“Well, let me tell ya, it’s been a long time since I saw that coming. You see that car behind me? Yes, that BMW. Well, that’s the last of it’s kind now. Ya, they melted all of them down after all the oil ran out. And then when they found out that it wasn’t just the oil that was running out, all the metals used to make electronics - they were running out too, and the only way to keep this planet running was to recycle, recycle, recycle everything.”
“You listening to me fella?”
“Oh, yeah, go ahead drink that water before the cup soaks through. You know, once we had cups that did not do that. Yah, plastics.. Oh you’ve heard of them have you? You had a sippy cup when you were a kid? Yah, once this planet was drowning in plastic.”
“Did you know there was a giant plastic trash island in the pacific? Not there anymore. Scavengers you see. There was a rush to see who could go there and bring it back to be recycled. That’s where the Greiners made their fortune. Ships.
What? Oh not those kind. Old man Greiner had a few sailing ships, you know with canvas and sails. And when the oil ran out and the only way to go anywhere on the cheap was on a sailing ship, well, that’s that you see.”
Haarm-ch. Ptui.
“What’s that?”
“No no, fella, you got it all wrong. Disgusting is when you spit in a hankerchief or a piece of paper. This way it will just degrade nat’rally. What ‘s that?”
“Oh, yeah, the birds will eat it. Don’t harm them. Nutritious, you see.”
“You can laugh now, but that is the way things used to be when my grand parents were kids. We’ve all just gone back to that time - no one has realized that we are in the good old days everyone kept talking about when this planet was on a speed rush fueled by oil. “
“Yaup. We’re back in those days. TV stations switch off at midnight. We’re back down to 12 channels on the TV. And most stores stay closed on Sundays. Family. That’s what it is. Now that we’ve gotten rid of the worlds hangover, we’re back on our regular schedule.”
“What’s that? There’s still ethanol? Or Hydrogen?”
“Ha. Ha. Ha. It’s like those scientists say boy. Economics of scale. Economics of scale. You can’t ship enough of that around to make things like they used to be. Sure, we have started doing it and as you see the prices, it’s not as cheap as the oil was. Never will be. Ha. Ha. Hurm. Ha.”
“What are you doing here boy? Why aren’t you in school?”
“What’s that?”
“Schools closed for summer? Gosh darnged it. Is it summer already? I have to remember to put in enough food for my missus and me for the winter. Gor. Time flies so fast. I couldha sworn it was spring last week…”
“What’s that? Summer started two months ago?”
“Aarg. Hurm. You pulling my leg boy? You sayin I’m somehow mentally deficient?”
“Huh. Youngsters nowadays.”
“In any case, time for me to head on back. Don’t you forget boy how this all started. None of us never saw that comin.
One day we were all in our homes and classes and factories, and the next day we were not. So don’t you go around thinking this is what life has always been. “
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