Amish In The Afternoon

I've gotten a few interested comments about my blip of Amish farmers in our neighborhood market, so here's an older shot of the family who brings their barbecue to the same market on Thursdays of the warmer months. It's my weekly ritual to sit on the grass or on a bench and eat a half rack of ribs or a half chicken --ever so tasty.

Amish in traditional dress come to Philadelphia mainly to sell their foods, but their culture dominates Lancaster County, about forty miles to the west. In the city they never make much small talk and in general they do not discuss their culture with the world outside of theirs. A few years ago a horrible tragedy brought on the world's attention and sympathy, and a very rare public statement of thanks was released.

For my part, I can say that in some thirty years in Pennsylvania I've never had any negative experience, nor have I learned anything that would sour my view of Amish people. And even though religion has no part in my life, the more I happen to learn about Amish, the more interesting they get.

Once I rode on a bus from Wisconsin to Philadelphia, and along the way an Amish man (some years older than me) asked if I would switch seats with him so that he could be beside his wife. I agreed and we switched. Hours later in a station stop, the wife came over to me and said, "Won't you have some of our food?" and she gave me a small head of cabbage and (I think) a tomato. Then she said, "I grew them in our garden!" She was so proud, so happy, her face so lit with joy, and she was so tiny in her bonnet and old-fashioned dress, that I was just disarmed, and I still remember the encounter vividly. The cabbage was interesting too. Very flavorful and sharp-tasting. I figured it was some heirloom variety.