Talk fifty four.
Washington D.C., 08thApril
- It’s the first and only Easter Day in the USA. No one here has heard of the second one, and everybody has to go to work on Monday.
- The guests left at a decent hour - at 9pm. They came in at 1pm.
- The fried white sausage was a success. A little bit tough goose was not so.
- Forget the food. The white deep frozen vodka was very popular.
- So were the eggs in a variety of fashions.
- Don’t boast about that you prepped all that yourself!
- The girls bravely kept helping me.
- Of course. Renata sponsored the whole set. Teresa brought Polish delicacies, and Renata’s friend - Bożena - tried as much as she could to help arrange the food on platters.
- In any case, Polish Easter food pleased all the guests.
- With the exception of Renata's son, who preferred his American stuff which his mother had taken care of.
- She bought a variety of American processed food which seem inedible to me. But we shouldn’t criticize the tastes of others, shouldn’t we?
- Tomorrow we are going to Pennsylvania to Teresa and Leszek’s and are we going to drop in at the Amish village.
- To better understand what we are going to see tomorrow, which is so unbelievable because it’s happening in the twenty first century, I must quote Wikipedia:
”The Amish live in isolated communities where life is organized according to the precepts unwritten set of rules called the Ordnung, which regulates all aspects of everyday life - from the technology, which can be used, after the women's hairstyles and colour of the materials from which you can sew clothes. Men shave until their wedding, the married let their facial hair grow. Mustache is less tolerable because it’s are associated with belonging to the army, and the Amish are pacifists. They don’t practiced marriages with people outside the Community. The Amish do not accept modern technology. Do not use electricity (only the most orthodox churches), cars, television, photography and other modern inventions. They are almost entirely engaged in agriculture and crafts associated with it. The Amish put their principles above official law. That was the background of the conflicts between communities and the governments. As pacifists, they do not serve in the military and not serving the military training. In the 50s when was introduced compulsory social insurance, the Amish decided that for them it is a community insurance which provides protection, care of the sick and old. According to the principle of declining the help from the government, they refused to contribute in the social tax, which has led to raids of the treasury office on the farm seizures and auction of their goods. Finally, members of Congress released them from the social security tax. They do not take any unemployment benefits or any other form of social welfare from the state. For members of the community who have to bear the cost of treatment, they organize special funds for this purpose. The Amish do not send their children to public schools and believe that they do not need any education higher than primary to the age of 14 years. Because the U.S. education is compulsory until the 16th years of age, there have also been conflicts with the authorities. In 1972, the Supreme Court of the USA recognized their right to a limited education. The questions of religious doctrine do not differ very much from other Mennonites. Existing differences relate only to religious rituals. Amish Businesses have the lowest percentage of business failures among all companies in the U.S.
- Since they are so happy and successful, why wouldn’t the rest of the world accept their rules, so everyone would live happily ever after!
- All communes slowly fall. It's just a matter of time.
- Time passes. It’s a pity to waste it. Too bad, the Amish have only one life, too.
- That's what I think too, and why I envy you not to have wasted your years of youth, as I did.
- I didn’t have time to hide anything.
- Well, that's what I wanted to ask you. How did you manage your sexuality?
- You dare!
- Say what you want. You, in a technical school, how did you manage your arousing natural needs and hormone storm?
- Apparently the storm wasn’t that strong.
- It must’ve been very strong but you tried to suppress it. You didn’t do any sports, so, what would absorb the excess of the energy?
- The bike. Cycling and maybe more fiddling with the bike.
- Without disassembling it the ride itself wouldn’t have been fun as such?
- Apparently not. My bike let me unscrew it apart into pieces. Then I was fascinated with putting it back together in an improved version. At least it was what I thought.
- You scared your father quite successfully when he saw one day through the window that...
- It was much later when we had a Trabant.
- …on the pavement there it was, unscrewed apart into pieces, the Trabant, a successful acquisition in the commune times!!
- That was another stage of my hobbies. Cars. They absorbed me completely.
- This hasn’t changed much. Then came the computers. And you got lost!
- So, I’m a sort of a computer nerd. Quite amateurish.
- If I counted all the hours, especially the night hours, that you spent on the computer or its parts, it would be obvious that you’re not an amateur and a passionate professional.
- Are you jealous?
- Yes! Sometimes I feel cheated on. With your computer!
- I love computers because they gave me a sense of freedom.
- ???
- Quite early did I learn that I wasn’t alone with my oddity and therefore I accepted it without major problem.
- I really envy you! I was born too soon!
