Yesterday my husband and I took a long, leisurely drive through Lancaster County in our 1957 Dodge. It was one of those perfect late Summer days that practically demanded a spin in an antique car—and for us, a celebration that this was one of one of those rare occasions when the Dodge wasn’t up on a lift with some mechanical problem. The back roads were filled with buggies—families, young couples, kids following on skate boards—which conjured up images of the Blue Law days of quiet Sunday family outings.
As we started to pass one of the buggies, a teenage kid spun around, pulled out his smartphone, and took our picture. It made sense, in a way, since they were the ones driving a contemporary vehicle, and we had the anachronism.
Evidently cell phone ownership among Amish, particularly the young, isn’t anything that unusual. It’s hard to do business with the modern world unless people can contact you, or if you want to have access to supplies for the farm. Plus, I wouldn’t be surprised to find a few modesty caps listed on Etsy.
More about the incursions of modern communications into the Amish lives: http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/cell-phones-computers-more-and-more-part-of-lancaster-county/article_432d645c-def6-11e3-9e84-001a4bcf6878.html
The next buggy you pass may be our Dodge!
Have a wonderful Labor Day
Jim Shulman
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