[ring ring]
"Hey" Mrs F says in greeting to her mother on the other line.
"Did you know there were Black Amish people?" Mom responds
"Like African American?"
"Yes"
"Did you see their clothes? You're sure they're Amish?"
"Yes, the kids weren't wearing any shoes."
"Like one Black Amish person or a whole family?"
"A whole family... they're traveling with another Amish family in a van like they do up here."
"But you saw their clothes?"
"Yes"
"Does the man have a beard?"
"Yes a scruffy one."
"Follow them."
"I am."
"hmmm... this might be the greatest bit of information I've ever received."
Clues to the mystery...
22 comments:
LOL! Sounds like this might have made your day. Mrs. Mom F is doing undercover detective work to answer the burning question... Black Amish? Who knew...
Okay, what is the story about the fascination with the Amish? I mean, I find them interesting, too...but you say in your sidebar that you've read almost every book ever published about them. What gives?
Also, if you have a free minute, could you please recommend me an interesting book or two about the Amish? I've got Amish on the brain now, and I could use a new book to read...thanks in advance!
Mrs F - moving to NC will get you further away from the Amish...didn't think of that. I guess you can always go up to Ohio to get your fix.
We traveled to Elkhart, IN every summer for the past several years to see my parents and the best part was always visiting the Amish bakeries, wood working shops and restaurants that the Amish work at (fried chicken and green beans anyone???). I'll miss the Amish granola bars this year since my parents moved from that part of the country and we have no reason to go there anymore. Really, it was the Amish that kept me going to start with. :) I never saw any Black Amish families but why not??
MRs. F,
First off... Congrats on the house.
Second. Black Amish sounds wild, (iv never actually seen an amish person, i once met a man on the train home from Seattle who claimed there was a small population of them in North-Western MT, but it still seemed fishy. And Thirdly, something i am very familiar with... Have you ever heard of, or seen a Hutterite? They are all over Montana and very wonderful, and very similar (kind of) to Amish communities. I guess that may be the only way they are similar... the community part. They speak in Lo-German, pretty cool stuff.
Hutterites of Montana is a good resource if you want to check out some photos.
I wonder of the Hutterites are similar to the Mennonites which broke off from the more traditional Amish church?
Michelline,
I know! Nothing like a little Amish secrets revealed to perk up my day ;)
HicktownDiva,
I really don't know why I love them so much... maybe a past-life experience?!...although it seems like a kind of universal obsession among a lot of people I know. Not that I idealize their life but something about them is makes me jealous almost.
Okay non-fiction:
After The Fire: the destruction of the Lancaster County Amish
by Randy-Michael Testa
Fiction: (and yes these are somewhat cheesy but good summertime reads and actually informative at the same time)
The Beverly Lewis books... just be sure you read them in order (they are all written in a series)
Start with Abram's Daughters.
The Covenant is the first book in that series.
AshinMT & Chrissy....
Off to check out Hutterites
AshinMT & Chrissy,
Interesting.
So the Hutterites and the Amish are both Anabaptists and stem from the same religious roots in Switzerland. The main difference is that Hutterites live communally and share all wealth and provisions equally amongst the community... the Amish & Mennonites (the Amish are a branch of Mennonite) do not they have community churches(held in the homes of the parish members) and schools but they own their own property and have their own wealth etc.
I love the Beverly Lewis Books I havent read the last one she came out with saving that for D-Day!
Andrea,
LOL... I read 9 Beverly Lewis books back to back the week before Baby was born. Good times.
I kissed a Mennonite back in college...or atleast he said he was one and he went to Berklee College of Music. He was from PA.
Can they even to college? I would gather not.
weird stuff.
Julie,
Ah I've missed you :)
Actually Mennonites can go to college... there are modern Mennonite churches not just Old Order.
This is very interesting! I may have to check out those books. I've been looking for a summer distraction.
Congrats on the house!
That may be the funniest thing I have ever read. By the way congrats on the new house, I bet Kid will LOVE that playhouse, I know my kids would go nuts for it.
Thank you for the book reviews! I just saw some Beverly Lewis books in Wal-Mart today; I will have to pick one up the next time I am there.
I don't know about NC, but in Southern Middle Tennessee, where I live, there are a good number of Mennonites who farm in the area--they are also excellent cabinet makers and build sheds to order.
My cousin married a boy who is from an Amish family, Mrs. F you would have been in your glory...his parents had left it but half of the family is still Amish and were all at the wedding.
We were instructed not to snap pics of them, and unfortunately they were not exactly outgoing because I wanted to sidle up to them and ask every question I could think of...instead I cast tons of sidelong glances and wished I knew if the girls really wanted to dress like that or secretly wanted to "fall into the Gap"?!!!
Hi Mrs F (and all),
I haven't been around because it was the kids' last week of school and there were constant events. Then we thought we'd start the summer vacation off with a bang and took the kids for one night at a motel with a pool. It was in a real honky tonk ocean resort town on the coast of a neighboring state. Also, let's put it this way: I was the slimmest woman around (and I need to lose a good 30 pounds) and I was the only person who did not have a tattoo on my ass. I mean like old ladies with faded cartoon characters on their arms, ankles and popping up from the top of their "short shorts" (with legs and butts that weren't made for that style of dress.) We were walking down the little souvenir/candy town and Tom turns to me and says "the woman in front of us needs a little "brazilian tending" if you know what I mean" (he was talking in code since a. it would be crude to say what he really meant as we walked in public and b. we were with our kids. Of course, Jack,who can hear me mouth words but can't hear me say his name when I am standing right in front of him, says "what's brazilian tending". Tom says it's a kind of beef. Jack's like' why does that lady need beef". Naturally, I am lmao. I mean, c'mon, the lady was wearing shorts and she needed a shave. Plus apparently, smoking is really back in vogue where we were. It's always nice to see ol' grandpa lighting up a butt while hacking. Good times. I have no idea why I decided to have us do this. I just wanted the boys to be able to swim in the pool. We were there less than 24 hours and I found myself not being able to sleep because I just wanted morning to come so we could go home.
We're home now and I decided that I am going to get a tattoo on my ass of Popeye. No, wait make that Wimpy.
Julie,
" Tom says it's a kind of beef."
LMAO!!!!
Mr F says "You should have had Julie fill in for you... she's good"
I admit I never gave a thought to the Amish until I started reading your blog. Now I'm going to have to pick up that non-fiction piece you reco'ed. At least my summer reading list is filling up, right? (In July. *snicker*)
Glad you and Mr F enjoyed the little ditty. I felt like a freaking swimsuit model at the pool at the hotel. The other moms had me by about 100 pounds. It was the first time in a long time I did not feel like I wanted to hide my fat ass as I got into the water.
So Krusteaz for the lemon bars. I will make note of that for parties or whatnot, but will not buy any "just to have in the house".
They ride in vans?
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