The affordable health care debate is a hot topic these days.
Turned up a few hundred degrees. As monthly coverage insurance rates double, triple and more. The postman is delivering daily news about the high deductible plan you used to have that is approaching the end of the line. Draining the affordable health care insurance pool that many were treading water in and pulling up stakes in many states.
And there are lower cost options for health care out there but they are not in compliance with Obama care.
And hey, what do the Amish communities do to comply with Obama care, for health care compliant coverage?
The Amish don’t have to because of legislation back in 1965 that excludes them with it’s roots from further back in the 1950’s. Tied to Congress’s exemptions and the Social Security Act. Read more on Amish health care.
Maine’s Amish communities are growing. This link describes a few Maine Amish settlements, population centers. I have sold real estate, farm land in East Hodgdon Maine to the Amish since this article hyperlinked above was penned and posted.
More FAQ Amish topics thrashed out in detail.
The Northern Maine Amish folks provide their trademark storage sheds, metal used for siding and roofing and grow organic food for distribution locally and in larger centers outside of Maine.
There is an Amish store on US RT 2 in Smyrna directly across from the Ridge Road northern entrance.
You can load up the buck board wagon high with everything from Prairie Princess wood cook stoves to kitchen utensils, spices, home made items galore and bulk purchasing options for everything from candy to hardware staples at this darkly lit variety story.
The Price Is Right Bob and whatever is peddled is quality, used in the Amish households that give them the work out. Perform their own consumer reports testing on the local grass roots turf level.
The store with loading dock. Sky lights that make it better to shop during brighter days, not the overcast ones. Complete with a horse hovel run in for customers tying up their propulsion that waits patiently.
At the yesteryear establishment for mercantile where there is no drive through window or squawking static reminder. After repeating your order in wall to wall electronic jamming distortion like Mickey Dee’s or Red Robin, Sonic, Burger King. You have the personal discussion on the product, which is the better trade buy with the sales clerk in the aisle it populates.
No impersonal cattle prod to proceed to the next retail station. After the read back of the order repeated in a blur of word slur. In Klingon or pig Latin, some form of gibberish to hurry it up and pull around lucky customer number 13.
Shake a leg. Be ready to leave the deep fried pit stop. Dig deep, have some cash or plastic ready Freddy.
Being careful to avoid accidently hitting a biking, walking, carriage using dressed all in black Amish community member takes concentration.
Monday nights I have play community play practice in Smyrna Maine’s historical museum, community center that doubles as the former Methodist church house of worship.
I don’t travel the US RT 2 highway through Smyrna after dusk and before sunrise for this reason. Hitting a horse, other livestock would be spell out a newspaper headline disaster for me and the animal. Hop on Exit 286 and off 291’s off ramp of Interstate 95 to avoid the roadway obstacles in Amish land.
When you meet a team of Amish horses sharing the roadways or coming into Market Square for another session of a Farmers Market, there is always a smile, a friendly wave. The children do the same, are a little quiet, shy, reserved but polite and well mannered.
Like Maine’s other 5000 home schooled. It’s not true that this educational group has problems with socialization. Too busy working as a team to be highly productive and stay ahead of Jack Frost and Old Man Winter with their fence and building repairs, wood supply, root cellar, food pantry stocking from productive fields and pastures.
New enterprises in the local Amish community in Northern Maine where I hunt and peck these simple blog posts include bike shops, rustic furniture, leather tack for horses and more. They had wind power harnessed before the bigger monsters breeze beaters climbed up to sit atop the Maine foothills.
Travel North to visit, see the Amish settlements springing up in Sherman, the Limestone area of Maine and others more established, prospering.
Work ethic and quality work, fair pricing is not in short supply with the Amish dealings I have had personally. Taking care of themselves and not expecting, looking for a government hand out. Taking better care of their personal health on the physical, spiritual, financial level.
Using their own wits and sharpening their abilities, skill sets daily. The Amish are the best customer of the local used book store Volumes according to owner Gerry Berthelette. No TV’s. They are not glued to the glowing tube flat screen that brings FX, Netflix, HBO, CNN, Fox or the Disney channels into their hand built Maine homes.
There are farm chores to do with putting up produce orders, tending livestock this fall harvest time of year in Maine.
Large Amish families, an appreciation for what they have worked hard for from scratch as a community has taken up the slack on smaller, abandoned farm land tracts in Maine.
In one settlement, Thursday is Amish community building day. Where on rotation, the Amish travel by horse and buggy, on foot and by bike to wherever the weekly construction project happens to be slated on the chalk board.
Where the leaders deem a little joint help in the heave ho, here we go is needed. For the many hands make light work and a cheerful spirit carries higher the burdens of others collectively.
I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |
MOOERS REALTY 69 North Street Houlton ME 04730 USA