The recent Amish school shooting tragedy - the third U.S. school shooting incident this past week - brought back memories of this community. I'd encountered these gentle folks on a couple occasions back East.
It was the winter of 1997 when I first saw the Amish, on a trip from Syracuse University to Canajoharie, NY. My friend, a student of chemical engg had to collect water samples from a treatment plant, and I'd driven along with him. On the country road off the exit that icy cold day, I saw road signs with horse carriages painted on them. Soon enough we were slowed down by a horse drawn buggy in front of us. A bearded man in a black hat held the reins, a member of the Amish community in upstate NY.
The next time I got to meet this quaint ethnic group was during the summer of '99. Traveling through eastern Ohio, we came across an Amish farmer's market. In the blazing hot sun, there were Amish dressed in black, selling produce. By now, I'd read up some on their history and ways. I recall:
- Rollerblading being acceptable among them, as a non-motorized means of transport.
- Being surprised on seeing a bunch of them traveling in a van. Apparently acceptable.
- Smiling genial older folks.
- Curious Amish kids that likely saw their first non-Caucasian - me. =)
- Wondering how they managed to live the way they did, out of choice. Why choose to be so? What made them tick?
- Thoughts on scenes from The Witness and For Richer or Poorer, movies that featured them. Harrison Ford as a faux Amish man punching the lights out of some hecklers that bothered them.
Among the many school shooting incidents over the past decade, this one likely affected my thoughts the most. For a community so opposed to non-violence, and steeped in the values of 'turning the other cheek', and forgiveness - these killings are a god-awful calamity. Unpardonable.
But pardon they did, by forgiving the gunman that killed five of their own.
1 comment:
God bless them. The Amish amaze me.
Post a Comment