Pennsylvania Travelogue - 16 July 2018

At a rest stop on the Pennsylvania turnpike, as I sat in my car in the parking lot waiting for a minor traffic snarl to clear, I noticed an elderly couple walking out from the main building. The lady was dressed in traditional Amish garb, a plain blue dress with a white lace apron and lace cap. The man’s outfit was plain, as well, but not as closely typed to the community. If had seen him walking by himself, I would not have know that he was Amish. He wasn’t wearing a hat, and his clothing more more standard.

As they passed my car - I was stuck there for a while waiting for someone to figure out how to back out of a parking space - I noticed that an artificial hand protruded from the man’s right shirtsleeve, a stainless metal hook with one or two articulating, opposing “fingers.” It struck me that this was particularly unusual for someone from a culture that shuns modern technology. That said, I’m glad that the man made the decision to be fitted with the hand. I’m sure that it has made a difference in the quality of his life.