Saturday we went over to the York fairgrounds for the Vietnam Veteran Memorial dedication, they had been expecting 2,000 people, but it looked closer to 4,000. It was so hot and the sweat was rolling down my back for at least an hour. I took a few photo’s while we were there, but with so many people it was hard so we went back later so I could get a few shots without all the people. I wanted to share this dedication with everyone so thanks for stopping and reading.

The dedication of this memorial has been a long time coming and I think everyone showed up to show their support for these Veterans that were so ill treated upon their return home so many years ago. It would have been nice if we hadn’t had to strain to hear every word, the PA system wasn’t loud enough. I had warned Bill that they were doing a gun salute, but he still almost jumped out of his skin, a bad reaction he has to any loud noises thanks to fighting in Vietnam.

They were suppose to release doves, but if they did I certainly didn’t see them, but we did see a very strange thing, an Eagle flew in from God knows where an circled overhead at least 3 times and then flew back where ever it had come from. I tried to get a photo, but it was only the tops of the tree I managed to shoot, the darn Eagle didn’t stay still for me. I did manage to get a shot of the Apache helicopter that they had arranged to fly over, which was all to familiar to these Veterans.
Words On The Memorial

Below are the different colored stars on the bricks and what they designate.

Bills’ Brick

Vietnam Memorial Bronze Sculpture

Some Of The Crowd

Bill Was Impressed With The Dry Tamp

Apache Helicopter

I’ve always been curious about the Amish way of life and would go with Bort, my ex to some of the Amish farms in Lancaster when he would need something done for the horses. These people know how to survive without electricity and all of the modern conveniences of the outside world and are very hard workers. Not all Amish are farmers and some do hold jobs in the outside world yet they are able to still maintain their cloistered way of life.

Anytime I see something on TV about the Amish I usually watch. A few years back they had a reality show where they had a house and had gathered together  young Amish and English (as we’re called) young people for a show. I don’t recall what it was about now, but it was interesting at the time finding out about some of their beliefs and ways of life and it seems they were in the period of Rumspringa. Amish kids, not all seem to go wild, like a Spring break.

Rumspringa is derived from the Pennsylvania German term for “running around”) is an accepted rite of passage at the age of 16 in some Amish communities to basically go out and experiment with the outside world and many do this on weekends even while still living at home while others band together and rent an apartment. Apparently it’s a time to spread your wings and sow your wild oats and decide if you want to live on the outside or return and be baptized and live the Amish way of life. This period of time is actually looked on as a time of courtship and finding a mate.

It’s not that the Amish encourage their 16 year old teens to go out and drink, do drugs, shop, cut their hair, own and drive cars, have sex, own cell phones  and party their brains out, but it’s accepted and not many questions are asked if they do these things because they want them to be able to make an informed choice. They don’t baptize their young, they are very strict in their teachings and teach them morals and the accepted way of their beliefs and at 16 if they choose to experiment then it’s accepted, but when they decide to return and be baptized then Rumspringa is over.

Some choose not to go back after having a taste of independance and their own money  and decide to stay in the English world of corruption, but most do return to their homes and give up the outside ways. When we were riding the bike through the Buck in Lancaster I thought it was funny that a young Amish guy in his buggy was talking on a cell phone, they do buy them and hide them because they aren’t allowed in their homes. Teenagers are the same regardless of their culture and upbringing and they all want to experiment and during Rumspringa that is exactly what the Amish youth do.

Traveling around the blogs today I noticed many posts from people deciding if they will leave Entrecard or not. Some have actually removed their widget until they see what is going to happen which actually is against TOS, but I guess they don’t really care at this point. I personally don’t care what they do, meaning Entrecard because I can always leave if it upsets me so much. I wont leave though because I like a lower Alexa rating just fine. I don’t get upset over bounce rate and it really doesn’t bother me if people just click through I figure something might catch their eye at some point.

I’ve met some very nice people through the program and I’m sorry to see them go. I like stopping by every day or every other day to read their blogs even if I don’t comment. I can put them in my reader or friend them or add them to my links, but it wont be the same because half the time I forget to go visit them. After doing drop backs on my inbox I’m too tired to keep going and I have no clue how I use to drop for 3 blogs a year ago when it’s so hard to get my drops done for 1 now. So for those that leave I’ll try to pop over when I remember, I’ll miss you.  If you all come back I’ll still be here.