AMISH BUGGIES & IMPATIENT DRIVERS

In Amish country, I have the opportunity to see a lot of horse drawn  buggies on the road. Each is different. I never recognize one from the other even though there are telling signs because I am so intent on arriving at my destination. 

The buggy here is parked at a convenience store.  I snapped this picture because of the signage near the carriage and wondered, gee, is he stopping for a six pack? No, Amish don't drink alcohol. A soda pop every now and then, but usually their own garden tea or lemonade is more common among these folks. Like us, they may run out of something and have to make a pit-stop.  I cannot even fathom to guess why an Amish person stopped here as they are usually stocked for months on everything you can imagine.  

Sometimes I pass a Plain Person's carriage and admire the horse -- handsome trotters some times Indian ponies.  Drivers can be men, women and teens who are adept at handling their horses in some very fast and very reckless traffic. Usually they are off on the shoulder and never fully in the lane so the impatient drivers can pass. Those who live in the area are quite used to buggies.  

Still, there are accidents. Unfortunately I saw the aftermath of an accident and it still stays with me.  The horse was on the pavement, the fright in the eyes made me want to try to help but I knew better,  the driver didn't care about himself but tended to the horse. 

The automobile driver was in tears and kept repeating that she "just didn't see him," which tells me that she was on the cell phone.  Cars everywhere stopped. It was just terrifying -- so unnecessary.

When on a cell phone, I've heard that people are "cell phone blind"  -- see the link here.

http://neuronarrative.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/just-how-blind-are-you-when-talking-on-a-cell-phone/  

And the lady must have had cell phone blindness, which surprises me because sometimes getting a signal is difficult.

After many months, the Amish man and his horse recuperated from the buggy rollover.  This time I recognized the vehicle.  He got special permission from his Bishop to put about 20 reflectives on the back of his buggy. 

I don't know what the state of the Amish lifestyle will be in 30 years as changes are invading the communities. We need to see the horse drawn carriages and need to slow down if only for a moment to reflect on their lifestyle, which seems so simple compared to our constant rushing around and tending to urgent text messages.

Every time I am in the heartland of this 150 year old community in SW Michigan, I treasure the "other" drivers.