I love your essays, Mary. So well-written and full of interesting details and stories about corners of life to which too few of us are exposed. To see the excitement of those children in the chair must have been wonderful, and their mother's risk to try it out warmed my heart. I'm happy to know that some of the old ways still exist alongside the new.
I wish I had a team of those children to weed my garden areas.
Decades ago, while we were growing up, our parents used to drive up to Pennsylvania to have an Amish lunch, shop for quilts, or visit a working farm. I still have a beautiful hand-made quilt purchased from an Amish home. There were and still are Amish in Virginia, and we often drove out Rt 15 toward Middleburg to stop at their store for their wonderful food products.
Tickled by this vision of you as a surreptitious corrupter of youth. Love the ending. Ah...I hope e-bikes are not the beginning of some end, at least not a sad one They do get bigger and bigger, but at least they are quiet. Ah....
Thanks, Mary. I much enjoyed this reflection. It reminded me of a conversation I had with a couple of Amish folks in Lancaster PA many years ago about the worrisome impact of a bicycle's technology on the family/community. (But E-bikes were not yet invented.)
Beautiful piece, Mary! Reading about such innocence and the old world and new perfectly balanced provided a welcome antidote to the crazy news reports today (and any day). Thanks!
I love your essay. I have Amish cousins. Beautifully written. Thank You!
You’re welcome. Thanks for being a reader.
I love your essays, Mary. So well-written and full of interesting details and stories about corners of life to which too few of us are exposed. To see the excitement of those children in the chair must have been wonderful, and their mother's risk to try it out warmed my heart. I'm happy to know that some of the old ways still exist alongside the new.
I wish I had a team of those children to weed my garden areas.
Decades ago, while we were growing up, our parents used to drive up to Pennsylvania to have an Amish lunch, shop for quilts, or visit a working farm. I still have a beautiful hand-made quilt purchased from an Amish home. There were and still are Amish in Virginia, and we often drove out Rt 15 toward Middleburg to stop at their store for their wonderful food products.
Who knew a magic chair could bring so much joy!
These stories are like cooling breezes that blow away the irritating gnat cloud of worldwide worries. Ephemeral magic, welcome and restorative.
Thank you, Nancy, so happy to have you as a subscriber.
Tickled by this vision of you as a surreptitious corrupter of youth. Love the ending. Ah...I hope e-bikes are not the beginning of some end, at least not a sad one They do get bigger and bigger, but at least they are quiet. Ah....
Enjoyable tale, thanks Mary!
Thanks, Mary. I much enjoyed this reflection. It reminded me of a conversation I had with a couple of Amish folks in Lancaster PA many years ago about the worrisome impact of a bicycle's technology on the family/community. (But E-bikes were not yet invented.)
Thank you, Mary Swander! Reading your words brought joy and laughter to my morning. Things - they are a-changin' 🎶 But not too much 😉
Thanks for reading and responding, Kathi! I appreciate the restack. I can still hear that giggling in my ears!
I can as well - and I wasn't even there!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Great article, and pics. The ebikes are looking more like motorcycles each year. Is there a merger coming?
There may very well be a merger coming. What then for Buggy Land?
Beautiful piece, Mary! Reading about such innocence and the old world and new perfectly balanced provided a welcome antidote to the crazy news reports today (and any day). Thanks!