Posted on 03/14/2007 5:08:50 PM PDT by Dan Evans
Behind the bonnet is a girl who just wants to have fun -- and another beer, please.
It's Friday night at Twister's. Tina launches the evening with a tallboy of Sparks. Customers eyeball her white bonnet and shin-grazing dress as she sips from her can of malt liquor and caffeine. She's used to the gawking. Impolite scrutiny comes with being Amish.
"Everyone stares at you," she says. "It's not very fun, but I just ignore it."
Besides, Tina's on a mission to get tanked. No amount of rubbernecking can stop her.
The DJ approaches. Rodger Locher, a clean-cut city boy, is what's known as a "Yank," the all-encompassing term for not being Amish. Since he became Twister's resident DJ, Tina's become a regular, obsessed with listening to Beyoncé, the Killers, and Korn over rounds of neon cocktails.
(Excerpt) Read more at clevescene.com ...
"Thanks for the good post keeping things in perspective."
Agreed. I believe there are a lot of pointers that we could take from the Amish.
In my own mind, I guess what fascinates me is the question of whether I could live like them - outside of a larger society which appears to be becoming more corrupt, but within a "safe" community of like minded people - and still be happy.
>> I've been stopped by cops on my bicycle and in my father in law's pontoon boat. If it moves I've been pulled over on it.
>>No offense but I'm going to go out limb here and suggest that says less about the cops and more about how you operate a vehicle.
When I was young and dumb, I figured out how to modify a walky-talky to use police frequencies, listening in just was not enough (did I mention I was dumb?), so I started broadcasting and saying the dumb stuff a 9 year old would say. The police tracked me down, and when they started chasing me, I got out of sight, threw my bike over a fence and climbed over myself before they came around the corner. I got away, but it made an impression.
LOL!
"LOL.
Sorry thats not true. Just a rumor. Although some do get pregnant before they are married, its widely frowned upon."
"Accepting the Amish religion and lifestyle is not easy"
Actually it is a very practical lifestyle that makes life very easy. Children are provided with their own farms which are very self-sufficient. The culture and lifestyle is thriving and the people are relatively happy ( and wealthy).
Actually, some of the Mennonite kids had some of the fastest sports cars where I went to school.
Triple black SS's and Mustangs - the chrome was painted black too.
All children are different. I know of families where the children were all raised the same, and yet one or two of them broke away from the family at a very young age.
They learned the hard way about growing up... outside of the family. That isn't to say that there parents weren't around to help them... but having dropped out of school, gotten pregnant, married young... these young people made bad decisions at the time.
It was after they realized that life was hard that they returned completely back to the family fold. They were then able to re-wind the clock some, get a GED, go on to college with financial support from their parents and eventually get everything in line.
One pattern does not work for all people. And learning that Amish have children who leave the flock? How is that any different than any other American family where the child doesn't grow up to be perfection and never makes a mistake? Some mistakes are bigger than others. Life happens.
What kind of furniture parts do you make?
I'm confused. Were your neighbors against using electricity on their property, but they would use it on yours? I'm not doubting that they tried to be fair in their dealings with you. I just don't understand their predicament.
What kind of furniture parts do you make?
Ogee feet. You can see them at wagnerwood.com.
I'm confused. Were your neighbors against using electricity on their property, but they would use it on yours? I'm not doubting that they tried to be fair in their dealings with you. I just don't understand their predicament.
They're not opposed to using electricity, they are opposed to being directly connected to the outside world by the wires. Some Amish churches allow the use of generators but that isn't common. It's part of keeping a simple lifestyle. I know it still probably doesn't make sense but that's the best explaination I've gotten so far.
Ping!
Thank you.
Does anyone happen to know whether or not the Amish typically vote in elections? Do they read newspapers? I've always wondered about these facets of their relationship to the "real" world.
The way I've heard it, they usually don't vote unless there is an issue that affects them directly. But during the 2004 election Bush was seen stumping in Amish neighborhoods and some of them voted for the first time.
Does anyone happen to know whether or not the Amish typically vote in elections? Do they read newspapers? I've always wondered about these facets of their relationship to the "real" world.
There's a great deal of variation. Some churches allow voting, it's becoming more common as they are coming under pressure from various local laws that make their lives more difficult. It's the same with newspapers though that may be more of an individual conscience thing. They have their own paper called der botshaft, I may be wrong on the spelling. I'm not sure how often it comes out. Writers from most Amish communities contribute allowing everyone to keep up with what's going on. There's an English paper called the budget which does the same thing.
One note on language. Depending on where the group originally came from, they speak either PA dutch or what they call swiss. The languages are similar enough that they can speak to each other, but different enough that members of both groups have told me that it's difficult. Since they both are corruptions of the original languages, there is no standardized spelling. There has been a PA dutch Bible put together but it's not popular. They use a German Bible for church and the preaching is done in German. Not everyone is fluent in German but they try to teach it.
The way I understand it, the objection to electricity is based on an aversion to corrupting and time-wasting appliances like television (and more recently video games and computers). But if the power plug is on someone else's property, they aren't going to be tempted.
I think it's all about avoiding temptation. They will allow motorized vehicles like tractors as long as the wheels are made of steel. It is illegal to drive on paved roads with steel wheels and so they won't be tempted to drive into town for a beer. The policy sometimes leads to silly decisions like the man who asked his bishop if he could buy a forklift for his business. Okay, he said, as long as it has steel wheels.
They said if the driver passes out the horse will go through intersections. It's not like the horses know the traffic rules on when to yield, stop and go. Even, if the driver doesn't pass out their reflexes and perception are still bad and they might think they can get beat a car or train through an intersection. I don't see how it's any different from being intoxicated behind the wheel of a car.
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