Yesterday I was shopping at a local.....

[Bodine]

Yesterday after shopping in our local supermarket, I was in the queue at the Check Out, and heard when the young cashier suggested to a much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are not good for the environment.

The woman apologized to the young girl & then sighed, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days."

The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. You old folks didn't do enough to save our environment for future generations."

The older lady said "Ahh yes you're right -- our generation didn't have the "green thing" in its day." She sighed then continued:
Back then, we returned milk bottles, lemonade bottles & beer bottles to the shops. The shops then sent them back to the plant to be washed, sterilized & refilled, so those same bottles were used over & over, thus REALLY were recycled. But we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day.

Grocery stores put our groceries into brown paper bags that we reused for numerous things. Most memorable was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school) were not defaced by our scribbles. Then we were able to personalize our books on their brown paper bag/covers. But, too bad we didn't do the "green thing" back then.

I remember how we walked up stairs because we didn't have an escalator in every store or office building; walked to the grocery store & didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go 200 yards.

. . . 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 throw away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts. Wind & solar power really did dry our clothes back in our 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 radio or the fortunate ones had a TV in the house -- not a TV in every room. And if anyone did own a TV, it had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of a football field.

When cooking we blended & stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send by post, we used layers of 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 tap or 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, & we replaced the razor blade 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 bus & kids rode bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mothers into a 24-hour taxi service in the family's expensive car or van, which cost what a whole house did before the "green thing"..

Oh and 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 leisure park.
. . . . But it so sad this current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the "green thing" back then? . . .
I think you should forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from some smart *** young person. .. ...

We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off... Especially from a tattooed, multiple pierced smart *** who can't make change without the cash register telling them how much.

[Hogtamer]

Tah-Dah! Thanks Bodine!! I rememember the milkman (Bryson's) delivering, setting the empties outside for pick-up. Oh, and don't forget washing out dirty diapers. When did you last see safety pins? Clothespins on the line made great bb gun targets too! Used to p/u coke bottles and sell anywhere for 2 cents each. There was a Coca-Cola bottling plant in every one-horse town that re-used those bottles too. My first homemade arrows were coke bottle caps bent around a stick for points. I do love plastic shotgun hulls though...of course we reload them on this site. BTW, Kroger still has brown paper bags as an option, if they don't, ask the manager! Second uses are; starting fires, targets, breading chicken or fish in bulk for frying, trash, and avout a million other things. Not to mention cookie tins, cigar boxes, sturdy metal coolers, ice picks and old willis jeeps you could buy for a song and still order parts from Sears! Green bark-edge lumber from the sawmill for your smokehouse or barn for ole Bessie or the chicken coup. Wow, is 62 that old? Reckon so. Cottonseed meal to bait the fishing hole, peanut hulls for the flower bed and garden. Doctors that made house calls. Church bells ringing. But we've got lots of things we didn't use to have in Georgia; fire ants, armadillos, coyotes, Mexicans, drug dealers, Obamacare and swat teams. Ain't progress wonderful?

[JSnover]

There's some evidence that plastic bags are healthier for us, if not the environment. I've seen at least one study that connected an E.coli outbreak to people reusing cloth bags.

[popper]

I brown-bagged in GS then Mom got me a lunch box that rusted out in a year. Been brown bagging ever since. And we patched the bike tire when it blew out. We don't have to wear masks to breath like China does, but they are telling us what to do?

[Geezer in NH]

I would have dressed down the little brainwashed puke myself. But that is me.

Need to tell the manager at least.

[bedbugbilly]

What can be said other than AMEN! ?

We didn't throw our socks away when they got holes either . . . we darned them. Those kids today wouldn't know what a "darning egg" was . . . they'd probably think it was some kind of old fashioned sex toy.

We didn't have a closet full of clothes that when they got worn or ripped .. . got thrown away. I don't think I had a store bought shirt until I was probably almost a teenager with the exception of one white store-bought shirt and that was saved to wear to Sunday School and Church on Sunday. My mother and grandmother made our shirts, pajamas, etc. We did have jeans . . . and the legs were always purchased longer so we'd "grow in to them". It wasn't fashionable back then to have holes in your jeans so they were patched.

Shoes? Look at the shoes these kids have today. We had one pair of "gym shoes" and one pair of "dress shoes" . . . and those dress shoes had better be polished and buffed on Saturday night for Church the next day.

We didn't have "throw away watches" either. We didn't have battery watches. We wound ours up and they lasted for years.

Our phone sat in the middle of the house - one phone - and we were on a "party line" until I was almost out of high school. We didn't have expensive cell phones of which our lives revolved around like the youngsters today . . we had the same phone for probably 40 years and you had to put your finger in and dial it . . not talk to it nor have to "update" it overtime a new one comes out.

When we tore something apart on the farm . . . yea . . . we actually had to get up and do chores before and after school . . . we saved the nails, straightened them out in the vise or with a hammer on an anvil so we could "recycle" them for the next repair job.

We didn't have power weed whips or fancy high power lawn tractors. We actually had to use a week whip which we swung back and forth by hand and had to walk behind either a wheel driven push mower or if lucky, a push gas mower . . . and I mowed many many lawns for the pricey sum of anywhere from 50 cents to $1.50 for a really big one . . and that included all the walking, gas and trimming.

For many many years, my mother canned fruits and vegetables every year that filled the cold cellar shelves and we ate those all year long when the fresh fruit or vegetables weren't in season. They were canned in reusable Mason jars. We didn't have all the "prepared" foods of today nor did we have fast food restaurants where everything is packaged up in paper, cardboard or styrofoam . . . nor did we have littered roadways where people (a lot of them younger) were too lazy to take it home and throw it away rather than toss it out the window.

During the Depression, my mother had one skirt and two blouses to wear. Her parents were divorced and my grandmother eeked out a living as a seamstress sewing for those who did have some money. My mother's clothes were made from left over material that generous customers allowed her to keep to make clothes for her kids (my mother and uncle). And let's not forget about how many kids had their clothes made from flour sacks.

Not all youngsters today are bad. Some have been brought up with morals and taught how to respect themselves and others. Unfortunately, many young people today are so self centered that they don't know the meaning of compassion for others, respect for others and even how to communicate with others.

When I was a kid, I was brought up on a farm. My folks owned a lumberyard that had been in the family. We not only had to do things on the farm, but when we got old enough (probably around 10 or 11), my Dad put us to work at the lumberyard. Many times it was unloading boxcars of lumber by hand that were stacked to the ceiling. Often times, he worked right along side of us . . . teaching the us the value of hard work and doing a job right no matter what it was.
And believe me . . on the farm, I learned how to be an expert "manure shoveler". But it also taught us respect for others and things that belonged to others.

What irritates me to no end is when you go to a store to get something and a young person waits on you and they don't even know how to count change back . . they depend on the register to tell them. An oftentimes . . they act like you, the customer, who is buying something that the profit on pays them their paycheck . . . act like you are an "inconvenience". Counting change back was one of the first things my Dad taught us when we eventually were able to work on the sales counter and wait on customers. The second thing was to always say "thank you" to the customer because without them, we couldn't exist. Today, it is very rare that you ever hear a "thank you".

I grinned when I read the OP's post. I remember getting groceries with my wife on a Friday night after work a number of years ago. We picked up some vegetables . . . one of which were several "yams". A young girl check us out and when she got to the yams, she got this perplexed look on her face and looked around in desperation for another employee who could help her. Finally I asked her . . "what's the problem". She got very frustrated and asked . "Do your really need these because I don[t know what they are?" My wife and I looked at each other and we couldn't help laughing. Finally I said . . "they are yams." Her reply . . . "what are yams". Before leaving, I leaned over after paying and quietly said . . "If you are going to work in a store, any store, learn your products so you can present some intelligence to your customer. My first suggestion would be to go to the produce department and study the fruits and vegetables . . they are all labeled."

It's kind of funny that the younger generation, like the one talked about by the OP, are so concerned about everybody being "green". I find it also odd that the present Administration whose pledge to the public was to work on being more "green", doesn't live up to what they said . . but we all know about Politicians and how to tell if they are lying . . .actually it's pretty easy . . . it's overy time their lips move. Every time I get prescriptions filled, I end up with anywhere from 10 to 14 printed pages - warnings, privacy information, etc. - all required by the wonderful new "Obama Care". And it just isn't limited to medical paperwork . . it's everything . . . Insurance paperwork, investment report paperwork, etc.

Yep . . .. I'm old and I do miss the days gone by when we were younger . . . things were just "different" and most people cared about others instead of just themselves . . . . but I guess I'm one of the lucky ones . . . I survived my childhood even though I drank many a time from a garden hose or the tin cup that was chained to the hand pump that everybody drank from.

[starreloader]

How those of us from that time past remember these things... Flour sacks, shoes that you better not wear out for a year, cloths that mom made, saving used materials for another use later, and all the other things that poor people had to do to survive ( I didn't know we were poor back then ).. Yet had a lot of fun chasing snakes, climbing over and underneath a covered bridge, fishing, swimming in the old water hole, going to a 1 room schoolhouse... I'm 70 now and do think the younger generation could use a little of what we had back then.

[dtknowles]

Yesterday after shopping in our local supermarket, I was in the queue at the Check Out, and heard when the young cashier suggested to a much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are not good for the environment.

The woman apologized to the young girl & then sighed, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days."

The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. You old folks didn't do enough to save our environment for future generations."

The older lady said "Ahh yes you're right -- our generation didn't have the "green thing" in its day." She sighed then continued:
Back then, we returned milk bottles, lemonade bottles & beer bottles to the shops. The shops then sent them back to the plant to be washed, sterilized & refilled, so those same bottles were used over & over, thus REALLY were recycled. But we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day.

Grocery stores put our groceries into brown paper bags that we reused for numerous things. Most memorable was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school) were not defaced by our scribbles. Then we were able to personalize our books on their brown paper bag/covers. But, too bad we didn't do the "green thing" back then.

I remember how we walked up stairs because we didn't have an escalator in every store or office building; walked to the grocery store & didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go 200 yards.

. . . 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 throw away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts. Wind & solar power really did dry our clothes back in our 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 radio or the fortunate ones had a TV in the house -- not a TV in every room. And if anyone did own a TV, it had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of a football field.

When cooking we blended & stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send by post, we used layers of 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 tap or 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, & we replaced the razor blade 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 bus & kids rode bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mothers into a 24-hour taxi service in the family's expensive car or van, which cost what a whole house did before the "green thing"..

Oh and 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 leisure park.
. . . . But it so sad this current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the "green thing" back then? . . .
I think you should forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from some smart *** young person. .. ...

We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off... Especially from a tattooed, multiple pierced smart *** who can't make change without the cash register telling them how much.

Funny, this happened to you yesterday but it sounds like a story I read about a month and a half ago.

Tim

[GRUMPA]

Funny, this happened to you yesterday but it sounds like a story I read about a month and a half ago.

Tim

It is..... That story has been floating around for some time.

[DerekP Houston]

There's some evidence that plastic bags are healthier for us, if not the environment. I've seen at least one study that connected an E.coli outbreak to people reusing cloth bags.

Unfortunately this is correct.....if only we had some sort of MACHINE for WASHING these cloth items.

[leeggen]

Abox of 22's cost about 85 cents and you got 50each. Out of that box of shells we could get, most of the time, 35 or 40 rabbits and maybe a couple squirels. 410's cost about2.50 abox of 25, and again we would average about 18 animals. Fished and we would dig our worms out of the hog pins cause they were fatter and worked better, or pick night crawlers up after dark and by flashlite. Yip we survived. I remember I had a couple sheep I was raising and I would gleen Grandpa's feilds of corn so I had winter feed for them.
CD

[kens]

with all the safety warnings on items nowadays, why didn't we kill ourselves as kids?
how did we all survive growing up? we were obviously unsafe in all aspects……..

[jcwit]

with all the safety warnings on items nowadays, why didn't we kill ourselves as kids?
how did we all survive growing up? we were obviously unsafe in all aspects……..

Actually many didn't, that is why today's average life span is must longer.

[Mk42gunner]

Funny how the youngsters are all hot on "Going Green," until it comes time to put some effort into it.

My daughter was always after me to recycle, which I'm not saying is really bad; but when I suggested she actually use the clothes line to dry her clothes, it was too much effort and took too long.

Robert

[MaryB]

All the idiot labels were not that big of a factor(and I know kids who read it then do it anyway because they are brain dead). Advances in medicine are what extended our lifespans.

When I was growing up I taught myself electronics by taking things apart and fixing them. I got zapped plenty of times but it was also a learning experience that I did not repeat again! We also hunted and fished as a family, tended the garden in town at our house and the 5 acre family garden on the farm that 5 families lived off of. Canning and freezing things were a way of life, we had 2 huge chest freezers in the basement and a very large cold room that was unheated and got down to the mid 30's in winter.

I give my friends grandson some credit. He likes riding bikes and knows grandpa can't afford to buy him new ones so he scavenges for ones that are thrown away. He pits together bikes from the parts and has sold quite a few to other kids in town to make a little money for the few new parts needed like inner tubes. He also scraps out old appliances and separates all the metals until him and grandpa have a trailer filled with barrels of copper, brass, aluminum... then they run to the scrap yard and sell it. Grandpa gets 75% because he provides the car, trailer, and gas and he gets 25%. For a kid with a speech impediment and ADHD he has done well running his own little scrap business at 14 years old! He has a jeep he wants to fix up for when he gets his license. Grandpa told him he had to pay for it himself so he set out to do just that and has done a lot of work on it!



Actually many didn't, that is why today's average life span is must longer.

[HeavyMetal]

I was going to post a tirade on how stupid young people are, but someone would mention we were all young, and dumb, once in our lives!


The kids today just haven't been lied to enough by their government to know how to distinguish between truth and Bull! Give them time they will learn but most likely not until all of their college education loans are called due, LOL!

In the end history repeats itself and they will get the same sneering attitude from there younger generation and, sadly, no one will have learned anything from making the same mistakes over and over.

[jcwit]

All the idiot labels were not that big of a factor(and I know kids who read it then do it anyway because they are brain dead). Advances in medicine are what extended our lifespans.


Yes, to a point.

How bout seat belts, air bags, blaze orange for hunters, removal of lead in paint, safer toys "remember all the cuts we used to get from the sharp metal toys?", helmets for bikers "either kind", the list is longer than I have time for.

All the idiot labels were not that big of a factor you claim. Support that claim.

Would you rather go back to the turn of the last century? Manure filled streets, your food covered with flies in the summer, people living without hands or arms because of the lack of safety devices on machinery.

[MaryB]

Who said go back to horses? When I was a kid in the 60's stuff was not covered in warnings! We all survived quite well!

Why is it liberals go to the extremes instead of being rational in discussions?

[dolfinwriter]

We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off... Especially from a tattooed, multiple pierced smart *** who can't make change without the cash register telling them how much.

Amen brother, to that last! I am so disgusted when I get handed my receipt with a wad of crumpled bills and a pile of change, rather than having it counted back to me the way that I learned how to do it.

And when I have an amount due of $12.18 and the stupified look on their face of "What do I do with this?", when I hand them a 20 and three ones so that I can get a ten back instead of a five and two ones, or especially seven more ones to cram into my wallet...

[edler7]

When I was a kid, my buddy lived about a block from the local Dodge dealer. We would dig around in the trash pile and pull out junk generators and starters. We'd take them to his house and scrap all the copper out of them. Occasionally we would get a radiator, and that was a GOOD day. We would do this all year, then around the end of June we would haul it to the junk yard and sell it for scrap. That is how we made our firecracker money for the 4th of July.

We we didn't know we were "green", but we sure got dirty.

[jcwit]

Who said go back to horses? When I was a kid in the 60's stuff was not covered in warnings! We all survived quite well!

Why is it liberals go to the extremes instead of being rational in discussions?

Why do you call me a liberal? I would call that name calling!

I have never voted any way other than Republican.

Mary, I have never called you a name.



Key words there are "we all" and again, support that statement!

My father worked in a punch press shop in the 40's, 50's, & 60's, if he was still living he could tell you of all the hands, arms, & lives lost there.

[Frank46]

As a kid to earn extra money I'd drag a wagon around various neighborhoods looking for scrap wood or old furniture to use as kindling for the coal fired boiler a lady a few blocks away, made my own bike up out of pieces that folks had thrown away. Well remember brown bag book covered school books. scrounged old bottles for the deposits. Frank

[leadman]

I was born in 1951 and remember many of the things in the OP posting. When someone says we should recycle more I tell them "no, we should reuse until it does not perform the function it was made to do, then recycle it". Many pause I think because they have not thought of doing this.
I used to know where many artisian springs were in the couple of miles or so around our neighborhood and used to drink from them frequently. Did know what plants I could eat and how to cook frogs, birds, rabbits on an open fire with no utensils. We used to sleep out under the stars, cook potatoes in the coals, never afraid of something happening or getting wet.
I too cut grass for about $1 a lawn, raking and trimming included. My uncle gave me an old 2 cycle lawn mower when I was about 11, I learned how to repair it and keep it running. When we had snow storms and school was closed we helped our neighbors get their cars up one of the 2 hills that were the only ways out of our neighborhood just to help them. When the snow would stop we would get together and go around shoveling neighbors driveway for a $1 or $2.
I had a garden of my own for quite a few years and especially liked the popcorn I grew.
All was not good back then though. Xrays were a big thing back then and were used to try to treat many illnesses or disease. I was 4 years old when the doctors gave me massive x-ray treatments for a swollen lymph node in my neck.This resulted in a lifetime of hospital visits to remove other lymph nodes and other problems. Agent Orange exposure in Korea in the early 70s courtesy of Uncle Sam have lead to more hospital visits and a lifetime of medication.

I think all we can do is try to inform the younger generations about how times were like back when we were young and what we did to live. Those that show interest should be taught some old skill that could be of use to them in case we revert back to having to live like we did when young. Simple things like growing herbs and some foods. If you can demonstrate how to preserve these foods would also be good. Instruct on how their car operates and what to do in case it won't start or when a tire is flat. Even if they don't use this info themselves it may help them when they need a repair done at a shop so they don't get ripped off.
Few young people know how to change a fuse or reset a circuit breaker in their home.

We have a vast knowledge collectively that would be a shame to have lost to future generations. Think about ways you might pass this on.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Our farm neighborhood had a communial silo filler that went from farm to farm. Farmers from all these farms helped you fill your silo with corn in your turn. There were still teams of draft horses that pulled the flat wagons loaded with corn shocks that were picked off the ground after being cut with a horse or tractor pulled corn row binder. Filling the silo for the Fall was a thing we looked forward to even though it was a lot of back breaking work for a teen aged boy.Robert

[starmac]

Many of the things listed could still be done today, and there are some of the younger generation trying to move in that direction.
We used things when I was young till it was used up, when clothes (usually made by mom or grandmother)got to warn to be patched they majically turned into quilts.
We went bare footed a lot to preserve our school shoes, which were mostly black and white tennies, our choices were high or low top. lol
We do not have the choices in many of the things we buy these days to reuse them as well as we did in days gone by. Much of what we use these days is either throw away after a few uses, or even obsolete by the time we get home with it.

As far as the warning labels, we have had a long period of a sue happy generation, that hasn't wanted to be held accountable for their actions, that caused the labels.

[leeggen]

The warnings do very little to stop accidents. I worked industrial maintenance and we would build guards around chain drives invariablly someone would figure out how to get a screwdriver stuck thru into the chain just to see what would happen. My Grand father lost 3 fingers on one hand cause some jackbrain foreman decided his machine was off for no reason and turned it back on for him. This was before lockout/tagout was ever thought of. I had one idiot saw the lockout padlock off and was about to turn a 1 million BTU oven on while I was in it repairing the drag chain where someone had opened a door and tossed a steal bar in on the chain. The doors had warnings, DO NOT OPEN WHILE OVEN IS ON, people don't care and just plain don't read. Warnings are for those of us that understand disaster can happen if you don't pay attention. Many don't understand the results if one does not heed the warnings. I retired with all fingers and toes still in place and working.
I never trusted one stop control, I set several so machines could not start.
CD

[dtknowles]

The warnings do very little to stop accidents. I worked industrial maintenance and we would build guards around chain drives invariablly someone would figure out how to get a screwdriver stuck thru into the chain just to see what would happen. My Grand father lost 3 fingers on one hand cause some jackbrain foreman decided his machine was off for no reason and turned it back on for him. This was before lockout/tagout was ever thought of. I had one idiot saw the lockout padlock off and was about to turn a 1 million BTU oven on while I was in it repairing the drag chain where someone had opened a door and tossed a steal bar in on the chain. The doors had warnings, DO NOT OPEN WHILE OVEN IS ON, people don't care and just plain don't read. Warnings are for those of us that understand disaster can happen if you don't pay attention. Many don't understand the results if one does not heed the warnings. I retired with all fingers and toes still in place and working.
I never trusted one stop control, I set several so machines could not start.
CD

I wouldn't work someplace that tolerated idiots like that.

Tim

[dolfinwriter]

We used things when I was young till it was used up, when clothes (usually made by mom or grandmother)got to warn to be patched they majically turned into quilts.

Much of what we use these days is either throw away after a few uses, or even obsolete by the time we get home with it.

I'm 53 and I sometimes feel bassackwards and old-fashioned. I remember many of the things talked about here, and I feel I was fortunate to grow up a small town/country boy so that I could have experienced things possibly unknown today:
* Wandering back country roads and creek beds, plinking with an old Daisy BB gun
* Gathering eggs and then washing the nastiness off of them (You who've done it know what I mean!)
* Drinking WHOLE milk straight from the dairy in gallon glass jars and lids sealed with wax paper, and mom would skim the cream and use some for coffee, but then make butter patties that she would put in the freezer, and then make biscuits or pancakes with the leftover buttermilk
* Washing clothes in an old oscillating washer and then running them through the wringer (first a handcrank one and later an electric one), before hanging them on the clothesline to dry

It seems only recently though that we've gotten to a place where you don't fix a microwave/TV/Refrigerator/Washing Machine/Dryer because the part it needs is more expensive than a completely new appliance. It costs the manufacturer too much money to stock repair parts and provide a service for looking up just what part goes with what, so the parts they do keep they charge an arm and a leg for. Someday this will catch up with us, and those of us who know how to fix things will have plenty of work.

[bruce drake]

Somedays, I'm pretty glad I grew up poor with Depression-Era parents. I darn socks and I recycle a lot more than most "greenies" I think that most American children (mine included) don't know the meaning of "growing up poor." I do know my boys know I believe in using everything until its absolutely needed to be replaced first.

[w5pv]

If you remember blinky,bluejohn,blinkybluejohn,you qualify.

[sparky45]

Yes, to a point.

How bout seat belts, air bags, blaze orange for hunters, removal of lead in paint, safer toys "remember all the cuts we used to get from the sharp metal toys?", helmets for bikers "either kind", the list is longer than I have time for.

All the idiot labels were not that big of a factor you claim. Support that claim.

Would you rather go back to the turn of the last century? Manure filled streets, your food covered with flies in the summer, people living without hands or arms because of the lack of safety devices on machinery.

That process was necessary to refine the gene pool. Now look what a mess that pool has become.

[sparky45]

Why do you call me a liberal? I would call that name calling!

I have never voted any way other than Republican.

Mary, I have never called you a name.



Key words there are "we all" and again, support that statement!

My father worked in a punch press shop in the 40's, 50's, & 60's, if he was still living he could tell you of all the hands, arms, & lives lost there.
I just don't understand you and I recently took you off my ignore list. Guess what, you made the list again. MaryB is 100% right and you sir aren't. Ever hear of a RINO? That's YOU!!

[MUSTANG]

This thread has been a walk down memory lane. I at times relate to others that "I did not know we were poor until I joined the USMC and left the Texas Panhandle". All our relatives, neighbors, and friends daily lived the experiences identified in various posts of these threads.

A previous poster mentioned a young man recycling bicycles & parts. I have accumulated 10 or 12 bicycles of all types over the last 7 years. As the grand kids grow in size and age, I rebuild a couple each year to meet their size requirements. Why would I want to invest many hundreds off dollars to buy a bicycle every year or two for the grand kids to ride a few weeks a year when they come to visit? Besides, we take the kids to bicycle stores to get items to "Customize" these rebuilds and they love it.

As the grand kids age past the smaller sizes, those bicycles are recycled as direct donations to either other children we learn need a bicycle; or to a charity we find acceptable.

One sadness for me is the periodic trips to the dumps (both Kalispell and Moapa Valley). At both dumps there are areas for scrap appliances and steel. Inevitably at each visit there are bicycles that appear in fair condition, but have recently been dropped off in these scrap piles. "NO SCAVAGING is strictly enforced at both locations. ---

Years ago most fire departments in the US collected old bicycles, repaired/restored them, and then donated the restored bicycles to needy children. Seems that is unacceptable in these times; rather we see the local governments/monopoly trash companies crush these bicycles along with other items for the $1.00 to $2.00 worth of scrap steel value - while the Firemen stand on the streets with empty boots begging money so they can buy "NEW BIKES" and other toys for today's youth.

[jcwit]

I just don't understand you and I recently took you off my ignore list. Guess what, you made the list again. MaryB is 100% right and you sir aren't. Ever hear of a RINO? That's YOU!!

And I see you also reverted to name calling, even tho you know nothing about me. Shame on you!

starmac nailed it pretty well back in his post #25, here is his quote:


As far as the warning labels, we have had a long period of a sue happy generation, that hasn't wanted to be held accountable for their actions, that caused the labels.

No idea whether you will see this or not, as far as ignore lists you sir are still on mine, I guess I should never have clicked on the 'view post'.


Note this, it's normally the true liberal who resort to name calling, now in saying that, I'm not calling you a liberal, just stating the fact.

[jcwit]

One sadness for me is the periodic trips to the dumps (both Kalispell and Moapa Valley). At both dumps there are areas for scrap appliances and steel. Inevitably at each visit there are bicycles that appear in fair condition, but have recently been dropped off in these scrap piles. "NO SCAVAGING is strictly enforced at both locations. ---



How correct you are in this.

Another thing I see is how complex bikes are today, and if you don't have a specilized bike, well it just isn't good enough.

Also so many folks in todays world tag their spare time as money spent, even here, when it comes to reloading or doing their own casting there are those who say/claim it's not worth their time. Wonder how much they make an hour while eating or sitting on the throne!

[perotter]

Ma seldom ever got groceries in a paper bag. She only did if she happened to go to town for some other than groceries and decided we would be treated to a supper of pressed ham sandwiches and bananas.

When she did go buy groceries the stores put them into the boxes that they got the food in. It wasn't only the small stores that did. Even the largest supermarkets did that.

[sljacob]

I manage the county sanitation department here in a rural area of the state, it just blows me away to see what folks bring up to throw away.

Like others have stated above, I was raised to not throw anything away that wasn't used up, until I took this job 4 years ago I never truly realized how wasteful our society has become.

We too have a no scavaging policy due to liability reasons, not unlike the need for warning labels, but I will set some things a side that I know that someone can use or let some kid take a bike home from time to time.

[jcwit]

We have a spring & fall clean-up in our small town. A couple of years ago I had hauled a few items to throw away and the guys were looking over a brand new looking John Deere lawn & garden tractor. Being as most everybody knows everybody I went over to talk to them and was told this was a new tractor from that spring that a fellow tossed because it didn't run. Another of the guys had went to the hardware to get a new spark plug, I waited around and guess what, yup, it needed a new spark plug. Town Kept it for mowing and other work.

[Elkins45]

Remember the good old days when we could die from TB? Or end up in an iron lung from polio? Or die from a simple infected cut? Fun times!

What I find amazing is that the people standing in line behind grandma didn't murder her for taking up 10 minutes to lecture the clerk. Equally amazing is how the person overhearing it was able to capture all that dialogue--must have been a stenographer.

In other words it's just another made up internet story.

[sparky45]

Remember the good old days when we could die from TB? Or end up in an iron lung from polio? Or die from a simple infected cut? Fun times!

What I find amazing is that the people standing in line behind grandma didn't murder her for taking up 10 minutes to lecture the clerk. Equally amazing is how the person overhearing it was able to capture all that dialogue--must have been a stenographer.

In other words it's just another made up internet story.

What is factual is everything you said except for the first line of your dialog. With today's "super bugs" and the advent of the 3rd world invasion, both TB and Polio have been recorded with increased regularity. As for dying from a simple infected cut; not only WILL that happen, it can and does happen with frightening rapidity.

[jcwit]

Regarding polio, from the CDC.

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/polio/dis-faqs.htm


Is polio still a disease seen in the United States? The last cases of naturally occurring paralytic polio in the United States were in 1979, when an outbreak occurred among the Amish in several Midwestern states. From 1980 through 1999, there were 162 confirmed cases of paralytic polio cases reported. Of the 162 cases, eight cases were acquired outside the United States and imported. The last imported case caused by wild poliovirus into the United States was reported in 1993. The remaining 154 cases were vaccine-associated paralytic polio (VAPP) caused by live oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV).
What kind of polio vaccines are used in the United States? IPV, which is given as a shot, is now used in the United States. OPV has not been used in the United States since 2000 but is still used in many parts of the world.

[jcwit]

Regarding TB or Tuberculosis cases in the U.S., per the CDC.


http://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/factsheets/statistics/tbtrends.htm



Trends in Tuberculosis, 2014 How many cases of tuberculosis (TB) were reported in the United States in 2014? http://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/factsheets/statistics/images/2013_tb_graph-crop-300px.jpg A total of 9,421 TB cases (a rate of 2.96 cases per 100,000 persons) were reported in the United States in 2014. Both the number of TB cases reported and the case rate decreased; this represents a 1.5% and 2.2% decline, respectively, compared to 2013*. This is the smallest decline in more than a decade.
*Ratio calculation is based on unrounded data values.
Is the rate of TB declining in the United States? Yes. Since the 1992 peak of TB resurgence in the United States, the number of TB cases reported each year has decreased.
How do the TB rates compare between U.S.-born persons and foreign-born persons living in the United States?http://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/factsheets/statistics/images/2013-map_tb_caserate_us-300px.jpg In 2014, a total of 66% of reported TB cases in the United States occurred among foreign-born persons. The case rate among foreign-born persons (15.4 cases per 100,000 persons) in 2014 was approximately 13 times higher than among U.S.-born persons (1.2 cases per 100,000 persons).

[jcwit]

Dying from a simple "untreated" cut likely will lead to a deadly situation.

Taking care and treating a simple cut? Not likely, but the proverbial, **** happene's, sometimes. Some folks get run over by a bus too.

[jcwit]

Let's stand with the truth and not with assumptions.

[sparky45]

I see one person, who is on my ignore list, has posted since I posted my response to E45. As such I can imagine the tripe spewed and will post accordingly.
http://www.combatveteransforcongress.org/story/illegal-aliens-linked-resurgence-infectious-diseases-thought-have-been-erdicated-usa

http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2014/07/illegal-alien-minors-spreading-tb-ebola-dengue-swine-flu/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/02/06/is-there-a-link-between-the-measles-outbreak-and-illegal-immigration/
And here's one from the blatantly Liberal media; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/undocumented-immigrants-measles-outbreak_n_6737102.html
They site a "official" from CDC, the same people that bungled the Ebola scare.

Also, when these "refugee" children were encamped in Tx and other border states; elected Senators and Congressmen weren't allowed to see the "refugee's" in the camps and basically told to pound sand. So, do I believe CDC and other govt. infectious disease lap dogs; not on my life.

[jcwit]

I'll come right out and say the truth, I clicked on the "view post" and did not claim to hide behind the "ignore", why else would sparky 45 mention the CDC at the end of his reply!

It was obvious we were discussing polio, and TB as that is what sparky 45 himself brought up. Nothing said about the flu or measles, both which are pretty much preventable with a shot just as polio is.

As far as the CDC "bungling" the Ebola scare, everyone was scrambling and clutching at everything its fully understandable. Further the Huffingtonpost will/and does blow everything up only to their advantage.

sparky 45, believe as you wish, but search for the truth, and know of what you speak of first.

My battle with you, 'if YOU wish to call it that' is over, you are just not worth it, nor is wearing off the letters on my keyboard worth it.

Have a good day, I may in all likely hood sneak back and click on 'view post' now and then tho.

Flail away sparky 45!

[sparky45]

The old man just won't quit.

[jcwit]

All started with your name calling, I see you're still at it.

[sparky45]

Just won't quit.

[jcwit]

You're repeating yourself! We all read that the first time!

How bout getting back on topic?

To all of you folks out there, who have never worked in retail, you never say you've heard it all. I know after 60 years in retail, well almost, I did retire. It was a fun run.

[gray wolf]

Come on guys, all that old time stuff was not P C correct:

Then again back then I wasn't P C correct either.

Well it's 73 years latter and guess what ? -------- I am still not PC correct.

And get this, the world is still here, and will be long after we have gone,
speaking of gone I fear most of what's left of what we hold dear will also be gone.

[jcwit]

Well put, Grey Wolf.