John Henderson sent me the following little anecdote about “being green” as opposed to actually “living green.” I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for sending it, John.
While in line at the store, a young cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own reusable grocery bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized and explained, “We didn’t have the ‘green’ thing back in my day.”
The clerk responded, “That’s what’s caused our problems today. Your generation wasn’t ‘green’ and did not care enough to save our environment.”
He was right. That generation didn’t have the “green” thing in its day.
Back then, they returned their 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 recycled.
But they didn’t have the “green” thing back in that customer’s 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 was 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 back then. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters or cousins and did not always have 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 — not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of Montana. In the kitchen, food was blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old 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 their writing pens with ink instead of buying new pens, and they replaced the razor blades in razors 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 a streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked 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.
Isn’t it sad that the current generation laments how wasteful the old folks were just because they didn’t have the green thing back then?
This is funny but it is so true. In the past several decades, our extreme desires for convenience and instant gratification have created a way of life full of excessive waste, resource consumption and artificial materials that do not decompose naturally. I think we need that old green lifestyle back more than we need this current “green” thing.
Also, this is the last week to submit your nomination for the Win-dex Awards for this quarter. The Liberty County Chamber of Commerce sponsors the Win-dex Awards recognition program with Keep Liberty Beautiful to recognize businesses in the community that make the extra effort to keep their businesses attractive and inviting.
We need your help in giving these local businesses the recognition each quarter that they deserve. I am sure that there is a local business — probably several — that you frequent that may deserve your nomination. Send in your nomination by June 30. Awards will be announced in mid-July at the next chamber Progress Through People luncheon.
Remember that the reason for nominating a business is a crucial part of the judging of the awards, so make sure you fully explain why this business deserves recognition — your vote counts!

KLB activities
• Win-dex Award nomination forms are available through June 30 at the Keep Liberty Beautiful office in Midway. Call 880-4888 or email klcb@libertycountyga.com. Forms also are available through the Liberty County Chamber of Commerce (368-4445).
The completed forms can be mailed to P.O. Box 829, Hinesville, Ga., 31310; faxed to 880-4777; or emailed to klcb@libertycountyga.com.
• From 6 p.m.-8 p.m. July 19, recycle CDs and DVDs (in the original cases with covers) for a good cause at First Presbyterian Christian Academy.