Perhaps I had ambitions to be an MP - or an undertaker!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

No.172

FRIDAY 13TH JANUARY

WISE MEN SAY

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. (Buddha)

-o0o-

POETRY FOR PLEASURE

Look for the Silver Lining
(Buddy DeSylva 1895-1950)

Look for the silver lining
When e'er a cloud appears in the blue.
Remember somewhere the sun is shining,
And so the right thing to do,
Is make it shine for you.
A heart, full of joy and gladness,
Will always banish sadness and strife.
So always look for the silver lining,
And try to find the sunny side of life.

-o0o-

JOHN’S GALLERY


A Childhood Idyll
By William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905)

-o0o-

Some time ago I found the following in a magazine, and I’ve been thinking that 80 plus readers will find it interesting.

The check-out girl at the supermarket suggested to the customer - an elderly woman, that she should bring her own bags, because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologised and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my day."

The girl replied, "That's our problem. Your generation didn’t care enough to save our environment for future generations."

She was right - our generation didn't have the green thing back then.

In our day we returned milk bottles and lemonade bottles to the shop. The shop sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so they could be used again and again.

But we didn't have the green thing back then.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have a lift in every store and office building. We walked to the shops and didn't jump into a car every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right.

We didn't have the green thing back then.

We washed baby's nappies by hand, because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes outside on a line, not in a machine burning up electricity.

Children got hand-me-down clothes from their older siblings. But that young lady was right.

We didn't have the green thing back then.

Long ago we had one TV or radio in the house, not a set in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand, because we didn't have electrical machines to do everything for us. We didn't use up electricity when cutting the grass, we used a push mower. But she’s right.

We didn't have the green thing back then.

We refilled pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we didn’t throw away our razors when a blade was past its best.

But we didn't have the green thing back then.

And children walked or cycled to school and to evening organisations, instead of relying on their parents to drive them everywhere.

But isn't it sad that today’s generation laments how wasteful we old folks were, just because -

WE DIDN’T HAVE THE GREEN THING BACK THEN.

-o0o-

AN 80 PLUS QUOTE

Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.
(Betty Friedan)

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-


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