Conversations with the Past: by John D. L. Brooke

John David Lionel Brooke

Conversations with the Past

by John David Lionel Brooke

Time - dotted with the connect the dots
Of events, and actions, and crisscrossed space
Each tiny fragment of an instant lingering
Like a hole

- or a kiss

Imprints on the mantel of life, reflecting back
The feelings and passions and hopes of lost moments
Where we moved on and something else moved in
Like a thief

- or a vision

Interconnection of living breathing matter
We revolve around each other - thinking only ourself
Egocentric and strange and important and meaningful
Like a Pulitzer

- or Nobel Prize

Here in the quiet webs of us we feel the vibrations
And sensations of long lost happenings that still
Cause panging and desire and regret and sorrow
Like a sin

- or a smile

We sit in the dark having conversations with the past
Social in every way but reality - and we listen
To lessons that at the time we were too deaf to hear
Like those from parents

- or children

We look back to each junction of streaming lines
We trace the static realism and dynamic repercussions
We think back to smiles, tears, soft voices and hard
Like sand

- or screams

Our conversations with the past are so often one-sided
No other blimp on our chronology seems to care
So we reflect on our own thoughts - try to find sense
Like school

- or religion

We find answers that only stick to our own reason
We answer questions that nobody else knows or hears
We find truths that never last in the real world
Like faith

- or science

Perpetual repetition - doomed to repeat history
Forever and ever in the hell of a mind rent by regret
And the conversations with the past are hollow
Like wood

- or souls

Do we learn from this?
Or drive ourselves to the brink of loss?

Do we ascend to new heights from this?
Or do we sink under the weight of history?

Do we continue this?
Or are we doomed to talk over finished moments?

Conversations with the past - lessons in reverse
And we find ourselves still talking in black rooms

- To ourselves.

John, the Author and Poet

About the Author

John David Lionel Brooke an expat Canadian who lives a simple, happy life by the Sea of Cortez, in Baja California Sur, Mexico.

"MOTHER LODE" is the first memoir in a trilogy. It follows his hazardious tongue-tied childhood up to his fateful marriage. 

His second novel in the trilogy, "SHUT UP MOTHER", follows his haunted journey into adulthood. 

"MY MAD MOTHER", the final work, follows soul searching battles as he journeys to reach the fulfillment of his life. He ruminates on historical evidence that may answer why his Mother became "mad". 

His books are all available in eBook and Paperback formats at Amazon.

In addition to writing novels, John writes poetry, prose, flash fiction, drabbles, articles, and short stories. His work has appeared in many publications online and in print. 

His published 3 chapbooks are also available on Amazon. "INTO PURE BLUE AIR," "PONDERING IMPONDERABLES" and "SPARKLES."

He reads therefore he writes.

John's Books:

My Mad Mother
Mother Lode
Shut Up Mother
Sparkles
Into Pure Blue Air
Pondering Imponderables

“A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write.” ~CJ Heck

Who is CJ Heck, Really?

Hi, I'm CJ/

Whether you are an Author, Reader, a Contributing Writer, or a combination, and now My Friend, I thank you.  It's been a pleasure and I'm glad I 'know' you.

Most of you know me as a Blogger. I have three different blogs and I invite articles, short stories and poetry for all of them.

Occasionally, I even write something myself, when I have the time, so you might also know me as a Writer and Poet.

Or maybe I've done some editing for you on an article, a short story, or book, so you know me as a Freelance Editor.

Something else I love to do is help Authors promote their books.  I do that here on CJ's Writer Thoughts, and I also proudly promote books written by Vietnam veterans on my other blog, Memoirs From Nam.

Authors need all the help they can get -- hiring a Book Publicist is often just too expensive and not something that fits into most budgets. As a senior citizen, that's true for me, as well.

Now, that being said ....

Every so often, I like to remind everyone that I Am Also An Author ... I've written three books for children and two for adults.

Children’s Books:  

Barking Spiders and Other Such Stuff
(The first book, published in 2000)

Midwest Book Review:
child's perspective. Often funny, sometimes introspective, always honest, these poems form a brilliant introduction for young readers to the magic of poetry and rhyme."

OHIOana Quarterly:
"If children could write poetry about the things in their lives, it might not sound like these poems ... but the feelings they experience are sure to be familiar, as they listen to or read this collection. Insights and thoughts about belly buttons, toe jam, Bandaids, and passing gas will cause chuckles from young readers and their parents." (Barbara Maslekoff)

Poetry Today Online:
"Well, it's time for a little fun, folks. Put away all those boring grownup books and let's sit down and read Barking Spiders and Other Such Stuff. This is CJ Heck's first book of children's poetry and it is a delight!"

Read a Preview

Buy at Amazon

Barking Spiders 2 

(the sequel book to Barking Spiders)

Nominated for the 2011 Cybils Children's Book Award in Poetry 

In this long-awaited sequel to her first Barking Spiders book, CJ Heck continues her journey to help children experience life through poetry with her unique blend of humor, insight, sensitivity, and with an understanding that, like adults, children wish to make sense of the world they live in. 

And when it still doesn't make sense? Well, she helps them see that's okay, too, because it doesn't always make sense.

Read a Preview

Buy at Amazon

Me Too! Preschool Poetry
(Poetry for the little ones, to get them started)

Preschool: that brief period of childhood when everything is either black, or white, a time of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, and the grey area in between black and white hasn't yet begun. 

It's the last true age of innocence, when mommy and daddy are the good guys, pretending is a profession, and bugs are just tiny friends. 

Wouldn't it be fun to have a grownup friend who understands, someone to say it's okay if the world doesn't always make sense? CJ Heck is that grownup friend. She's been entertaining children and grownups with her poetry since 1999 through her website, and then with the release of her first book "Barking Spiders (and Other Such Stuff)" in 2000. 

Sit back, get comfy, and read "Me Too!" with a child-- it's time to get back in touch with your own inner child again and remember, remember, remember ...

Read a Preview

Buy at Amazon 


Comments:

"You are one of the most gifted children's poets I have ever read!"
~ Todd-Michael St. Pierre 

"CJ, You are every primary teachers dream come true. I have found that rhyming words are important for six year olds when learning to spell and read. I love your poetry! You never cease to amaze me."
~Joyce Bowling 

"How I would have loved to have been a child in your world. Excellent doesn't even come close ..."
~Georg Mateos 

"CJ, your work is not only brilliant, it is a joy to the spirit and restores youth to our hearts. You have a gift for writing what kids think and feel. Thank you CJ."
~ E T Waldron 

"CJ, You fly everyone away on daydreams and wishes, boo-boos and bats, frog legs and monkeys, and old circus clowns. I can't think of a single children's poet(and I've read a few) that has the ability to marry the children's poem with a life's lesson like you do and keep it fun. You need to go on Oprah. Yes, my dear, CJ, you fly."
~Rusty Daily 

"I love your childrens poetry. It's like you revert to the child you're writing about. Sometimes I wish I could go back and make it all different. Your poems help me see what I missed. "
~K. Mulroney 

"My dear CJ, you have a heart of innocence in your adorable, creative writes!"
~Karla Dorman 

"Your work reminds me of Dr. Suess, sincerely. "
~Andy Turner 

"There is a sweet child residing in your heart."
~Victor Buhagiar 

"What a uniquely sensitive mind you have, CJ. The children must adore your writes. I know I sure do."
~Richard Cederberg 

"I love how you get into a child's heart with your writing, CJ."
~Sheila G. 

"You teach simple truths in such a childlike manner. They are delightful to read."
~J.M. 

"Your children's poem, To A Baby Firefly, is a winner nursery rhyme and it belongs in the classic children's bedtime story books."
~Gloria Buono Daly 

"You make me wish I was a kid again."
~Brett Moore 

"Your inner child always shines through in your work."
~Joseph OneLight

Adult Books:  

Anatomy of a Poet

(Poetry for Grownups)

The Story Behind the Book:

"There is a brokenness out of which comes the unbroken. There is a shatteredness out of which blooms the unshatterable. There is a sorrow beyond all grief, which leads to joy. And a fragility out of whose depths emerges strength. There is a hollow space too vast for words through which we pass with each loss, out of whose darkness we are sanctioned into being." ~ Bri Maya Tiwari

That quote describes not only my life, but the poetry in "Anatomy of a Poet".

One of six children, I grew up in a small Ohio town and married my high school sweetheart at nineteen. A Vietnam War widow at twenty, I went on to marry twice more. I made a lot of choices, some good, some not so good, but as my poem, "Choices", ends,

"... at least I made choices. How sad for those who merely hitchhike along, never daring to choose at all."

"Anatomy of a Poet" was written over a period of nearly forty years. The poetry is rich with memoir, humor and, at times, it is sensual in nature.

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Comments:

"I have known C.J. Heck as an very talented author for well over a year now. Her words are enlightening and charismatic to people of all ages. It has been a privilege and honor knowing her and reading her prolific pen. I highly recommend her work to all."
~Janet Caldwell (COO Inner Child Press) 

"Your poems are a breath of fresh air."
~John Domino 

"I purchased Anatomy of a Poet today...I could hardly put it down! The poetry is filled with a pleasant mix of emotions. I encourage everyone to buy this book. Love it!"
~Joyce Bowling 

"CJ, I thoroughly enjoyed your book! Too often poetry is written so abstractly that it leaves the reader with more questions as to the point of the writing, rather than the insight, or inspiration. This is NOT true of your poetic verses. Your words are indeed poignant, resonating feelings to the reader intended by you, the writer. Words from the heart that penetrate the soul!"
~Sharla Shultz 

"You are one talented writer."
~Lynn Barry 

"I am not a poetry critic, so I cannot compare CJ's poetry with others, evaluate her mastery of the language use, or classify her to any particular school of poetry. But having read the poems I felt something. The messages she conveys are clear and direct. She does not go through mental elaboration and her poetry touches the heart. Reading her poems made me feel nostalgic and longing at the same time -- as if nostalgia and expectation are one and the same."
~Eleftheria Egel 

"My kind of poetry ... wonderful, marvelous poetry that touches on the realities of life."
~Jack Henry Kraven 

"This is my kind of poetry. Direct, beautifully expressed and without a hint of pretension."
~Allison Cassidy 

"CJ, you have a beautiful way of writing that obviously can get in touch with people and provoke them to think about what you are saying, which is a very difficult skill to grasp. Congratulations on the amazing work."
~Lyrael Myrna 

"CJ is predominately viewed as a writer of works for children, but CJ now carries over her approach to more adult themes. In doing so, she presents a profound world that is deeply sad, incredibly humorous and sometimes intimate."
~Joseph Daly

Bits and Pieces from a Writer's Soul
(A Collection of 22 Short Stories and Flash Fiction)

Publisher's Review:

"A collection of twenty short, and flash fiction stories by published poet, writer, blogger and author, CJ Heck. 

She's been entertaining children, adults, and schools for over a decade with her humor, insight, unique perspective of life, and the human heart, through her poetry. Now, she does it again through her fiction.

Many of the stories have nostalgic themes, others, CJ's own special blend of humor and sensitivity. Covered are many subjects, such as, finding a headless body near a sewer drain in the city, internet dating, and a grandfather and grandson teaching each other about life and love, while feeding pigeons in the park. One of CJ's personal favorites has a surprise ending, one you won't expect."

Read an Excerpt
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Comments:

"CJ's writing ability is a testament to talent and passion. Her ability to craft words into emotion and movement is remarkable."
~Lexy Page (Owner/Freelance Photographer at GA Page Photography) 

"CJ is a writer that comes through as a great communicator but you also have a strong feeling of friendship with her and her pen. She touches your heart in special ways. She makes you feel like you have lived this story."
~James McCraney (Owner, James McCraney Financial, LLC) 

"I loved this book. These are a very clean short stories of a few pages each. When finished, I felt like I knew the writer as if she was a relative or a neighbor, definitely one that I would like to see often. She has a knack for pouring out her soul on paper and it makes you feel as if you have known her for a long time. I would love to meet her in person some day."
~Susan East 

"Might I bow to you in respect for the abilities your pen contains."
~Phillip William Allen 

"CJ, what a gift you have. Every word imparts a vivid image that fills the hearts and souls of your readers with a remembering. Yes, it's the littlest moments that you paint so well and spell out with glowing simplicity."
~Adryan Rotica 

"CJ, You write so well. You are an ispiration."
~Laura Mayer 

"You will enjoy the eclectic stories in "Bits and Pieces" displaying CJ's vivid and wide-ranging imagination. Writers, like CJ Heck, should be allowed to live one hundred fifty years. How else could they reveal all they have to offer? 

Do yourself a favor and read all of CJ's work. She is at the peak of a mountain of talented writers. She writes to the souls of all men, women, and children."
~ Russell Daily 

"You are such a natural and spontaneous writer, who freely gives of her soul to her readers. You never fail to amuse and entertain with your brilliant and witty writes. You have a razor sharp mind and acute awareness of what makes people tick, or tock."
~ Peter Paton 

"Amazing talent."
~Kimmy Van Kooten 

"An incredible writer."
~Rhonda Galizia

“A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write.” ~CJ Heck

Short Story: The Christmas Miracle

Walking the Tracks

by CJ Heck

It was late December, during what would someday be called, "The Great Depression".

The blizzard had begun last night just after supper with misleading flurries.

Now, in the early hours before dawn, it was snowing like a son-of-a-bitch and piling up fast.

Jake Simons pulled his coat collar up as high as it would go, hoping to shrink the opening so it was less inviting to wayward flakes. "Never mind," he thought with a sigh, "just never you mind. It's winter and it's snowing. It is what it is."

This morning, like every winter morning, snow or no snow, Jake walked the tracks, picking up rogue coal that had escaped from railroad cars as they bounced along the tracks. Coal couldn't buy food, but each shiny black nugget was precious and went a long way to keep his family warm.

These were tough times. The snow only served to punctuate just how bad things were -- and how much worse they could still get.

Jake plodded on, pushing the snow aside with his foot. Coal was already nearly impossible to see in the dark and the falling snow made it even harder to find. With each step, he grew more despondent, knowing his pockets were nearly empty and probably would stay that way.

How in the world had things ever gotten so bad?

There were few jobs

Only days before Christmas, Jake still hadn't found any work. "Children shouldn't have to grow up this fast." Jake said aloud into the darkness, the wind gobbling each word as it was spoken.

"In their innocent dreams, Santa is alive and well in the North Pole and his elves are busy making toys to deliver in a sleigh on Christmas Eve -- even now in the worst of times."

Jake's Wife and little Sarah

Max, Jake's oldest, delivered groceries and stocked shelves for Burt down at the market on Tuesdays. Their middle child, Tommy, had a paper route. Even his wife worked one day a week cleaning for the Parkers. 

Jeb Parker owned the mill. He did what he could, hiring men for a day here, a day there, but few could afford what the mill produced, so even Jeb was on hard times.

And Sarah, sweet little Sarah. She was only two years old. Hardship was all she had ever known. How he wished he could make everything better for her -- for all of them.

Hours later, Jake had reached his lowest point yet. It was dark again and snowing even harder, if that was possible.

All day, Jake had stood in line for the few jobs that were available -- there were always more men than jobs, and he was not one of the chosen.

Overcome by exhaustion and grief, he sat down hard on the curb, his feet planted in the frozen slush. With his head in his hands, Jake's spirit was broken and he finally recognized complete and utter defeat and a growing resolve to end it all. 

Quiet Desperation

Blinking through tears, he prayed for his immortal soul. "God, please forgive me. To those I love, I'm worth more dead, than alive. Please give me the courage to do what I have to do."

Then, pointing his revolver at the roof of his mouth, he humbly lowered his head.

That's when he noticed something sticking out of the slush between his feet.

He lowered the gun and placed it on the curb beside him. 

In quiet disbelief, he slowly reached down to uncover a soggy, crumpled fifty dollar bill.

His prayer had been answered.

“A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write.” ~CJ Heck

Children's Poems: For Bedtime

Angel Sleeping

There are angels all around us, complete with halos and wings. If you don't believe what I tell you, go into a child's bedroom and watch them sleep ... ~CJ Heck

Sleepytime Prayer

by CJ Heck

God bless my bedroom.
God bless my bed.
God bless the pillow
where I lay my head.

God bless my mommy.
Bless my dad, too.
They chase away monsters
that live in my room.

God bless my brother.
Bless my dog and my cat,
and, OK, my sister,
(even though she's a brat).

Thanks God, and Amen.
Now, up off my knees.
Wait! I forgot something.
God bless me, too, please.


("Sleepytime Prayer" from the book, "Barking Spiders 2 (sequel)", by CJ Heck)

More Poems from the Book

Bedtime Prayer

by CJ Heck

Now I lay me down in bed.
All my prayers and night-nights said.

Snuggle bunny, teddy bear,
toasty blankie, all are here.

Out with the light
so dreams will come.

Thank you, God.
Now ... where's my thumb?
(Night-Night)


("Bedtime Prayer" from the book, "Me Too Preschool Poetry", by CJ Heck)

More Poems from the Book

Night-Night

by CJ Heck

Night-night moon.
Night-night stars.
Night-night noisy
trucks and cars.

Night-night sand box.
Night-night toys.
Night-night other
girls and boys.

Night-night mom.
Night-night dad.
Night-night Boogie Man
who's not bad.

It's time to go to sleep now,
most all my night nights said.
Night-night blankie.
Night-night bed.


["Night-Night" from the book, "Barking Spiders and Other Such Stuff", by CJ Heck)

More Poems from the Book






“A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write.” ~CJ Heck

Children's Poem: Dreaming

Dreams are Magic

Every once in awhile, I like to post a children's poem, written from a child's point of view.

Children have such an innocent way of looking at the world and their surroundings. If you listen, they have wonderful insights, too.

Dreaming

by CJ Heck

Did you ever wonder about dreaming?
How the pictures get in your head?
Why they’re only there when you’re sleeping?
Why they’re only there in your bed?

You can fly anywhere that you want to.
You can soar above houses and cars.
You can even go higher than that, if you want,
way, way up to the moon and the stars.

You can be someone great, someone special,
who has magical powers to use
to save your brother from monsters
... or not save, if that’s what you choose.

Dreaming is different from movies.
You don’t get dressed up and go out.
A dream can be different every night
You make up what the dream is about.

It’s too bad dreaming's for bedtime,
but that's how it's just gotta be.
If we walked around dreaming in daylight,
why would we ever need sleep?


[from the book, "Barking Spiders 2" (sequel), by CJ Heck]


"A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write." ~CJ Heck

An Old New England Witticism ...

Pioneer Days

“Use it up,

wear it out,

make it do,

or do without.”

I have no idea who wrote those words, but I feel safe in saying it must have been a long, long time ago. 

I’m sure it was someone very wise, and I would love to have a sit-down chat with them. I have a few questions about what we are supposed to use up, wear out, make do with, or do without.  We live in such a throw-away world these days.

Line one: Use It Up. I suppose when it was originally written, it had to do with homemade soap, food, the deer dad shot and brought home, maybe even maple syrup. Everything else I can think of at the moment is date-protected and perishable.

That line certainly doesn’t seem to have anything to do with relationships. On second thought, maybe Use It Up could apply to a bad one.  You would feel used up emotionally, especially when we look at it like oil and water. If you keep the oil and water mixed, like in salad dressing, it will stay mixed as long as you‘re continually shaking it up, but who wants to function in that kind of instability?

Line two: Wear it Out. This seems pretty clear.  I'm sure it applied to clothes, shoes, pack mules, maybe even the Sears Roebuck catalog that only came once a year.  But I don’t I even want to touch this one with relationships. It’s way too obvious. In a bad one, you would feel totally, completely worn out.

Line three: Make it do. This line makes perfect sense, if we’re talking about old curtains, children's clothing, or an old rag rug that was handed down from great grandma, and maybe even the old mare we’re riding and sometimes hitch to the wagon: “Hell, Mary, she's still a good mare and she gets us around. 'Course she's grown awful swayback, but hells afire, we can make her do.”

Now, if you apply that same line and logic to a relationship, it pisses me off. I don’t see a place in any relationship for “make it do“.  Ever.

To my way of thinking, a relationship is like a bank account. Maybe that’s an arcane analogy, but bear with me for a minute. In order for a bank account to work, you have to put more into it than you take out of it. That way, the interest mounts up and with compound interest, you always have a positive cash flow.

When you only withdraw money, over time, the account dwindles and eventually bottoms out until there’s nothing left. For a relationship to work, both parties have to be putting more into it than they take out.

I realize that there are times when only one party is able to contribute. I’ve allowed for that. In a loving relationship, the other party is still contributing their share and often even more, so in the long haul, the relationship works, because over time, there is always more going into it than is being taken out   ... but you never, ever make it do.

Of course, if you have an always-giver paired with an always-taker and the giver doesn’t mind, they could possibly feed each other’s needs perfectly. In a sad way, I suppose those relationships can and do work.

Sometime ago, I had a relationship like that.  As the giver, it didn’t work for me. The “make it do” “wore me out” and to stay sane and stop feeling “used up“, like the obvious fourth line of the witticism, I chose to “Do Without” ... it was the best decision I ever made.


“A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write.” ~CJ Heck

The Pursuit of Happiness

Seminar Group Activity

Not long ago, I was told about a group of 500 business professionals who learned a valuable lesson, while attending a three day sales and marketing convention.

During the second day of the seminar, the main speaker suddenly stopped talking in what appeared to be the middle of his speech.  

He slowly scanned the faces in the crowd, noting the bored expressions and mounting impatience.

With a smile, he informed them they were going to do a group activity together. 

He began by giving each person a large orange balloon. Then he asked them to blow it up, tie it off, and to write their name across it using one of the black permanent markers in a basket on each table. 

All of the balloons were then collected and put into an adjacent room, which was totally enclosed in glass.  The sheer magnitude of balloons was an awesome sight.

Then the doors were opened and everyone was ushered into the balloon-filled room and told they had to find their balloon, the one balloon they had written their name on.  However, there was a caveat.  They would have only five minutes to find their balloon. 

In the vast sea of brilliant orange, people were frantically grabbing balloons, pushing, shoving, colliding with others, and there was utter chaos.

At the end of five minutes, not one person had found their own balloon.

Then the speaker asked each person to randomly collect one balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. 

Within a few minutes, everyone was holding their own balloon.

As the group returned to their seats, the speaker went back to the front of the room.  Then he said:

"This very same thing is happening in our lives today. 

Everyone everywhere is frantically searching for happiness. They can see it in others around them, but they don't know how to have it, or even how to find it. 

Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. If you give them their happiness, you will find your own.   

This is the purpose of human life ... the pursuit of happiness."

“A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write.” ~CJ Heck

The Green Thing: Back in Our Day ...

An Older Woman ... from Our Day

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to an 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 new green thing back in our day."

The young clerk responded, "That's the problem our generation faces today. Your generation didn't care enough to save the environment for future generations."

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

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store then sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so they could use the same bottles over and over.  Actually, they were truly recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day ...

Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags that we reused for numerous things. The most memorable, besides household garbage bags and Halloween masks, we used the brown paper bags as book covers for our schoolbooks.

This ensured that the books provided to us by the school, public property, was not defaced by our scribblings, as we creatively personalized our books on the brown paper bags. But it is too bad we didn't do the green thing back then ...

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and we 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 back 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 burning up 220 volts. Wind and solar power really did dry our clothes. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day ...

Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady was right. We didn't have the green thing back in our day ...

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not one in every room. And the TV had a screen the size of a handkerchief, (remember them?), 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 it 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 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 was right. We didn't have the green thing back in our day ...

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty, instead of using a Styrofoam cup or a plastic bottle every time we wanted a sip 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, because the blade got dull. But it's true -- we didn't have the green thing back then ...

Back then, people took a streetcar, or 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 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger 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?

Then again, maybe I really am just another selfish old person who needs a valuable lesson in conservation from a smart-ass young person ...

[Author Unknown]

“A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write.” ~CJ Heck