get the next new model, you know that you need it! Take mobile phones as a classic example, these zombies walk around with one glued to their ears 24/7 looking longingly for the next text message instaed of doing some real socialising, it's very sad really.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I still have what I've learned is called a "clam shell" cell phone. For $100 (a year) I get 100 minutes. I think last year I rolled over something like 70+ minutes of cell phone time. I definitely want a cell phone for emergencies but to sit and talk on one 24/7 just doesn't happen.

I think nowadays we've reached a culture that believes that Everybody should have Everything they want no matter how frivolous and no matter what it takes for them to have it......MEANING if I work that means I must also work to support YOU (somebody who has never worked) and maintain you at the same quality of life that I enjoy (because I worked for it). IF I speak out and say "no way" or "go get your own job and work for a living" then "I" suddenly am the bad guy. I'm critiqued for not understanding, for not being sympathetic to the less fortunate and am defining the less fortunate as those able bodies people who opt not to work yet demand and expect a good decent life style at somebody else expense.

They don't seem to have a clue nor hold a value to or for things. They're totally a consumer society that definitely isn't doing anything for society or to preserve it.

[Jayway]

There are cobblers (shoe menders) here (wonder if they are called cobblers cos high heels always snap off on the cobbles ? ) and turnup and zip sewers in a shop at the "Mall" - I cannot sew new zips in, the blood ruins the clothing - . I only put money on one cell phone that I carry with me everywhere (accident prone) and two old ones with one euro on, that are just used for FB free text messages to me from friends. Very handy as I can see what wants doing in the mornings. Here we mend,fix, bodge up and as for talking on a cell phone -- not for me, loudspeaker and very fast chat -

[Horus]

That's the way Jay, keep it simple
I am the same as you and will always try to fix something rather than scrap it, nothing to do with being tight fisted, I just hate to see waste. I very rarely upgrade anything just because there is a newer model because you know that whatever you buy today will be old hat tomorrow, or so they would have us all believe.
I have just installed (completed today) my new extremely energy efficient Condensing Combi Boiler, not because I wanted to, but because the old one gave up the ghost. What brasses me off though is I had no real option but to take out the extended warrantee for another 7 years and that set me back another £100. I also have to add a yearly service cost of £50 for a Plumber to service it to keep the warrantee validated, (even though there are no serviceable parts ) it grieves me to do this, but with the cost of any boiler spares which are astronomical as a percentage of the original boiler cost you need to do it, so I suppose its a gamble that for around £400 I don't have to worry about repair costs and parts for at least 7 years, so it compares favourable with these servicing deals by British Gas et al that get bandied about at £30 or so a month. What really does annoy me though is the fact that a bloody new boiler should be able to work trouble free for 7 years if its any good to start with, but they all do it so you can't really win.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Warranty! AGH!!! You've really touched on another pet peeve Horus. Nowadays if you buy anything electric or with any type of moving part there is an automatic request that you buy extended warranties. I do understand there is the odd lemon produced that for whatever reason just never seems to work right but that should really be the extreme exception rather than the rule.

Wouldn't one think that if the product purchased was a good one that a warranty should be unnecessary? Wouldn't the Company just want to repair it if it proved defective?

What you've indicated Horus seems pretty extensive and it also sounds like you really do not have any option(s) other than to pay too. Geez I hate that myself. Shouldn't something like a combi-boiler work for at least 5 yrs (and probably lots more) anyway?

I personally never buy extended warranties on small items. I don't figure the warranty is worth it and here, if you read the fine print, by the time me (the buyer) has to pay for all the shipping, handling etc fees to get the item back to the Seller/Manufacturer it is probably easier just to purchase another item.

I usually try to buy something with a reasonable Consumer name and I definitely read Consumer reviews too and if whatever I'm going to buy doesn't have, at least, a 4 star rating by at least 200 other people I'm probably not going to purchase it. Don't mind reading the odd 1 star review cause anybody can have a bad experience but when half say something is wonderful and half say it is terrible I really have to scratch my head and thing about it (this is the case of the Ionic and UV Air Purifiers - they seem to either work super well or constantly break down)

[Horus]

That's the big problem, with something like a central heating boiler you are between a rock and a hard place, have a problem and bingo mega bucks You will get stuck with a big bill from the plumber who comes to check it out for the fault (nowadays UK law forbids anyone not gas certified from touching a gas boiler) then if you need a replacement part which you usually do because nothing is serviceable anymore then you get shafted big time, nothing will come in at less than £150 and often more if it's a complex item like a control valve or computer board. To be honest it will probable work fine for 10 or more years without any trouble and it is probably one of the best on the market brand wise, (Worcester/Bosch) but is it worth the gamble in not taking out the extended warrantee offer? I suppose this way at least you get 7 years peace of mind.

[LovelyLadyLux]

If I was you H I'd buy a warranty for this BUT it just peeves me that I'd have to "just in case" something happens. That is what gets me that I have seem to be paying more and more and more for things to make sure. For small items I take my chances but big things - yeah I do knuckle under and buy the warranty. Just annoys me to have to be held at the mercy of others!

[Horus]

That about sums me up LLL, I never buy warranties for everyday items such as PC's or domestic goods as these usually have a good life expectancy and you can always argue your case in a small claims court under the 'sale of none merchantable goods act' which basically states that items must be fit for purpose, therefore a freezer that does not freeeze after a couple of years is 'not fit for purpose' and almost certainly the court would rule in your favour. The problem with a domestic boiler is that you need a quick fix if it stops working especially in cold weather and due to the complexity they can always bullsh*t you with some excuse or another as to why it is your problem and not theirs.

[LovelyLadyLux]

We don't have those same 'not fit for purpose' rules via Court system however that is quite an interesting concept. If we indeed do have this option I've never ever heard of it (Usually the Americans have all sorts of contingency rules related to anything and everything!).

In the US if you typically buy from the mainstream people they're really good at accepting returns with most day to day items. Once you get into electronics it gets a bit more dicey and now most of the Big Box stores won't take a return instead they want you to ship back to the manufacturer who then apparently 'fixes' the product and ships back to you.

In Canada it is much harder to return anything one you buy it. We apparently have no specific laws on the books that requires a business to accept a return if you buy something and then later don't want it. The big stores - no problem. The small business guy - BIG problem often. This made purchasing items years ago from an individual business very chancey and iffy and brought about lots of comparison shopping and comparing because once your money was handed over it was gone. Soon as the bigger stores started to move into all the smaller places and return policies stated it started a "nail in the coffin" of many small businesses as people really flocked to the Big Box stores. I don't think much re: small business man has changed even today. I hesitate to purchase i.e. electronics (fan or radio) from a small business because if the item is a dud it would be extremely difficult to get my money back, get the item exchanged etc.

[Horus]

We have similar returns policies of stores requiring you return to the manufacturer for repairs etc. however the buck does stop with the seller under UK law and you can insist that they deal with it as you purchased it from them and not the manufacturer. The problem with large or fixed items such as a domestic boiler is all of the incidental costs that go with it such as fitting, plumbing in and pipework, not to mention all the inconvienience of removing all the surrounding kitchen fittings and white goods that may be either connected to the appliance or prevent easy removal once it is in place, so it's no easy matter if the thing had to be replaced under a warrantee, therefore it is better that they cover all working parts and the cost of replacement in situ for a given period.

[Mad Dilys]

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE GREEN THING

"Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the 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 earlier days."
The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment f or
future generations."
She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.
Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store 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 truly recycled.
But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags, we reused for numerous things, most memorable besides household garbage bags, 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 an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store 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 throwaway 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.
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 the state of Montana. 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 gasoline 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 streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms 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 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.
But 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 forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart ass young person."

I just found this thread by accident. I think I was having a new knee or something at the time, but I'm so glad I found it.

The original post is probably the best ever and it's matched by the following contributions. Thank you all.

[Grandad]

Wow! You dug deep to find that one MD
It was interesting to re-read all our views from 5 years ago and all as true today as they were then.

[Mad Dilys]

I really found it by accident at the bottom of the page on a recent post - I didn't notice it was in a nice little section of previous posts but glad I did.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I hope and pray "I" am never confronted by any young whipper snapper re: economics or how to be environmentally astute cause it wouldn't be pretty. Just the way I grew up and even now I know that I am not within the norm of how people live and do things.