Working for the Amish

[written Wednesday, March 1]

The problem with the Amish is that they don’t answer their telephones.

I’ve been running east this week. Monday I was in Waukesha, WI and today in Morris, IL. For both trips I went to Nucor Steel near Kankakee, IL to pick up steel to bring back to the (real) Midwest -- anybody with any common sense knows the Midwest starts at the Mississippi River! Today I picked up a load for the Amish in Kalona, IA.

There is a contact telephone number and I’m told it’s a payphone somewhere, but no one’s answering it today. So tomorrow morning I’ll drive in blind and hope I can get unloaded. Since they're Amish, I’m curious how they’re going to get the rebar off my truck. Draft horse? Or will they hire a foreigner to run the fork life? Time will tell.

[written Thursday, March 2]

Well, Cephas and his dad, Tobias (and no, I’m not making the names up), did indeed have a forklift. It was a very old Ford that had metal wheels instead of rubber. But I bet if you took the hydraulics apart you’d find some rubber rings to seal the oil in.

Category Posted: General