When you think nobody's watching

[ncountry]

My daughter is graduating HS this year so we have one of those signs out next to the rd. I put it a good 5 ' off the blacktop. Well yesterday I come home from work and I see it's tipped over. I check it out, and after looking  at the evidence I see horse and buggy tracks that swerved off the rd and deliberately ran it over.

I'm not really that mad, but shake my head over the fact that some punk was being stupid. I jump back in the truck and drive to the 1st Amish farm roughly a mile down the rd and knock on the door.

I tell the older gentlemen the whole story. Telling him I know it's an Amish, not accusing him of it, and it was just a crappy thing to do and maybe he could let whoever did it know that I wasn't happy.

Well, today on my way home my GF calls and tells me that a very sheepish and ashamed teenage Amish boy stopped and apologized. Offering to pay any damages or do anything to make it right. Lol. She told him there wasn't anything for him to do, thanks for stopping, and Don't do stupid things again...

Kid was probably relieved it wasn't the big furry angry guy that came to the door.ha.ha

[left field]

Perfect addition to "Then and Now". 

No better life lesson than a parent making you admit and apologise for your dumb shit.  

[ncountry]

1 minute ago, left field said:

Perfect addition to "Then and Now". 

No better life lesson than a parent making you admit and apologise for your dumb shit.  

Yeap! Hate to admit that I had to more than once apologize for something I had done when I was a kid.

The result of my talk with the Amish fellow worked out perfectly. They are a small community  and I felt somebody would get busted ,and more than likely some kid/s.

[hueyjazz]

Rumspringa

[fasteddie]

You don't hear much about hit and run with a horse and buggy ! 

[ncountry]

17 minutes ago, hueyjazz said:

Rumspringa

Lol.. Unfortunately for the Amish youth in this sect they don't get a regular rumspringa like many of the more relaxed groups. 

[left field]

Rumspringa AKA your best shot at an Amish chick.

[ncountry]

9 minutes ago, left field said:

Rumspringa AKA your best shot at an Amish chick.

Ha. Ha. There was an amish community somewhere in tye southern tier that was looking for "new blood". Their community was too small and beginning to have too many birth defects.

Problem was, the father or minister watched.

[hueyjazz]

ncountry

Seems you're the "English" (Amish code for outsider) among the Amish like me.  When we first moved to the mountain, we couldn't figure out why occasionally we would see kids doing a 100+ mph on the dirt roads out here.  It was finally explained to me by our country butcher it was Amish kids on Rumspringa.  

We been here about eight years now and the Amish and I have gotten use to each other with mutual respect.  At first, they were very tight lipped about anything I asked about being Amish, but they have loosened up with me.  My Amish are all into lumber.  They either cut down trees, sawmill trees or build things with wood.  They are amazingly territorial by clan.  The Amish around me are all Johnsons.  Five miles down the road they are Yodeler and so it goes.

I had the Amish build me a shed for a workshop.  One day ten of them arrive on horse.  Next day I had a shed.  At the end the lead man was with me, and I ask him if he would like a drink.  Sure, I'll have a beer he says.  I said I thought you guys couldn't drink.  He says No, we can't get caught but we know how to drink.

[ncountry]

Yeap.

I know quite a few of the Amish around. The 2 farms just around the corner just moved in a few years ago ,so other than buying some vegetables I've never really met them.

The closest group of amish living around us are members of the strictest followers, leaving where they lived in Ohio or Pennsylvania   to get away from the more progressive bunch.

I worked side by side with a young amish man on a project when i needed an extra hand on a house I was building. I remember once handing him my cordless drill, and him looking around to make sure nobody was watching and used it for a minute..lol

Most are really great people. I've been buying rough cut lumber and vegetables from them for 30+ years.

My friend was their milk pick-up/ delivery guy for years. At times I would help him pick up and drop off all the cans  and deliver them to the local cheese plant. Those cans of milk got heavy after a while.

[hueyjazz]

ncountry

My Amish here are allowed to use tools, they just can't own them in most cases and operate through English that own the tools and arrange transport of materials.  But if they have an operation that makes money for the church they can own and operate power tools.  The sawmills and furniture operations come under the category here.  But it's horse/buggy and very long laundry lines for everything else.  Wife and I roam countryside here on our ATVs.  We retired here from a busy city address between two Universities to living in a log home on a mountain.  Let's say it's different.  No take-out.  Crappy Amish pizza :-)

So, one thing that's obvious is that the Amish are not flashy.  But I've found out one sure fired way to separate a rich Amish from a poor Amish.  It's the horse. 

I suffered many a year having a daughter that was an equestrian.   (Never let yourself get trick into this if you ever plan to retain any wealth) If you been there then you know horses aren't even.  The Amish aren't any different.  Some drove Mustangs while others had the Mavericks and even worse, the exploding Pintos.

My wife was raised on an apple farm and as such I had access to bushel baskets of apples.  When they built my shed, I feed horses apples and filled one of those small Kiddle pools with water for horses.  The Amish really thought well of me, and I got to meet the horses.  I was an excellent mucker as I was left was ample fertilizer for cabin garden.  Bonus

[DirtTime]

Thankfully, no one was injured in the tragic event. I hope the sign recovers fully.

[ncountry]

1 minute ago, DirtTime said:

Thankfully, no one was injured in the tragic event. I hope the sign recovers fully.

Lol. Nope no serious injuries .

Hoping you are poking fun in a nice way or I'll have to go tell your mamma and or family..

[DirtTime]

2 minutes ago, ncountry said:

Lol. Nope no serious injuries .

Hoping you are poking fun in a nice way or I'll have to go tell your mamma and or family..

Just cracking a joke. It's not often one gets to make a joke about an injured sign.

[phade]

Good lesson to learn and good conclusion. We've had mixed interactions w/Amish. Good apples and bad apples in every bunch I suppose but admittedly I can see where stereotypes come from.