Amish birthing

A few interesting Amish in the news items to share today:

HILLSDALE, MICHIGAN - Amish birthing: An Amish mom had the distinction of delivering the first baby of the new year at the hospital's birthing center. I found this article incredibly insightful on several levels. First, it illustrated the wide spread among the Amish in thinking. Some - like this Mom - are very mainstream/conventional in their thinking. She delivered the baby in the hospital and will happily use Pampers and other amenities. While many other Amish mom's would never dream of delivering in a hospital unless there was a problem and eschew Pampers and Huggies for cloth diapers. So it's just an interesting article, click here to read!

ORIGINS OF SAUERKRAUT AND PORK FOR NEW YEAR'S: The Amish didn't start the tradition, but many do eat sauerkraut and pork on New Year's. How did this pairing begin? Why not steak and sauerkraut? Why pork? Read more here.

AMISH IDs: short story, but it could have big implications. Illinois may suddenly become a lot more appealing for Amish because the state has put into law a statute that exempts Amish from having to carry a picture ID. Instead they will be required to carry a state ID card that relies on a fingerprint technology for security purposes. Seems like a sensible solution! Read more here.

AMISH IN ARABIC: Regulars know that I have a soft spot for anything Middle Eastern because I spent most of my childhood in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia (my Dad worked for a US steel company and they sent us over there). Can anyone actually read this article? Maybe one or two of you:) I can still write my name in the beautiful script of Arabic that I learned when I was a kid, but I can only speak a word or two of it now. To think I used to speak it so fluently that my Mom would rely on me to tell the local cab drivers where we needed to go. SIGH, how malleable the mind is when a child....I did do a Google translation on the featured article and it's really just a typical puff piece about the Amish, nothing ground-breaking in it. But the photos are dreadful, no clue where they got them. They are either very disrespectful photos or they were taken with permission in a very liberal Amish sect.