BACK IN MY DAY
In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman
that plastic bags weren't good for the environment.
The woman apologized 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 again.
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 or elevator in every store and office building.
They walked to the grocery store and didn't turn on 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 radio, or maybe one TV in the house - not a TV in every room.
And the TV had a screen the size of a small pizza,
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 them.
When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used
wadded up newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam 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 that lady is right.
They didn't have the green thing back in her day.
