yesterday a fellow i know who plows snow for me and others was complaining about his customers complaints on plowing the gravel onto their lawns.I suggested putting shoes on his plow. he did not know what I was talking about,After explaining what they were I Told him that i had a pair that he could have.When I dug them out and gave them to him his comment was BUT THESE ARE OLD AND HALF WORN OUT . Now that bothered me so much that i  actually lost sleep and it still bothers me this morning. A simple thank you or no thank you would have been sufficient. . what ever happened to never look a gift horse in the mouth.Maybe I am making a mountain out of a mole hill but it bothers me. What has happened to people ?  bob w.

It is the modern way. If you don't have shoes, you say you "deserve" new ones! If I had no shoes, I'd be happy to get some used, half worn out ones!

My wife works with a lady who doesnt have much...

Last year the lady was complaining  that she had no Christmas tree for the kids.

My wife said we have a nice one in the attic you can have.

Lady asks if it is pre-trimmed and lit?

Wife says no, just a nice artificial tree.

Lady says never mind, I dont want it then......

We gave it to the Senior center who was VERY glad to have it.

Bob, I don't blame you a bit for being bothered.  It was rude of him.  You went out of your way to help.  It was insulting.

There are some people who are always like that, and one of the benefits of reading old books is finding out that people haven't changed much over the centuries.  Like the poor, they've always been with us. 

Now maybe he is just that way.  But maybe not, really.  Maybe he was just caught up in hard times and just saw the problem and didn't really notice the gift. 

A couple of months ago I was trying to sell some books to a dealer I've known for around 30 years.  A decent fellow.   The book business is on hard times these days, and, as he explained to somebody who came in as we were talking (with a box of books) he said that he had had no sales, but in the last 15 minutes he'd had three people trying to sell him more books.  That put his brain in a mood where he couldn't think of anything but money spent and money gained. 

He couldn't use the books I'd brought, so I asked him about another book I'd spoken to him about before.  He'd said then that it was worth more than he could afford to buy, but he could sell it.  I asked him about that book, and what it would take to work the deal.  He said it would depend on the condition of the book.  Not what I wanted to know.  So I asked him again how the transaction would work.  He got kinda huffy and said again it would depend on the condition of the book.  Well, of course it depends on condition -- if I was asking how much it would bring (somewhere between $700 and $1300).  I just wanted to know *how* the transaction would work -- like what percentage of the sale would he need to take.  But he couldn't answer because of where his mind had wandered.

Maybe your guy was like that.

Maybe he just isn't civil, though, in which case deserves one of my favorite quotes:

"If you don't want it, you can't have any."

What really matters is that you did the right thing, the right thing plus.  Good on you, Bob.

Just a few years back my wife was working at a school, there was a woman whose husband had just up and left.   Things were tight for her, my wife saw what was in her lunchsack each day.   She said her husband had promised her son a new bicycle before he split.  11 year old boy, small town, a bike would give him mobility, but no bike.   Since I have a few bikes in the barn, I pulled out a small frame 10-speed, polished it, bought a new tire, and new tubes, oiled everything, made sure the brakes were fine.  We loaded it in the back of our Jeep.  After school one day the woman brought her son over to the car, wife opened the tailgate, the boy took one look, and said he had to have a mountain bike, not an old skinny tire 10-speed, and walked away.   Real glad I wasn't there at the time.  Brings back the old saying that: that fella would complain if he wasn't hung with a new rope.   Some people.  Makes me want to stay home more often. 

No politic's ...just making a point.......This is the mentality of a share of the younger socialistic generation we live with today. In the day when most of us grew up one would have been glad to get the used shoes. If to much wear on them, would just make new skid plates & weld them on.  I think most of us just beat to a different drum than some do today. Kind of tuff to put up with at times.

Maybe he just was not thinking and made a mistake in how he wanted to phrase what was on his mind. I do this often. Too often probably. In my opinion though it is just as bothersome to not tell the guy how much of a jerk he sounded like, one reason new generations are turning into such pansies is because the people that are supposedely older and wiser ( some of them ) dont have the knads to set them straight and teach them a lesson even if that only means correcting them.  Not saying that is the case here just sayin that I would find the guy and let him know where he went wrong. Give him the chance to set things straight, if he dont and you still feel you are right than just walk away and write him off.

When you read these posts it just proves how people only want new items and are not prepared to recycle. This is what is going to be the downfall of this generation and eventually the world. Funny part is we all chase the exact opposite is it not?

Batz

We are the enlightened ones, Batz.
Sad as it is, the modern generation has had it too good and doesn't know what it means to "make do" or even to do without until you can afford something.

Quote from: Papaw on November 15, 2011, 05:33:01 AM
We are the enlightened ones, Batz.
Sad as it is, the modern generation has had it too good and doesn't know what it means to "make do" or even to do without until you can afford something.

OK, I'm the youngin' in the group. I'll have you know that my family thinks I'm crazy because I collect bent nails in my pocket. In the evening, I straighten out the nails so that I can use them again. I'm furious with mom if she throws away a quarter of a potato.  I fall into a state of depression if I let even a piece of lettuce go to waste. As for my shoes..... duct tape does wonders! And goodness forbid..... I turn all the lights out that I'm not using!  I don't ever run the heat.... that's what long underwear is for!  I ALWAYS make use of every morsel of food that I have.... that's what things like bread pudding are for! .... although, I hate bread pudding.... but, I give it to other folks. I don't throw out chicken bones.... that's what you make chicken stalk out of.   As for warn out pieces of metal.... they can be perfect "scrapers." Scraps of old carpet serve their purpose on top of my car in order to "pad" my canoe on top of my car. Small scraps of plywood can quickly be turned into a shape that can hold "winding up electric cords."  Scraps of saran wrap serve the dignified role of preserving paint brushes.  Old milk jugs have the ability to hold all sorts of liquids....   and, no, not just moonshine. The twine that holds together orders in the hardware store is useful for all types of things. Empty boxes are new homes to different brands of wrenches. Bubble wrap provides hours of fun for kids.  Any type of metal that I cannot use can be recycled.  A broken piece of glass is the first step to creating a greenhouse. Any old "stump" is a wood turners dream. Even the incredibly intrusive Kudzu can find its place in a woodworkers shop. Old speakers have a very useful magnet within them. Animal shit provides a good product for a garden within the next year. Books that persons don't want will be a gift to someone else that wants to read a book.  Even dog food that my dog "turns her nose up at" will be food that another dog will eat. Scrap pieces of wood that I have.... measuring an inch by an inch, are useful to the school around here... they love to have the scraps for projects. And, if all else fails, persons around here live off of wood stoves.... so, any pieces of wood I can't use, I box up and give to those folks. If I have wrenches that none of us really want, I give them to a friend of mine who makes "wrench robots" and them donates them to a silent auction.  I have previous campaign posters..... those go to kids that can use the other side of the poster to paint on. The posters were originally held up within a wire frame.  That wire frame now holds up my tomatoes. If I have empty milk jugs, I cut the tops off of them and use them to protect bugs from attacking my plants. Hell, I brush my dog, save her hair, and put it around my plants because it is suppose to deter other animals from attacking my plants.
     So, I'm this newer generation...... and, I'll agree, it doesn't seem like anyone has a clue what it means to save money, appreciate what they have, or have any knowledge that a credit card is a bad thing...... but, there is a few of us..... or, maybe just me.... that knows what it means to have nothing. I spend my life making use of everything that I have. Maybe I'm one of a very few persons who thinks/ acts the way I do.  But, I'm still here. And, I don't mean to be argumentative, but, I bet a lot of folks don't take the time to realize that everything you have is useful and a gift to you in one way or another.
     It's my hope that persons who have lived through previous generations would automatically think and act the same way that I do.......  I don't think there's room for waste. I suppose that's why I spend each day trying to find a use for everything that I see.  Hopefully, all of you folks from different generations are thinking the way I do.  And I hope that you folks will continue to challenge me to make use of everything that is available to me.
    I count on you folks for wisdom, and for lessons in life.
    I hope everyone is doing well.
cheers, bird

I don't think anyone can say it better than our own "Resident Rambler"!

Bird's response makes me think of so many things!

Eric Sloane writing that his friends and neighbors couldn't understand why he collected old almanacs, but always came to him for solutions, which he had learned in those books.

People chuckling at me for keeping old pieces and parts, but when they needed a door knob, or a threshold for their door...

Charles McCabe, who wrote, "Every time I think about reading a new book, I pick up an old  book and read it until the urge passes."

Gustav Stickley describing the Craftsman life style...  When a piece of clothing is too worn to wear, use pieces for cleaning.  When they aren't good for cleaning anymore, braid the pieces into a rug.  (I have a couple of braided rugs made by my great grandmother -- still work!)

amertrac,
     I had metal brackets made to keep the plow from digging into the ground and scratching the concrete.   This is a great idea!
Skylab

It seems the new mantra is that I must have everything that my parents spent a lifetime getting right now. Rule # 2 is never do anything that you can get someone else to do. Rule # 3 is if its not instant I don't want it.
That being said every once in a while you meet some youngster who restores your faith in humanity.

When I was growing up in the 40's and 50's. we were TAUGHT to respect our elders and to be thankful when someone offered us anything, even if we could not use it, we could give it to someone else.  I don't believe that it is a generational problem but an upbringing one.  TOO much  MEisum.