24 November 2006

thanksgiving with the amish

okay, so technically i had thanksgiving with gary's family, but they live in amish country.

let me take a step back and tell you that the perspective from the country is much different than that of the city. the night sky looks completely different here, away from the lights of the city. there are stars that i don't believe i have ever seen before. orion's belt is surrounded by other faint stars, and shooting stars fly throughout the sky.

aside from the fear of deer popping out while driving, you have to find a way to dodge the horse and buggies of the amish along the highways. one afternoon, i saw the two adorable amish girls walking alongside the highway in their dark shawls with hoods covering their heads from the cold. i say to gary, "can we take one of them home with us? i want a little amish girl to sit in our living room!" a quarter of a mile farther he points and says "no, they end up like that" referring to the quite robust amish lady walking in her yard.

the amish amaze me. yes, i've seen my fair share of the amish in northcentral indiana, but i'm still intrigued.

did you know:
  • at night, they will attach flashlights to their hats so you see them approaching?
  • young amish will 'cruise' down the highways with their boomboxes blaring from their buggies at early hours of the morning (yes, coming home intoxicated!)?
  • the local wal-mart has catered to the amish by including hitching posts and a larger craft and fabric section?
  • locals will transport amish to and from stores in large vans?
  • leaf blowers and weed wackers can be used but riding lawn mowers are strickly prohibited?
  • the local fire department gets regular calls of fires due to the amish buring leaves in their ditches?
i'm not judging their simple way of life at all, but i can't help but wonder how they coexist in modern-day times....

4 comments:

andrea said...

they make really good cookies. and nice furniture.

Anonymous said...

where i'm from, there are Amish hitching posts at the county courthouse and mcdonald's... we don't have a wal-mart there yet for them to hitch their buggies to. the amish culture is one of the few things i celebrate about my hometown. they are simple & uncultured, but at least they aren't trash!

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