Alternate day wandering

Joyce had enough of being inside so we went exploring the next day. The dogs were glad, too, because while we are prowling stores, they’re waiting in the car. It was cool enough not to have to worry about them, although we always parked in the shade just in case. So we shut off Sam and just started driving, figuring she could lead us home when we’d had enough, and that’s how we got to Blue Ball. They have “Amish” sightseeing places set up, but we wanted to see the real thing so we just went off into the countryside, which isn’t so easy around Lancaster, which is actually a small city. Nothing to see, folks, keep moving. Really, it was in one side and out the other.

What we did enjoy seeing was the big Amish working farms. They keep these places so beautifully, and their animals are so healthy and happy. If I were a farm animal, I would want to live on an Amish farm. We came around a curve and saw this one guy leading a brace of four mules backwards. They were gigantic, and just stepping along backwards all perfectly synchronized. Like they do it every day, which they undoubtedly do. And in the grocery store lot in Blue Ball, another Amish market, there was a special buggy parking area. And here’s how you can tell Mennonites from Amish: the Mennonites drive cars. Anyway these horses are amazing, just trotting along surrounded by motorized traffic.

Because we were mostly driving, and scenes changed too fast to get pictures, I have found a couple of pics of what we saw out there:

http://abcnews.go.com/images/Health/gty_amish_children_dm_120507_wblog.jpg&imgrefurl=http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/05/07/amish-have-fewer-allergies-due-to-farm-effect/&h=269&w=478&sz=42&tbnid=eP-knlXvJRitlM:&tbnh=117&tbnw=208&zoom=1&usg=__QlSdCEZSO4U5eFdXntQWBH_Z2jU=&docid=1gXI_3kRt37RlM&sa=X&ei=MISfUtP_JYbMsQS50YLoBQ&ved=0CC4Q9QEwAQ

AND

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://davidmixner.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c90b153ef017ee4f2e38b970d-pi&imgrefurl=http://www.davidmixner.com/davidmixnercom/&h=305&w=450&sz=173&tbnid=9Ul3wnAueSeKgM:&tbnh=129&tbnw=191&zoom=1&usg=__qR4WiX7ZUjObDvDAKeMm8gGZwT8=&docid=wWISZJU-HkdZfM&sa=X&ei=-IOfUqGuIpPLsATjmICABQ&ved=0CDUQ9QEwBA

One of the weirdest things is the little children all solemn-faced in miniature grown-up clothing. Now, I don’t even like kids, but I felt sorry for these. I have watched enough Amish TV to know that not getting enough education ruins their lives, and a lot of beatings go on, and these are reasons why they go out on Rumspringe and never come back. Sometimes it's just best not to think too hard about these things, like when you travel to a third-world country and see dogs roaming the streets. But I can make donations to animal rescue organizations. There's not a lot I can do about saving the Amish children. However, from the number of Mennonites living in the same place, it looks as if they will soon save themselves. They can have religion, education, and convenience all at the same time. Otherwise, there will be no religion at all. It's pretty much up to them.