Mennonites

Mennonites

   I was browsing at Borders Books the other night, buying some magazines on where to enter poetry contests and web sites, respectively, when I noticed a young Mennonite couple sitting in one of the big chairs this fine store provides for casual browsing and reading magazines. This struck me as odd enough to make note of; since Mennonites are a sect that basically rejects most conventional entertainment such as television and most of the popular media.

     I sort of assumed that they were reading something of at least a semi-religious or philosophical nature, as they were dressed in the subtle but identifiable traditional dress of their faith. She was in a plain dress of green with matching anklet socks and white Keds, with the signature white cap over her hair bun. She wore no make-up, and was pretty in a plain, well-scrubbed kind of way. He was in jeans and a flannel shirt with hiking boots, and wore a beard but no mustache, indicating (I think) that he was young and unmarried.

   I pretended to be searching for a book, and circled behind them to check what they were reading. She was flipping through the wedding issue of People Magazine, and he was thoroughly immersed in a book of underground sci-fi comics. For their group, this was life on the edge.

   I once had a similar experience with an Amish gentleman. I was in line behind him at a gas station. As with the Mennonites, I had been tipped off to his faith by his clothing. He wore a round, black hat, black jacket, and zipperless pants. The Amish do not drive cars, nor tractors, nor motorized vehicles of any kind, so I was curious what he was buying. To my surprise, he purchased two packs of cigarettes and a small box of cigars. Not at all what I was expecting.

   I guess I subconsciously hold Mennonites and related sects to that higher code of conduct that others reserve for preachers and politicians. We expect better of some others than we do of ourselves. In my case, it is because I grew up around Mennonites, and they are as fine a people as I’ve ever known. I can remember no instance of them preaching to anyone without solicitation, nor looking down on those who followed other, less strenuous paths.