The nod

I found myself going through Amish country near here today, so thought I would stop at the Amish store to pick up some popcorn and salt. They have the best, and it is so inexpensive, and as I seem to use mass quantities every time I make popcorn, that is the place to get it.

There seemed to be an unusual amount of buggies on the road today, and everyone riding were all dressed up. Men had ties, and the women had white lace on their dresses. Even the store was busy with many people, and they were dressed up too, for the most part.

One thing I admire about the Amish is that as you pass their buggies or meet eye to eye, they nod to acknowledge you. A few wave, not a big wave, just a subtle raising of the hand and down, very quickly. Years ago, I had a sales route in another Amish community and discovered that either a wave, or a nod was in order if you met each other's eyes, so I learned to nod a long time ago. It must be considered rude not to make some sort of gesture if you look a person in the eye. I can't imagine people walking down the streets in a big city all waving or nodding everytime they look at another person. Heaven forbid if two total strangers passing by one another "connect." Then again, if they all did that, maybe there would be some sort of sense of community where there is none now. You can't hardly cuss out a stranger for walking in front of you if they nodded and smiled first.

As I left the store and headed down the road, I passed by a sign that said: CHIKENS $6.00 PIGUNS $2.00. The sign was pricelss and I wish I had my camera to share it with all of you but you get the idea from this. (I made a mental note to have my camera with me at all times.) A little farther down the road I encounterd a lot of buggy traffic and a drive, where they were all pulling in. There were hundreds of buggies parked in the fields, most were covered with leather covers, and the horses taken to the barns somewhere. There were all of these people all dressed up, volley ball nets in the yard, and people roaming and standing about everywhere. I don't know if it was an Amish wedding, or maybe it was their Labor Day picnic, but it was a huge affair. Again, I wished I had put my camera in the car, not to take pictures of the people, as that is not allowed, as the Amish feel if their image is captured, their soul is taken, something like that, so one does not photograph them, but you can of the buggies and such.

It just turned out to be a great day to go get that popcorn and see all of those people. I have a certain envy for the Amish. Things are simple. Life is simple. Nothing fancy, no pretentions, things with them just ARE. And that is it for now, signing off with a nod.