smerchly Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 Ok boomers , pay attention ....lots of truth in these words....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blairwelsh Posted December 4, 2012 Report Share Posted December 4, 2012 Smerch.... you are a WISE and EXPERIENCED one. The world has ALWAYS followed the physics. "For every action, there is an EQUAL and OPPOSITE REACTION" (Newton) For every "Dollar" that someone has - someone else does not! lol I hate to "Point fingers" .... but when you really isolate the BABY BOOMers, it was actually their PARENTS who started the "mess" (if you want to call it that) Let me explain: Most of the inivations, work ... etc is done by the young. Most of the MONEY is controlled by the elders. So, it was the baby boomers parents ... who actually supported and enacted our recent (past 60 years) of the CREDIT, I want More .... style of thinking. The baby boomers just enjoyed the ride. Been going on throughout the History of Mankind. We of course, just have front row seats to the current prospective. Just my observations. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted December 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 I was born in 43 just as the war ended , so I'm on the elder side of the boomers . Growing up in the 40's was no comparison to the average kids today who have the latest Iphones , clothing and just have a much higher standard of living . Todays consumers use much more in resources , from millions of disposable diapers , to cheaply made products that don't last & get tossed out . (disposable society) .....and much more garbage . We send out giant trucks to collect leaves now . lol One good thing about the boomers , there were plenty of jobs everywhere which have all gone overseas where thee labour is verycheap or deal with environment issues . Are we really better off now ? Things look great on the outside. Looking back on almost 70 years of living , I believe I have lived through the best of times ....."the land of milk & honey" . And yes, I have enjoyed the ride . Thanks for your great input and insight Blair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyotehunter Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 I was born in 1951, so while not as "elder" a statesman as Smerchly, I have been through basically the same time period as him. Society today is a throwaway society mostly because of our upbringing and brainwashing by big biz and governments. We as consumers "need" to buy stuff (whether we need it or not) to keep up with the Jones, or to keep the economy going, or to keep profits up for Canadian companies so we don't lose jobs. When my son was growing up (he's 33 now) he wanted a particular brand of running shoes or a particular brand of clothing. Naturally, I didn't want to pay over $100.00 for a pair of running shoes when I was paying $30.00 for mine (and I was earning the money). I found out that the issue was mainly that if he didn't have the "cool" stuff he would be a social outcast or worse the target of bullying (mentally and physically). With the internet and proliferation of social media this problem only gets worse as we have seen recently in the news. If you love your kids when faced with a situation like this, you want to protect them from this sort of thing. Mind you, sometimes the little buggers take advantage of this, but it can be a real concern. And of course advertisers play on these emotions - buy now and be the envy of your friends, get the newest and greatest computer so you can play the newest hot games or be able to talk to your friends, etc. Don't get me wrong on the tecnological front, I just bought a new computer system with Windows 8 and all the goodies. Butwhen you buy a printer where it costs more to buy ink cartridges that it cost for the printer something is wrong. It is extremely difficult or expensive to get anything fixed and people being people, they tend to take the easy way out and replace it than fix it. I hate throwing things out for no reason. As Smerch can appreciate, we weren't brought up that way. Of course, our parents couldn't afford to live that way. But when I take the trash out as I did this morning in the wee hours, I was once again struck by the fact that I had four recycling boxes full of plastic packaging, bottles, and bags along with a full compost pail. And I only have one or two grocery bags of true garbage. Yet I look along the street and I am struck by the fact that many have several garbage bags of garbage and very little recycling. Something seems wrong with this picture. An outdoorsman by nature should be somewhat of an environmentalist. We see recycling all the time in nature. But the way we live our lives in society now with the pressure to have the latest and greatest makes me somewhat fearful for the future. Resources are being used up at an alarming rate. But even as the environmentalists scream about this, they seem to scream just as loud against renewable resources like wind power - no wind turbines in the lake, no wind turbines on land - or nuclear power, or hydroelectric projects. Unfortunately, we now live at a time where for the first time since WWII that our children and grandchildren will have a standard of living that could be lower than their parents - through lack of well paying jobs, manufacturing, resource and energy costs driving the cost of living beyond the reach of a normal person to live comfortably. Couple that with corporations whose sole aim is to increase share price no matter how many jobs are eliminated, no matter whether they produce a quality product at a reasonable price -end result loss of manufacturing jobs. Yes you can blame someone in the past for present day woes. You can lament the loss of old fashioned values (for lack of a better description). But the bottom line is you have to blame yourself if you are a part of the problem as you see it. Recycle more, pick up garbage (as many members of this group do), maybe spend a little more for a Canadian made product of comparable quality, buy products with minimal plastic packaging, the list of things you can do is limited by only by you. We cannot change the world but maybe we can reduce our negative impact on it and hopefully improve things in our little corner of the universe even if it is "just a little". The journey to reach the goal usually consists of thousands of tiny steps. Okay ranting over, now I need a some liquid mood restorer to calm my shattered nerves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spottedGARRR Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Coyotehunter; please write more, its great reading material =D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted December 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Excellent post coyotehunter ! We will never see those days again but we can still relate back to our past values , and through the years , us old codgers have learned much more about taking care of the environment . In the 50's our waterways were a cesspool, full of sewage and industrial waste . Instead of manufacturers cleaning up their act , they simply moved to Asian countries where they can use much cheaper coal for their electrical needs and hire slave labour , a big win -win for them , and for us ......cheap throw away goods that costs us plenty in the long run and of course , thousands more trucks to add pollution to our air . Who knows .....in another 50 years , this generation of young people may be saying the same thing about the past . We have plenty of anglers on this site who pick up after others , and that is a good start ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyotehunter Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Ya unfortunately an essential thing to have in your pack whether hunting, fishing or just a nature walk is a couple of garbage bags and a will to pick stuff up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blairwelsh Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 little story: Back in 1971 , me & my Twin sister "Lisa" were 5 years old (I was five minutes older! lol) We were up north - Round Lake (just outside of Kirkland lake) at our Aunt's Cottage. We were fortunate enough to be able to go up to the beautiful Northern Ontario every summer for an extended stay. (Mom & Dad were school teachers - Mom, stayed home back then when we were young) So .... here we are at 5 years old. Me & Lisa had $. 10 cents between the 2 of us. Back then ... 10 cents could get you some good candy! We had decided to wake up early in the morning and walk the highway down around the Lake to TARZWELL. There is a little store there. (Didnt want to wait to go and visit the realitives in town - Kirkland lake) The walk is about 7-8 miles. We woke up ... dressed ... never told anyone ... left around 5:30am. Ended up getting our candy haul ... in Tarzwell! Decided (i did) that it would be a better "idea" to walk back to the cottage by going around the Lake instead of taking the Hwy. Did I mention my sister didnt have shoes on? lol The "hike" back around the lake involved slugging it through: Marshes, Crossing rivers ... Swatting away 1,000.000 black flies ..... going through thick brush and rocky shorelines. Got back to the cottage around 3pm. As we were walking (haggard and exhusted) down the beach .... I could see my DAD. He was both "Happy" to see his "missing children" and at the same time .... had that look of wanting to KILL ME! *We of course, had went "missing" (early in the morning to late afternoon in the middle of the wilderness) and had sent my parents, the other cottagers etc. ... into total hysterics for the morning and day ... wondering were the kids were. Mmmmmm ... those candies were worth it! lol Satisfaction is all what your personal prospective of NEEDS & WANTS is. Back then, 10 cents of candy ... made me a "happy camper". Things have slightly changed over the years. Good or Bad, is what it is. Guess the "moral" of the story is: 1. Dont stop striving for "higher goals", enjoying better things .... having more 2. But dont ever stop being "Thankfull" for the important things in life either. (Health, Family- Friends) __________ I try to "balance" my passion of Fishing ... with moderation on the "Equipment extravagances" Knowledge, experience ... enjoyment can be had without having to break the bank! lol Thank God! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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