Friday evening the youth group hosted a banquet at church for all those over 65. It was a splendid evening of enjoying to get to know these people. I was so delightful to begin to realize and observe the accumulated wisdom, stories, and sense of humor.
One man told me how he grew up in the Amish church. He was so sickly that he couldn’t get up during church to go outside with the other youth. They would stand around, talk, and smoke. He had to stay home from school one year and begin to read the bible and develop a conscience. All of his “healthy” friends that could party and smoke, have died before him. He is 89.
Another man told the story of three boys driving a cart one day, when one of them grew sleepy. He settled down in the back to sleep. As they approached the railroad, the others decided to have some fun. There dialog went something like this.
“Oh my, it’s going to be close.”
“We might not make it.”
“We’re not going to make it. The train is going to hit us.”
The resting young man was disturbed in his repose and alarmed by the conversation and the hazardous situation he thought he was in. He was so alarmed, in fact, that without bothering the verify the train’s existence, took a flying leap from the cart, landing gracelessly in the ditch.
Here are some pictures.