Wednesday, April 7, 2010

AMs Gone Wild

One of the main signs of Winter's end is a rite called "Spring Break". Cities in Florida, Mexico and any number of exotic destinations teem with jubilant high school and college kids. On Monday I discovered an entirely different twist to this phenomenon. On a mercy mission to Platteville, in search of discounted Easter chocolate, I encountered something that you won't see on the evening news. As I was driving along the highway something caught my eye. There was a bunch of cute little asses frolicking in a nearby field. Determined to investigate a little closer I zigged and zagged until I found a road that led to that field. As I came over the crest of a hill I found myself in the midst of a scene that would have made teenagers around the world shudder. I had run across, what seemed to be, an Amish Spring Break. On the right side of the road there were groups of boys, fully attired in their blue shirts, black trousers and vests and, naturally, their flat brimmed straw hats. They were engaged in what looked like a completely unorganized game of volleyball. Meanwhile, across the road, sitting on bank of the ditch were their female counterparts. The girls, dressed their black, ankle length frocks, watched admiringly. The astonishing thing about this scene was, there were forty or fifty teenaged kids and not one cel phone, IPod or laptop anywhere in sight. How do they communicate? I really wanted photos of this (probably would have been worth thousands on Ebay) but I live around these people and do respect their "I don't want my picture taken" policy. So with due respect I drove until I was out of sight then I swung a uturn and found a vantage point on a nearby hilltop where I could sneak a shot or two without being detected. I don't think the kids mind but them bearded parents (mainly the Amish men) are a tough bunch armed with pitchforks and biblical curses. I also managed to get a shot or two of those cute little asses that caught my attention initially. A short distance from the main party scene, as I approached the Big "M" (Explanatory story at a later date. This will be a subject for another Wisconsin Hystery Blog) I noticed a small splinter group of Amish kids climbing to the moundtop (like a hilltop only on the top of a mound) I popped off a shot or two pretending that I was shooting the "M".
All in all Monday was a pretty successful day, I experienced a ritual seldom seen by us Englishers and I scored big on leftover Easter candy at Walgreens. Can life get any better?

Amish Volleyball rules -
Thou shalt have no more than ten on a team, Thy buggy is out of bounds,
Thy ball in "Cow Pie" is still in playeth.


A chance meeting in the neutral zone. I think that's about as hot as it gets.

The girl's vantage point on the edge of the parking lot.
Notice, all those are the flashy sport model buggies.

A couple of those cute little "Spring Break" asses.
(And horses and cows.)

The Platteville "M".

A few kids viewing, probably, the only part of the world they've ever seen!