Got some interesting Amish in the News today.  This first one makes me wistful, as did the Vanilla Ice/Amish series on the DIY Network.  People who have been around Amish365.com awhile know that a couple of years ago I spent months "in the trenches" working on putting together a respectful, wholesome Amish-themed reality TV show (I was approached by producers, not vice-versa).
After six months of work, I realized that what I was looking to do and what the producers were looking to do just didn't mesh. Â Most reality TV production companies want screaming and shouting and contrived drama.
I felt you could be entertaining and educational while being respectful. I still believe that. I will share my whole experience someday in a book tentatively entitled "My Amish Reality."
In the meantime, Â RFD-TV is coming out with its own three-part Amish "mini-series."Â RFD (which I had never heard of until today) looks like it is rolling out its own offering about the Amish which it says has been two years in the making (interestingly, reality TV's attention has focused now pivoted obsessively to all things Alaska, RFD must have jumped on the Amish bandwagon when it was at its peak and is now stuck with a show after a lot of Amish interest has waned)....that said, from what little I can glean, The Amish Horseman seems like it might have merit.
The show features Enos Yoder, one of the founders of the Colorado Amish settlement in the Sangre de Cristo Valley.   It is very difficult - not impossible - but very difficult to find any Amish willing to participate in TV projects.  After an exhaustive search I actually DID find some Amish families willing to be part of a show, but at the end of the day the producers and myself just had different visions.   Anyway, click here to read more about "The Amish Horseman" from an RFD-TV release.  A short trailer is posted to YouTube which you can watch here.  I absolutely plan to watch The Amish Horseman and want to try to track down the producers for an interview.  Oh, and so you don't all email me asking me if RFD is shown in your area:), click  here to see if it is (in my Cincinnati area it is offered on TWC as Channel 229) MENNONITE BAG LADY:  This is one of those "feel good" stories, a 92-year-old Mennonite woman in Pennsylvania makes hand-stitched (well, she uses a sewing machine, so maybe that is not the same...hand-operated machine-stitched.?..sorry, don't know my sewing terminology!)  Anyway, this woman cranks out beautiful bags that are used by the Mennonite Central Committee to fill with school supplies and goodies for needy, impoverished children across the globe.  I'm sure having that nice, lovingly made bag adds just that extra sparkle to the children's eyes.  Neat story and just goes to show that you can contribute meaningfully at any age! MAINE CRASH:  Four Amish children were injured, fortunately none with life-threatening injuries, when a pick-up truck hit their cart.  The horse did die. Click here to read more.
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