A Simpler Life. . . .

Today I went to WalMart to pick up my husband's prescription. I RARELY ever go on a Sunday.

The WalMart i go to is in the town where I grew up. It's the home of a fairly large Amish settlement.

As I went through the aisles of the store - I realized something was different. Oh, that's right, not one Amish person in the store! Normally there are many.

Oh, of course! They adhere to the observation of the Sabbath. They will not buy or sell on Sunday! There are many small produce stands in the area run by Amish, they are never open on Sunday.

But then, for you old enough to remember - wasn't there a time when there were NO stores even open on Sunday??? Back when life was simpler!

It just made me ponder about the Amish way of life. When you drive through the area on Mondays, the wash is always out on the line - all year long! Like when I was young.....laundry ALWAYS done on Mondays!

I went to school with Amish. they only go through 8th grade, then it's time to assume their roles in the Amish community. Now, very few go to public school - they have their own schools. I remember the girls in their solid color, full length dresses and their bonnets. Always wear their hair long, but braided and wrapped under the bonnets. Lightweight bonnets that are ALWAYS in place and then the heavier bonnet to wear over that outdoors. No buttons, no zippers, straight pins hold their garments together! Never prints, or different fabrics, just plain, solid colors - although the young girls could wear brighter colors. The older women tend to wear the darker colors. The men wear solid color shirts, and trousers with suspenders....again, no zippers. They wear straw hats in summer and black felt hats in winter. You can tell the married men - they start to grow their beards when they marry.

I remember the young girls coming to town on Friday nights - they would bring "Yankee clothes" to change into and go to the bars! LOL The young boys also liked to go there. Once they officially joined the church - those things stopped. It's just the way it was and is for them.

They live the simple life - no electricity. They still use lanterns. Their transportation is horse and buggy, no automobiles. No tractors on the farm, they use horses. UNLESS they work for someone else, then they can use the tractor, and if the girls hired out as housekeepers in a home with electricity, they are permitted to use it. They can hire taxis to drive them in automobiles, but can't drive themselves.

In today's fast paced world of electronics, speed, high fashion, stress, etc. - - - wouldn't it sometimes be nice to live that "simpler life?" Makes me think of Bucky Covington's song "It Was a Different World".......when we were boys and girls! No, I don't think many of us would want to live the life our Amish neighbors live - but sometimes going back to the simpler life WE had as youngsters doesn't sound all that bad, does it?????