Footprints in the Sand

I had so much fun yesterday! David and I went to Cape Cod to celebrate our birthdays (his was on Saturday, mine yesterday). I cannot believe it took me fifty-four years to make it to Cape Cod, especially since we have lived within three hours of it for the last three years. I am fairly…

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Amish Diversity

Michelle wrote: I’m a fairly new reader, I found your blog after a google search on celery. I’ve always been fascinated by the way the Amish live so lately I’ve been reading everything I can get my hands on. Since I haven’t been able to find an answer, my big question is about celery. Why does…

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Freedom and Responsibility

Erik Wesner, of Amish America, brought up an interesting issue about Amish in Kentucky who are refusing to use the orange triangle on the backs of their buggies. Here is my opinion added to the mix:With every freedom comes a responsibility. No car drivers have use of the roads, paid for by all, without obeying…

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Amish and Health Care, Revisited

Sarah wrote: I’m not sure if you’ve talked about this topic, but I’m interested in knowing how the Amish view modern medicine. I’ve seen them in modern hospitals, and I also worked in a chiropractor’s office where many of them visited. Do they have limits on what would take them to a medical facility versus seeking…

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Life, Tragedy, and Death — The Amish Way

Kristina asked: What is the one thing that you would most like to convey to people, about the Amish, to those who are interested in or are praying for them?Kristina, this is rather a tough question, because there are many things I want to convey about the Amish. David made a remark to someone at a…

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More Details of the Book Tour

Thank you all, for your good wishes about the book tour. It’s always a bit hard to know how many details are too many about my book promotion, because the main focus of this blog is “About Amish,” at least what I know about it having grown on in an Amish community. But your comments…

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Home Again…

I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself. ~ Maya Angelou One of my sisters, before my book came out, said that she thought I would just be in my element when I got up to talk in front of an audience. I agreed with her then, and…

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A Pause

I am going to be quite busy for the next ten days, so I will not be posting to my blog for a little while. I have eight book talks scheduled in as many days, so life is a bit hectic for David and me. I will return to blogging just as soon as I…

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Remembering Mem

For some reason I’ve been thinking of my mother, who we called Mem. It is customary to celebrate Mother’s Day in May, but for me this has become “reMEMbering month.” Mem with our son, Tim. This is the only photo Mem ever posed for us. Often when someone dies, we have a way of “purifying”…

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Weather Appreciation Day

A little while ago, I complained about the "dreab" days. It is time to now express my appreciation for the beautiful days we are having — temperatures in the 70s, blue sky with cottony clouds floating lazily along, trees flowering everywhere — who could ask for more glorious weather than this? And waking to birdsong…

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