Wait … did you say an Amish farm and engine repair shop, FCM?! So, they’ll learn how fix them and apparently make a living at that, but won’t use them for themselves … o-kay. LOL Guess that makes sense to the Amish!
I’ve got two new books, courtesy the Albuquerque Library - the latest Stephen King, which is a story from the Gunslinger saga, and the most recent Toni Morrison novel, which is a bit thin, but so far is a very good read.
Hope that everyone is doing well. FIRDAY is one day closer, eh?
They do use engines, but specific ones and after careful consideration of the impact on family and community and of whether it’s necessary or not (the reasoning behind “no zippers” is that “buttons work fine and are easier to make and maintain”). For example, the Amish farmers who had stalls at the Philadelphia Market back when I lived there used refrigerators.
I am at irk, but not yet irked. No doubt irkage will commence shortly. In the meantime, I have the lights off, the windows open and a cup of tea. Life is currently in an acceptable state.
Is it possible to giggle one’s ass off? I’ve gotten a contact from one of my preferred agents about… the job after the next one.
Man, I sure hope this is a sign that the economy is improving, cos there is a lot of people needing jobs right now and I’m having to swat jobs away.
Today I forgot to have breakfast, something I noticed when my tummy growled at me furiously; it goes from “nothing to see here” to “maybe we should have something” to “feed me NAOW!”. I’m having breadsticks for breakfast…
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffienatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 75 Amurrkin out with a predicted high of 96. Yestiddy we had us a little storm in the early evenin’. Nice!
I put in my order for a cheesecake for my bday. What? I get to choose and I choose cheesecake! OYKW makes a really nummy Noo Yawk style cheesecake. Plus strawberries abound to top said cheesecake! I keep writin’ cheesecake. Cheesecake! Cheesecake! Cheesecake!
We don’t have a cafeteria at irk but the culinary arts department at the tech school (excuse me technical college) conveniently located right next door does really good and cheap N.O.L.. Thus it is a sometimes option. Mostly I bring N.O.L. to irk.
Now I need more caffiene and rumbly tummy wants to be fed. Then, alas, irk purtification must commence. Paperirk, paperirk, paperirk awaits!
There’s a lot about the Amish that I just don’t get, and apparently each group is independent, so the rules vary. The one big rule, if I recall correctly, is that they can’t be connected physically to the modern world, hence no electric lines to their houses, no public water or gas, no phone lines. The Biblical quotation I’ve heard to explain this is something about being “in the world but not of the world.”
But I also read of an Amish community in Ohio (I think) that decided cell phones were OK since there were no lines tying them to the outside, and they could be charged with solar chargers. I don’t know how widespread that thinking is.
What really confuses me is the seemingly arbitrary nature of the rules, and it may be compounded by the proximity of Mennonites, who are OK with owning a car… Anyway, I was passing a nearby farm not too long ago and the farmer was using a tiller run by a small engine. It was mounted on a wagon that was being pulled by a team of horses.
Then there are the sawmills - powered by diesel generators that run the big saws, but in the adjacent office, there are no lights. And they don’t seem to have a problem shopping at grocery stores - I have to wonder if they shop daily when it’s so freekin’ hot - Food Lion is nicely air conditioned…
One of the oddest things I saw once outside a sammich shop - an older teen/young 20s Amish man playing an arcade game that was in the lobby. It just seemed so bizarre to me.
Anyway, yes, many Amish around here run small engine repair shops, plus they sell chainsaws and generators and such. We’ve taken our mower to Dave’s Engine Repair next to the Loveville PO - he did a good job on our riding mower for a good price. We’ll be taking the generator to him as soon as we get around to dragging it out of the shed. Since Dave doesn’t have a phone, once he finishes working on your engine, he sends a postcard with the charges on it. Very quaint…
And that’s your Amish lesson for the day.
**FCD **has left for work. His pay period ends on the 31st, and this pay period is 96 hours. As of yesterday, he’d already worked 90 hours. I’m thinking next payday will be huge - not only for all the hours he’ll have worked, but he’ll have 2, maybe 3, trips to PA on there. They put travel reimbursement on paychecks, and from all the jaunts, they owe him a buttload! Of course, I’ll just turn around and give all that money to VISA to pay for the gas and hotel and restaurants, but in the meantime, it’ll look like we’s rich!
I’ve got the house open - in fact, I opened it up before we went to bed since it dropped into the low 70s overnight. Unfortunately, it’s supposed to hit 100-ish today, so the windows will be closing shortly. And in about 2 hours, I have to head over to the dentist - it’s my semi-annual checkup. I can’t recall if I need xrays this time or not. Finally, since it’s Thursday, it’s Daughter for Dinner Day. No, not cannibalism - she comes over on Thursdays for dinner so we get to see her regularly. I dragged a small chunk o’beef out of the freezer and it’ll get rotissed for supper.
Dang, I’m chatty this morning. And I’m only half-caffeinated!
Dave truly was a wonderful person. We weren’t very much alike, I was always early and he was always late. I was always hyper and he was always mellow and calm, but in these ways we complimented each other. I wish we’d had a lifetime together so that I could learn more about him. He was such a strong person who cared deeply. He’d had a difficult life and only occasionally did I get a glimpse into the past world that made him who he was. I did try my best, though, to make him happy and to let him know that he was loved and cared for. It was the little kindnesses that let me know how much he cared for me.
Personally, though, I feel stuck and lost and overwhelmed. I don’t even know where to begin to get through this. My therapist fit me in on his lunch break yesterday and we talked for awhile. I can understand his advice and I’ve tried to put it into action but at the end of the day, there is no one here with me except my thoughts and that’s a terrifying place to be.
I really am sorry to be such a downer but I just feel so lost right now with nowhere to go.
ETA: I mean that kind of literally. In the past when I’ve been upset I would take to the Lincoln Highway and things would get better, but now the road holds so many memories of him that I couldn’t bear to travel it.
Hang out here, with us. We’re open 24/7 and you can tell us anything you want about Dave, and if you cry on the information highway you won’t cause any accidents.
I leave early tomorrow for Austin to be with the family and friends of Gordon Cowden. Gordon was of course the eldest of the 12 killed in Aurora. However, to me he’ll always be the youngest of a family we’ve loved and held dear for most of our lives. Gordon was probably 9 or 10 when I first came to know him, two years younger than I. His older brother, Graves, and I were running buddies through much of Jr. High through college at Baylor. Our parents have been friends since the 50s. Tomorrow we gather again, but this time for the saddest of occasions.
Gordon was Jim from To Kill a Mockingbird in looks, intelligence, respect and curiosity, the only difference being he was a bit more reserved, quietly thoughtful, standing to the side yet soaking everything in. He grew to love the outdoors like his father and accompanied all the Cowden men as they travelled the world on outdoor adventures. He was a loving dad to his four kids and when things didn’t last with his wife it was Gordon that got sole custody of all four. I can only imagine the protective instincts he felt when suddenly danger confronted two of them there at the theater with him.
I wish I could have said goodbye. I wish I could have made sure he knew how much I respected and admired him, my friend’s little brother that turned out so well. But I can’t and from time to time tears well up at that knowledge until they fall from my cheek to my shirt. So tomorrow I’ll go be with others that understand that sentiment, that feel it themselves, and we’ll miss him together, together and forever.
I’m so sorry, Lieu. I read, somewhere, the daughters’ comment on the occasion, that what they will remember most after all this is their father’s yells that he loved them, that he protected them.
{{{StickyBuns}}}{{{lieu}}} like others have said we’re here for ya.
I made an executive decision and left irk early because it’s cloudy out and not so hawt and I needed to mow da yahd. Good decision because shortly after I finished, it rained! YAY!!! OYKW is swipin’ the General’s dindin so no cookin’ tonight. YAY!!!
I think we could use a little humor, so I present the following:
Once upon a time there lived a king. The king had a beautiful daughter, the princess. But there was a problem. Everything the princess touched would melt.
No matter what; metal, wood,plastic - anything she touched would melt! Because of this, men were afraid of her. Nobody would dare marry her.
The king despaired. What could he do to help his daughter? He consulted his wizards and magicians. One wizard told the king, “If your daughter touches one thing that does not melt in her hands, she will be cured.”
The king was overjoyed. The next day, he held a competition. Any man that could bring his daughter an object that would not melt would marry her and inherit the king’s wealth. Three young princes took up the challenge.
The first prince brought a very hard alloy of titanium. But alas, once the princess touched it, it melted. The prince went away sadly.
The second prince brought a huge diamond, thinking that diamond is the hardest substance in the world and will not melt. But alas, once the princess touched it, it melted. He too went away disappointed.
The third prince approached. He told the princess, “Put your hand in my pocket and feel what is in there.” The princess did as she was asked, though she turned red. She felt something hard. She held it in her hand. And it did not melt!!!
The king was overjoyed. Everybody in the kingdom was overjoyed. And the third prince married the princess and they both lived happily ever after.
Question: What was the object in the prince’s pants?
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They were M&M’s!!! - (get your mind out of the gutter !!)
Everyone knows they melt in your mouth, not in your hand!
A grasshopper walks (hops) into a bar. The bartender says, “Hey, there’s a drink named after you!” The grasshopper says, “Really? There’s a drink named Irving?”
A termite walks into a bar and says, “Where’s the bartender?”
Also, da cave smells like cheesecake. It’s bakin’ away. MMMMMMMM…
