Soup Town JJ: The Paradox of Life

Even though Jonathan had an appointment at 10 AM in Lexington, Brent and Jonathan got up very early and went hunting. They hunt with an atlatl that they make themselves.

Using a motion much like a tennis serve, the hunter swings an atlatl, or spear-thrower, overhead.

In addition to hand-thrown spears, one of the oldest known hunting devices was a short stick with a funny-sounding name. The atlatl (pronounced at-lát-till, or á-till-lattil) is a spear-thrower, a stick about two feet or so in length made of wood. It functioned as a lever that gave the hunter's throw more power and distance.

A small prong or hook at one end of the stick held a lightweight throwing spear or dart in place on the atlatl until it was released by a powerful overhead swing of the arm. Hurled to its target, the dart—tipped with a chipped-stone point—would penetrate the animal, wounding or killing it.

This is Jonathan at competition a few weeks ago.

Although simple in design, the atlatl was a very effective weapon. Because it extends the length of the human arm by about 18 inches, it allowed a hunter to throw a dart much farther-the length of a football field-than he could without it and with the force necessary to bring down large game. When Spanish soldiers entered what today is Mexico, they encountered Aztec warriors with atlatls (the funny-sounding name comes from the Aztec's language). The soldiers soon learned the hard way that darts hurled from atlatls could penetrate their metal armor!

The atlatl is a very ancient weapon—no one really knows how old, but it was in use in the Old World at least 20,000 years ago. It is likely that the earliest people to enter the New World were equipped with it.

Wentworth Military Academy and College.

An empty pool? Tempting!

Resting.

Showing Jonathan the dorm rooms.

Everything is furnished except your toothbrush!

This helicopter was shot down in Vietnam;
an alumni of the academy was killed but some of his crew survived.

In response to the defeat at Lexington, the Union commander in Missouri, Gen. John C. Fremont, mounted a massive force to drive Price from Missouri. In the face of this threat, Price had little choice but to retreat back to southwest Missouri. Lexington and the Missouri River Valley once again returned to Union control.

How I wish I had taken a picture of the back of the sign. Total insurrection, praising the rebel soldiers for defeating the feds. Does history repeat itself? (Cliven Bundy)

For one thing, when they had their water supply cut off, why did their have to be a hand-to-hand combat? Had they never heard of Masada? We visited it when we were in Israel. Masada is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. After the destruction of the Second Temple, 900 Jewish zealots hold out against a 5000 man Roman legion on this mountaintop. What happens when all supplies are cut off to us mortals?

After a delicious lunch at the military academy, our visit a Civil War battleground site.

The Missouri River, of course.

Amanda and Naomi grew up playing on the shores of the Missouri River.

Brent reminding Ed how to throw rocks in the river.

Saturday is shopping day.

I love to take pictures of clothes hanging out on the line wherever I go.

The Graber Farm.

We visited the Graber Farm just outside Jamesport. I can’t get the image of Mary, our Amish guide, out of my mind. She had such a pleasant smile; she was so cordial, peaceful, kind. It made me wonder if it matters so much what religion you belong to as long as you are devout; that is, that you firmly believe your religion and are true to yourself as well as your faith. Maybe the details don’t matter so much. As opposed to superficiality, hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and judging others.

She said we could take pictures of the pigs, chickens, dogs, carriages, but please not to take pictures of her. When we got back to her store, I saw all these postcards with pictures of Amish. “I thought you couldn’t take pictures.” “He didn’t ask,” she replied. Right in her ad on the back of the Jamesport Missouri Visitors Guide, there is a picture of an Amish woman talking to tourists. I didn’t feel too badly about accidentally getting her in one of our pictures.

We noticed the Mennonites were driving cars to the grocery store. You can tell them because they wear black head coverings and wear normal clothes. Besides automobiles, they use electricity and telephones. Mary has a little telephone shack on her property; looks like an outhouse. That way evil electricity doesn’t contaminate her house. She needs a telephone for her business. Both Mennonites and Amish embrace the fundamental tenets of the Christian faith. They believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God and attempt to follow its precepts. Both practice believers’ baptism, as a symbol marking an inward cleansing and a commitment to follow Jesus Christ. They also believe in the Holy Spirit, who fills the believer and provides power, comfort, conviction and direction for life.

When should a woman begin to wear the devotional head covering? When she finds herself in the spirit of God’s order, the Holy Spirit will begin to give understanding and conviction in this matter. The wearing of the covering is appropriate whenever a woman prays or worships, at home or in public. The devotional covering should be worn because of conviction and faith in God’s word or else it will lose its spiritual power and significance. The church is held responsible for the maintenance of this biblical doctrine. (Matthew 7:21 and St. John 14:21-23,)

We saw many contradictions in the Amish way of life. They don’t use electricity, right? Yet they have stoves to cook on that look like ours; freezers, fridges, lights, a washing machine. The washing machine is run by a propane engine which suppresses the air in the tank so that air pressure runs the washing machine. (Why couldn’t the gas engine just run it?) Very noisy, I might add. They mainly heat with wood but they have propane heaters and lights or LED battery operated lights. She had a Bernina sewing machine on a Singer treadle. She sews all her clothes. She had 10 children and had to make all their clothes. Buttons, snaps, no zippers; no ornaments. They only go to 8^th grade. They have no church houses. They divide into small groups and meet every other Sunday in different homes. You get a turn about once a year. It’s her turn next Sunday. They have sandwiches made out of homemade bread and finger foods. Her friends will help her make the bread as she helps them when it’s their turn. They sing hymns in German; the preacher speaks in Pennsylvania Dutch.

They use paper plates for their big Christmas service; the only time of the year. On Mother’s Day, the men do the dishes. (Big deal!)

They believe in modern medicine, belong to Life Flight.

They hire a farrier to shoe their horses about every 6 weeks. Shoeing horses is a bit of science and a bit of art. They run them on the asphalt roads all day long. The shoulders are bit wider there to accommodate the horses and carriages.

They hire someone to harvest their soybeans since they don’t use modern equipment. They hire someone to split their wood.

“What’s the difference between electricity and gas?

“If we had electricity, then we’d have television and computers. We get our news from the St. Joseph newspaper. We keep up on world events.”