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Abe Lincoln

“You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich...strengthen the weak by weakening the strong...bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift...lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down...build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence...help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves." -Abraham Lincoln

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

What is it Wednesday



Our Grandmothers and mothers where not part of the green thing, they just lived each day green.  We could all step back in time and learn some lessons from them.  The generation that fixed, repaired and respected what they owned.



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 things  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, and 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 and 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 machinesto do everything for you. 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.
Back then, we took shoes to the shoe repair shop instead of buying new ones. We REPAIRED torn clothing and broken refrigerators and washing machines when they broke. Everything wasn't battery operated and replaceable. 
But that old lady is right. They didn't have the green thing back in her day.




2 comments:

Roxanne (Shanghai Tai) said...

Great blog Rose! That is so true. Just the other day I was thinking, once tax season is over, I should be able to find all kinds of stuff to do that will be exercise at the same time. If you do some physical labor you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone and not need to go to the Y.

The Moonlit Stitch said...

Oh my gosh, Rose, this is one of the best posts I have ever read! So true! My mom & dad took such good care of everything and repaired it and worked so hard. I wish we were at that place again. ~*~Lisa