There's something strange about staying in a hotel that hasn't been renovated in decades. Even a Mennonite would walk into this room and say, "This place could use some updating." (For some reason, my imaginary Mennonite sounds a lot like Jackie Mason.)
We have no window...or clocks. It's like we've checked into a sensory deprivation tank. I now know what it will be like to live in a post-nuclear war bunker.
We're in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, smack dab in the middle of Amish country. I've been here many times in the past but never in winter. During the summer months, spotting Amish is as easy as seeing a celebrity at the Academy Awards. In March, they are nowhere to be found. I suppose they're all indoors quilting or whittling or procreating or whatever it is Amish people do when there are no fields to plow.
At least we can drive around town without getting stuck behind a buggy.
It's amazing to me that the Amish can retain their culture and way of life while living within the United States. Whenever I hear folks complain about how America is negatively impacting the way of life in other parts of the globe, I think about the Amish.
The Amish may lose 25% of their population to the modern world, but that means 75% stay. Three quarters of their ranks resist television, automobiles and computers. Hell, three quarters of their ranks resist buttons! If the Amish can trot past a Fuddruckers without stopping in, Parisians can stroll past McDonalds.
Trot on over to humor-blogs.com.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
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2 comments:
And with all that procreating, losing a quarter just strengthens the line in a Darwinian sort of way.
I like the Amish. (I imagine that the reverse would not be true.)
I think they also lose 25% of their population in buggy accidents. We saw far too many on the road as we were driving home last night.
Why a person driving a black buggy with a black horse would want to be on the road with cars at night is a mystery. The big orange triangle on the back just isn't enough. It's a good thing they are religious people. That kind of road sharing requires a lot of praying.
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