Stories

In the last few days, I met two people in passing who confirmed the whole "great-grandmother's shopping list" concept.

The first was a gentleman at the garage, a big and tall man, maybe in his early 60s. He said when gas hit $3 a gallon, he began walking or biking to work. He said it was a 40-minute walk or a 20-minute bike ride each way. He said at first he was angry and missed driving his van. But, as time went by, he said he began enjoying the extra time between work and home and the interaction with nature. (It looked like most of his ride would be along busy streets, but he said there was nature to be found.)

This gentleman also said he has lost 12 pounds so far, has had his lowest blood pressure readings in years and his arthritis in his knees is vastly improved.

"The way things are going, now I'm gonna outlive my ex-wife," he said. "Serves her right."

The second person I met in passing was a clerk at a big-box store, probably about the same age as my garage gentleman. She admired by BYOBs and mentioned her mother came to this country from Germany.

"Over there, they never used this plastic stuff," she said, pointing to the store-emblazoned bags on her side of the counter. "I'm glad people here are getting sensible."

It sure is "greener" on the "sensible" side of the fence these days!