Farm Out! (was Re: Retribution not enough)

[Neil Johnson]

> Do they avail themselves of modern medicine when they exceed what they can
> do with 19th century methods?  [serious question]

The group that lives in our area will seek treatment, if absolutely
necessary

I guess I should probably  point out that there are many Amish "sects" each
with different rules regarding the use of technology.

Some believe in using absolutely no "modern" technology (no electricity, use
horses instead of tractors, etc.).
Some will use "old" tech (seem my earlier message about using line shafts to
power machines as long as no electricity is used (yeah, yeah they use
electricity to heat the glow plug, go figure).
Some will use tractors instead of horses (but the tractors must have steel
wheels, rubber tires are a sin)
"Liberal" Amish will even drive cars, but they must not have any chrome
(they paint it black) and no white wall tires.

All and all they are pretty friendly people (always wave when you pass their
carriages, etc.).

The biggest problem they face (besides attrition from younger family members
leaving) is getting their carriages smashed by cars going 60+ mph  with
stupid drivers who don't realize how slow the carriages are. Of course the
government now requires them to have slow moving vehicle signs on the back
and recently, despite their objections, battery operated flashing amber
lights.

-Neil