Thursday, June 2, 2011

A Strange Sight



Yesterday I was talking about the Amish and Mennonite way of life, so I thought today I would post this little scene I came upon a couple months ago. It was in the Costco snack bar that I saw this young couple with their two small children. I'm assuming they are Mennonite, and they were set apart from the world up to a point. You see, the woman had on a very conservative dress down to the floor, and wore a head covering. But the man wore jeans, a T-shirt, and had a Bluetooth in his ear! This is an extremely unusual sight. I can only guess that the woman is much more conservative in her beliefs that the man. But odds are that they did not drive to Costco in a horse and buggy!! To see an Amish softball game and how the women have to dress in ninety degree weather, CLICK HERE. Not good for running.


"Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things."
Proverbs 23:33

31 comments:

Terra said...

This is interesting and a unique sight to see in Costco.

Anonymous said...

A very unique scene for sure.

Hoping you are feeling better dear Ginny.

Ann said...

very interesting. that scene would have me speculating.
No way would I want to dress like that to play softball. But then again I wouldn't want to dress like that to do anything in the heat

LV said...

I agree tat is not the norm for those families. I have the greatest respect for both beliefs. They all are very talented and kind. My dream is to go to The Amish country in PA.

Karin said...

That really does seem like - one of these things just doesn't belong here, lol! Yup, I can hear it now, it starts with small compromises, that slippery slope. I'm just chuckling here at the incongruity! Is your header really a photo of what it looks like around your place??? Hope you're feeling much better!

srp said...

We had a group of Mennonites in Mississippi and I NEVER saw the men dressed this way... then again, we didn't have a Costco or a Sam's... so. ;)

When we gave my folks their 50th anniversary party we had her cake duplicated... they made a replica and I found a topper that was almost identical... except with the woman in a golden gown and both with gray hair. We had to make extra sheet cakes because her original cake fed only 75 and we had 225 at the 50th anniversary party.

Sue @ Not the Good Scissors! said...

Very interesting. I have always thought the Amish lifestyle was interesting. I am always amazed when a simple lifestyle can survive these modern and often crazy times. There is something to be said about living simply. It just seems so uncomplicated.

Hope you are feeling better.

Rose said...

I noticed that bluetooth first thing--also this brought up another observation/line of thinking. That is the Amish men always wearing black....even in the summer.

I used to work in an apple orchard and you would not believe the difference the color of clothing can make in how hot you feel? I had jeans and then I also had off-white painter's paints...in summer I wore the painter's pants 90% or the time and really suffered if I wore dark colored jeans.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Something tells me that deep down inside,this couple would like to be more like everyone else.

Reanaclaire said...

From the book, the Amish are not contributing to the world pollution like us, they are using natural way of living, no electrical and mobile phones.. well, i guess the book does not go into the details.. but it is indeed an eye opener for me, now i know more about Amish ...

RoeH said...

And everytime I think I could live that lifestyle, I think of the dresses. I could not do that. I dress up every Sunday to go to church but it's gotta be somethin' pretty important to get me to put on a dress any one of the other 6 days. My mother always wore a house dress.

And always tried to get me out of Levi's.

She never succeded.

SquirrelQueen said...

The headset does seem very out of place. This kind of fits in with a thought I had about your post yesterday. Are the younger generations of Amish keeping to the beliefs? This young couple seem to be an example of possible changes to come. Just pondering a thought.

Annie Jeffries said...

Proverbs was right on.

DawnTreader said...

That does seem a strange sight. One can't help but wonder how it is looked upon by other family and friends of theirs.

Yasmin said...

This is a really interesting post to read! I hope the family remains happy :)

Wishing you all the best.

Cheers,
Yas
www.tickle-your-tastebuds.blogspot.com

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

It is strange how the women seem to be held behind. Such as some other religions also....

Shug said...

How interesting! Of course, I find people that can seperate themselves from the world very interesting....

A beautiful new header you have here...Was this picture taken in your area? I always enjoy hills and mountains....We have few of them in our area...
Have a wonderful weekend...
hugs to you...
shug

aspiritofsimplicity said...

Maybe he was a cousin or something who was no longer in the faith.

MadSnapper said...

I am wondering if she is Mennonite and he is not. it is a strange sight indeed but they look happy, they are smiling and playing with the baby. i just had a thought, maybe it is a friend or an uncle to the baby and not a dad.

Stephanie V said...

I love those kinds of incongruities...thanks for snapping the pic!

The rolls of hay in your header remind me of Weetabix! We hardly ever see them naked here. They have to wear plastic raincoats LOL

Lynn said...

Ginny, Your scripture fit this picture perfectly. Very conflicting impressions in that scene. As a writer and photographer and always a "dreamer", I wonder if this man was not the "husband/father" but merely a friend not of the same beliefs as the women. Outward appearances can be so deceiving at times. Not to take away from the very interesting conflicting impression of this scene...just saying. Thank you for stopping by my blog and your "sermans" are always welcomed on my blog. Did I just do one too? Each day, Ginny is one day closer to full recovery with your hand in HIS. Blessings, Lynn

George said...

This is a very fascinating picture. Thanks for sharing it with us. I hope you can soon get out to get more interesting pictures to share with us.

Fred Alton said...

Thank you for sharing this post about the Amish/Mennonite way of life. I don't know why I missed the post of the ladies playing softball in those long dresses and with their heads covered. Our own tradition in the COG was that women should dress with long dresses and should have long hair. In the Carribean, all of our churches taught that women must wear a hat to church. There are still pockets of these teachings within our denomination - but for the most part we have moved away from them. Maybe too far! I always read with interest what you write about church tradition.

S. Etole said...

That's an interesting proverb as well as a sight.

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Interesting shot!

Anonymous said...

I wonder if they ordered hot dogs or pizza?

I love Costco hot dogs and a big berry sundae to top it off. Then a long nap :-)

Deborah said...

Hi! That was very interesting, are you Amish? I know you have talked about your religion, but I can't remember! LOL, that is why I make a good friend, you can tell me the same story and I like the story just as much as the first time you told me! hehehehe
Have a nice weekend. I'm hoping you are feeling better!
xxoo
Deborah

Chatty Crone said...

I wonder if it was by choice. In some cultures men can wear swimsuits and women in full gear from head to toe - we saw that at White Water the other day - our water park. They both got wet though and I was glad for the woman!!!!!!!!

Update us on how you feel.

Neal said...

I'll have to admit that pictures like this baffle me (don't mean that in a critical way at all). I know it baffles me because I have preconceived ideas about the Mennonites and Amish.

Nature Rambles said...

So interesting! I clicked on the link and took a good look at the pictures. So uncomfortable that must be for the women!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue ι™ˆζ΄ι›ͺ said...

always interested in the Amish society.

Yesterday, we had a tiny taste of that.

When we came home from Church, the landline phone and internet was done.

We felt rather unease, especially I was away on Thursday and Friday and lots of visiting other bogs to catch up.

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