Old photos

Last weekend I visited my grandfather. He had found some fascinating old photos that I had not seen before.

I asked him what it was like to be young after the Second World War, and he answered me this way:

Grandad: We were a bit short of money, so life was really hard.

Me: What did you use to eat?

We used to eat essential elements that included above all vegetables and land products. Most foods were homemade and we also used to have some animals in the courtyard, just like hens, geese, etc…. We only used to be able to buy small amounts of some food.

Me: Were there any shops where you could buy it?

Grandad: Shops were very small and they only sold necessary things. We didn’t use plastic bags but only straw baskets that were filled with different things. From time to time, such sellers as milkmen, greengrocers passed from house to house to sell their products and we lowered a bucket tied onto a rope down from our windows or balconies and the sellers put inside it what they had sold.

Me: How did you get water in the olden days?

Grandad: There was electricity in the houses but we had no running water, that had to be fetched in buckets from an outside public fountain. Sometimes people dug wells deep into the ground which accessed bore water.

Me:Were houses confortable?

Grandad: We had no facilities inside our houses. Many a time, they faced an inner rectangular courtyard, onto which other houses faced . The closet was nothing but a walled in door-less hole, in a corner of the courtyard, over a huge septic tank; when it was full it had to be emptied by hand and you could use the contents as fertilizer. There was no heating, thus we used to wear very heavy clothes.

Me: Did you go to school?

Grandad:  Poverty was widespread, thus we were obliged to go and work when we were very young. I only attended the elementary school. I remember I had to wear an infantile smock like the rest of my classmates!

Me: What did you use to do in your free time?

Grandad: We danced all together in the courtyard. Of course, we didn’t use to have digital music players….

Me: What do you think about today’s life?

Grandad: Nowadays, there are so many electronic gadgets, but I’m not sure that life is easier…

Me : What do you mean by that? Do you think young people are much more spoilt than in the past?

Grandad: Maybe, sometimes…Now children have got so many toys, even electronic toys, while we only had a doll or something like this. Many a time, we also built our toys by ourselves!

Me: Didn’t you use to have a scooter or a car?

Grandad: In the countryside we used to ride a horse  or we used bikes, carts…

Some rich families used to have a small car, but it was not usual .

Me: Oh, my dear, I prefer living these days!

Grandad:Well, I do not think so at all! These days the world is more polluted than in the past because of consumerism…

Me: Then, according to you, which solutions could we adopt to save energy or even go without it?

Grandad: Well, use less, conserve more. Don’t waste make up, toilet paper, printer paper, etc just to name a few. Maximize: Generally speaking,, get the most out of your clothing, food, personal energy, resources, etc. Prioritize: think about what really matters for you. Don’t waste your money and time! Keeping in mind these principles of simple living will make you live in a better,  less polluted world!

Source: Laboratorio della Memoria: Montevago