"Hey, the Mexican is stealing the furniture." The rest of the crew laughed heartily.
I kid you not, that's what happend today as my primary upholstery subcontractor was picking up something at our request. The perpetrators were cabinet installers and Juan was so mortified, he picked up the phone and called our office. Rightfully, he was seeing red. Our lead designer immediately said we would contact the owner of the company but Juan was only calling to let us know what happend. He planned to contact the company himself.
As I thought about it, I couldn't let this go. This cabinet shop has worked with us successfully, at least at the project management level, for years. So since it was after hours, I wrote to the owner with a copy to the project manager and told them it was unbelievable and unacceptable, and that I expected Juan to get a call immediately with a heartfelt apology, and that at the very least, they owed him a promise of diversity training, if not a turnover in installers.
Why aren't we as a whole society beyond this type of behavior? I can hear some saying "well, it was an isolated incident by a bunch of jerks." I don't agree. This country was built on and seems proud to be a melting pot of cultures and people - yet racism still blatantly exists; negative comments about our neighbors to the south, despite the hard work they provide to our society, happen often; bakeries and other businesses deny service to the gay community; political hatred is at an all-time high; and we joke about drivers who have a different look. I'm guilty, you're guilty, don't try to deny it. We must remember that the statements we make, even in jest, even if they are true, must be respectful and must not make human beings feel less than human. It just isn't right.
It will take everyone's concerted awareness that whatever we say touches something or someone. If it isn't kind, why say it? If you have to say "I shouldn't say this, but ...", then don't. Wouldn't it be nice if, in our lifetime, the same harmony we see at every Olympics were an everyday thing? I'm not talking about free-speech. I'm talking about respect and diversity - and we can all take refreshers regularly.
I've just had one.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Sunday, January 6, 2013
A Mental Safari
When I was in the second grade, we had a substitute teacher when Mrs. Irwin was out for a few days. I don't remember this sub's name, but she was Australian and she would tell stories about school there and I knew then that I just had to go. Lucky for me, I married a man with the same passion for travel and we've had the amazing fortune to have traveled to Australia several times together. But another thing Miss Australian taught me was that I had to take an African safari. I don't recall the lesson but for the rest of my life so far, I knew I had to go to Africa.
Fortunately, we made this second 2nd Grade bucket list item happen in October 2012. I expected to be awed by it, to experience life-changing things and to love it. I was awed by it, I experienced life-changing things but I didn't love it. In fact, other than the animals which were absolutely amazing and some really nice people, I didn't like it.
The disparity between my comfort zone and reality in many parts of where we visited was very wide. It began as we drove from the airport in Cape Town and noted acres upon acres of 10 x 10 corrugated tin homes. My immediate reaction was to wonder what I could do to help, and I pondered that for several days as we passed more and more in our adventures. Then it hit me.
I was doing what I've been critical of our government of doing for so long, being so arrogant as to think our culture is better, that we need to bully our way in and fix things. But this didn't need fixing. It was tribal, it was family and it was their home. And who was I to think my way was better?
One of the things that lead me to this realization was a man who was standing outside the District Six museum (http://www.districtsix.co.za) as we were awaiting our hop-on-hop-off bus after visiting the museum. He had one of those jointed wood snakes and he was approaching people to startle them, then giggling like a school boy. When he saw us, he showed us the toy then said he lived in the shelter around the corner. He proceeded to talk to us about the importance of humor and joking before he ran off to play his snake game on a group of students getting on their bus. I couldn't help but hope that the bus would come very soon - but before it did, he came back and began to sing. My gosh, this guy's voice was one of the most beautiful we had ever heard. It was magical - we didn't know what he was singing, if it was something tribal or if he was making it up as he went along, but we were completely entranced. Every few minutes, he would say "the bus will come soon, don't worry" then he'd resume singing. The bus eventually came and my life had changed.
This man was not unhappy. He didn't tell us he lived in the shelter to make us feel bad for him, and he completely recognized our discomfort. He took it upon himself to try to make us comfortable in his environment. The environment, by the way, that up until the mid 1990's, spurned him for the color of his skin.
I've been attempting for the last couple of months to put my finger on what I didn't like about this trip. It wasn't this event in Cape Town, though that did test my resolve. One day in Zambia certainly added to it. Outside the park at Victoria Falls was a lovely marketplace, about 150 yards long, and from what we saw on our arrival, held an amazing array of beautiful tapestries, carvings, etc. that we really looked forward to looking at and undoubtedly purchasing. After we visited the falls, which were spectacular, we visited the marketplace, the plan being to start at one end, shop our way down, then return to make purchases. Wrong. The first booth we approached had beautiful carvings and nearly the second we looked at them, the proprieter, Joe, picked up the one he saw us looking at, together with one that was significantly bigger, and told us that was the one we had to buy. We told him they were lovely but we weren't yet ready to purchase after which he got even more pushy - nice, but pushy. We told him we would purchase the smaller item. He very nicely wrapped it up and we were on our way. But little did we know that it seemed like the rest of the booths targeted us as Rich Americans and from then on, like with Joe, we were not allowed, or so it felt, to just shop. They each had in mind what we needed to buy and when we said no, they said they would come to our hotel later to get payment. We lasted one more booth before walking away.
Though it was completely cultural to the area and from what we later learned, not saved for tourists but the way it was for anyone shopping, it was without a doubt one of the most uncomfortable moments I recall experiencing in my life. The next day proved to be more of the same but even worse as guys (always men, never women) would run up to us and walk along with us as we were hiking, just to try to get us to buy. A tour guide we met said we were safe and that it was like their telemarkeing - but we couldn't hang up. And putting it in words here doesn't begin to describe what happened during these encounters.
Vacation and adventure, in my little world, is all about relaxation and education - so in view of this, this vacation was a great one. And I need to remember I was in merely one city in each of two countries and one attraction in a third - so to keep myself from judging the continent on this small portion will be my goal.
Awestruck? Yes, by the animals. A changed life? I hope so, but other than thinking about it every day, I can't say I'm doing anything differently. I guess maybe the thinking part is important in the grand scheme, and in the end, evaluating my comfort levels. It really was good to push them and in some cases, not buckle. As time goes by, I hope those moments happen more often.
And that when I return someday, I will love it.
Fortunately, we made this second 2nd Grade bucket list item happen in October 2012. I expected to be awed by it, to experience life-changing things and to love it. I was awed by it, I experienced life-changing things but I didn't love it. In fact, other than the animals which were absolutely amazing and some really nice people, I didn't like it.
The disparity between my comfort zone and reality in many parts of where we visited was very wide. It began as we drove from the airport in Cape Town and noted acres upon acres of 10 x 10 corrugated tin homes. My immediate reaction was to wonder what I could do to help, and I pondered that for several days as we passed more and more in our adventures. Then it hit me.
I was doing what I've been critical of our government of doing for so long, being so arrogant as to think our culture is better, that we need to bully our way in and fix things. But this didn't need fixing. It was tribal, it was family and it was their home. And who was I to think my way was better?
One of the things that lead me to this realization was a man who was standing outside the District Six museum (http://www.districtsix.co.za) as we were awaiting our hop-on-hop-off bus after visiting the museum. He had one of those jointed wood snakes and he was approaching people to startle them, then giggling like a school boy. When he saw us, he showed us the toy then said he lived in the shelter around the corner. He proceeded to talk to us about the importance of humor and joking before he ran off to play his snake game on a group of students getting on their bus. I couldn't help but hope that the bus would come very soon - but before it did, he came back and began to sing. My gosh, this guy's voice was one of the most beautiful we had ever heard. It was magical - we didn't know what he was singing, if it was something tribal or if he was making it up as he went along, but we were completely entranced. Every few minutes, he would say "the bus will come soon, don't worry" then he'd resume singing. The bus eventually came and my life had changed.
This man was not unhappy. He didn't tell us he lived in the shelter to make us feel bad for him, and he completely recognized our discomfort. He took it upon himself to try to make us comfortable in his environment. The environment, by the way, that up until the mid 1990's, spurned him for the color of his skin.
I've been attempting for the last couple of months to put my finger on what I didn't like about this trip. It wasn't this event in Cape Town, though that did test my resolve. One day in Zambia certainly added to it. Outside the park at Victoria Falls was a lovely marketplace, about 150 yards long, and from what we saw on our arrival, held an amazing array of beautiful tapestries, carvings, etc. that we really looked forward to looking at and undoubtedly purchasing. After we visited the falls, which were spectacular, we visited the marketplace, the plan being to start at one end, shop our way down, then return to make purchases. Wrong. The first booth we approached had beautiful carvings and nearly the second we looked at them, the proprieter, Joe, picked up the one he saw us looking at, together with one that was significantly bigger, and told us that was the one we had to buy. We told him they were lovely but we weren't yet ready to purchase after which he got even more pushy - nice, but pushy. We told him we would purchase the smaller item. He very nicely wrapped it up and we were on our way. But little did we know that it seemed like the rest of the booths targeted us as Rich Americans and from then on, like with Joe, we were not allowed, or so it felt, to just shop. They each had in mind what we needed to buy and when we said no, they said they would come to our hotel later to get payment. We lasted one more booth before walking away.
Though it was completely cultural to the area and from what we later learned, not saved for tourists but the way it was for anyone shopping, it was without a doubt one of the most uncomfortable moments I recall experiencing in my life. The next day proved to be more of the same but even worse as guys (always men, never women) would run up to us and walk along with us as we were hiking, just to try to get us to buy. A tour guide we met said we were safe and that it was like their telemarkeing - but we couldn't hang up. And putting it in words here doesn't begin to describe what happened during these encounters.
Vacation and adventure, in my little world, is all about relaxation and education - so in view of this, this vacation was a great one. And I need to remember I was in merely one city in each of two countries and one attraction in a third - so to keep myself from judging the continent on this small portion will be my goal.
Awestruck? Yes, by the animals. A changed life? I hope so, but other than thinking about it every day, I can't say I'm doing anything differently. I guess maybe the thinking part is important in the grand scheme, and in the end, evaluating my comfort levels. It really was good to push them and in some cases, not buckle. As time goes by, I hope those moments happen more often.
And that when I return someday, I will love it.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Life
A couple of months ago I mentioned some changes in our department that have since escalated greatly: on April 25, the Development team was summarily dismissed, effective 30 days later, and Joe hired two of his friends from Wells Fargo. Within a couple of weeks of our lay-off, the Construction Management Team - well, Seth, anyway - still waiting word on Richard in CA who was out on medical leave - was given their 30 days and in Seattle, another Wells Fargo employee was hired. The recently demoted Real Estate manager, who was my grand-boss until Lorri's departure, left, though I can only guess at the circumstances, and Val, the Facilities manager in Seattle, was packaged.
The new team will, undoubtedly, do well. I question how some will fit in with the Umpqua culture, at least at first, but that's not my problem. The big thing is this, and I mentioned it to the president and the COO before I left: what happend to six members (about a third) of a very productive team was just wrong. I understand business decisions and have been the "victim" of business-related layoffs in the past. But the way this was executed was so against everything the bank stands for that as soon as everything had cleared, we closed our accounts and took our money back to our old bank. So did Seth, and I bet the others may have too.
Interestingly, since then, I've told the story to friends and many have said "that doesn't seem to be what Umpqua stands for - don't think we'll be banking there anytime soon."
Oops.
The new team will, undoubtedly, do well. I question how some will fit in with the Umpqua culture, at least at first, but that's not my problem. The big thing is this, and I mentioned it to the president and the COO before I left: what happend to six members (about a third) of a very productive team was just wrong. I understand business decisions and have been the "victim" of business-related layoffs in the past. But the way this was executed was so against everything the bank stands for that as soon as everything had cleared, we closed our accounts and took our money back to our old bank. So did Seth, and I bet the others may have too.
Interestingly, since then, I've told the story to friends and many have said "that doesn't seem to be what Umpqua stands for - don't think we'll be banking there anytime soon."
Oops.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Losing and Finding Myself
The last nine days I've had a forced opportunity to lay around and do nothing but watch TV and ponder things. I've been trying to make sure the pondering takes precedence over TV - after all, my mind is mushy enough - and many thoughts are begging to be shared.
What seems to be nagging me the most is the realization that as I'm aging, I am becoming a stereotypical old lady. By that, I mean that I seem to be losing my sense of Giving and have become more stingy with myself. It's a trend I don't like so I've been diving into the Why.
I think part of it is being taken advantage of not once, not twice, but three times in the last several months. All three instances were giving of myself for what I thought was the greater good but which remain hurtful that these are still out there. See if you might feel the same:
#1: a classmate learned at the last minute that she could attend our 30-year reunion from out of state. She asked me to cover her registration, promising to pay when she arrived. She ended up blowing off our registration person that night, so I and my co-chair emailed her several times following the reunion, reminding her. The reunion was kind enough to pay me back so I am not peronally out the money anymore, but she has now ripped off the rest of her classmates. And interestly, she unfriended me on Facebook, telling me I said something to her the Previous MAY that hurt her feelings. Wouldn't tell me what so I could apologize specifically, but I also noticed that another friend (who really was a friend, or so I thought) also took me off her list, and coincidentally has become a good friend of this classmate. Whatever.
#2: a friend of a friend's mother passed away out of state. He'd been out of work for a while and didn't have the cash for a last-minute plane ticket to her funeral. He asked my friend if he knew of anyone who might be willing to sell airline miles so he could get there, and he said he had an immediate down payment of $500 if anyone could wait for the balance. I had a couple of free trips on Southwest so offered to sell them for himself and his brother only for the cash I put out, $110 for both tickets. He accepted and was very thankful that he'd have the extra cash for expenses while there. This was last fall and I've not seen the money. If it was my friend, it would be a non-issue and there would be no money to exchange - that's what friends do. I don't know this guy but I imagine my friend would feel pretty bad if he knew this was outstanding.
#3: we are so fortunate to have been season ticket holders for Dave's favorite team, the UW Huskies, so last year when extra tickets were offered for sale, we purchased two extra pair of Ducks-Huskies tickets. Of course several people were interested so it became a first-come first-served situation, and one pair went to someone I thought would become a new friend after having been an acquaintance for a few years. Unfortunately, the account on which the check was written was hacked or something so she asked me to not cash it and said she would immediately send me a replacement from the new account. This was last November and several reminders, both nice and not so nice, have proven that we will not get our money for these tickets. The thing here is that several other people really wanted to go to the game and they would have been good for it.
What ticks me off is that I've always been willing to help however I can and have always believed in quid pro quo - what I've given I've typically gotten back ten-fold. So these three situations have actually hurt my feelings even though I know that none of these people are my friends. It just felt, in all situations, the right thing to do.
What ticks me off even more is that for some reason I can't seem to move on. I think I know why: #1 didn't touch just me, but my class. Though the amount is very small, why should she be exempt just because something I apparently said hurt her feelings? I apologized in a general way since I didn't know what it was (but I have to admit it was with a grain of salt because it all felt so "high school" to me.) #2 was done at the request of my friend. Doesn't this guy care about his friend's feelings? #3, it turns out, has been diagnosed with a pretty serious thing so my heart wants to help her but my head is ticked off to have been taken advantage of.
My pledge here and now: to move on from these three unfortunate situations and to return to being as loving and giving as possible to my friends and loved ones, the ones with whom it doesn't matter about paybacks, because their love and friendship is all I need. If you're reading this, chances are you're on that list and I love you and thank you for your patience as I've gone into selfish mode for a few months.
Now: what can I do for you?
What seems to be nagging me the most is the realization that as I'm aging, I am becoming a stereotypical old lady. By that, I mean that I seem to be losing my sense of Giving and have become more stingy with myself. It's a trend I don't like so I've been diving into the Why.
I think part of it is being taken advantage of not once, not twice, but three times in the last several months. All three instances were giving of myself for what I thought was the greater good but which remain hurtful that these are still out there. See if you might feel the same:
#1: a classmate learned at the last minute that she could attend our 30-year reunion from out of state. She asked me to cover her registration, promising to pay when she arrived. She ended up blowing off our registration person that night, so I and my co-chair emailed her several times following the reunion, reminding her. The reunion was kind enough to pay me back so I am not peronally out the money anymore, but she has now ripped off the rest of her classmates. And interestly, she unfriended me on Facebook, telling me I said something to her the Previous MAY that hurt her feelings. Wouldn't tell me what so I could apologize specifically, but I also noticed that another friend (who really was a friend, or so I thought) also took me off her list, and coincidentally has become a good friend of this classmate. Whatever.
#2: a friend of a friend's mother passed away out of state. He'd been out of work for a while and didn't have the cash for a last-minute plane ticket to her funeral. He asked my friend if he knew of anyone who might be willing to sell airline miles so he could get there, and he said he had an immediate down payment of $500 if anyone could wait for the balance. I had a couple of free trips on Southwest so offered to sell them for himself and his brother only for the cash I put out, $110 for both tickets. He accepted and was very thankful that he'd have the extra cash for expenses while there. This was last fall and I've not seen the money. If it was my friend, it would be a non-issue and there would be no money to exchange - that's what friends do. I don't know this guy but I imagine my friend would feel pretty bad if he knew this was outstanding.
#3: we are so fortunate to have been season ticket holders for Dave's favorite team, the UW Huskies, so last year when extra tickets were offered for sale, we purchased two extra pair of Ducks-Huskies tickets. Of course several people were interested so it became a first-come first-served situation, and one pair went to someone I thought would become a new friend after having been an acquaintance for a few years. Unfortunately, the account on which the check was written was hacked or something so she asked me to not cash it and said she would immediately send me a replacement from the new account. This was last November and several reminders, both nice and not so nice, have proven that we will not get our money for these tickets. The thing here is that several other people really wanted to go to the game and they would have been good for it.
What ticks me off is that I've always been willing to help however I can and have always believed in quid pro quo - what I've given I've typically gotten back ten-fold. So these three situations have actually hurt my feelings even though I know that none of these people are my friends. It just felt, in all situations, the right thing to do.
What ticks me off even more is that for some reason I can't seem to move on. I think I know why: #1 didn't touch just me, but my class. Though the amount is very small, why should she be exempt just because something I apparently said hurt her feelings? I apologized in a general way since I didn't know what it was (but I have to admit it was with a grain of salt because it all felt so "high school" to me.) #2 was done at the request of my friend. Doesn't this guy care about his friend's feelings? #3, it turns out, has been diagnosed with a pretty serious thing so my heart wants to help her but my head is ticked off to have been taken advantage of.
My pledge here and now: to move on from these three unfortunate situations and to return to being as loving and giving as possible to my friends and loved ones, the ones with whom it doesn't matter about paybacks, because their love and friendship is all I need. If you're reading this, chances are you're on that list and I love you and thank you for your patience as I've gone into selfish mode for a few months.
Now: what can I do for you?
Friday, February 10, 2012
Just a journal entry
So on January 13, my manager, the best I've had in my career, resigned her position and left the bank. This, after greeting us as normal and informally scheduling a meeting for later that morning, created many unanswered questions when, within an hour or two, her manager called my co-workers and me to behind closed doors to announce her resignation, effective immediately, and telling us she had already left the building. Shock and grief are not too strong of words to express our surprise and four weeks later, the hole still exists.
That day I called Joe, my old manager from my days at Wells Fargo. He had been packaged following the reoganization of his team after the Wachovia purchase and several months before had given me his card and asked me to keep my eyes open for him. He called me back and said he had posted for Lorri's position.
Within a week of Lorri's resignation, our Real Estate and Leasing manager, Bob, resigned, effective two weeks from now. He just doesn't feel the job is a good fit for him personally, despite really liking the company and the team. I have loads of respect for him for realizing this and leaving before letting any gunk get in the way. He is amazing in his dedication to leaving his department in as good a shape as possible.
Then this last Wednesday, February 8, at our department's weekly meeting, Julie, the head of our department and the one who told us the news of the resignations, announced that she would be stepping into Bob's position and Joe would assume her role as head of the department, leaving Lorri's position still unfilled. She also announced a new position, Design Manager, that would be filled by Tomomi, one of my fellow development managers.
Whew. It's been a week of change and putting on a face and knowing these are really positive changes to our department but still wondering how it will all shake out. I'll keep me posted.
That day I called Joe, my old manager from my days at Wells Fargo. He had been packaged following the reoganization of his team after the Wachovia purchase and several months before had given me his card and asked me to keep my eyes open for him. He called me back and said he had posted for Lorri's position.
Within a week of Lorri's resignation, our Real Estate and Leasing manager, Bob, resigned, effective two weeks from now. He just doesn't feel the job is a good fit for him personally, despite really liking the company and the team. I have loads of respect for him for realizing this and leaving before letting any gunk get in the way. He is amazing in his dedication to leaving his department in as good a shape as possible.
Then this last Wednesday, February 8, at our department's weekly meeting, Julie, the head of our department and the one who told us the news of the resignations, announced that she would be stepping into Bob's position and Joe would assume her role as head of the department, leaving Lorri's position still unfilled. She also announced a new position, Design Manager, that would be filled by Tomomi, one of my fellow development managers.
Whew. It's been a week of change and putting on a face and knowing these are really positive changes to our department but still wondering how it will all shake out. I'll keep me posted.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Politics ... shudder ...
Anyone who knows me well knows I really don't like to talk politics. I don't get why negative campaigning works and I can't stand what it turns people into. Then when the candidates drop out and immediately endorse a previous opponent, it just seems so insincere and a huge game.
Do you think it will ever matter what qualifications a candidate has, rather than what he or she thinks his or her opponent can't do? I can't remember the last time I heard any candidates tell me what they can do for me; instead, they spend so much time slamming their opponents that I never know what they themselves stand for.
I long for a serious candidate who wants to serve the country, to do the right thing for the country. Instead, for the last several elections, I've found myself asking who is the less of two evils - how can that be right?
It is ridiculous for either party to blame the other for the country's current situation. I hear blame against Obama, but look what he inherited. Okay, I give you that he should have waited a couple of terms before he ran - a Freshman legislator can't know that he is stepping into - but he didn't cause the current economy, no matter what anyone says. I just don't think he knows how to improve it -- and really, who does? It's like losing weight - it takes time to gain it, and longer to lose it. And let's face it, the three years Mr. Obama has been in office hasn't allowed time to heal the 8 years it took to break it.
Not that Mr. Bush was to blame either. While I don't agree with many of the ways he dealt with things, he didn't cause them and again, no one could have known how to fix them. It's sort of like parenthood, I'd guess -- you do what you know at the time.
This weekend we are spending time in Portland with dear friends from Vancouver, BC and as often happens, the subject of Politics has come up. It was interesting to learn that Canada's election process takes 6 weeks - yes, weeks! Okay, so think of the millions of dollars spent on American elections over the year or so they take and what it would mean if that were cut down exponentially - hey, that represents a good chunk of the national debt.
I am already sick of the process for the 2012 election, and we still have over 9 months to go. At this rate, I'm going to be too uninformed to vote - unless they change it to the best candidate NOT to vote for, in which case, I still couldn't make a decision.
And it makes me feel stupid.
Do you think it will ever matter what qualifications a candidate has, rather than what he or she thinks his or her opponent can't do? I can't remember the last time I heard any candidates tell me what they can do for me; instead, they spend so much time slamming their opponents that I never know what they themselves stand for.
I long for a serious candidate who wants to serve the country, to do the right thing for the country. Instead, for the last several elections, I've found myself asking who is the less of two evils - how can that be right?
It is ridiculous for either party to blame the other for the country's current situation. I hear blame against Obama, but look what he inherited. Okay, I give you that he should have waited a couple of terms before he ran - a Freshman legislator can't know that he is stepping into - but he didn't cause the current economy, no matter what anyone says. I just don't think he knows how to improve it -- and really, who does? It's like losing weight - it takes time to gain it, and longer to lose it. And let's face it, the three years Mr. Obama has been in office hasn't allowed time to heal the 8 years it took to break it.
Not that Mr. Bush was to blame either. While I don't agree with many of the ways he dealt with things, he didn't cause them and again, no one could have known how to fix them. It's sort of like parenthood, I'd guess -- you do what you know at the time.
This weekend we are spending time in Portland with dear friends from Vancouver, BC and as often happens, the subject of Politics has come up. It was interesting to learn that Canada's election process takes 6 weeks - yes, weeks! Okay, so think of the millions of dollars spent on American elections over the year or so they take and what it would mean if that were cut down exponentially - hey, that represents a good chunk of the national debt.
I am already sick of the process for the 2012 election, and we still have over 9 months to go. At this rate, I'm going to be too uninformed to vote - unless they change it to the best candidate NOT to vote for, in which case, I still couldn't make a decision.
And it makes me feel stupid.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
The Green Thing
Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.
The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."
The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."
She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.
Back then, we returned 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 we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
We walked up stairs because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. 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 -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early 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 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 the state of Montana . In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up 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 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, and we replaced the razor blades 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 streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service.
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 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.
But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?
Remember: Don't make old People mad. We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to tick us off.
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