A young cashier instructs an elderly woman to bring her own bags for groceries but is taken aback by the woman’s response.

For months, if not years, the following story has been making the rounds on the internet. I believe we can all relate to that. When a considerably older woman was checking out at a store, a young cashier advised her to carry grocery bags because plastic bags are bad for the environment. , that at that time it was nothing.

That is our problem today, retorted the young official. To preserve our ecosystem for future generations, your generation did not care enough.
The older woman admitted that she was right – our generation had not experienced the “green thing” at that time. The older woman continued to explain:

That’s when we brought the milk, soda, and beer bottles back to the dealer. To reuse the same bottles, the store sent them back to the manufacturing facility where they were cleaned, sterilized, and refilled. So they were recycled. However, the “green thing” did not exist in our time.

The grocery stores packed our purchases in brown paper bags, which we later used for other purposes. The brown paper bags we used as covers for our school books are what I remember the most, apart from using them as household garbage bags. This was done to prevent our writing from desecrating public property (the books the school gave us for our use). Brown paper bags were then used to personalize our books. We should have done the “green thing” then, but alas.

Since not every store or office building had an escalator, we had to climb the stairs. Instead of getting into a 300-horsepower car every time we had to travel two blocks, we decided to walk to the grocery store.
But he’s right. The “green thing” wasn’t around in our time.
Since we didn’t have disposable diapers then, we had to wash the baby with a cloth. We would rather air dry our clothes than use a machine that uses 220 volts of power. In the beginning, we used wind and solar energy to dry clothes. Not usually brand new clothes, kids got hand-me-downs from their siblings.

But the lady is right; the “green thing” wasn’t around when we were growing up.
At that time there was only one TV or radio in the house, not one in each room. And the TV didn’t have a screen the size of Montana; it had a small screen the size of a tissue (remember?). Since we lacked automatic electrical appliances in the kitchen, we mixed and stirred by hand. We did not use styrofoam or bubble wrap to protect fragile items when we packed them for shipping; instead, we used old newspaper that was cotton wool. We didn’t start the engine or use gas for the sole purpose of mowing the lawn back then. We operated the push mower with human power. We worked out instead of going to the gym to use treadmills that are powered by electricity.
But he is right; The “green thing” wasn’t around then.
Instead of using a cup or plastic bottle every time we needed a sip of water, we drank from the water fountain when we were thirsty. We’d rather trade a razor for a razor than throw away an entire razor just because the edge dulled, and we refilled fountain pens instead of buying a new pen.
However, the “green thing” wasn’t around then.

In those days, families used the streetcar or bus, and children rode bikes or walked to school, rather than using their mothers as a 24-hour taxi service in the family’s SUV or $45,000 van—which cost what a whole house would have cost a year ago. rows of plugs to power a dozen devices, we only had one electrical outlet per room. And we didn’t need computer equipment to locate the nearest hamburger joint using a signal broadcast by satellites 23,000 kilometers away.
But isn’t it ironic that the younger generation laments how wasteful the older age was because they now don’t have the “green thing”?

Please send this to another self-centered senior who needs to learn about conservation from a smartass.
We shouldn’t be too upset because we don’t enjoy aging in the first place, especially when it comes to a tattooed, multi-pierced smartass who can’t make change without the cash register informing them how much.

While it’s easy to point fingers and blame, it’s important to approach environmental problems with a solution-oriented mindset. Through cooperation and conscious decisions, we can create a more sustainable and livable world for us and future generations.

To be honest, I believe we all did well. What did you think of this story? Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments section on Facebook.