David Honig wrote:
At 10:24 PM 10/22/01 -0500, Neil Johnson wrote:
My father in-law makes some extra dough by converting modern power tools (Delta table saws, belt sanders, and lathes) to run of a central drive shaft so the Amish in our area can build furniture. Evidently it's "kosher" to use a centrally located diesel engine (with a battery to start it even!)
Their point is be disconnected from any central control, for one thing. It's independance, not a total rejection of modern ways. They'll ride in cars, for instance, just not, for the most part, own them. And my main point was that they do very well financially, where most other small family farms are going under.
He can get a side job pressing elevator buttons on Saturday, when its not kosher to do so. In tech kosher places (e.g., Cedar-Sinai MC) the elevators stop on every floor on Saturday. I don't make this stuff up.
Several Amish farms put telephones in their barns for emergency purposes (or drive to nearby store to use a phone booth to call relatives, etc.).
So much for being "independent".
Well, what's wrong with that? If you have a phone line in your house, it makes it easy to bug you, doesn't it. I lived without a phone for about 18 years, it's not difficult. At one point, in fact, the phone company, without asking, ran a buried phone line to the quite rural house we lived in, knocked on the door and asked if they could install a phone inside. I said no, and, as soon as they left, dug up the phone line in a dozen places along the route, cutting chunks out of it. No paranoia here. 8-)
Do they avail themselves of modern medicine when they exceed what they can do with 19th century methods? [serious question]
Yes, generally, but I'm not sure about vaccinations. Can't remember. At one point we lived around a lot of Amish, really wanted to join up with them, but they weren't taking converts. -- Harmon Seaver, MLIS CyberShamanix Work 920-203-9633 Home 920-233-5820 hseaver@cybershamanix.com http://www.cybershamanix.com/resume.html