Well, I just took a long motorcycle ride through the heart of "Amish Country" here in Central Ohio, and after getting to see a close up look at their lifestyle, I'm inclined to believe that they might have had it right the whole time. Let me explain: I saw farms and fields being tended to by hard working honest folks, with nothing more than a couple horses and a plow. I saw women in traditional Amish dresses weeding, gardening, and yes... mowing the lawn. I saw businesses such as Sewing shops, candle shops, furniture makers, sawmills, bed and breakfasts, cheese and jerky stores, Amish restaurants, featuring downhome style cooking, and a sundry of traditional crafts stores. Their transportation? Mainly horse and buggy, or wagon cart, some bicycles, some riding on horse or mule backs, and yes.. even a fair amout of walkers. And, of course they grow (or raise) their own food. Seems to me, that this peace-loving community will be largely unaffected by the current oil debacle, and their lifestyle, (and prices) will go unscathed. Their life is basically continuing the way it always has for over a hundred years. The biggest thing that has changed for them in this self-sufficient community, is having to put up with a much larger influx of us tourists and curiosity seekers, and having to occasionally life-flight one of their own to the nearest big city hospital because one of the "tourists" was not paying attention when flying down these country roads and hit a horse and buggy. (A tragic reality). So there you have it... an independent community that thrives, and gets along just fine in an otherwise confused and uncertain world. I think I'm envious.
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