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HOW WASTEFUL THE "ELTER"
GENERATION WAS
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Syosset, New York
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Several friends e-mailed me an article titled, "How Wasteful The Older Generation Was." Here's my expanded Yiddish version:
In the line at Supersol, the kosher supermarket, "der kasirer" (the cashier) told the "elter froy" (older woman) that she should bring her own "shpayzkrom" (grocery) bag because "plastik" (plastic) bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the "grin" (green) thing back in "mayn" (my) day."
"Der farkoyfer" (The clerk) responded, "That's our problem "haynt" (today). The former generation did not care enough to save our environment."
He was "rikhtik" (right); that generation didn't have the "grin" thing in its day. Back then, they returned their "milkh" (milk) bottles, soda bottles, and "bir" (beer) bottles to the store. The store sent them "tsurik" (back) to the "fabrik" (plant/factory) to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the "zelbic" (same) bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But "der koyne" (the customer) didn't have the "grin" thing back in those days.
In her day, they walked up "di trep" (the stairs), because they didn't have an escalator in every store and "byuro" (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. They walked to the "tsukerl" (candy) store to receive their "telefon" calls. "Tselularer telefon"? Who knew from cell phones?
We had men who came around "di shkheyneshaft" (the neighborhood) with "kleyn" (little) pushcarts.
Arnold Fine (I Remember When) wrote, "Essex Street in Lower Manhattan had both sides of the street lined with pushcarts. In one sense it was like a horizontal department store ("universal-krom"). On one pushcart they sold vegetables ("grinsn"), on the next fish, and on the next children's underwear ("untervesh"). As the years moved on there were objections to the pushcarts on the street, so they built the Essex Street indoor market where they put all the pushcarts indoors." (July 14, 2000, The Jewish Press)
Back then, they washed the "beybi's" (baby's) diapers because they didn't have the throw-away kind (Today, think gDiapers, earth-friendly green diapers.) FYI: Disposable diapers will run approximately $50 to $80 a month. It takes over 200,000 trees a year to manufacture the disposable diapers for American babies.
They dried "klader" (clothing) on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts. "Vint" (Wind) and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their "bruder" (brother) or "shvester" (sister), not always brand new clothing from The Gap or from a Charlotte Russe clothing store at the mall.
But that "alt dame" is right; they didn't have the "grin" thing back in her day.
Back then, they had one "televisye" (TV) or
"radyo" (radio) in the house, not a "televisye" in every "tsimer" (room).
The TV had a "kleyn" (small) screen, the size
of a "noztikhl" (handkerchief), not a screen
the size of the state of Montana. (Think
DuMont TV sets.)
In the "kikh" (kitchen) they blended and stirred by "hant" (hand) because they didn't have electric machines to do "altsding" (everything) for you.
(Think Vita-Mix 5200; retail price, $500).
When they packaged a fragile item to send in "di post" (the mail), they used a wadded up old "tsaytung" (newspaper) to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. (Of course, they never used The Forward/
Forverts. That would be a "shanda.")
They couldn't buy "He'Brew"--the chosen beer-- or Kosher freeze dried beef patties for dogs and cats. It wasn't "faranen" (available).
Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn "gazolin" just to cut "di lonke" (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 "klub" (club) or run on treadmills that operate on "elektre" (electricity).
Arnold Fine says, "...who knew from physical fitness training. We played Hop Scotch, Ring-A-Levio and even Johnny-on-A-Pony. Sure there were fat kids in our day, but that was before we learned what made people fat."
But she's right; they didn't have the "grin" thing back then.
They drank from a fountain when they were "dorshtik" (thirsty) instead of using a cup or a "plastik" (plastic) bottle every time they had a drink of "vaser" (water).
A "humoristish" (humorish), but insightful quote, from a national "radyo" personality went:
THROUGHOUT THE YEARS MAN HAS COME UP WITH MANY WAYS TO MEASURE THINGS. NOAH USED CUBITS TO MEASURE THE ARC. WE USE CARATS TO MEASURE GEMSTONES. WE USE INCHES, FEET AND YARDS TO MEASURE DISTANCE. AND TO MEASURE THE INTELLIGENCE OF CONSUMERS...THEY PUT WATER IN PLASTIC BOTTLES...TO SEE WHO WOULD BUY IT."
They refilled their "kvalpen" (fountain pen) with "tint" (ink) instead of buying a "nay feder" (new pen) and they replaced "dos golmesserl" (the razor blade) in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
But they didn't have the "grin" thing back then.
Back then, people took the streetcar or a "oytobus" (bus) and kids rode a "velosiped" (bicycle) or rode the school bus instead of turning their moms into a 24- hour "taksi" (taxi) service. They had "eyns" (one) electrical outlet in a "tsimer" (room), not an entire bank of sockets to power a "tuts" (dozen) appliances. And they didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites two "toyznt" (thousand) miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.
But isn't it "umetik" (sad) the current generation laments how wasteful the "alt" folks were just because they didn't have the "grin" thing back then?
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