A PAPER SAVED IS A TREE EARNED:

I don't get the credit card company who wants me to pay electronically to save on paper... like I'm going to let ANYONE touch my bank account. They say paying electronically SAVES PAPER, and then they send me 3-4 pages of PAPER on a bill that should be less than one page 8"x11" ...And those other pages are advertising and CHECKS. I have a CHECKING ACCOUNT that they want to tap into to have me pay electronically, and then they give me their own checks that will ONLY cost me $5 each to use them instead of the plastic, whereas my checking account is free at my bank since my SS was direct deposited.

Then, I was thinking when I got in from the garden to wash my hands: The most clean thing you can wipe your hands on is a paper towel, but the most environmental friendly way is to use a terry cloth towel. And, I remembered there was a commercial that I haven't seen lately---one that convinces me that the paper companies are hurting--which shows a new kind of paper towel, and though costly, it pops up one at a time like certain tissues, and is designed to be placed on the old towel rack minus the terry cloth possibly germy one which is being displaced.

I also remember back when the hospitals started getting computers. They were for instant knowledge of the patient once he was in the computer system, and would cut down on red tape. My daughter's father in law had a small operation, and was telling about all the different times he had to give his LIFE'S HISTORY from one department to another... same questions asked over and over. And, I don't have to tell almost everyone about all the separate bills you get afterwards. Why can't they put it all in one bill, and when paid, the hospital's clerical workers would distribute the payments to X-ray; the doctor; the hospital itself for use of it's bed and operating table... two separate beds you'll be paying for. So, thanks to the computer, life has gotten more complicated, and there is more paper work than ever. Do you agree. Please disagree and prove it otherwise. I would be so pleased.

So, I say, "Men, keep using the cloth handkerchiefs, and women, change the terry cloth towels daily, after teaching the kids to wash their hands singing the Happy Birthday song twice while washing their hands, before drying them. Use less papertowels in the kitchen, and throw that cloth rag you use for cleanup into the wash at the end of each day.

So be it.