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Peanut, "Wow, mom, now we can say we've been to all 50 states! What are we gonna do next?"

25 October 2008

The Amish Riddle







I had just explained the Amish sect (broken off from the Mennonites) to the kids when we passed our first buggy. I feel very conflicted in this place. Here are these perfectly respectable Americans with tremendous talent, trying to live a harmonious life in a chaotic world. It’s very unsettling to be so enthusiastic about staring at people like they're in a zoo. Yet, here I am, camera anxiously in hand! (I really don't think the kids noticed anything different about them, but rather noticed I was different with regard to them.)

Still, I am intrigued. My favorite Amish farmer was riding a plow across his fields, pulled by several horses. It was beautiful and I kept thinking how like Pa he was; I couldn’t take a picture. The next day at the same time I saw him again; I couldn’t take a picture again. Eventually, I took one from really far away, his beard just barely visible.

Then I saw a beautiful girl driving an open buggy (most are covered) and she looked so fresh and pleased about something. I just stared at her, but I couldn’t bring myself to disrupt her by taking a picture!

When I finally got bold enough to take a picture in this place, we were passing a school with little children playing in the yard. They were just darling, but when I slowed down and snapped a shot, they turned into little demons, running at me with their tiny fists in the air. It was awful and I felt horrible. Then I had to explain what had happened and why I felt bad to Peanut -- it was all very ugly for me inside.

The Amish are a riddle and I’m certainly in no position to judge their inconsistencies. I got a few things straight on this visit to Lancaster County, though, mostly in the quilt shops we visited.

note: The three main characteristics of a Lancaster Co. Amish quilt are: dark, solid colors, wide borders and wide bindings. However, their original cloths actually had many bright colors (still no prints). After a local train wreck caused many fatalities, the Amish leadership blamed “blending too much with the modern society”. They were reigned in hard and there went the bright colors in the quilts!

The Amish do have a rhyme and reason to their lifestyle. Basically, they’re committed to farming, family and community. They allow outside conveniences if there are no disruptions to the family or community. For example, no phones in the house, but for business (they contribute considerably to the local agriculture) they can have a phone in an out building. They can accept a ride in a car to church, but they can’t actually own a car. They can wear tennis shoes (black), but can’t use a chain on their bikes – so they ride around on scooter-bike hybrids.

I just figure they're doing the best they can in their own way. Like I said, they have numerous talents. We followed a sign for Homemade Root Beer and guzzled the cold and refreshing bottle before we even got back on the road. I also bought fudge and homemade peach jam, but I managed to come away without a quilt, even after visiting The Log Cabin Quilt Shop twice! Shocking!

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