Amish Invasion

I am wondering how many posts I will write with the pre-text "I am not making this up."

You might be better off assuming it's in front of every post.

Last night, I was invaded. A big white van slowly pulled into the parking lot of our store. It pulled around the outside borders of our parking lot and settled next to one of the store doors, nestled neatly in a parallel parking spot.

They promptly exited the vehicle and entered the store. There were at least 20 of them. All wearing long shirts, cotton pants and suspenders.

I didn't know if they were Mennonites or Amish, but I wasn't afraid to ask. They were Amish. Most of them were teenagers. They were headed home, coming from "stinking Indiana" as their driver put it.

Their driver really didn't appear to be Amish at all. Truth be told, he weirded me out a little. Not the type of person you'd expect to be driving Amish around, that's for sure.

They used the bathroom. Some of them bought snacks. One used a credit card.

I've met some weird people working nights. This was the first time that I've really encountered a large group of Amish youth, but I was more surprised at the other customers coming in, and how they didn't know how to react.

Think about it. We are so dependent on technology. This blog couldn't be possible without it. Most of what I do in my life wouldn't be possible without electricity, much less without modern technology. Yet this group of people choose to live without it. As I understand it the youth are allowed to go out and explore it when they come of age, and a fair number of them choose to go back to their simpler lives. It makes for some interesting thought and concepts.

Nevertheless, this certainly was the most post-worthy visit I got last night. The Amish Invasion of Speedway. I wonder how many of them were buying candy for the first time...

Next shift is tonight.