The ole wringer washing machine

Isn't this a funny thing to find in an elementary building? Maybe not, since I was out in the middle of Amish country. Or, at least on the cusp. Holmes county in Ohio is more Amish, but my districts border the edges. There are a lot of Amish children in the schools.

So, to find an old wringer washing machine in a little elementary is no surprise. This elementary is just now getting fiber Internet connection and dis-connecting their T1 line.

In an area of the county where you watch for Amish buggies as you drive and pass several houses that have no electrical poles leading into their homes, and the wash hangs on the line outside - this is not such a rarity.

Flashback

A photo from August 2006. Holmes county, Ohio.

Unusual

There is a small greasy spoon located in the back of a bulk general store that I visit once in a while. I always commented to family and friends on the selection of hot sauces that they carry. This is only one side of the display rack. The other side was almost as full. The day I was there I asked if I could take pictures and I was granted the privilege.

My intent was to show the wide range of selection and a couple of bottles with the "f" word on the label to share a laugh with family. I did not know there were far more "colorful" labels to be seen until I shot a couple of close ups.

I may show some of the individual bottles. Some are funny. Most have the "f" word and there are two that I probably will NOT show. They border on pornographic (and I use the word "border" ambivalently). This is a public place. It has been around for years. The area is NOT blocked off so any innocent child can stumble across the colorful label just as I did. The more risque labels were NOT placed high on the shelf. I think they are about mid-way and can be viewed by almost any age group.

You can find the place  yourself. Here is their link:

http://www.theunusualjunction.com/ 

Located next to this dress shop:

http://www.universebridalandprom.com/ 

Another comical aspect to this story is the fact that they push the deli products that they sell as "Amish" cheese and meats. I just wonder if any innocent unsuspecting Amish person browsed the hot sauces and were like "WTF?" You know  -  just wondering.

For the record I have never seen any Amish in the place.

Just what am I supposed to say?

You know, after 16 years of working with schools I probably have said it all. I didn't say I've seen it all or heard it all. I pretty much have said it all.

Let's just get that out of the way. I hate to sweat.

Picture it. A little tiny, dinky town. The elementary is still functioning. Barely. To the west is an Amish county with little to no electricity in their schools. Not much Internet need there. To the North is the wide world of Ohio Industry. The schools are getting along pretty well there. To the South - elementary buildings are closing and the school district is combining into a campus environment. To the East - little city schools - still managing to barely hold their own.

This elementary will probably close next year or the next. No money is being shoveled into it. Their Internet connection is down. I am fighting with the telco. They say it is my equipment, I say it isn't. I swap out my equipment - twice. In that hot, dirty, dark, and tiny wiring closet that I am so used to seeing in every tiny, dinky elementary in rural Ohio.

Sigh. I am no longer 35 years old. I am 51. I am older. I am premenopausal. Is that a word? Hell if I know. Hell if I care. I am hot. I am grouchy. I am getting a headache.The sweat literally pours off my head and into my face. I have no idea where it comes from. It is like I conjure it up out of nowhere. Is it menopause? Ladies? My sisters tell me of night sweats but they don't have this soaking sweat that I seem to experience during the daytime. I do not have night sweats.

Then I look like pure S.H.I.T. My hair is plastered to my head. My face is soaked with moisture. My glasses are steamed up (I have only worn glasses all the time the past year; so I am not completely knowledgeable about how to maintain them while it is raining or while I am sweating profusely). My clothes are sticking to me.

Anyway. The tiny, dark closet is just off the teachers lounge. They come in for lunch. I get the usual. "Are you going to FIX us?"  "Are we still down?"  Here's a tip. If I am still there and you don't see me packing my equipment up - you are STILL down! That question irks me. 

Sorry. It has been SIXTEEN years of the same questions. The same circumstances. Me fighting the telco. For the record I have been wrong a few times. For the record - the telco has been wrong 90% of the time. I swap out my equipment. Twice. Still down.

The secretary comes back. "Are we going to be up today?"  Gee, let's see. Maybe. I am not sure if I have sweated (Yes, blogger I looked this word up in dictionary.com) enough in this dark, hot, dirty closet. I think I'll  keep you down a little bit longer because THAT'S HOW I AM! I AM A MEAN BITCH AND I  HATE ALL OF YOU! And I just love, love, love being in this dirty little closet with no air conditioning - no Internet connection - no cell phone service. It is like the sweat box in prison, I would imagine. Except I have to think and try to troubleshoot. I can't sleep or zone out. No, I have to work. Thank you, but please let me stay in here another hour!

But no........

I smile and tell her that I have done the best that I can do. I have swapped out my equipment twice, but that the equipment is pretty old. She asked me why their tiny little elementary were not getting the new equipment after I explained to her that all other districts were going to fiber. She said they were supposed to get broadband in the area. I smiled weakly at her. I asked her if this little town had cable television. She said "No." Sigh. I said "Then you probably won't have fiber any time soon."

I did say "Is there industry that supports education around here?" She said "Yes" and named a business. I said "Contact them and see if they will put fiber in for you." It was a cheap shot and I knew she would probably not call them, but at least I had a suggestion instead of shrugging my shoulders and saying "You are S.O.L."

She left. What happened to the lottery money that education was supposed to get? I found out by reading the following URL's:

http://www.wlwt.com/money/27667257/detail.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/17/cbsnews_investigates/main3269456.shtml

Thank-you lying politicians. Thank-you Mr. Greed.

I painfully do what I am supposed to do and instead of making a beeline for my car and A/C I stop in at the office to sign out properly. I am handed a mercy ticket. The secretary has stepped away from her desk. I quickly sign out and slip out the front door to the sanctuary of my car.

And the wikipedia article on state lottery had one mention of education - it was in their slogan. No mention of school funding. Surprised? Yeah, me too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Lottery

And you know what? While I am totally disgusted, let me mention a movie. "Brooklyn's Finest."  If there is anything I hate more than sweating, it is watching R Gere in a sex scene. For the love of God man - give it up! Stop it!

God, Cindy -four years? Really?!

Fishing on the lake

In mid may I captured this shot on the larger lake in my area. I had my camera about five days and was still messing around. My nephew explained to me if I zoomed in farther than 35mm I was just cropping the shot with the camera and I was better off to turn the digital zoom off and crop the picture with a software program.

He took a lot of pictures Sunday at a family cook-out and he just loves the camera. If it gets his approval, then I feel I made the right choice. About three people wanted to know where, what kind and how much the camera was.

I am much too lazy for an SLR and I just want to have fun with the camera without seriously getting into the technical details of the machine and the processing. I love the resulting images of the SLR and maybe some day when I feel more comfortable with finances and shooting I can go that route.

Is it real or is it memorex?

Found and scanned this old photo in. Do you believe that? Not true. It was actually just taken on Saturday the 20th and I used the "antiquing" feature from the free photo program I downloaded. Photoscape.

It actually looks like this:

It was taken in the Amish country when we stopped here to get some apples. 

Speaking of apples, do you eat the entire apple? I mean core and all? Some folks do. I don't. Golden Delicious are my favorite. With salt.

Here is what my sister purchased. She was SO nice and left them at my house for me to enjoy. Ah, gee.... thanks a LOT!

Chocolate! Speaking now of chocolate, my daughter's beau made the remark "For two women living in this house, there sure isn't very much chocolate."  I looked at him incredulously. "D'oh! That's just the point! We EAT it all before it has a chance to sit around waiting for somebody else to find it!"  I then laughed and showed him a secret stash that my sister had brought. Ah, sisters. I neglected to tell him that I actually hide all the chocolate for myself. My daughter quipped "I don't like chocolate."  Hmmm. What is wrong with that girl?

I hope to have a busy and productive day. I'd better get started as it is almost eleven and I have been up since six. I want to make cranberry bread again! I'll post more pictures if I do.

Spice of Life

I made a quick run out to the Am!sh country yesterday to stock up on some goodies for the upcoming holidays. I may give some as gifts and I may use them for get togethers. I purchased about five of each of the jars shown above. The hot pepper jelly is not near as hot as I'd like it to be, but that may work for some folks who don't like it all that hot. There is sweet & hot mustard and hot relish mustard and peanut butter spread (which I don't happen to like, but many do) and the various mustards I use with my cheese and meat tray for folks to dip their trail bologna into.

And, I stock up on cream cheese when it is on sale. I don't purchase too far ahead because I do not like it after I have frozen it. It just does not work well in the recipes after it has been frozen.

And, cheese. I purchased about five blocks of cheese. Farmer, butter, jumpin' jack, baby Swiss and mild Colby. I am just hoping that the cheese can last until the Thanksgiving holiday at least. (wink, wink).

As usual the store was packed full. It is a small store and very crowded. There are bulk candies and bulk flour, noodles and other baking goods. Spices galore. All in huge amounts. I also try not to purchase too much of a spice at one time because I feel it also goes stale.

I made plans to see Secretariat today. I hope it is worth it. After, I am going to sister 1949's house. She fell and broke her wrist. Sister 1944 is meeting me there. We are going to do dishes etc... to help out. 

I saw a few snow flurries while out walking the dogs yesterday early morning. They were pretty to look at while under the street lights but I know the havoc they will bring. Bittersweet feelings. My boxer's sweater is too hard to get on him. It fits too tight. While at the boarding place he chewed through his harness. I just got him a collar this time. He doesn't care for it, but he will have to adjust. He tries to move away from the leash leaning on him as I walk him so he ends up walking sideways most of the time. It is kind of funny.

Well, I used my extra hour today in my sleep, so I better get a shower and get crackin'. Making a new cheese ball today with dried beef, green onions, cream cheese.... I'll get my camera out and take pics. The above pic was taken with my phone and I am not real good at it yet. I did download some retro camera features that I am playing with. Here is one looking at the skyline sitting in my car  from across the store. I think I used the "toy camera" feature for this one.

A dirty picture

My nephew gave me some canned air and monitor wipes for Christmas. I put them to good use over the long week-end. I did some cleaning. My computer really needed it. Cripes!

My Honda dealership took care of my low tire pressure indicator today and put my new plates on the car. They were out of keys, so they ordered some and I'll have to go back. They didn't charge me a dime for the other stuff. Very nice.

I have a lot less anxiety to come home to now that the pups are caged while I am gone. Or, crated. Whatever. However, they did manage to get my glasses one more time and I paid a visit to my eye doctor again today to get new tips put on again. They laughed.

I had a migraine all day Sunday. I slept most of the day away. Didn't get much done other than taking the dogs out to do their business every 3 or 4 hours. Then, I slept all night. Wow. Today all I needed was the usual generic acetaminophen. I have not switched back to Advil (or ibuprofin) since my surgery, I'll stick with acetaminophen for a while. Until it doesn't work anymore.

I read an article today about puppy mills and it just made me sick to my stomach. Please spread the word around to all your friends and families.

Stop puppymills.

Stop puppyfarms.

Do not buy from pet shops.

Do not buy from the Amish.

So many people (tourists) believe the Amish to be a fine, peaceful and admirable group of people. That may be so in most cases, but they do not believe in kindness to animals. They are a stern and simple people. They do not have room for anything they (or their beliefs) consider excessive. Animals are put on the earth to serve mankind (they say this comes from the Bible, I don't know) and that if the animal is no longer useful, it can be discarded or destroyed.

I am not knocking their way of living. To each their own. I just want to help spread the word so that many people do not mistakenly purchase a puppy from an Amish puppy mill thinking that this critter was well taken care of by these peaceful and loving people.

Sigh. NOW I need the acetaminophen.

Another go

Tis the Season again tonight. I purchased a few purple decorations for a name that I have in a gift exchange. She has a tree that she decorates all in purple. Beautiful.

My choice would be blue, of course.

I went with some co-workers. We ate afterwards at an Amish restaurant. They had ham loaf on special. Since I never make it, I try to order it when I can. My daughter does not like it at all. I didn't either when I was young. If it is made right, I really like it.

I came home and the dogs had torn open a bag of garbage that I had set by the door but forgotten to take out. It was the bag with the bagged kitty litter. Of course. So, the first thing to do was to clean up that mess. I had to run the shop vac before I could vacuum.

We purchased a new sweeper a week ago and tried it out. After we swept, we set it aside. Yep it works. It wasn't five minutes before my daughter yelled "Slade!" Yep. he had almost chewed completely through the cord.

I yi yi.

Well, the headache is starting. Off to bed.

Jumping the Season a bit

Three of my sisters and I plus one friend and two toddlers headed to Amish country Wednesday. I spent 12 hours away from home. I'm sure my doctor would think I was nuts, but I rested as often as I could. I was not driving (of course) so I rested during stops.

The kids were a handful. My stipulation was that we stop at Tis the Se@son in Berl!n. I like this place for many reasons. The first is color. My eyes get a virtual kaleidoscope of color when I visit this 3 story shopping chalet. 2nd reason is they allow you to take pictures. And, they smile when you ask. I ask each time I go - just in case they change their policy.

Yes, some of the decorations are redundant but it never ceases to surprise me with new trees, new color schemes and new arrangements.

When we arrived home, I had more energy than when we left. I spent thirty more minutes walking the boxer before I went inside and retired for the evening. The kids talked me into playing a little bit of P!ctionary with them. I told them to have mercy, I had laughed all day and I certainly was sore. My sides hurt from coughing and my cheeks hurt from laughing. There was no mercy. I finally quit and went to bed.

I have mentioned to many that I am getting a pink tutu for my boxer and am dressing him up for Halloween. My daughter wants to do bat outfits for the pups. I said "Well, we'll have to dress Sable up as well." They asked "As what?" I replied, "A barrel, of course!"

It's that little green car again, Pa

I think I may have passed this buggy 4 times today.

I believe it was the same family. I passed them once while going to the school. Then I passed them when I went back and towards another school. I needed to check back at the first school and I passed them again, then when I went to drive back to my office, I saw them yet again. I figured I would see them, so I had my camera ready.

This was over a three hour period. It was very hot today. In the closets it felt like it was a hundred degrees. The sweat was rolling down the back of my neck. My only solace was my little car and the air conditioner.

I did have success today, though. Got the elementary buildings connected.

I've mentioned before that we are planning our first family reunion in August. My sister sent me an address of a cousin. I went to add their email address into my contact list. They use "we.serve.the.lord" and I accidentally typed in "we.serve.the.lard". I started laughing and I could not stop. I had tears running down my face. I think I have found my new email address.

I watched "Gran Torino" over the week-end. I had read a book on the Hmong people about a year ago. I don't think I liked the movie or it's message very much. Did he change in the end? Did he stop being prejudiced? He is eating dinner at his neighbor's house and he calls them "fish heads?" Really? I thought it was a little out of character for him to warm up to the family like he did. And calling the black gang "spooks?" and using "gooks" and what was with the slang term "slopes?" Was it a cocaine reference or was it a reference to their slanted eyes? Was he trying to be an Archie Bunker type? I get it in the end. How he handled the situation so that it turned out better for everyone he cared for. But, seriously. Christopher Carley really creeps me out.

Two things I did really like about the movie. I had a '73 Gran Torino (his was a '72) and PBR. That beer ruled in the mid-70's!

showers

Sister 1944 at her bridal shower 1968 - me on the right at 8 yrs old

Speaking of showers, it is very cloudy outside. They promised sunshine for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The clouds had better clear out or they will have me to deal with.

We are off to Sugarcreek for meat and cheese. What do I tell family and friends when they ask me about Amish country? NEVER go on a Friday or Saturday. NEVER. Of course everything is closed on Sundays.

So it is Friday and we are off to Amish country. Color me stupid.

weigela

My Mom's weigela bush by the back door to her old house

I should have seen if I could grab some shoots off of this plant. I'd probably need to go in the spring to get them. This shrub has a nice memory of my childhood. It attracts many bees and I give them plenty of respect, they are not my favorite, but it also attracts the humming birds.

I don't recall it having much of a scent but it is pretty and it blooms a lot at one time. Something that stood the test of time. It was there in the 60's and the photo above is from a week ago.

My computer started acting wonky yesterday or the day before, I can't recall. When I would read others' blogs, I kept getting messages from the browser stating that this site was not secure and that the certificate was not certified, blah, blah, blah. I thought to myself "Well, what have they changed, now?" I was also having trouble logging into my web mail. I also thought that my cable company had changed something.

Then, I saw it. As I am smack dab in the middle of scrambling around cleaning, working and preparing for my daughter's graduation party (THIS SATURDAY!) I am keeping a close eye on the time. I get up in the morning. Feed the critters. Get my cup of coffee and sit down, check my e-mail and read a long list of blogs.

Next blog, wait. Do I have enough time? Check the time. Computer says 1:27 p.m. WTF? I am still on my first cup of coffee! I got up at 6:30. (Week of working vacation). September 2004? I hear in my head "There's something strange, in the neighborhood..." from Ghostbusters theme song. Hmmm. I must check into that. Things didn't click for me, yet.

I went to log into my blog to post and I got the message "this certificate won't be available until March 2009...." something like that. THEN it all clicked. I changed my computers' date and time and all is well again. I can read my email without a nasty certificate warning. I can read others' blogs without "this page is not secure..."

But what happened with the time? It must have been wonky for a few days because I have been having problems that long. Hmmm. I must check into that. Sigh. I suppose it is the system's battery. My computer is a 2003 Dell XPS Gen 2.

No movies to comment on, haven't had time to watch any. :-( Nothing to update about work because I haven't been there (YAY!). Just getting ready for the big blast. The sumo setup comes at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. (URL is from the UK). I rented mine locally, but they do not have photos of the setup. I rented the setup for my daughter and her friends, but I am thinking my family is going to get a bit rowdy (after a few beers) and put these suits on.

Weeks ago when I began planning this I even called my insurance company to see if my policy covered this type of entertainment. My agent loved the idea so much she looked into renting something similar for her son's graduation party and yes, I'm covered. She wanted a bull-riding setup but I don't think they carried that.

I was sent some pictures recently from my sister. They are from her wedding shower (October 1968). I was 8 years old. I was always with my oldest sister during this time and there I am in my brown hair, curled up in the 60's flip. She was wearing a faux hairpiece in this style. With not near as much hair as the photo shown. I have two sisters born with gobs of hair and two sisters with much thinner, finer hair. I always liked to think that I was somewhere in between. Not full and curly, but not as thin and fragile.

Well, time's a wastin'. I have the downstairs bathroom to clean up and then we are off to the party place for one last super purchasing spree. If there is time I am headed out to Amish country this evening for meat and cheeses (YUM!). If not, tomorrow morning will work for that trip. The Amish close early.

So far, here is the food lineup:

hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill (my daughter's request)
meat and cheese tray (for folks who stay hours and want to soak up the alcohol.. I mean nibble!)
rigatoni
calico beans
special coney sauce for the dogs
macaroni salad
pasta salad
veggie pizza
relish tray (veggies and olives/pickles)
7 layer taco dip
cheese/nacho dip (my daughter's request)
cheese ball w/crackers
fruit bowl
brownies
lemon bars
chips
pretzels
mints
peanuts
punch
pop
beer

and the cake, of course!

Plum Cat

Isn't she/he pretty? I could not resist taking a picture of this beautiful cat posing in a store at the Swiss Festival. It ended up being a beautiful day weather-wise although it was a bit close and muggy. I did get a migraine right in the middle of this store and I took medicine. I had to lay low and walk and talk easy for a couple of hours, but for the most part the headache did not progress after that. Whew.

There was an elderly gentleman that kept trying to get my daughter to dance with him. I YouTubed him. If you want to see him you can go to www.youtube.com and perform a search on "happy feet Swiss festival" and it should bring up 2 videos. He was good but my daughter did not care for our teasing her about him. LOL!

His steps at the end of the first video reminds me of clogging and river dancing. My Mom said my dad was a good clog dancer back in the day.

We ate at our favorite restaurant, Der Dutchman. I only ate my mashed potatoes (craving salt during a migraine) and took the rest home. Roast turkey, dressing and green beans. It made for a great supper later in the evening when I was feeling better.

Once the rain began, my headache dispersed. It took it a while.

I purchased 6 mums that I hope to get in my front yard today or at least this week. It is cloudy and rainy out today.

I tried to talk politics a couple of times yesterday with my friends. They didn't seem to want to, so I dropped the subject. They did want to talk economy, though.

My friends and daughter had a good time laughing at me. I am the type of person that talks to strangers. Anything can spark my conversation. I usually zero in on ones with children. I read the parents' response and reaction. If their face reads "back off" I back off. If they smile and reply to what I say, then I chat a while. A lot of folks brought their pooches to the festival also. I told my daughter we will take Sable the next time we go. The dogs made for great conversation starters.

We caught the tail end of some Alpine horn players. I think they would have performed again, but there was a loud polka band (Mr. Happy Feet) just a couple of blocks away and the horns would not have been heard. Sigh. I so wanted to get a video of them playing. YouTube has plenty of samples.

When we went to the popular Amish market to purchase meats, dry goods and baked goods it was swamped. The bakery was wiped out. It was elbow to elbow tourists mixing in with the regular Saturday Amish shoppers. Forget trying to navigate a buggy. This is where I purchased my mums for $3.79 each. Great big huge, blooming ones and some with lots of buds. In my area they are $4.69 each.

My daughter had wanted a pumpkin roll. They didn't even have frozen ones. So, I got out my last can of canned pumpkin and made pumpkin bars of my own. I found a recipe that looked interesting and they are cooling now, waiting to be iced. I also made the cream cheese icing. I hope they turn out good. Or, at least edible.

Edit: No worries about the pumpkin bars being edible. You just need a big glass of cold milk or a cup of hot coffee to go with.

Amish house? Yes, No?

I thought it was an Amish house. The bird feeder, no electricity lines visible, drab-colored clothes on the line. The car in the driveway threw me off a bit. Maybe it is just company visiting. I see a basketball hoop, but no trampoline.

This photo was taken whilst I was looking for the falls. I see a lot of house like this in Amish country. Holmes county Ohio.

I am really getting back into the music life. I confiscated my daughter's iPod. She doesn't want it. She uses her Blackberry for everything. And now she has a Palm Pilot somebody gave her. Not sure what she can do with that. I passed on it. She is having fun with it. Checking it out, seeing what she can do. She'll tire of it soon enough and forget about it.

I have finished reading a memoir by Pete Hamill. "A Drinking Life." Since I drank a lot in my past days, it caught my eye.

Exposed to the elements

Every summer I place my old CD player out on my patio. I get it out before my party so we have music. It sits in the middle of the patio so if rain comes in on either side, it usually is safe. This past week we go such a downpour it got wet. Whoops. I am giving it a good week of sunshine to dry out before I try it this week-end.

Not been blogging because I have been reading. I checked out "The Mistress's Daughter" by A.M. Homes and "Crazy in Alabama" by Mark Childress. Funny thing is the movie "Crazy in Alabama" came on the other day and I had to watch it. I liked it. Melanie Griffith has a black wig, and I am not sure why. Her character in the book was blond. So far. Maybe she dyes her hair. I have not gotten very far.

And, I have been fixing a friend's laptop. She had a very annoying problem. The browser kept opening up and starting by itself. Window after window would open up at random. It was very annoying. I finally fixed it using a program called Malwarebyte Anti-malware from "www.besttechie.net". Great program. Fixed it after trying many other promised fixes.

And, I had unexpected company come to town. She is an older friend that isn't doing well, but tries to get out once a year with her daughter and grandson. This year they went to Amish country and stopped in to see me for the day. She can't breathe well in the hot, humid air.

So, July is flying by. As I knew it would after my party.

Baby of Audrey II

My peonies remind me of the blood-sucking plant from "Little Shop of Horrors". I have titled this one the baby of Audrey II. We like this movie. Levi Stubbs, the lead singer of The Four Tops played the voice of Audrey II. "Feed me! Feed me!"``

I received a letter from my sister. Sure enough, as soon as she is tucked away behind bars, the wife of the father of her daughter (the child with autism) files for adoption papers. My sister has access to a dinky typewriter and the number "1" does not work, so she mailed me the letter and asked me to re-type it. Which I did without hesitation.

Still dark and wet here in Ohio. I have flowers to plant, maybe tomorrow. A lot going on this week and the weather is not co-operating. I guess I'll be planting in the rain.

I am off to Amish country tonight to feast and shop. I doubt that I'll purchase anything, though. After purchasing the gas and my meal, I'd better save my money to pay bills. I'll still have a good time because I will be with great friends.

An interesting sentence from "Charlie Wilson's War":

"A bizarre mix of unsophisticated weapons was being handed over to tribesmen in sandals with no formal military training." (mujahideen).

And, this one:

"CIA strategists accepted the invasion as an unfortunate, irreversible fact of life."

Shady Dirt Road and an Amish "cult"

Why did I drive around the county on back dirt roads?

I gravitate to that lush drive between school buildings. Something to take me away from technology, wires and electronics. I can see me retiring among the Amish. Until I was made aware of this story.

This is the same group that is connected to the Amish guy in the garage at my sister's place. So, maybe retiring to that community is not in my best interest. Things certainly can escalate to a tragedy here. This sheriff is well-known for his unique ways of handling the community. You could say he has made a lot of enemies. However, I do agree with some of what he is saying in this video.

Quite an interesting development. Especially the way he keeps referring to this group as a "cult".