We often say, “grandma knows best.” Their wisdom ranges from ‘putting a garlic wrapped in a muslin and put it in a rice pale to keep the bugs away,’ ‘a glass can be cleaned using potato peels,’ ‘use unused wraps to make bags,’ etc. These silver age women have ample tricks of the trade that requires no money.
They are obviously not something you have to know or else and there are products you can buy to get the same results. However, if you do know, you can rid of all ‘unnecessities’ in life, tricks for a smart way of living. It’s not something they were taught in school or read in a book but a naturally acquired knowledge and technique as the generation who lived through a time of not having much materially.
This is why these ladies have a serious doubt towards this consumeristic way of life. “That extra plastic inside cracker packages aren’t necessary,” “too much over-wrapping,” “people replace something with new ones even if it’s still useable,” are some of their criticism about products out there. And they are not shy about sharing their piece of mind about the younger generation. The ‘MOTTAINAI’ spirit that advocates ‘using something until it becomes unusable’ and ‘think of ways to recycle before chucking it in a bin’ in this day and age when ecological issues are high on many people’s minds is actually their way of life as naturally eco-conscious individuals. For the silver ladies, the so-called new trends such as “3R (reuse/reduce/recycle)”, “slow life,” and “LOHAS” are mere extension of the lives they have always lived.
Let’s think about this for a moment. Do we ourselves have the knowledge that will win the comment, “Grandma knows best” when we age to be grandparents? With global warming becoming an increasing concern, isn’t it vital for us to incorporate these wisdoms of the generation before and pass it on to the generation after?
---Vocabulary---
naturally : 生まれつき
ecological : 環境保護の
grandma : おばあちゃん
wisdom : 知恵
range : 及ぶ、広がる、範囲（名）
garlic : にんにく
muslin : 布
wrap : 包む、布、包装紙
pale : 棚、範囲
keep away : 隔離する
bug : 虫
peel : 皮
ample : 豊富な
trick : 裏技、こつ
trade : 取引、仕事、職
obviously : 明らかに
rid of : 免れる、脱する
unnecesity : 不必要
generation : 世代、世代の人々
materially : 物質的に
serious : まじめな、重大な、深刻な
doubt : 疑い
consumeristic : 大量消費の
cracker : お菓子のクラッカー
necesarry : 必要な
usable ： 使用可能な（=useable）
criticism : 批評、非難、批判
shy : 内気な、照れ屋の
piece of : 一切れの、断片の
piece of mind : 小言、説教
advocate : 主張する、推奨する、擁護する
chuck : 投げる、捨てる
bin : ゴミ箱、容器
conscious : 意識、意識した
individual : 個人
so-called : いわゆる
such as : 例えば-など
reduce : 減らす
extention : 延長、拡張、内線（cf）
mere : 単なる
They are obviously not something you have to know or else and there are products you can buy to get the same results. However, if you do know, you can rid of all ‘unnecessities’ in life, tricks for a smart way of living. It’s not something they were taught in school or read in a book but a naturally acquired knowledge and technique as the generation who lived through a time of not having much materially.
This is why these ladies have a serious doubt towards this consumeristic way of life. “That extra plastic inside cracker packages aren’t necessary,” “too much over-wrapping,” “people replace something with new ones even if it’s still useable,” are some of their criticism about products out there. And they are not shy about sharing their piece of mind about the younger generation. The ‘MOTTAINAI’ spirit that advocates ‘using something until it becomes unusable’ and ‘think of ways to recycle before chucking it in a bin’ in this day and age when ecological issues are high on many people’s minds is actually their way of life as naturally eco-conscious individuals. For the silver ladies, the so-called new trends such as “3R (reuse/reduce/recycle)”, “slow life,” and “LOHAS” are mere extension of the lives they have always lived.
Let’s think about this for a moment. Do we ourselves have the knowledge that will win the comment, “Grandma knows best” when we age to be grandparents? With global warming becoming an increasing concern, isn’t it vital for us to incorporate these wisdoms of the generation before and pass it on to the generation after?
---Vocabulary---
naturally : 生まれつき
ecological : 環境保護の
grandma : おばあちゃん
wisdom : 知恵
range : 及ぶ、広がる、範囲（名）
garlic : にんにく
muslin : 布
wrap : 包む、布、包装紙
pale : 棚、範囲
keep away : 隔離する
bug : 虫
peel : 皮
ample : 豊富な
trick : 裏技、こつ
trade : 取引、仕事、職
obviously : 明らかに
rid of : 免れる、脱する
unnecesity : 不必要
generation : 世代、世代の人々
materially : 物質的に
serious : まじめな、重大な、深刻な
doubt : 疑い
consumeristic : 大量消費の
cracker : お菓子のクラッカー
necesarry : 必要な
usable ： 使用可能な（=useable）
criticism : 批評、非難、批判
shy : 内気な、照れ屋の
piece of : 一切れの、断片の
piece of mind : 小言、説教
advocate : 主張する、推奨する、擁護する
chuck : 投げる、捨てる
bin : ゴミ箱、容器
conscious : 意識、意識した
individual : 個人
so-called : いわゆる
such as : 例えば-など
reduce : 減らす
extention : 延長、拡張、内線（cf）
mere : 単なる
