This is my first “green” column. Before sitting down to write, I took a couple tranquilizers to slow my respiration which will lower my output of carbon dioxide and thereby reduce my carbon footprint. I mounted the treadle mechanism from an old sewing machine under my desk, cut a hole in the desktop and ran a discarded fan belt up to a recycled generator that is now powering my computer.
Along with the welcome chirps of returning robins, spring brings an unpleasant sucking sound I hear every April 15. That’s when the government extends a vacuum hose from the treasury to my savings account to siphon off more of the nuts I’ve squirreled away. The pattern is so predictable, I give it little more than a passing thought. I simply frown and bear it.
I doubt there was a kid in the 1950s who didn’t believe household robots would become as commonplace as family
