I gotta share this story I just saw again today. Maybe you’ve seen some version of it. But it’s about what happened when a young cashier told an older woman “you should bring your grocery bags next time. Because plastic bags aren’t good for the environment.”

Here’s the story version I saw:

The  woman apologized, “We didn’t have this green thing back in my day.” 

The young clerk said, “Your generation didn’t care enough to save the environment for future generations.”

So, the woman gave him a firm stare and a hard grin and said…

“Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles, and beer bottles. And the store sent them back to the plant to be washed sterilized and refilled. So they could use the same bottles over. They were recycled. 

Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags which we reused for numerous things. We walked upstairs because we didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. And we walked to the grocery and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. 

Back then, we washed the baby’s diapers. Because we didn’t have the throwaway kind. And we dried clothes on a line. Not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts. Wind and solar power did dry our clothes back in our day. And kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters. Not always brand-new clothing. 

Not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief. Not an energy draining 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.

And 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. 

And 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 with a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. 

Back then, people took a bus and kids rode their bikes 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 23,000 miles in space to find the nearest burger joint. But the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing.”

Then, the lady turned to leave. But she stepped back and turned toward the cashier.

And she said “You have a world of knowledge in that little device in your hand. Pity you just use it to gossip, take pictures, and waste time. It would do you good to search a bit of history before you embarrass yourself like this again.

I love that story. I don’t know if I’m as old as the old lady. But I can relate to every example she shared. And, in fact, I can remember living in a house where the cooking was done entirely with a wood-burning stove. For a long time there was an ice box instead of a refrigerator. And we ate food that came from a chicken, cow, pig, or garden just outside the farmhouse doors.

But today younger people think THEY know what’s good for the environment because of the regurgitated nonsense they soak up in schools, from TV, and online.

That’s why I wrote, a long time ago:

We want to live in a fat-free environment, and

Stay tuned…

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The post Good for the environment statement didn’t make a dent appeared first on Tony Funderburk.

My brother and I had a two-week booking in Erie, Pennsylvania. And we had just arrived. We unloaded our music gear and clothes and took them into the hotel. But I left a few boxes and assorted items in the back of my pickup. Because it was our first night in town. And we were tired from a long drive. Plus, the truck was parked inside the hotel’s “secure” lot for guests. So, no problem, right?

The next morning I went down to my pickup to go somewhere for lunch. And, as I approached the pickup, I noticed the hatch lift to my topper was open. Not a good sign. When I went around to look, I found papers and all sorts of things torn and tossed all around. Some of my personal property, including a can with a substantial amount of coins, was gone. As you might guess, I was livid.

Side note: synonyms for livid (and they all apply): furious, angry, infuriated, irate, fuming, raging, seething, incensed, enraged, angered, beside oneself, wrathful, ireful, maddened, cross, annoyed, irritated, exasperated, indignant; informal mad, boiling, wild, seeing red, hot under the collar, up in arms, foaming at the mouth, on the warpath, steamed up

If you’ve never felt violated like that, consider yourself fortunate. When someone crosses the line of your property, even if it’s in the back of your car or pickup, that’s already a violation. But when they steal what you’ve worked hard for, that’s an exponential increase to the violation.

Because, of course, nothing was ever recovered. And my insurance wouldn’t cover it because they said I hadn’t properly protected my property. So, property lost. Lividity vented. And lesson learned.

But one of the reasons I brought this up is because of how many Americans don’t seem to even feel the slightest bit violated by criminals crossing our property lines. And so many Americans aren’t livid about how much of our money is stolen, by our own government, to give to those criminals. It’s demented, despicable, and devoid of intelligence.

Trillions of dollars in debt. And yet, somehow, politicians find a way to take YOUR money and give it to criminals. Yes, criminals. Every single person who crosses property lines (aka: the border) without going through the gate, is a criminal.

I don’t care if it’s a family of four who want “a better life.” And I don’t care if it’s a guy who “just wants to get a better job so he can take care of his family.” When you enter someone’s property without an invitation, you ARE a criminal!

But no problem. Right? Or, should I say, “no problemo?”  It’s just people moving from one place to another. Hey, I’ve done that a lot of times. And each one of those times was to set up something better.

So, what makes me think I can move around to different parts of the world and others can’t? Nothing. I never said that. But the difference is, I didn’t cross somebody’s property lines illegally. And I didn’t steal money from other people in order to make my move.

Because I was born into a country where I was at least free enough to pursue my dreams and goals. But even if I wanted to go live somewhere else in the world, I’d be sure to follow their rules for entry and citizenship. As long as they didn’t violate basic human rights to life and liberty, no problem.

So, there you have it. From feeling violated in Erie, Pennsylvania to an eerie violation of our national sovereignty. Do I know how to rant or what?!

Speaking of ranting. Here are the lyrics to a song I wrote after the incident in Erie.

Sometimes this world brings my bad side out.

And it’s just like the drifting of the sand,

Sometimes I need just to air things out.

Repeat chorus…inst…ad lib chorus to end

© 1989 Tony Funderburk

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Today, America is a messed up vision. A shadow of its former somewhat shadowy self. Because right and wrong is a concept blurred by propaganda. And good and bad are now in the “eye of the beholder.” So, those who run America ( and that’s probably not the politicians) don’t learn from their mistakes. They think they’re wise. But they’re fools.

And I listed 3 major ways humans don’t learn from mistakes.

1. Truth: Those who want to control others cast shadows on the truth. Truth is their mortal enemy. So they have to pound out lies with great resolve until the truth becomes nothing more than a cloudy concept. Truth becomes “whatever you make of it”. Or whatever is “right in their own minds”. Nazi’s believed if you told a “lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually become to believe it”. Do you see that happening all around you today?

2. Morality: This is another area under constant attack by those who want to justify their behavior. When you reduce right and wrong to whatever is “right in their own minds“, you produce a culture where anything goes. Then everything goes…out the window. Who knows where that might lead? You might even find adults killing babies. Well, at least that couldn’t happen here in America…could it?

3. Property: Once people realize they can vote the money away from the wealthy and into their own pockets, then there’s no bottom to that abyss. Politicians run for office (and win) using promises based on redistribution of wealth. It’s not merely wrong. It’s evil, and it destroys lives. But who cares, right? It’s just the way things are. The status quo. I’m gonna get mine as long as the gettin’s good. Does that describe you?

Well, here’s a song about that whole messed up vision.

Take the truth and lock it up, and throw away the key

Nothin’s sacred anymore”

Cast your vote for social growth and then say yes to law

Nothin’s sacred anymore”

More space and time”more would be sublime

© 2002 Tony Funderburk

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