A cold wind blows through the old oak barn. Before reaching this point it must have blown past the grazing Belgium draft horses and the pony hitched to a cart, tied up at the edge of the barn. It would have blown past the jersey’s lining up to be milked and the fermented corn feed being placed in throughs. All of these smells now linger in the loft of the barn. They are comforting much like a warm blanket. Cats are longingly meowing, cows are anxiously mooing, and horses are neighing. These are typical farm sounds. Beyond the noise of the farm, the chirping of birds can be heard. This is such a peaceful place. These sounds are soon washed out but the roar of a generator, which is used to power a few lights and a milking machine. The roar is a reminder that this is a working farm. This farm is a business operation, but with one glance it is easy to tell how much more it really is. This farm is a home. It supports a family and a way of life. The Amish way of life could be considered simple, but it is anything but that. Each decision must be carefully weighed in terms of economic gain, how it will impact the family, and how it will affect the community. This generator while not complying with most of the outside world’s view of the Amish allows Kline’s family to continue to live the way they want. Without the generator, the farm would not be profitable. The conscious decision to use power allows the Kline family to not give up their entire lifestyle. As I fiddle with the car keys in my pocket I realize this is not a conscious decision I have ever made. I’ve never stopped and thought about my own dependency on the grid. It is a dependency so intertwined with my own life that I forget it is there. As David Kline talks about his life I wonder how different my life would be if I was more conscious of my use of electricity.
I really enjoyed how you created the setting using the wind blowing through the places! When you mentioned the generator, I originally thought you would make some commentary about how this natural, rural setting seemed interrupted by the noise it made, but instead you thought of the farm as a home, a business and a family, which adds another layer of depth and thought to the piece. Writing about the conscious decisions that the family makes on a large, day-to-day schedule was very interesting juxtaposed with the unconscious decision of you fiddling with your keys or thinking about your own lifestyle. I think it would be interesting to compare the lives of people outside the community and how they view the Anabaptist life style, and whether/how they are influenced by what they experience.