#607 - Young Amish Male

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
Episode: #607 - Young Amish Male
Host: Theo Von
Guest: Timothy (Young Amish man from Lanesboro, MN on Rumspringa)
Date: September 3, 2025

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Overview

In this episode, Theo Von sits down with Timothy, a young Amish man currently on his Rumspringa, to discuss life within the Amish community, the intricacies of Amish tradition, differences with the outside world (“English”), and Timothy’s personal experiences and future decisions. Through stories, humorous exchanges, and thoughtful questions, the episode provides a rare inside look at Amish culture, beliefs, daily living, and the complexities facing young Amish people choosing their path.

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Key Topics & Insights

1. Amish Language, Heritage, and Education

• Pennsylvania Dutch: Timothy shares that Amish in his community speak Pennsylvania Dutch (a dialect of German), not standard German, though they learn to read and sing hymns in German at school (03:15–04:10).
  • “Pennsylvania Dutch is like a dialect of German… We learn, like, to read and spell it, but I don’t understand most of the German that I’m reading.” — Timothy [03:15]
• Amish Schools: One-room schoolhouses serve grades 1–8, with all children taught together by one teacher. Students arrive by horse and buggy, and classes include hymn singing, reading, and “arithmetic” (26:01–27:20).
  • “One year we actually had like 25 kids in the building. That was the most we ever had… everyone’s sitting in the same room.” — Timothy [26:40]

2. Distinct Community Life

• Church Structure: Amish worship is done in homes, rotating from family to family every other week. Setting up for church is a communal task (09:18–10:55).
  • "All of our church happens at our homes... we take turns." — Timothy [10:06]
• Labels for Non-Amish: Non-Amish are called "English" in English, or "ho hilet" ("high people") in Pennsylvania Dutch (11:38–11:56).

3. Rules, Cultural Practices, and Humor

• Rumspringa: Rumspringa begins at about 16–16.5 years old. Most Amish youth participate, allowing them to explore life and make choices about joining the church, often involving more freedom and secret activities (16:24–17:14, 40:11–43:54).
  • “It’s kind of spontaneous when it happens. Your parents are like, ‘you can go,’ and then you just go.” — Timothy [40:11]
• Consequences for Leaving/Returning: If someone leaves before officially joining the church, the reaction varies by family; if after, they may be shunned (43:05–43:54).
  • "If you leave and you're already a member… you get shunned." — Timothy [43:05]

4. Social Life, Recreation, and Dating

• Daily Fun: Amish kids play games like "rapid" (a dodgeball/rabbit hybrid), hide-and-seek, and board games, often all together regardless of gender (28:34–31:01).
• Dating: Dating usually begins on Rumspringa, often at “singings” and community parties. Intermarriage can occur between second cousins, but never first; genetic closeness is discussed openly (31:42–32:32).
  • “My mom and dad… weren’t allowed to date until they were 18, but now it basically happens whenever now. As soon as you join Rumspringa.” — Timothy [64:58]
• Attraction and Sex: There is little to no sex education; kids are left to learn on their own or via technology (55:25–56:01).
  • "All that stuff, you actually have to, like, figure out." — Timothy [55:40]

5. Modern Influences & Secret Technology

• Phones & Snapchat: Many young Amish secretly own smartphones, especially using Snapchat to communicate (67:03–67:15, 87:20–87:51).
  • “Pretty much every Amish that has a phone, that’s not for business… has Snapchat. That’s how we communicate. It’s like our new messenger pigeon.” — Timothy [87:41]
• Music & Media: Although “officially” forbidden, young Amish enjoy a range of music on the down-low, from country and classic rock to EDM and rap (“house music really bumps when you turn it up!”) [07:34–08:03, 75:51–76:45].
  • “If you turn that stuff all the way up, it really shakes something… that building starts shaking.” — Timothy [07:34]
• Movies: Some Amish youth (often during Rumspringa) watch DVDs and sneak media; titles mentioned include Dukes of Hazzard, Grumpy Old Men, and Weird Al’s "Amish Paradise" (14:04–14:57, 76:33–76:43).

6. Family, Discipline, and Community Philosophy

• Family Ties: Family and the broader Amish community are described as very close, supportive, and mutually interdependent, especially in times of hardship, illness, or need (72:08–74:31).
  • “If someone gets hurt or needs help, the whole community will come together and help pay or build or whatever’s needed.” — Timothy [71:56]
• Respect and Discipline: Children receive discipline, often a few swats if they misbehave. “Discipline seems to be stronger in the Amish community” (69:16–70:13).
• Mental Health: Depression and disorders are less common compared to the general U.S. population due to strong social ties and communal support (83:01–83:48).

7. Work, Roles, and Gender

• From Farms to Trades: Where past generations primarily farmed, now many Amish work in construction, cabinet/furniture-making, other crafts, or retail (72:58–74:09).
• Gender Roles: Women primarily manage the home, children, gardening, and even finances. Men work outside, but offer help at home as needed (57:24–58:36).
• Strong Cooking & Traditions: Amish food is celebrated, with favorites like garlic breadsticks, mashed potatoes with applesauce (to cool hot food!), and classic desserts (shoofly pie, peanut butter pie) (58:47–60:00).

8. Unique Traditions & Misconceptions

• Distinct Holidays: Amish children celebrate Valentine’s Day at school (with lunch box swaps), but not Halloween due to its "devilish" origins (84:19–86:19).
• Misconceptions: Most people think all Amish are the same; in reality, there are many branches, each with distinct rules and customs (88:13–89:06).
  • "There's not a single community that's exactly the same… there’s always a little bit of rules or difference." — Timothy [88:33]
• Modern “English” Life: Timothy is fascinated (and a little alarmed) by life outside the Amish world, including hotel stays, electricity, technology, TVs, and the ever-present McDonald's [94:43–94:46].

9. Rumspringa: Experiences and Reflections

• Exploring the Outside: Timothy speaks of driving a Corvette, going on a helicopter ride, attending concerts, and preparing to go skydiving—his first-ever airplane experience (47:35–93:01).

  • “This week is… I think this is a week I’ll never forget… I’m gonna go on a plane for the first time, and jump out of it.” — Timothy [92:13]

• Future Decisions: Timothy hasn't decided yet if he’ll join the church or leave; the lack of a local bishop complicates official membership, and he weighs the pros and cons (79:07–79:44, 91:28–91:57).

  • “The final decision… probably in, like, two years or so. It’s a big decision.” — Timothy [79:07]
  • “I like the Amish lifestyle… the food and all that stuff is good. The only thing I don’t like too much are the rules.” — Timothy [91:56]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On not having ADD or ADHD:
  • Theo: “Do they have ADD in the Amish community?”
    Timothy: “I don’t even… what do you know? What is ADD? I’m not even quite sure.” [04:42]
• On hiding phones:
  • “Amish hide their phones in the barn, back of the buggy, sometimes a culvert… and hope it doesn’t rain.” — Timothy [87:23]
• Amish vs. ‘English’ Names:
  • “So, if we’re talking English, we call regular people ‘English’ people. In Pennsylvania Dutch, ‘ho hilet’—literal translation is ‘high people’.” — Timothy [11:38]
• On Modern Life Temptations:
  • “There’s a lot of people in the world trying to get back to the roots of their culture… I almost feel like you guys are already there. In some ways.” — Theo [93:48]
• On Amish Snapchat Usage:
  • “That’s how we… communicate. It’s like our new messenger pigeon.” — Timothy [87:41]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Amish Language & School: 02:34–06:01, 25:43–28:34
• Cultural Rules & Church Life: 09:18–10:55, 40:11–43:54
• Rumspringa Details & Experiences: 16:24–17:14, 47:35–49:59, 92:13–93:19
• Family & Shunning: 43:05–44:15, 77:55–78:30
• Technology (phones, Snapchat): 67:03–67:15, 87:20–87:51
• Fun & Games, Dating: 28:34–31:01, 63:30–65:16
• Food & Traditions: 58:47–60:00
• Amish Work Evolution: 72:58–74:31

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Closing Thoughts

The conversation is open, genuine, and full of humor—shedding light on the Amish experience with respect and curiosity. Timothy’s stories introduce listeners to a world many have never encountered, highlighting both the joys of community life and the challenges of making life-changing choices in the face of tradition versus modernity.

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For a deep dive into Amish youth, Rumspringa, and the push-pull of tradition, listen to the full episode!

Transcript

[A]

SEC registered investment advisor. View important [e-mail] Theo, you know, I'm about to take a hit off that Boom Boom stick right there, baby. Oh, a spearmint. Gosh, that's just like a locomotive of alertness running through your skull. Boom Boom is a nasal stick made to free your nose. It's made with just peppermint, menthol and essential oils, all, all natural stuff. It's like nature's smelling salt. You just twist off the cap and give it a sniff. Oh, it's like holding a dang snowball fighting your skull, baby. It wakes you up. Boom Boom frees your nose and wakes your brain up and gets your focus going. Boom Boom is precision engineered to deliver powerful vapors. Through their perfectly calibrated wick design, they deliver optimal vapor release, ensuring that their stick stays fresh and potent for up to 30 days. Get your Boom Boom today on their website boom boom.com and use code THEO for 20% off. Or you can find them at Walmart or CVS nationwide. That's boom boom.com with code T H E O for 20% off. Or head to your local Walmart and pick one up. Oh, you know, I'm on Bobby. We've added some merch from when Bobby didn't. Wasn't helping me figure out how to talk to him or whatever. We have a Bobby collab that is loose now on theovonstore.com you can check it out. And we sprinkled in some other new items and restocked some old classics. Again, it's theovonstore.com and thanks so much for your support. Today's guest is our young friend from Lanesboro, Minnesota. He's Amish. He's an Amish. He's an Amish person. And he's on Rum Springer right now. And we're excited to learn about what it means to be Amish and what it's like and how things are going for him today. Today's guest is Amish and his name is Timothy. All right. Sitting here with an Amish dude, basically.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you're 100Amish?

[C]

100Amish, born and raised. I can speak Pennsylvania Dutch. Still Amish and still. Still living at home.

[A]

Pennsylvania Dutch, it's called.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So Pennsylvania Dutch is like a. It's like a dialect of German. It's. It's quite a bit of different from German, but It's quite a bit of.

[A]

Different from German, you said.

[C]

Yeah, but it's a dialect from it. And so if someone would be talking Like. Like German. You can kind of understand them, but, like, most of the words. You can.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So do people do, like. Would. Do your parents speak German and Pennsylvania Dutch?

[C]

No, just Pennsylvania Dutch and English.

[A]

And would your grandparents possibly speak German or your great grandparents?

[C]

No, they. They were all Pennsylvania Dutch, so.

[A]

Okay, understood. But it's kind of a branch of. It's. A lot of the people there have German lineage.

[C]

Yeah, they do. Like, I think every. Every Amish is, like, Swiss German because most of them came from that area. And funny thing is, in school, like, on Fridays, we. We learn, like. So that's basically the day where we read German, spelled German. And. And also every morning in school, we also sing, like, three hymns out of. It'd be a little book with, like, red pages where we sing German hymns out of nowhere. The funny thing is, like, I can kind of read German and I can spell German, but I do not understand, like. Like the German that I'm reading and spelling. Some of it I can, but most of it I can't.

[A]

So you can comprehend a little bit, but you couldn't really then recite it?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Well, because sometimes for, like, Christmas and stuff, we had to, like, those. There's also a green German book which, when you're lower grades, like fifth and under, you read out of that where there's, like, big. Like, bigger paragraphs in the back where it's all ger. Sometimes for, like, almost every time, actually, for Christmas and stuff, we had to learn. Memorize all of those. And I guess I was. I wasn't the greatest because I. I kind of. I guess lost interest for it if I. If I didn't understand it, I guess.

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's probably ADD or whatever. Do they have ADD in the Amish community?

[C]

So I don't even. What do you know? What is add? I'm not even quite sure.

[A]

Oh, wow. Add. It's like. Let me think. You ever have that feeling, like, when somebody's tickling you or whatever? Kind of.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you're like. You just can't even handle it. Yeah, it's like that feeling, but it's like in your brain kind of when you're trying to pay attention. So it's like you're. You're paying attention. Doesn't work, you know?

[C]

Oh, no, I don't think I. I don't think anyone has ADD that I know of. I hope not, because that. That would be too fun to have.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, yeah. I think it's like. Yeah, you get to change your mind without Even doing it, you know, so.

[C]

If you drive a car, if you have add, so can you focus on the road? Or you're, like, looking over to the ditch and then this car and the guy in the pipe, like the passenger seat or.

[A]

I think it gets a little bit testy for some people. Like, it's too much, you know? Yeah, pull that up. Do the Amish have ad? Pull that up. Let's get a gander at that. That's a great question.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I've never heard of ADD before.

[A]

Then you must not have it, brother.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

The Amish do experience add, but reported rates are noticeably lower than in the general population. And diagnosis practices may differ significantly due to cultural and lifestyle factors. Wow, that's pretty fascinating. When you're born in Amish country, are you born at a hospital? Are you born at home? What's it like?

[C]

So that varies a lot, too. Over the last probably 15, 10, 15 years, a lot more. I've been born in a hospital. I know there's some people in our community, all of them were born at home. Half of them were born at home. And then also some were born in the hospital. Now, me and my. All my brothers, we were all born in the hospital. So. Okay, it all varies. Varies from family to family. Most of the time.

[A]

Are you allowed to use, like, municipalities, like a hospital and like, a public park and those sorts of things? Like, where does the line differ between if you're Amish and you just straight up supposed to be at the house, you know, like, using chalk and just eating butter, you know, out of each other's hats? And then the line where you're supposed to be able to, like, go to public parks and go to, like, non Amish events and stuff.

[C]

So, like, like, me going to your concert, like, that would. That would not be like that. Keep it. Keep that on the down low. But some Amish. I know some Amish, they go to, like, Def Leppard concerts. And when they're, like, around my age, you know, like 80s rock, thamish, like damage, that, like, party and stuff, they. They like 80s rock, country. And then I'm not sure how you call them music, but it really bumps when you turn it all the way up.

[A]

That 80s rock.

[C]

No, it's like some wonder if, like, it's like. When it's like, like, boom, boom, boom, boom.

[A]

Is it kind of darker? Artists do the dark.

[C]

Do the artists not. You mean like, like the Suicide Boys or.

[A]

Oh, Suicide Boys.

[C]

It's not the Suicide Boys. It's more like, like, David Ghetto Like I think I said David Guera Guer.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, I see what you're saying. Oh, like EDM house, that sort of stuff.

[C]

I. I don't never know know what you call it. But yeah, if you turn that stuff all the way up, it really shakes something. Like, if you. If you have like, the big, like, stereo system in like a. And like a building, that building starts shaking.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So that's pretty cool.

[A]

And the Amish, they really feel that you can feel. Really feel your barn raised when you hear that, huh?

[C]

Oh, yeah. But like, that stuff we only do in the weekends, that. That stuff is kind of like.

[A]

Nah, that's secret.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Hell yeah. So do the Amish listen to Morgan Wallen ever or no?

[C]

Yeah, dude. I have a buddy, actually, my co worker, Atlee. He. He lost Morgan Wallen and he's in Rome Springa too. So he wants to go to his concert one time. So that would be fun. You know, I thought your concert was pretty cool too. The music that they played in the beginning, I've never really heard that music before, but it was like I was chamming out to it and it was really, really fun.

[A]

Thank you, dude. Yeah, we play a lot of times at our shows. There I am right there with your hat you brought to me. That was in Seattle. In the beginning of the shows. We play a band. It's called New Orleans Jazz Vipers. And it's just like some good kind of jazz New orle music. I think it puts people in a mode of, like, they're gonna, you know, some type of artistic, like, brain space instead of just some, like, music you hear all the time, you know?

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

It's like, I was. I was kind of surprised, like. Or not really surprised, but I never really. I never really heard that music before.

[A]

Yeah, it's great, man. That's a great band. I've. I've. I happened upon them in New Orleans a while back, and ever since then I've just enjoyed listening to them.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So that's their horns and stuff.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

And that's. That's what makes all the, like, the great sounds.

[A]

Yeah, they do a great job. Do you guys have instruments in. In your Amish village?

[C]

Is it called a village so it be considered a district? A district would be like different parts of church because there can be one big community, but there can be like four to 12 different districts of, like, the church, where the rules are, like, a little bit different here and there, but, like, mostly be called a. A community.

[A]

A community.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

So the areas you live in kind of delineates where you go to church at.

[C]

Yeah, kind of. Or yeah.

[A]

Can you go to any church? Or if you live in a certain area, you kind of go to a certain church because it's close.

[C]

So in the area you always, if Thomas moves somewhere, it's usually for a certain church in a certain area. And we don't have church like houses and stuff. Like, not like some. I seen like, like really big churches. They were like, they went almost like up to the sky and stuff.

[A]

Yeah, they got some churches that are trying to do a lot. Like, do you need all that?

[C]

Yeah, like those things are really high. So all of our church happens at, at our homes. Like. Oh, yeah. So like, so we take turns taking church. So.

[A]

So different weekends, different families will take church.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Another thing that Dharmish do is we have church every other weekend. So how it works is church here and then that gives them enough time to move church to the next place and you have to pick up all the books, pick up all the benches, and then move it over to your place. You also have to make all the food and then people come and help you.

[A]

I see. So it's part of the culture is like, it's kind of exciting when you get to have church at your place because then everybody's coming there.

[C]

Yeah, well, it can be, but also it's a bit of like, oh, man, church is at our place. We gotta get ready.

[A]

Oh, we gotta clean up.

[C]

Yeah, you gotta clean up, get ready.

[A]

Be on our best behavior. Yeah, Trim the cat.

[C]

Trim the cat. Well, our cats actually stay in the barn because Amish don't really have cats in the house. Dude, our cats, they're like self sufficient. They're kind of Amish too, but we put dog food there. I think they might sneak a little bit of that.

[A]

I could see some of them sneaking.

[C]

A little bit, but sometimes I see cats coming up the pasture. They got like a chipmunk or a bird. I don't think they're. I don't think they're big enough or fast enough to catch a squirrel.

[A]

I am alarmed at how many, not how many regular people. What do you call regular people? Non Amish.

[C]

Or do you. So if we're, if we're talking English, we call regular people English people.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

But if you're talking in Pennsylvania Dutch, if you want a literal transition translation of it, it's is we call them ho hilet, which a literal translation is high people. But what it means, what that means.

[A]

Is like people that are allowed to.

[C]

Get high that are non Amish. But we have, like, a neighbor, that guy's from, like, Australia. Like, I think it's called Land Down Under. Stuff like. Yeah, basically where all the kangaroos live.

[A]

Oh, yeah, there's kangaroos, sharks. There's definitely. There's just people that'll drink beer. There's a couple down syndrome guys down there who drink beer out of the oven.

[C]

That's crazy. And I even saw some guys, like, they. They drink. They take off their shoe and they, like, pour like. Like some stuff in their shoe and drink right out of. Yeah, it must have special feet or something.

[A]

Yeah, I think they must have. Look at these guys right here. And they're Australian.

[C]

Oh, well, what are they doing? Look at this.

[A]

He pulls a hot beer right out of the oven.

[B]

Whoa.

[C]

That's pretty cool.

[A]

He starts chugging it at one point. He doesn't care. Oh, but these guys are Australian.

[C]

Oh, wow. So they're. They're, you know, they're a bit shorter, too.

[A]

Yeah, a lot of rugby. Head to head. That'll keep your spine down.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Especially if you're like. I thought if you beat upside down, like on the bottom side of the world, your spine would, like, go.

[A]

Not these guys.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

I think they missed a. They missed a column, dude. L5s none, dude. These guys missed something.

[C]

Yeah, something like that.

[A]

So non Amish people, you call them.

[C]

There you go. You're almost Amish now.

[A]

Oh, welcome.

[C]

You're welcome.

[A]

It's not offensive, though.

[C]

No, no, no, not at all. That's. That's. It's a. It's not like Danish don't see it as offensive. It's. It's just a term to describe something like our horses. You know, some are standard bred, you know, and then some are brown, some are black. We even have some like. Like white horses with, like, black spots on them.

[A]

Oh, yeah, we're getting a lot of that. Outside of Atlanta. We get a lot of that.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Where's Atlanta?

[A]

Atlanta. Have you heard of it?

[C]

Oh, Atlanta, Like Georgia.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Okay. Yeah, I've heard of it. I've never been there. I. I heard they, like. That's close to where, like, the Dukes of Hazard were made, I think.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, it is, actually. I love the Dukes of Hazzard.

[C]

I do, too. Yeah, I used to have the DVD player. I don't have it anymore. I used to have a little DVD player.

[A]

Really?

[C]

And then, yeah, I watched a little bit Dukes of Hazard. But the. The only bad part was the DVD player. It was before I had A battery and stuff that I had to go charge it somewhere else. And just before, I had a bat, like, all prepared, you know, that way I don't run out of power. I used to watch. I watch them a lot because us Amish, we have the ones that are in Roomspringer. We have, like. We have DVDs and stuff. My coworker Atley, he's. He's pretty. He's pretty stacked when it comes to DVDs, because he's got, like. Like a drawer full of, like, all kinds of movies.

[A]

Is he allowed to have it or not?

[C]

Not really. But, like, his. Like, his parents, I think they kind of know, but they don't, like, they don't bother.

[A]

Got it.

[C]

So.

[A]

But he had some different things. He had Dukes of Hazzard.

[C]

Yeah, Well, I don't know if he had Dukes of Ashes, but he had, like, lots of different. Other different ones. Like. Like Smoking the Bandit, like, Grumpy old man.

[A]

Oh, yeah, those are.

[C]

Those are really funny. I think he's, like. He wants to get her, like, Fast and Furious, too.

[A]

Oh, he's trying to get wild.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Like, he's pretty crazy.

[A]

It sounds like it. If he's trying to do all that, that's a lot. What about Little House on the Prairie? You guys ever watch that?

[C]

I've seen a little bit on that.

[A]

Like, couple hotties on there.

[C]

Yeah, like, the. The ones they almost. You mean, like. Like Laura?

[A]

I mean, that's a child, but I mean. Yeah. I don't even know the mom. I'm talking about the moment.

[C]

Oh, the mom.

[A]

Yeah. Carolyn.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

She's cute.

[C]

Yeah, kind of. But isn't she, like, really old now?

[A]

She's getting older, probably, but who knows what could happen? You know, they're doing a lot of, like. There's a lot of biohacking and stuff now. But I'm just saying, a lot of beautiful ladies on here.

[C]

Yeah, definitely. And.

[A]

And now with this. With this. Something in Amish culture, if you see these dames, is these young ladies, is that something you're attracted to growing up? Because this almost had. They almost have like, an. A little bit of an Amish feel to them.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

What do you mean? Like a. Like.

[A]

Like a settler? Like, would this be a girl? Like, if you'd have seen this when you were 12 or something, and you look at Mary Ingles right here, the older sister, you'd be like, oh, she's cute.

[C]

Yeah, I would.

[A]

And that's okay?

[C]

Yeah, that's okay.

[A]

Okay. Yeah. I'm just curious. Because we grew up watching this and it was great. They're remaking this right now. They're making. They are a new season.

[C]

That's pretty cool.

[A]

I know.

[C]

So, dude, that one guy's white hair on his beard. He must getting. Be getting old.

[A]

Yeah, that guy. He's actually, I think that guy's deceased. But you mentioned being on Rum Springer, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So you're on Rum Springer right now.

[C]

Right now, Yep.

[A]

Okay, how does Rum Springer start? How long does it last? Who gets to go on it?

[C]

Okay, so pretty much everyone goes on it. Now I've. I've heard of where, like, families like, didn't let their kids go on it. But like, that has happened. But like, they. When that. Sometimes when that happens, like the kid just leaves and like he becomes. Becomes English and.

[A]

Oh. Because they feel they can't. They're not allowed to. That the family's not following the rules.

[C]

No. Everyone can go and room like room Spring. Everyone does it. Every single. Now every single, like every single community that does room Springer. Like, like they usually go on. Because what happens is around 16, 16 and a half, you go, you join Rome Springer, which we call Dioa.

[A]

The yua.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Which basically means. What was it like? Young, young people.

[B]

Yeah, you.

[C]

There you go.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

That'd be a better word for it. So you're picking up the yua. Yep.

[A]

Makes sense.

[C]

Yep. So that's when you go to like, singings after church. Now. I never. I never really really went rent went to one because when I went on Rumspringer, the church was kind of already going down because our church kind of. It's kind of split up now. Actually our bishop kind of. He kind of booked out. He kind of decked out. So. No.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So right now there's, There's. We still have church, but it's like only like an hour and like hour and a half and. And so there's a lot of Amish around us. They're still Amish and then. But they're not a member of church anymore. Anymore. Because when it opens in the Svartan troupe. Amish.

[A]

Wait, wait, wait. When what opens?

[C]

Like, so when the. When the church doesn't come to agreement for a while and then it's kind of like a rule that they have to open the doors and then whoever wants to go can, you know, get out of the. No longer be a member of the church and doesn't require to have to follow the rules. That's only when you're like, joined the church already.

[A]

Okay. So members of the church. If the church is. If for some reason there's. There's some problem within that church where they're not able to, like, maybe. Obviously there was a problem with the bishop. You're saying.

[C]

Well, the. Like, the. Like the people in the community and the bishop and like, the. Like, there was.

[A]

There's an argument.

[C]

Yeah. They were not agreeing on the same things.

[A]

Okay, understood. So there was a disagreement.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And so the bishop left.

[C]

Yeah. Well, that's. Actually. This is a very rare thing to happen. The bishop just, like, it was months. It was probably over a year of, like, this stuff happening, but it was usually like the. Like the smallest things. And I think it was, like, anoint some of the. Like the people in the congregation. Yeah, like some of the. Some of the members. Because I know. I know if a guy, like, they came to his house because he's certain. Because his. The curtains on his window were, like, not the right shade of blue or. Or even the reflectors on the BUC EE's. Because some. Our buckies don't have that many reflectors. Not compared to, like, buckies in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania. Because they got, like, that reflect.

[A]

Big, big reflector plate.

[C]

Yeah, like that triangle thing.

[A]

Flashy, huh?

[C]

Yeah, it is flashy. And. Yeah, we don't have. We don't have that reflection actually. Go, go to the left. That bucky. That's White Horse.

[A]

One more right there.

[C]

Yeah, right there.

[A]

That's yours.

[C]

That's how our BUC EE's look like. And that were. That was. What was the reflector on the front or the back of a bucky? Like that. And they didn't like that.

[A]

So the bishop had too many reflectors on his buggy.

[C]

No, like, the members had too many reflectors on their buggy. And they got. They got after him for that.

[A]

Oh, the bishop got after him for it.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Like, the bishop, though the bishop doesn't even live in this community. He lives down there. Because our bishop before, he actually. Actually died in a house fire. So.

[A]

No.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Like the whole. The whole house burnt down.

[A]

And how. What happened? A candle.

[C]

I don't know. I don't think it was a candle. I think. I think it was something with a stove in the wash house. And this was a hot fire. It was 20. It was 20 below. And this hot fire. I was told it was hot, and it was. And maybe it wasn't 20 below, but it was definitely 10 below or so. And, like, the fire just kept burning. Fire just kept burning. And when the people came out to like the people in the red. The people, like, what do you call it? Like firemen.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

That they had to like keep the water around us or hoses wouldn't freeze. It was really cold and his wife actually survived. And apparently when she came out, it was so hot. She just laid on the snow and like, she was fine for a little bit, but she had like, she had a little bit of burns and stuff like that.

[A]

Do they think she started it or no?

[C]

No, I don't think so. I guess we don't have insurance. Like we don't have life insurance and stuff. So I think it was. I think it was an accident. But that wouldn't be too funny if.

[A]

She like thought she had life insurance.

[C]

Yeah, that, that would be. Wouldn't that be like illegal between the hohil.

[A]

That happens all the time.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Are always killing their spouses for insurance money.

[C]

That's not very nice. That's like, that. Isn't that murder?

[A]

Yep, that sure is nice. And not only is it murder. What, but it's murdering for money. But I guess if you don't have life insurance, you don't have to worry about it.

[C]

Yeah, it's kind of nice.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so go ahead, kill me. You won't get anything.

[C]

Yeah, that's kind of the idea.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So. Yeah, damage, like, damage like, like back in the wars, I think the government tried to force us like to go to wars, but we're like pacifists and stuff. Like. Yeah, we'll, we'll like wrestle and stuff when we're younger and, and, and, and then also sometimes maybe argue. But other than that, like, we don't like kill each other.

[A]

The Amish are pretty peaceful.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And then. Yeah, because back in like the wars and stuff, like we, we just did like all the cooking and the cleaning and then like saving people too.

[A]

Is that true? Let me read that right here. World War the Amish were subject to the military draft in US wars, but due to their religious beliefs as pacifists and they were usually classified as conscientious objectors and assigned to non combatant or alternative service roles. World War I and two Amish men were drafted, but most received farm deferments or performed non combatant services. Some were sent to army camps and suffered abuse when refusing military service entirely. And in rare cases, some were in prison for refusing all forms of service.

[C]

Yeah, like Danish and where Amish came from, like, like they went through a lot of stuff. It's like, there's a, there's a book actually where Amish came from was like from the Anabaptists. Like those are all, like, those were like the, like the Ochis. They came all the back, all the way from the Catholic Church.

[A]

Really? Like the OGs, you're saying?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Did the Amish have to fight to establish themselves in America?

[C]

That I'm not actually very sure, but I know like when, when, like when back. I think it was back in the 70s, I think that they had to fight like court and stuff. I think they went through a lot of like court stuff. But like for that stuff I think they did, but also like the government also agreed because this is like a free country and stuff.

[A]

And while not armed struggles, the Amish sometimes face legal and social battles, especially regarding education and their right to practice their faith freely. Notably in the 20th century, they opposed laws that would force their children into public high schools and sometimes resulting in imprisonment or property loss for Amish parents. Wow. So they've had to fight to maintain their way of life.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So there must be a lot of pride. Is there a lot of pride in being Amish?

[C]

It varies from community to community. But yeah, there is pride in being Amish. Like we don't believe in being prideful, but that's like something you feel good about, right?

[A]

See, it's a little bit different than being egotistical about and just having some confidence in your, in your group. Hey fellas, I know a lot of y' all work hard out there. You out there working hard, sweating out there, letting that and that stank is coming out of your body. Sometimes you don't even have to be doing much. You standing out there right on the job site and you start to stank. Well, thankfully Mando is here to help. Mando stops odor before it starts. This ain't no cover up. Spray Mando blocks. Order at the source. What I love about Mando, you put it on once, it works all day and then some. Mando can last up to 72 hours of unstinkability, baby. They got a starter pack with everything you need to stay fresh or mix and match their bestselling products with their online exclusive bundles. Right now, as a special offer for our listeners, new customers get 20% off site wide with our exclusive code. Use code [e-mail] for 20% off site wide and free shipping. Go to shop S H O P Mando M A N D O dot com. That's shopmando.com support the show, support your pits and stop smelling like yesterday's lunch, baby. Do you or do Amish people Have to go to public school or do you go to your own school?

[C]

We go to our own school.

[A]

Do you have a school house?

[C]

Yeah, we have a school house. I sent pictures of at the schoolhouse to that white building. So the building in the front there, that's where. Where all the horse is kept now since there are more kids, we had to build another, like, little shelter for horses. So that was down there and.

[A]

For the horses?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Don't you meant the cheerleaders or something?

[C]

No, we don't have cheerleaders because that would be like. They're like. Like they barely wear clothes and stuff. It looks like they're in their underwear too much.

[A]

Yeah, I've never. I've never loved a basketball game so much that I got in my underwear for it.

[C]

Yeah, that's right. That's. That's a bit odd. And like, even when they. Odd. Odd when they go to the beach and stuff like that, they're just in the underwear.

[A]

Some of them get dressed up more for the beach even.

[C]

Yeah, it's crazy. Yeah, like, they get more dressed down.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But. But so you go to school there. You put your horses in the front building.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

Okay. And this. Does everybody have their own horse or. Sometimes people come in groups.

[C]

Yeah, like fam. One family usually has one horse. And then like that we have building. Like a building. And then like one through eighth grade is like, we all sit in there then. So that's all in one room. And then there's usually one teacher. So one year we actually had like 25 kids and like one building. That was like the most we ever had. And then. And it varied from year to year. So like, we started out with like 10, and then as it went up, 14, 16, 20, and then 25. And then it kind of slowed down, like, came down from there. But yeah, like, first. That's where I went to school first through eighth grade. And everyone's sitting in the same room. And then we have classes, too.

[A]

Is it pretty cool?

[C]

It can be if you make it. But it was. I didn't really like school when I went to school, so.

[A]

And when does the school day start?

[C]

So that's usually, if I remember right, it was like 8:30, I think. 8:30, school starts. And then we sing like three, four hymns. And then that usually lasts 15, 20 minutes. And then we start reading. Reading classes. And then it depends on the teacher. Some like to go from eighth grade down, and others like to go from first grade up, so. And then after that it's. It's. It's recess like 15 minutes. And then usually arithmetic classes. And until we do arithmetic until lunch, which is like around 11:30. And school goes out, like, only. Only for a little bit, for like an hour.

[A]

Do you go home for lunch or.

[C]

No, no, no. We. We pack our lunch. We eat at school. We sit at our desk and eat. And then usually that takes like around 20 minutes. 15, 20 minutes. And then we go out and play different games and we play like. What was it? Oh, yeah, we played. We played a game that we call rapid. It's where, like the. Like the animal rapid.

[A]

Rabbit.

[C]

Yeah, like rabbit. And then. So what you do is there's a person in the middle as a ball.

[A]

Like Easter. Like that little. Like an Easter?

[C]

Yeah, like a. Like a bunny, like. Oh, yeah, yeah. We call it hawasa.

[A]

Hawasa?

[C]

Yep. That's the Amish word for rapids.

[A]

Rapids.

[C]

So we used to throw the ball out and if someone threw it. So it's kind of like that. I gotta get better explain this.

[A]

But it's kind of doing good.

[C]

It's kind of like dodgeball. You have two base or two bass on each side. And then there's a person in the middle. He's got, like, a ball. Sometimes we use a basketball. Sometimes we used to. Tennis ball. Tennis ball was like my favorite because you could throw it better and it wouldn't hurt as much if it hit you.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Because you. So you're. You're supposed to throw it five up five times. And if you throw it up five times and no one runs through to the other base, then you can go on one base and count to basically do a countdown. And then if no one goes off of that base and goes through before you're done, you can just. Even though they're on base and go touch them and, you know, get them out.

[A]

Oh, they can actually physically catch them.

[C]

Yeah, we catch them and take them down and.

[A]

But would this. Would this be a game boys would play with boys or everyone.

[C]

Everyone would play. The teacher would even help too. So.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So, like, it depends on, like, it depends how rough. Like, the. The harder you tried to get away. I guess you were. You accepted the roughness and you were basically run through and try not to get caught. And then you. Then someone takes you down on the ground, you crawl. You crawl for the base. It's like. It's almost like Vietnam and stuff. I've never been there.

[A]

But no, but no. We've seen pictures. We all understand exactly what it was like.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's unbelievable, dude. So that so that was a popular game, Rapa Rapid.

[C]

Like, rapid. Like the. Like the Easter Bunny.

[A]

Yeah. And rapid.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then what did girls. Do they play this game or what did girls who were definitely girls. Like, some girls played this game, but what did, like, the real girls do?

[C]

Like, the real girls always. Like, we always were together. Like, we. We always helped each other.

[A]

Oh, everybody played the same stuff.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

But, like, when it was, like, a rainy day or something, like, sometimes we play board games, and then not as much, but most times, like, we all played with each other because we didn't know stuff yet.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because we don't get taught that stuff in school or anything.

[A]

Like. What do you mean?

[C]

Like, the. About girls. And we don't really know too much about each other, I guess.

[A]

Oh, so everybody's just kind of like, just all the same.

[C]

Yeah, we're all kids.

[A]

Oh, you're all kids.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Are you allowed to flirt at school? Like, at some point, do people feel some attraction? Like, do you think?

[C]

Like, maybe. Maybe, but. So the school I went to, I. I couldn't really do that because pretty much everyone I went to school with was either first or second cousin.

[A]

Oh, yeah, brother.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So, yeah, it's like. It's a tough world.

[A]

It is, brother. And, you know, that's why we got to do some of this redistricting and rezoning.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

We got to, like, read, like, rezone. Like, move out, move in. That's what. That's what a lot of Amish been doing around us and moving out to different communities. I guess it's a good thing, then you can, you know. You know, spread the family tree because sometimes the tree becomes a bush.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[C]

Like, intertwined with each other.

[A]

The Amish population experiences a strong founder effect, meaning that their gene pool originates from a small number of original settlers. Most Amish people are distantly related because nearly all Amish in America descended from a small group of about 200 to 500 founders who immigrated from Germany and Switzerland in the 18th century. The genetic closeness increases the likelihood of certain inherited conditions with some rare genetic disorders much more common among Amish than in the general U.S. population. Do you guys have. Oh, this says cousin marriage. Marriages between cousins do occur.

[C]

Not first cousin, second cousin does.

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure.

[C]

But that, like, it's not really. It's not really, like, forward. Like, hey, you can marry a second. But. But it does happen.

[A]

But if it happens, it happens.

[C]

Yeah, it happens. It happens.

[A]

You're already close. You might as well be closer.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

That's right. Yeah. I don't know how because we don't have like any family tree and stuff.

[A]

You don't? No.

[C]

But we do have like a big book that, that tells us like, all Amish communities, like in certain states. Like, who, like basically a dictionary for, for like Amish people and who's related to who. And you have that. Yeah, it's basically like Google for the Amish when it comes to like finding like, oh yeah, this person's related to this or how old is this person? And it's kind of even got their like, addresses and stuff and so.

[A]

Nice. Yeah, it's like a book where you can go look and see who's who.

[C]

And how old and how many kids they have and when the kids were born. So that's pretty cool. Oh yeah, right. That's kind of how it is. But it's a little bit different than that.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Because they put like, they like, they put like two different, Was it two different names on the front? Like whoever, like, put it together and stuff. Some Casam Amish, like, like they know like who's related to everyone. It's like, it's almost like they're like, they're happy. I get, I guess you could say. And they, they're happy. Not a happy copy, like the. Is there.

[A]

Oh, it's their hobby.

[C]

Like H O B Y.

[A]

Like rap. Like rapid. No, hobby.

[C]

Yeah, like, like, like happy.

[A]

Like it's something they like to do in their spare time.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

That's what genealogy put it together.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh yeah. You got. Somebody's got to know who's related or you got to be able to ask somebody. So could there be people in your school that are your cousin. You don't even know it.

[C]

No, because everyone in the school, like they drive there with a horse and bucky. So it's fairly close because we have like, let me think. I, I, I think it's like half at least. I have a dozen schools in our, in our like, community.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And how do you decide which school you go to?

[C]

Whichever you live closest to.

[A]

That's it.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

Do they have like, learn, like they were talking about, like, obviously when cousins get together, things can get crazy.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you might get one of the Lord's remixes out there. Or disabled. They call out here in America.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Mentally disabled. Y Autism. Amish Tism. I'm sure you guys are seeing it. Well, somebody will just raise a barn with their eyes, you know, just put a nail through a four by four with their, just with their with the sheer. Just, you know, with just a blink of an eye.

[C]

I don't know. We have autism, but, like, we have, like, some with down syndrome.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because my great uncle, he has down syndrome and stuff. He's like. Yeah, yeah. He's like. He's like 57 years old.

[A]

And he's awesome, huh?

[C]

Yeah, he's pretty awesome. Because me and him. Me and him. I don't like. I. I just remember that I carry, like. Carry wood with him. Like, me and him carry wood into, like, wood box for a stove. And I don't know why, but apparently I used to tease him a little bit, too. I kind of feel bad for him now. I thought, like. I think it was like. Like 6 or 7 years old. I was really young.

[A]

Oh, it's okay. You were just a kid, man.

[C]

You were.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You were just joking around.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because I. I thought I was having fun, but.

[A]

But he could carry a lot of wood.

[C]

Oh, yeah, he could carry a lot of wood. Yeah, he was pretty cool.

[A]

And he passed away.

[C]

No, he hasn't passed away yet. But I heard recently he's like. He's not doing. Doing too good anymore, but. But he's still. He's still, like, surviving and stuff. But isn't that, like, really kind of old for a person with, like, down syndrome and stuff?

[A]

That's a great question, actually, Timothy. Let me look at that. Up. How old do the. How old do the down syndrome get, if you don't mind pulling up there?

[C]

Yeah, it might be. It might be, like, because he's Amish that he's like.

[A]

That he's clocking more time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because it's probably harder, probably a Down syndrome being out under the bright lights of regular life than it is out there just slurping in the moonlight.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

The average life expectancy for individuals with down syndrome is now about 60 years, with many living in their 60s and 70s, thanks to advances in medical care and social inclusion.

[C]

That's awesome, dude. McDonald's must not be getting to them anymore.

[A]

The McDonald's, huh? Yeah, it was really hampering them. Well, there was a time when, like, McDonald's, a lot of their employees had down syndrome.

[C]

Oh, really?

[A]

Bring that up. And then. So it caused a lot of people to take people there with down syndrome. So then they were eating all this McDonald's, and it was, like, not good for them.

[C]

No, it's like, it was, like, backing them up.

[A]

Yeah. But McDonald's was hiring a hell of Down. They had the whole.

[C]

I never knew, like, place like that.

[A]

Hired oh, yeah, Especially now. Now there's coffee shops in America and everybody that works there has down syndrome. Shane Gillis owns one, he's a comedian.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

So, yeah, I heard Shane Gillis was around Amish too, when he was. When he's younger.

[A]

Yep. He grew up on the Amish. He's famous. Some people said he has down syndrome, some people said he doesn't. Yeah, I don't know. We had a guy on who completed the Iron Man. It was one of the biggest physical challenges in the world. And he has down syndrome. Chris Nikich, bring him up.

[C]

What's it? What's an Ironman?

[A]

It's like the toughest competition ever. Oh, there he is right there.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

What are the conditions of an Ironman? Just so we're clear on it is one of a series of long distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation. Consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bicycle ride and 26 mile run completed in that order.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

Think you could do it?

[C]

No, I'd have to. I'd have to like build three barns in a day and like, like run up and down to the house a couple times.

[A]

Yeah. Oh, you'd have to. Jack and Jill a million gallons of water, dude. Yeah. Even if I had down syndrome, I don't think I could do it.

[C]

No, it'd be really hard to do like, even though, like, I think even be hard for the Amish people because first we, we need to learn how to bike.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

Because we can swim. Because like the rivers and stuff.

[A]

Are you allowed to have bikes or.

[C]

No, like, we can sneak them, but.

[A]

Oh, you sneak them up.

[C]

Yeah, but like the homies over in like Indiana and Ohio and in Pennsylvania, they got like scooters and stuff. Yeah, they do it, but they got like the low riders, like the ones that are really close to the ground.

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[C]

That you like stand on and stuff. Yeah. Not the ones that you like sit on.

[A]

Oh, I see what you're saying.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So not the motorized ones?

[C]

No, not, not the motorized. Or the ones with like pedals and stuff?

[A]

Yeah, they had them one r. They had one Amish dude oral farming on one of these, I think.

[C]

Oh, like was he doing it on the, on the horse or like the scooter?

[A]

I think the scooter. Oh, and they have a lot of Mexican Amish too now. The Amish, they call them.

[C]

Yeah, I saw like there were a couple like Mexican Amish. I was like. Because I read like a couple years ago there was this Mexican Amish guy, he popped up like he was. He looked fully Mexican. He looked like he came from Mexico and. Yeah, I think someone must adopted him. It sounded like that. And like he could speak like. Like he could speak like the Mexican language. And then he also speak like Pennsylvania Dutch too.

[A]

Hell yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I love that, man. Yeah, dude. And that must be the craziest if you're Mexican because then you're like, holy shit, I still have to do all this construction myself, you know, like, if you're Amish, Mexican people expect you to build stuff.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Faster than anybody.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because Mexicans and Amish, we go back and forth. Like we look who can build the.

[A]

Fastest if you have both.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Now when it comes to she rocking, I have to say Mexicans are definitely faster because they got them long like. Like those metal things that. I think they're called stilts.

[A]

Oh, really? So they're good at Sheetrocking.

[C]

Yeah, they. I saw a video of them. They like held their tape measure and then walked over. And the one guy, real tall looking guy, if he had like long legs, he was on stilts and stuff, he was at. Almost touched the ceiling.

[A]

What. Tell me about this. When you go to Rum Springer, how do you go? Is there a day that you go, what happens? You hit what age and how does it start?

[C]

It's kind of just. It's kind of, kind of spontaneous when it happens. You're like roughly, roughly 16 and a half when it happens. And your parents are like, like, you can go. And then you kind of just go.

[A]

Like, do they sit you down at dinner and tell you do. Is it like an announcement at school? Is it at church? How does it happen that they say, we're going to allow you to go to Rumsburg?

[C]

It's not, it's not really an announcement. It's just kind of like, hey, you can, you can go there. And then you probably have a couple rules, you know, don't do this, don't do that. But you're probably going to do it anyway.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so is there a moment that an actual day that you leave, like, do you say goodbye?

[C]

Oh, no, no. So when Roomspringer happens and you go to Ryo, like you still live at home and stuff, you're still Amish. And then you just do stuff on the weekends that you're not supposed to.

[A]

When do you go back to your Amish country? Like, when do you go back to your district, like to your home?

[C]

So when you're in Rome Springer, you always, you're always at Home. So don't like the. Like. So what happens if you want. You're in Rome Springer for, like, it's usually around four to five years. It. It always depends. And then, though, when you get baptized is usually when you have a girlfriend and then you want to get married. So that's the reason you get baptized is to get married. And then at the same time you're also becoming a member of the church.

[A]

Okay. So before. So you hit about 16 or something.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And your parents say that you can go now.

[B]

Yep.

[C]

And.

[A]

And that means on the weekends you can go do what you want.

[C]

Yeah, kind of. And if. If they don't hear too much about.

[A]

It, you're fine, then you're doing fine.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because sometimes you can be like, hey, you can't go this time.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And now do some people choose to stay out in Rum Springer and not come back to the church? Do you have that option or that's not.

[C]

Yeah. Where like, people, like, leave and become examish.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And that can happen.

[C]

Yeah. And then when, like Rome Spring ends, it's. It's roughly around 20 to 21. That's usually when people get married or sometimes, you know, like, all of a sudden they realize they have a kid. And then. So that's not really. Not really a good idea, like, to have a kid before you're married. So, like, they either get quickly married or like my cousin, like, here's my cousin Frank. Like, he.

[A]

He was Amish?

[C]

No, like, he. Like his parents, like, they realized they had him when they were still, like, on Roomspring and Amish. So they just left.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So.

[A]

So your cousin, his. His parents were both on Rum Springer.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

Both Amish.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

They. One of them got pregnant. The woman.

[C]

The woman, yeah.

[A]

And then they realized at that point that they had to leave. Would they have been welcomed back into the church or. No.

[C]

Like, so what happens if that happens? Either you leave or you like, almost come married right away. Because that has happened a couple times, actually. It happened for my parents, so I have to quickly get married.

[A]

Okay. So you have to make that quick choice.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Now if you decide to leave, are you shunned? Are you allowed to come back? What is it like, like, once you allow. Once you decide to leave.

[C]

So if you leave and you're already a member of the church, you'll get. You get shunned from it. And then if you're not a member, like on Rome Spring, if you leave, it varies on the parents a lot. Like on my dad's side like they, they wouldn't really, for the longest time, they wouldn't really be happy or wouldn't really talk to their kids when they came, came and visited once. That ex Amish on my mom's side, they were like that for a little bit too, like in the first. But my mom's side now, when the, when the ex Amish kids come back, they're like now 40 and stuff. 30, 40 and maybe even older. Like they come back, they're welcome, like all that stuff. But my, on my dad's side, they're still a little bit iffy, but they're way better than they were. I see.

[A]

So they're coming around a little bit more than they used to. Yeah, but probably in your grandfather's generation, if somebody was shunned, they might not talk to them.

[C]

Yep, that's how it is when you get, when you get shunned, you're not supposed to. Well, you can talk to them, but you're not supposed to like, help them out in any way. Like you can't accept money from them and you can't, you can't. You're not supposed to get a right from them to a ride. Like, like, let's say they were driving. The ones that left, they were driving and stuff. You're not supposed to like, like right with them.

[A]

Oh yeah. If they can't even stay on the path to heaven, how are they going to keep you on a path when they're trying to take you somewhere?

[C]

Yeah, they're going to like take you off the road or something.

[A]

They sure are. Yeah, they're lit. Yeah. Literally, dude. They're literally going to take you off the road. You know, I never expected to be a business owner. You know, at first we just were podcasting and then things just evolved. You know, one of the toughest points for us was when we started offering merchandise. You know, we had to get the shipping done and it just, you know, I'm up in the middle of the night printing shipping labels. It became too much. Thankfully, Shipstation showed up to help. Shipstation centralizes your shipping tasks into one easy platform. And their rate browser automatically finds you the best rates across more than 200 carriers at discounts of up to 90%. Yep. There's a reason why so many successful businesses use ShipStation. Users report scaling three times faster than average. Upgrade to shipping software that does more than just keep up with your business. Ship station propels it forward. Start your 60 day free trial at shipstation.com. t H E O that's shipstation. Dot com. Theo, get yourself ready for a trip.

[C]

Through McDonald land shaped volcanoes.

[A]

You'll even find a French fr.

[C]

Now just turn around and see if you won't find a hamburger patch as you head.

[A]

Order the McDonald land meal today and.

[C]

Get the Mount McDonaldland shake with your.

[A]

Very own character souvenir kit first. Actually, you know what? I'm gonna tap a little. I'm gonna have a little sip of Celsius. Cause I need to pick me up. Have you ever had this before?

[C]

No, not this. No. Is it. Is it good? Yeah, yeah, it's grape. I saw it's grape, so it's, like, really good. I'm gonna have to try this stuff.

[A]

Can you have a little bit?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

No alcohol?

[C]

No, al. Okay, so what does it have? It's like water.

[A]

Ooh. Mine's cherry cola flavored. It's like, spicy stuff. It's like a little bit of add kind of.

[C]

Oh, dude. This stuff actually tastes like. Like the grapes that you squeeze out of the. Like, not the grapes that you eat from the store, but like, the Amish grapes that you can buy. Like the ones that you squeeze out of the. What do you call that? The skin. Have you ever had those grapes where you just squeeze them out and you swallow them? Yeah, it tastes just like this.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Let's get a look at those. Amish purple grapes.

[C]

Yeah, they're. They're. Yeah, that's how they look. And those. You know how the stores, like, they have no seats in them? Like, these have, like, a seat in them. You just squeeze them out and then you swallow them. Because if you try to eat them, like, chew on them, like. Like, you just bite into the seat and stuff.

[A]

Oh, you just squeeze them out.

[C]

This actually tastes exactly like that. So it must be very natural.

[A]

Yes, sir. It's the best, man.

[C]

That's very good.

[A]

Oh, that'll get you home, brother. That'll get you home.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So if this. I saw that this does have caffeine in it.

[A]

Yeah, it has a little bit of caffeine.

[C]

So I'll be, like, moving around.

[A]

Yeah, you'll be feeling something.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What is your Rum Springer experience been, like?

[C]

It's. It's been crazy. I've done, like, the first, like, year and a half. I didn't do too much because I wasn't 18 yet. But, like, this summer, I've done so many crazy things. Actually, last summer, I got to drive, like, a Corvette. That was crazy. Like, these two girls, like, they let me drive their Corvette. A lot of fun. Where'd you meet them through my. My uncle. My ex. Amish uncle Simon. I met him through them.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And dude, I actually was at their wedding. Like the one with the black hair. I was at there like her and her husband's wedding. It was pretty cool. Yeah. And yeah, so I got to drive a Corvette. That thing was really fast too. Like you step on the pedal a little bit. It was like a horse with like, like some special oats or something. Yeah, put like, put some Celsius in their water.

[A]

Oh yeah, that thing has been eaten. Yeah, Diesel dipped carrots right there. Homie, that horse has got it.

[C]

Oh yeah, they were like. They were like. Well, I think it was overcrowded because there's only like two seats. And then, and then the. She's like sitting in the middle and stuff.

[A]

Hey, that's fine though, dude. You gotta have at least one chick hanging out of a Corvette, dude. Yeah, that's Rum Springer.

[C]

Yeah, that is Rum Springer. And then do we. Where they wanted to get a couple of videos because they thought that was pretty cool.

[A]

Oh, it's amazing, bro. It's great to see you out there. Just trying some different things. Yeah, what other things did you try that you found that you liked and didn't like out there?

[C]

I was. Oh yeah. I also got the other. The other weekend I got to went to like, it was Eau Claire, Wisconsin. There was like like an air show where they had like the blue angel airplanes at all kinds of airplanes.

[A]

Nice.

[C]

And then they also like you had to pay a little bit. Well, it was actually quite a bit. It was like $200 for like one helicopter. Right. And I was like, you know, this might be like a week or two of wait, just like of me working, but like I want to go on a helicopter ride. So I was kind of scared to like hold my phone out because. Because like the helicopters open and stuff. Like what happens if you drop it and stuff. But it's really smooth too. And when we took off, like we took off and stuff, it was like. It was really crazy. It felt like we were like. I felt like I was on a, like on a piece of plywood and I just started going up. It was like. It was crazy and it felt really crazy. That's actually Atley right there.

[A]

Oh, nice, brother.

[C]

He's still, he's still homage at home. He. He busted like bust his like cut his hair and stuff, so.

[A]

Wow, that's exceptional, bro. You got out there, you just felt like a bird, huh?

[C]

I did feel like a bird. And this guy. I Think he. I think he gave a little bit of longer. Right. Because we're Amish and stuff. And he. We, like, went sideways on the. We went sideways on the. Like on the. Above the lake and stuff. Because, like, if you hit water really far off, it's like. It's pretty much like concrete, I think.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

That went sideways and almost felt like I was falling off, but I had my trusty seatbelt on and stuff, so we were pretty good. So that was. That was a crazy ride, but it was actually kind of smooth, you know, I was actually more scared when I was like, a couple weeks later. It's like probably like a month later. It was right after I went to your concert. Your concert was, like, really crazy.

[A]

Oh, did you have fun? Could you understand a lot of the material?

[C]

I did, yeah. Like, some of it I didn't understand. Like, the bald guy was there. The guy that. His parents are like, from the Middle east was there. They were pretty cool. And then you came out and then I thought it was really funny. This was actually, you know, before the show, I was chamming out. I was with my cousin Frank, and he was like. We were. I was just chamming out through music.

[A]

Yeah. Because people don't understand. This is where we met. We met after a show.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I was like, dude, we've been trying to have an Amish person on, and then here. God just put us right together, bro.

[C]

Yeah, God is great. He works. He works in mysterious ways.

[A]

It seems like he's the magician man.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And I said, you know, the o' mine would probably. I wanted to give you, like, wearing Amish hat, like.

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Did you give me that hat or not?

[C]

No, I. That was. It was my hat. It didn't really fit. Actually, I have a little bit of surprise for you. Hey, Frank, you want to bring that over, dude? I got. So what I did over last week, me and your. Me and you. Some of your strong connections were talking, and I think they didn't quite know what size your hat was. So it's a bit of an odd thing to, like, know and stuff, but.

[A]

Yeah, it's just odd thing to ask a man.

[C]

Yeah, it is. But I wanted. We got an size and I want to give you this hat so now you can be like. You can be like part of Thomas Mafia.

[A]

Oh, that's cool, dude.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Thank you so much. And a hat size, that's just like the waist for your head, you know?

[B]

Yeah, it is.

[A]

You don't want to admit your little fat above the ears.

[C]

You know, Right.

[A]

This has a band in it. Was this the front of the back?

[C]

That's the front, yeah.

[A]

All right.

[C]

So that way you always wear the hat, Right? Does it fit? Oh, it's a bit loose. Is it a bit loose or. Perfect, dude. Perfect. I'm glad I got you the right size.

[A]

Donkey.

[C]

Welcome. That means you're welcome.

[A]

Does donkey mean thank you?

[C]

No, Dengue.

[A]

Dengue?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

The same thing in German. Like thank you in German and Pennsylvania Dutch is the same thing.

[A]

Dengue?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Heck yeah, dude.

[C]

Yeah. Now you're. Now you're part of Amish youh just need the rest of the clothes.

[A]

I feel great, man. Do you think I would make a good Amish person or not? And be honest with me?

[C]

Ah, well, do you, do you, like, break a lot of rules and stuff?

[A]

I don't know. Really? I don't think so.

[C]

Yeah, like the, like, if you don't really break any of the rules, you make a pretty good Amish. I could get my mom to get you some. Some Amish clothes for you.

[A]

Maybe for Christmas I'll exchange something with you and I could send you something that would be. That your community would accept as well.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Are you allowed to accept gifts from people that are not Amish?

[C]

Yeah, I accept gifts from people that are not Amish.

[A]

Do your parents allow you to? Is that okay?

[B]

Yep. They.

[C]

Because they sometimes like. Well, we had sometimes a guy from around Christmas time. Sometimes a guy, like, brings some stuff and then we, like, he's done it for a couple years and he like, gifts all the younger kids some presents and stuff.

[A]

Oh, that's nice.

[C]

Yeah, it's very nice.

[A]

Oh, I know you had mentioned before that your parents said there's some stuff not to do during Rum Spring. Like what was some of that?

[C]

They didn't, they didn't really say too much, but they tell me, like, when, when I do something that they think didn't think was. How do I say it was like, like, probably not the best thing to do.

[A]

Like, appropriate.

[C]

Yeah, like not probably, like, because sometimes I do wild stuff, you know, like going to Walmart, riding a scooter. Yeah, because that came around and.

[A]

But I mean, did they have advice against, like, sex, drugs, things like that?

[C]

No, not like any, any like, any sex stuff that, that doesn't get talked about. You just kind of, you kind of have to do, like, door to explore. You just kind of have to, you know, go out on the jungle and see. See what bites.

[A]

Damn.

[C]

So, yeah, we went to Walmart.

[A]

Oh, something will bite at Walmart. Dude.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I was looking at the TVs. They're like a thousand dollars, like, crazy. That's like a third off a bucky. And a TV doesn't even go anywhere. It just, like, sits somewhere.

[A]

I'd rather just play charades with my buddy. Like, you guys probably do a lot. Y' all play charades a lot.

[C]

I'm not even quite sure what that is.

[A]

Oh, it's where someone, like, you write down some movies or tv. Oh, shoot, you don't know. A lot of movies and TV shows charade. Just, like, somebody acts something out, and you have to guess what they're acting out. Like, they impersonate something.

[C]

Oh, you, like, pretend. So, like, let's say I was pretending to be the bishop. I'd be like. Like. Like my. Like, go down here and.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Big angry look.

[A]

Maybe scratching your beard. Maybe going like this or something like this.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, something like that. No, I've never. I've never played that, but I kind of know what you mean.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But you guys don't talk about sex within the Amish community much, like, at school and stuff. There's not a class that teaches you about it.

[C]

Not in school, no. So, like, will a dad kind of.

[A]

Take his son and have, like, a birds and the bees talk? Like, in. In that. It's kind of the birds and the bees. Like, the dad will take you and talk to you about how things work, you know?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

No, no. Like, all of that stuff, you. You actually have to, like, figure out and stuff. Okay, but, like, since you got phones and stuff, you can kind of, you know, you kind of. You can figure it out. Like.

[A]

But there's some stuff. I mean, but you. You're not allowed to look at pornography on your phone and stuff.

[C]

No, you're not supposed to know. Yeah, no, I stay away from that stuff.

[A]

Yeah, it's bad.

[C]

It is very bad.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Since you got into Romford, can you get a girlfriend and stuff like that? Or, like, what are you allowed to do?

[C]

Yeah, I can get, like, a girlfriend, like, all that stuff.

[A]

But does she need to be Amish?

[C]

Preferably? Yeah, but, like, if I were to get a. Like, a girlfriend that was not Amish, you would either have to become Amish or I would have to, like, leave, like, damage.

[A]

Do you think that there are a lot of women out there who are willing to become Amish? Does that happen a lot?

[C]

I know. I know of one case where that is happening, and, you know, I don't know how often it happens, but It's. It's rare where it, like, actually goes through. I know a lot of people want to become Amish, but they're. They're not ready to make the, like, the final. Like, the final step towards it. So. But yeah.

[A]

What's the thing that keeps them away from. That makes them.

[C]

Makes.

[A]

Makes people afraid to take that final step, do you think?

[C]

I think it's like. It's. I think it's a loss of, like. Like your phone, the lights on the ceiling, the fans on the ceiling, like, the vents and holes in the ceiling, like, all that stuff, I think. And then, like, the couch, the tv, and then whatever else, you know, like, whatever else hohilia use.

[A]

If you have an Amish wife, does a wife have to provide, like, food and sexuals and stuff for the husband? Or is it just. Is it always negotiable or does the wife have, like, a responsibility for kind of food and sexuals and stuff?

[C]

Yeah, so the way, like, it's. Everyone kind of accepts, like, they're like. It's just. How do I say this? It's, like, normal, and you, like, it's worried. It's kind of like, it's where it's. Everyone has a mutual understanding of, like, what they have to do. Right. Because, like, the woman, you know, cooks, cleans, you know, takes care of things around the house. And then, like, if she needs help, she'll ask, like, the husband for, like, help. And then usually the husband's, you know, gone most of the day working, like, either building houses, plowing the fields, or cutting, like, lumber or making cabinets or even polishing cap nicks, stuff like that. Like, they help each other when they're. When they're, like, at, like, at home. Like, if. If it needs. But yeah, like, the. Like, the wife does cooking, cleaning, take, taking care of the kids.

[A]

Got it.

[C]

And then stuff in the garden, too.

[A]

Right here it says Amish women mainly focus on housekeeping, child rearing, gardening, and food preparation. Many manage home finances, have their names on property deeds, and control the family checkbook. Women nurture the spiritual life of the children and are active in maintaining Amish cultural practices.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So women have a pretty strong voice in the Amish community.

[C]

Yeah, well, I'd say so, yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Are Amish women good cooks? Like, do they make some cool stuff or what are some good Amish meals?

[C]

Oh, yeah, like, dawlish Amish make. I'd say make some of the best food. Like, especially Grandma. She had a lot of experience in the, like, in the field stuff or. It's I mean, like, she has a lot of experience in, like, the field of cooking and stuff. Like, her breadsticks, they're like, out of this world.

[A]

Are they?

[C]

They're really good. And then my mom.

[A]

What do you put on them?

[C]

Ah, I'm not even quite sure.

[A]

Can you put butter on them or not?

[C]

Yeah, butter. Yeah, it looks exactly like that.

[A]

And can you put a little bit of salt on them? Do you have salt?

[C]

Ah, no, we don't put salt on. They're like. They're garlic breadsticks.

[A]

Oh, it's already have garlic on them.

[B]

Yeah, they.

[C]

And they're. And they're just. They're really good. And. And my favorite meal, like, let's say we're doing a lot of stuff, like building something or like a frolic where, like, the whole community comes together and.

[A]

Frolic, it's called.

[C]

Yeah, that's like when the whole community comes together and built something. Like a barn.

[A]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[C]

And then, like, they'll make. They'll make some. Either some chicken or some burgers with mashed potatoes, corn, and like, I think you would call like. Like, it's like. Like Mac and cheese.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

And then you put some. So what we do, if our food's, like, hot, we put some applesauce on it, mix it up.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And then it's nice and cool. And then pork can be.

[A]

Oh, if the food's hot, you'll put applesauce on it.

[C]

Yeah, to, like, cool it down and stuff. So, like, the. That's, like, one of my favorite meals. And then even better, like, if you have steak and stuff. Like, if you have steak, that's really good.

[A]

Yeah. And do you have dessert, too?

[C]

Oh, we have. We have pretty good dessert to, like. Like pies.

[A]

Oh, I bet Amish pie is good.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

They have sugar, don't you?

[C]

Yeah, they. They put sugar in them. I'm not sure what they all put in because I know how to make scrambled eggs, and that's about it.

[A]

Same.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And. Yeah, they put. What is it? Like.

[A]

What'S a popular pie that you have or a popular dessert?

[C]

A popular pie is shoo fly pie is one of them. And then peanut butter pie.

[A]

Shoo fly pie. What is it?

[C]

Yeah, that I. I've not had it. I've not really. We don't have it very often. But another pie that's really good is mince pie, like, pumpkin pie. That's really good out, like, apple pie. That's really good.

[A]

God, that's a good one.

[C]

Like, I want that like, that stuff is pretty good. Yeah, that's my cousin right there.

[A]

Oh, really? I've seen this woman before. She's Amish.

[C]

Yeah, no, she's examish.

[A]

Oh, she's ex Amish.

[C]

She used to be Amish.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So she's my. She's my cousin, actually.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[C]

Yeah, so I got, I guess, famous cousins, too.

[A]

What are the fears of having a girlfriend that's not Amish? Just that they won't understand the religion and the culture.

[C]

Like. Like, the biggest fear would be like, that. Like, the church or, like, the parents would find out. That's definitely the biggest fear.

[A]

But is it okay if she decides to join the church? It's okay.

[C]

Yeah, it is okay. But, like, for that, that rarely ever happens. It's like, it's almost as rare as, like, the bishop leaving the community.

[A]

Got it. Would she be welcome if that happen?

[C]

Yeah, if she was. If she was fully Amish, yeah, she would be welcome. Now, she might get a little bit of looks in the beginning, but, yeah, as long as she's fully Amish, that would be good.

[A]

Dude. She deserves the looks, probably.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, I'm saying you can. You can handle a little bit of looks out of the game. Can Amish people tickle each other or not? Is that. Is that allowed or not? Is that.

[C]

Yeah, like. Like, like when we were little kids, we used to tickle each other.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

But, like, I don't really tickle anyone. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

I don't think people should keep doing it, but I'm just making sure it's allowed when you're kids.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And do they play hide and go seek? Like, what kind of stuff do people do to pass the time?

[C]

Like, either ride horses, the ponies, like, like, pony cars, and then also hide. Like, hide and seek. That's pretty fun. And then. Oh, yeah, we play board games or just play with cars. Play with blocks. I used to play, like, underneath the porch or in the garden. We used to have a lot of cars and stuff, and I used to, like, pretend there was, like, a whole world there in the garden. So mom didn't really, like, when I played in the garden when it was like, all the corn was up the potatoes. Like, I actually liked playing when it was corn. Corn was up and then the potatoes, because it was way more possibilities for imagination. You could have a place here, a place there.

[A]

Yeah. Just more creativity going on.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And. But if the. It was the garden didn't work out, or either that or just play under the porch. Like, the porch was like, oh yeah, like three feet high. So the older I got, the more, the more I hit my head on up on the, up on the porch.

[A]

That's when it's time to get out.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

That's when I decided, you know, if I do play in like when I do play with cars and stuff and out in the dirt, like the, the garden's the place to be.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And do people start dating within the Amish culture at a certain age or is it kind of taboo? Or how does it work? Like is there a dance like at where you can invite a girl to a dance? Like how does dating and that sort of like adolescent attraction kind of stuff like that. Were you trying to get, you know, you trying to you know, meet a girl or if you have a first kiss. What's that? How's that whole universe in the Amish culture.

[C]

So like our school only goes until eighth grade, so we're out of school in like 13 or 14.

[A]

You're done with school Completely?

[C]

Yeah, completely done. And then you go to work.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So we didn't, we didn't. I don't even know what high school is or public school or.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Like I've never been there. Never ever. I want to go one day.

[A]

Like high school is just doing drugs and try not to die of driving while intoxicated.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Like, like if that happened, never happens for us. Like our horse will just take us home, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's a Tesla. You basically have an original. You kind of have like one of the self driving cars.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Cuz if you fall asleep on your horse, you know, might not be the safest way, you know, because you might, you know, go a little bit over on the road. But, but as long as the people with like steering wheels and stuff, they'll be. If as long as they're like okay and stuff, the horse will like go home and like so the way it works for like dating, if you're like, what is it? So like 16 and a half? Like some. It depends on the parents. Like my mom and dad, like they weren't really allowed to like become like date like official boyfriend girlfriend until like until they were 18.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

But like in our community like right now like, like it basically happens whenever now. Like oh heck, as soon as you join like the room springer, like you can. And usually the way you meet and hang out is through singings like after church or at like weekend parties. That's usually how it is.

[A]

So weekend parties are those, do those happen in your district or those happen off of property.

[C]

That it all. It varies where the Amish party is. Sometimes it happens when the like, sometimes when the parents aren't home, we go to like, we go to like their place and party there.

[A]

So at Amish parties, will people just like, are people drinking and stuff like that? It's a little bit more like freewheeling.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You like drinking and then like even like the vapes, things popped up too.

[A]

Like, do Amish like to vape or not?

[C]

Some do.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, I knew.

[C]

Yeah, some do.

[A]

I knew it.

[C]

But also like cigarettes. And then so sometimes we go like.

[A]

Oh, a pipe to a lot of Amish look like they would smoke a pipe.

[C]

Older. The older ones too. But they like the ones that are the only ones usually don't. They usually stick to cigarettes and stuff like that. But sometimes like we'll. We'll go to like an ex Amish person's house and party up there and it's. It's a lot of fun.

[A]

It is. And Wendy, if you, if you're doing Rum Springer, when do you have to be back at home? Like do you leave on Friday, have to be back on Sunday night? Or what is the rules kind of now?

[C]

It depends. It varies from family to family. Let's say you have church tomorrow. You probably want to be home like you know, before the morning so you get a little bit of sleep. Or there's not. Not church. You can come home or you can just. It just like depends. But usually like when I, when I do it, I usually don't come home until like later Sunday.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And do they drug test you or whatever? If you're Amish, do you have to get drug tested?

[C]

No, no, we don't have to do any like drug tests.

[A]

Really?

[C]

Yeah, like no tests and stuff.

[A]

Damn. Cause y' all got yalls on year long Halloween going on out there in the fields.

[C]

I'm like, yeah, like sometimes, like sometimes in the woods. The fields, like just depends where the spot is.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

But now like all Amish that like party and stuff, like our number one way of like talking to each other is through like Snapchat.

[A]

They've really taken over Snapchat.

[C]

Yeah. Like if, if they've been Amish, like a young Amish person that is roughly my age, if they have a phone, like a smartphone, they have Snapchat.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So when was the first time you saw a phone or a screen? Do you remember?

[C]

I think it was one time. It was not the first time, but I remember this one time when one of my ex Amish uncles was at our place with his girlfriend and she let me look like look on her phone and I was sitting right beside her and she grabbed out her phone, she started texting someone and she was flying through the keyboard and stuff. You were swiping little lines and all of a sudden words popped up like it was like. Was like pop, pop, pop, pop. The words like almost as fast as you can like talk and. Yeah, I was like really surprised. So that's like, that's like the like I'd say like the first, some of the first memories. Seen a phone.

[A]

What things are forbidden in you guys culture? Kind of.

[C]

Ah, a lot of things are like electricity. Like having a smartphone. We're allowed to have like phones for like our businesses, like phone shacks and stuff. Then TVs. What else? Like pretty much anything that like doesn't have like, that that requires like electricity and stuff. And also like certain, certain color of like shirts, dresses. If it's too bright, it can also be like, like, like you can. The bishop or deacon will talk to you about it.

[A]

Oh yeah.

[C]

About it like it being the wrong color.

[A]

Too flashy.

[C]

Too flashy.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And also if your haircut's like way short. So my, my haircut's like like okay. Because my mom gives me a haircut every time.

[A]

Oh yeah?

[C]

Yeah. So I've never actually had a different kind of haircut.

[A]

Oh yeah. Beautiful.

[C]

Yeah. So I almost have a mullet. You. You could probably have an Amish haircut too.

[A]

Oh yeah, I think I have a little bit.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You just let that. Just let the hair in front of the ear grow. No, I could have been block a little bit off the sound like to the ear. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I would have enjoyed being Amish, I think, man.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

How are regular people and Amish people different from each other? Have you gathered? How do they seem different from each other?

[C]

So like the main thing I've noticed is like, like a lot of Amish are. When they're in public, it seems like they're like bit like bit more respectful I guess. Another thing that's big, I guess like so if we like, if we did something that was big and wrong, like some one time my little brother, he stamped out lots of corn down in our cornfield and. And he got a spanking from that. Like that's. I guess that's the difference because I see a lot of kids don't like. I guess they don't get spankings anymore.

[A]

Yeah, they don't do it anymore. Yeah, they should. I mean I don't think kids should get abused, but sometimes spanking is okay, I think.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because this is like. Like, getting beat up and because, like. Because we never got, like, beat up or anything, but, like, if we did something bad, we got, like. Like three cracks. Was like, like a bell or something that. But we never got abused and stuff, so, like, just, I guess discipline.

[A]

So discipline is something that seems stronger in the Amish community.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What are some crimes that they have? Are there any crimes that are popular in Amish land?

[C]

I'm not quite sure. Maybe. Maybe like, taxes sometimes. Because I know some people don't, like, file taxes and stuff, like, because the only tax get like that. Are we free from that damage? Don't get taxed. It's like Social Security tax. So when we get old, the government doesn't, like, pay us and stuff.

[A]

Oh, they don't. So you don't have to pay into that.

[C]

No.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

I wonder why not?

[C]

When you join the church, you. You get, like, the bishop and the government, I guess, work together to where you're, like, exempt from the Social Security tax. But that's, like, the only tax that I know of that you're, like, exempt from. Other than that, like, if. But if you don't file taxes. Because I know some don't.

[A]

Mm.

[C]

But other than that, we have to pay all the other taxes.

[A]

The Amish are exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes, fica. If they formally reject benefits and file for exemption due to their belief in mutual community support. Wow. So you guys feel like you don't need that? You support each other, huh?

[B]

Yes.

[C]

A lot of Amish don't have insurance for stuff, too. And so when.

[A]

Hell no. I don't think you could insure them.

[C]

You know, Mark, for business. I don't. I think for businesses, they somehow do it, I think. But for, like, let's say you. Like, let's say you fall off a roof or something, you hurt yourself, and then let's say you go to the hospital, because I know the hospital. Like, they. They charge quite a bit.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

They. I don't know where they come up with the crazy numbers, but they'll take.

[A]

You through the rum springer.

[C]

They will. They'll drag. They were like, drag.

[A]

Drag you, dude.

[C]

Yeah, it's like, dragging behind the buggy.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Or like, horse runs away and you're trying to hang on. You're, like, scraping across the gravel and stuff. But. Yeah, but, like, like, all the community helps pay for that. Like, if that would help. I got it.

[A]

So there's A lot of community support. That's a lot at any point in somebody's life. So you guys might have a day where you're like, Mr. So and so needs help or Ms. So and so needs help. Let's go help them.

[C]

Yep, that's how it works.

[A]

That's a big part of your life.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like for example, what are things you would go help a neighbor do?

[C]

Like really with anything, like putting away hay. We've done that lots of times. Or like building a barn, like we've done that too. Or like even a house too. Like if they need a help, like a day or so, we'll come together and help each other. And I know back in the day we used to help each other. Like, like someone does hey, and then everyone, everyone helps this person do hey. Then that person also. Like, it's just a group effort. This person, this person, this person, like all around the community. But that doesn't really happening happen anymore. Like, you know, like most. Most. What is it? Oh yeah, most Amish they don't. They still farm a little bit, but most of them do like construction or like building cabinets.

[A]

Oh, it's changed.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So the Amish are farming less than they used to.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because like it's, it's not as sustainable anymore.

[A]

Right.

[C]

When my dad was growing up, all they do is farm and milk cows. Like they milk a lot of cows.

[A]

So what are some popular products? Like you said, like cabinets and stuff. You see a lot of those. You see cabinets, you see furnaces sometimes. Yeah, I don't know if that's a real thing or that's something that is made up. And they claim that Amish do it.

[C]

Like, like, you mean like wild up furnaces? Now I'm not sure quite where those come from, but like the furnaces, because there's wowling to it now. They might, they might get it from like from like a person that's not Amish.

[A]

Got it.

[C]

Get them from there.

[A]

The biggest shift in Amish economic life in the last century has been from agriculture to non farm businesses. In the early 1900s, nearly all Amish families depended on farming for their livelihood. Today only about 10% do, with the majority now involved in various trade crafts, retail and then for. Yeah, what are some of those? Construction and woodworking, carpentry, cabinet making and now famous Amish furniture shops. That is a big thing now, huh? Yeah, quilt making, sewing related trades.

[C]

Yeah, like selling Amish food too, and quilts and a lot of stuff like that.

[A]

It's a big part of the culture up there?

[B]

Yeah, it is.

[A]

And how. We will. You guys have, like, places on your property where people come and buy them or do you take them off property and people buy them there?

[C]

Usually, like, if you have a greenhouse or, like, a. Like a place where.

[A]

Where.

[C]

Like, the. Like, where you can buy, like, food and stuff. That's usually like, a little building on the property.

[A]

So, like, a market?

[C]

Yep. Like, kind of like a market, or, like, there's a farmer's market where. Where Amish go to, like, a town for a day, and they. They bring all the baked goods and, you know, stuff like that. And there's also a lot of Amish place. Like, a lot of places where Amish are. Was like, tours. They offer tours, and then they bring them around, and then it's kind of like Amish mall, but it's like. Like, the stores are, like, really far apart from each other, like a couple miles. But, yeah, they bring them around and they. They get to see an Amish, you know, Amish farm. I think they're called, like, Amish tourists and, like, tourist stuff like that.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

And then. Then you can, like, stop at the Amish place and, like, buy something from, like, the store and stuff.

[A]

Got it?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. We've been up there before and stopped at some places that I think were having cheese and ice cream, maybe even. Yeah, I'm not sure.

[C]

But, like, usually we only, like, make ice cream through the winter because you just scrap the snow out of the ground and put it in a bucket and.

[A]

Could you make ice cream if you needed to?

[C]

Yeah, like, if it was. If we had ice or something cold that you put around the wrong thing where you make ice cream because you got to crank the ice cream. Got it. Like, you crank, and then the thing in the middle spins around the ice and.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So, like, Amish ice cream is pretty good.

[A]

What music do you guys listen to? I know you said in the beginning there's some different. Sometimes people will sneak in some Def Leppard, but if not, you guys just sing a lot. Is there a lot of Amish songs and dancing as well, or.

[C]

No, no, in our community, there's not really any dancing. There's the, like, the only. Like, the only music songs that are really louder would be like, like, Chairman Hymns. But then, like, on the. Then sometimes we, like, sneak out on the weekends and stuff and.

[A]

And listen to some Soulja Boy or something.

[C]

Yeah, like. Like. Like, what is it? Like, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, you know, Lot Amish, like, rock and roll. And then I guess house EDM music, and then also a lot of country, like Garth Brooks, Mark Nwallan. Yeah, people like that. But I also listen to, like, little bit of rap stuff. Like Amish paradise is. That's a pretty good song.

[A]

Amish Paradise.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Who sang that?

[C]

Weird Al Yankovic. I did. Oh, thank you.

[A]

That makes perfect sense.

[C]

That's groovy. Yeah. Amish Prairie. That's a pretty. I love that song.

[A]

That's a banger, huh?

[C]

It is a banger.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

He looks a little bit mad there, but it was a pretty good song.

[A]

He's probably pissed his horse ran off or whatever.

[C]

Yeah, something like that. Because, like, his horse is pretty good at backing all the way at the end.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And then also, like, I like to listen a little bit of, like, rap stuff, too.

[A]

Oh, yeah?

[C]

Yeah. Like Ghana. A little bit of Ghana.

[A]

Oh, you listen to some Ghana?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Like. Like, I don't really listen to what he says. I looked at the lyrics, like, a couple times, and, like, they're. There's. The lyrics on Aren't the best, but, like, I like the way it sounds like. Like the. Like the. Like the sounds like. Like wind chimes, and then it just. It sounds very melodic.

[A]

He's a vibe. Yeah. He's got it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What else was I thinking about? Where else can we go from here? We're almost done. Let me think about what else we can talk about. You know what I'm gonna do, Timmy? I'm gonna take that down and keep this up here.

[C]

That's pretty cool.

[A]

I'm just gonna make sure that you're always here in spirit, dude.

[C]

I appreciate that.

[A]

You bet, man. What? I want to ask you something. With the risk of people leaving the community and stuff, are families still very close, or do they only get closer after people join the church? Does that make any sense to you?

[C]

I think. I think it does. So, like, most of the time, the. Like, the family is very close. Unless, like, when the. When the kids and the parents, like. Like, they don't agree on stuff and then they leave. That's like the. Like, the time when, like, they don't. They're not as close anymore. It. It depends on the person, I guess. And the parents, too.

[A]

Is it pretty heartbreaking when that happens in the community?

[C]

Yeah, it's. It's like when I was younger, I was. Like, when someone left, it's almost like. It's almost like someone died. Not quite, but it almost felt like that. But since I got older, I understand it a bit more, and it's. It's not as bad as, like, it used to be, so.

[A]

Yeah. Wow, that's you right there.

[C]

Yeah, I was. I was, like, really skinny when I was. When I was younger. I'm still kind of skinny, you know?

[A]

You look like that guy in Kingpin, a little. You seen Kingpin?

[C]

No idea what that is.

[A]

It's like an Amish movie. It's like a historical Amish film or whatever.

[C]

Oh, I almost look like that dude.

[A]

Yeah, when he's younger.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Not now. Oh, when he's younger. But he's classy guy. He's a great guy.

[C]

Yeah, he looks like a great guy, too.

[A]

Oh, yeah. Randy Quaid.

[C]

He's got, like, a big beard now.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, he's doing okay. Yeah, I'm a fan of his. What have you decided about Rum Springer and what you're gonna do with your family and the church and stuff? Have you made any decisions yet?

[C]

Like, like, not yet. Like, I. The final. The final decision will probably be in, like, probably within, like, two years or so.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

And then it depends if I leave or, you know, join the church and. Well, right now you actually can't really join the church because there's no bishop. You can't. You can join other churches that are, like, little bit away in a different district, but, like, yeah, it'd probably be, like, two years until I, you know, like, make my final decision, because it's a kind of a big decision.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

What would be the thing, you think, that would draw you out of the faith, that would draw you out of the church and out of the district?

[C]

I would think, like. Like, if I wanted to do something, like, something that would, like, something like, something I'm doing right now, like, this podcast, like, something worldly, and, like, they'd probably come down on me for, like, doing something like that, I guess would drive me away a little bit because, I don't know, it feels a little bit, like, a little bit restrictive, but, like, I guess that's the only thing I would think.

[A]

But you don't feel like doing this podcast will mess up your opportunity to go back or come or leave, huh?

[C]

No, I don't think it. I don't think it will.

[A]

Okay, good. I don't want that to happen, man. I want you to be able to make the best choice for yourself, no matter what. It sounds like a really beautiful community. Is it?

[C]

Yeah, it's. It's very beautiful.

[A]

I'd say it sounds like you have a lot of, like, community, a lot of sense of togetherness, you know, a lot of like, you feel. Do you feel a strong sense of purpose being Amish?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Like, you, like, kind of all pulled down or, you know, work hard. You know, the harder you work, the better because you get. You stay in shape, and then the more you can help out is always better. Because I love helping out people and making people stay. That's, like, one of my favorite things to do. I like doing that. So. Yeah, a lot of fun.

[A]

Yeah, I think it's important, you know, I think that's one way we really fill ourselves up is like, doing something for somebody else, you know, it feels good.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

It's like.

[A]

And you seem like you get to do a lot of that in your community, so there's probably a strong sense of feeling of, like, doing good.

[C]

Yeah, there is.

[A]

If you guys are helping each other out a lot.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Are siblings really close in your community or is that kind of not.

[C]

You mean the siblings? Yeah, yeah, usually like, the siblings are usually close, you know, not like weird close. You know, just like. Just like brother and brother.

[A]

Yeah. Legally closer.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, like, legally close. So I usually. The brothers and the sisters, they're used to keep to, like, the sisters are closer to themselves and the brothers are, like, close to themselves.

[A]

For sure.

[C]

Yeah, for sure. Here's my. Here's my little brother.

[A]

Oh, that's him right there, eh?

[C]

Yeah, I. I like, he, like, he doesn't like, he doesn't really, like. He probably wouldn't care if I put his, like, face up on, like, social media and stuff, but, yeah, I blurted out. I put, like, a thing over his.

[A]

Eyes out of respect.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's fun, though, you guys. So a lot of times when you're Amish, you just driving around, hanging out, telling stories and stuff.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Making each other laugh a lot.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Allowed to laugh.

[C]

Yeah. You're allowed to laugh. Like, we laugh like, we, like, drink coffee and laugh. And like, at work. At work, we're laughing a lot of time. We talk and. And because, like, when you're like. I don't know if, like, if, like non Amish people, I don't know what they do it like when. When they, like, work. They do they, like, talk to each other and laugh and stuff.

[A]

Yeah, they do, I think a decent amount at a lot of jobs.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Probably jobs that are more like. If you're doing construction things like that, contracting things, where you're building stuff, working together, where there's team opportunity, there's a lot of laughter, dude.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

If you're just sitting at a desk by yourself, you're probably just losing your mind.

[C]

Yeah, that would be. That would be kind of sad. Like being inside all day and, you know, under the. Under the lights and stuff.

[A]

Oh, yeah. I think it was something that's kind of like. It doesn't feel very human about it.

[C]

No.

[A]

Are there a lot of people on antidepressants and stuff that are Amish or. No?

[C]

Not that I know of. There might be, like. Like, maybe everyone, like, here, here, and maybe way over there, but not that I know of, no.

[A]

Do people seem depressed a lot or. Not really.

[C]

Most of them don't. Most of them don't. But then you have. You. Then you also have sometimes, like, people that are, like. What do you call those people that are, like, super depressed? Like, sometimes they're like, super depressed. Oh, they're almost like. They're almost like the water when it gets rough. They're like, up and down a lot.

[A]

Oh, bipolar.

[C]

Yeah, bipolar. Like, we sometimes, like, I don't have a person that has that and, like, it's kind of crazy.

[A]

Some studies have found Amish depression rates to be 1/5 to 1/10 of mainstream society with strong family ties and community support side as protective factors. That's unbelievable.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

1/5 to 1/10 is insane, brother. That's a huge. I mean, that's a huge difference. Strong family ties, robust social networks, work ethic, and especially religious faith are seen as major mental health protective factors. Will you guys pray together a lot? Just with friends, like, if you see them somewhere? Is that a common practice?

[C]

No, like. Like, we. We only do it, like, at the table. Got it. But, like, I know some families do, like, pray more than we do. We should probably do it more. Yeah.

[A]

I think that's how we all feel.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Do you have Valentine's Day?

[C]

Oh, yeah, we have Valentine's Day at school. So what happens in Valentine's Day is at school. So when that happens, who? Basically, we put, like, things on a paper and we put into a hat, and then we mix it all up and someone walks around with like. And then you reach in and you pick out a name. And if you got that name, then that's your Valentine. Like, your valentine. You gotta, like, switch lunch pails and then you also have, like, send a valentine in with them.

[A]

And can it be a boy or a girl?

[C]

Yeah, it can be like, like, either way.

[A]

Got it.

[C]

Yeah. So it's like, nothing. It's like. It's probably way different from, like. Like from non Amish and public schools, because I'm guessing, like, like non Amish and Public schools, you would have to be like a. Like a boy and a girl, right?

[A]

Yeah. But in all culture, it's just whatever.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. It's crazy. And the way we do it is like just the main. The reason we do it is mainly your friends. You give your friends a valentine and then. Then you also switch like lunch pails and then the moms will usually put something special in there, like NX or candy bar or. Yeah, my mom used to buy like those things from Walmart. Those like big red hearts and then send that with. To.

[A]

Oh, yeah, that's nice. Yeah, do that. Yeah, that's a nice thing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What other holidays do you have? Halloween?

[C]

No, we. We don't have Halloween, but I've had before I went to Roomspringa, the neighbors, our non Amish neighbors, they picked me up and then. Then they put me like in a prison. Prison costume thing, like black and white stripes all over me. And like we went out and gathering candy. Like, you just walk up to these people's houses and they have candy for you.

[A]

I know.

[C]

Yeah. It's crazy. Halloween's like really crazy. But a lot of them, a lot of Amish, like, don't. Don't celebrate because like, apparently that's like the occasion of like, Halloween is like something to do with like the devil. I'm not quite sure.

[A]

Yeah, I know what you're talking about. It's a pagan holiday.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Because they have some people, like, real scary stuff in the yard. They got like, snakes and then these. These dead people with like skulls and stuff.

[A]

Stuff hanging from trees.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Deceased adults and children.

[C]

Yeah, they're like bones stuff. I don't know where they get the bones. So like dig them up or something.

[A]

It's probably something they. Probably insider trading with some dog or something.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What is something that you want people to know about Amish people that are. A view of them or you think that something that's incorrect before we get out.

[C]

Like, like a misconception.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So like the. One of the biggest misconceptions I see all the time with like me being online and stuff. It's like crazy. Like all. All the stuff, like people. People say I'm not Amish. I don't do. I don't do this way. There's actually two misconceptions I can say. Like, number one is like a lot of Amish kids my age have like phones. Like, they hide it from their parents and stuff. And where. It's like they have like, they have like. Like they have some electronics and Stuff where they. But they have to keep it on the low and stuff.

[A]

And what would they do? Bury it in a field somewhere where they hide it behind a hog or something?

[C]

Like, how do you guys even hide it? In the barn, like the back of the bucky sometimes in a culvert and hope it doesn't rain.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So that's one thing. Like, a lot of Amish have phones. And every. Pretty much every Amish that has a phone that's like. Like my age, that's not for business and stuff is like, they have Snapchat. Like, that's how we.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Like, communicate. That's like our new. New, like, messenger pitch.

[A]

It's your underground railroad kind of.

[C]

Yeah, it's Underground railroad. I was thinking about, you know, starting underground bucky races, but I first got to dig the tunnel and stuff. But, like, another misconception, you know, about them is just like, what was it? Oh, yeah. About me not being Amish because I. I have a phone that. That's. Because, like, another thing that's like, huge. Like, really big because, like, there's Amishi movies and they're always. They always turn on the butter.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And basically living without electricity now. There's so many. There's so many different, like, Amish because, like, what you hear from me, like, from where I came from is. Will not be the same from an Amish in Indiana, Ohio, or like Pennsylvania. It's. It's. There's so many different ones, like, little different ways.

[A]

Branches of it.

[C]

Yeah, lots of different branches. And I. I would. I would say, like, there's not a single community that's like, exactly the same. There's always a little bit of rules. And there's so many different branches of it where they wear bit different clothes, bit different hats, do things a bit differently. Because I've had people say, like, this is not Amish. And then they like, write a detailed description. But I guess they probably don't know better that there's like lots of different ones because there's. There's like, lots. There's Beaches. Watching Trooper, New Order, Old Order. There's. There's so many different branches.

[A]

It sounds like a bunch of people on the warp tour.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. It's like, so. So when the Anabaptist became a thing, they basically, like, they were like a minority for a little bit.

[A]

Have you ever seen Back to the Future?

[C]

No.

[A]

Dang, boy.

[C]

What is that? What? What's that?

[A]

I think you would like it. And I think it's a. I think it's something that is Amish appropriate. I don't think it's too crazy.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

I think you could handle it. So have you ever seen Family man with Nicholas Cage?

[C]

No.

[A]

Do you know who Nicholas Cage is?

[C]

Not even quite sure.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

So this. These are like movies and stuff?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Oh, wow.

[A]

Family Man's one of my favorites. Dude.

[C]

So what. What's that about?

[A]

About? It's about this guy and he's very, like, rich and fancy and stuff.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then one day he kind of. Something happens where he goes back into his life like 20 years earlier.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And he makes a different decision to stay with a girl that he was in love with. Instead of leaving.

[C]

He goes, like, back in time?

[A]

Yeah, he goes back in time. Like he doesn't realize. He falls asleep. It's on Christmas. He falls asleep on Christmas Eve and he wakes up and he's back in a different life. He'd had. He would have had if he had made a different choice to stay in love instead of to go for, like, the big job in the fancy apartment.

[C]

Oh, he went for the money over people.

[A]

He went for the money over people. And he had a choice and he goes back in time and now suddenly he wakes up and he's in a house with this lady that was in love with. And. But now they have, like two kids and they, like, they don't live in, like, he was living in, like, this fancy downtown place with like a butler and somebody that would, like, chew your gum for you and just tell you what it would taste like. You don't have to chew it. Wow, that rich.

[B]

That.

[C]

That's like super rich.

[A]

That's too much.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I'll chew my own gum.

[C]

You know, saying I want to chew my own gum, you know, drink my own water. Yeah, yeah, stuff like that.

[A]

Yeah, for sure. I want to at least do that. Let me do at least the low, low hanging fruit.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But anyway, so then he gets that experience and then one day he wakes back up and he's back in his original life and he hates it. And so he. He drives off from his original life to go find the girl and see what's going on. And. And then you figure out what happens from there.

[C]

Wow, that's. That's crazy. Almost sounds like that. Almost when he went back in time and stuff, or like twizzle, like, what would have happened if you would have, like, stayed with that girl? That's almost like a. That's almost like me, like, deciding if I want to, you know, stay Amish or, you know, leave the Amish and.

[A]

So, yeah, it's like a Rum Springer.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

It's like really hard decision.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What factors do you think will go into you choosing what do you think are good factors to help you decide, or do you think about that?

[C]

I think it's what I'll. What I'll. What I will all see from, like, the outside world. And, like, I'll probably compare the two and see, you know, which one I like. You know, I. I like the Amish lifestyle. The food and all that stuff is good. Like, the only things right now that I don't like too much at a rules a little bit.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

But that's what realmspring is for you to break them.

[A]

Get out there and break them.

[C]

But.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Do you have any plans to go to any special events coming up while you're on Realm Spring or any football games, anything like that?

[C]

The only special event I've coming up is actually this weekend. I'm gonna go. Go on a plane for the first time.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And jump out of it.

[A]

No, really?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I'm gonna, like. Because, like, let's say something goes wrong when you're landing. So I want to, like, be off the plane, you know, when it's up in the air. Yeah, for sure. And go skydiving.

[A]

Dude, that's gonna be sick. You geeked.

[C]

I'm, like, really excited. So this week is. I think this is a week I'll never forget.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

Really, really crazy. So.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

No, no one knows this. I haven't told anyone, and so I won't say anything. Yeah, it's crazy. Let's go skydiving. It's cool for the first time. But I think, don't they, like, put, like. They, like, strap a person on the back.

[A]

They put a guy on you.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I just tell them you're not interested before you guys jump.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Just say, look, I'm not interested. Yeah.

[A]

I'm here for the jump.

[C]

I'm here for the tomb only.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Just as you. I don't want him getting any ideas.

[A]

Yeah. No ideas at all.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, when we land, it's over.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Right. That's what. That's what the plan is. And because I was thinking. I was talking to my coworker, atl. I was thinking, you know, that would be a really crazy story. You know, the first airplane. Right. You ever go into, you just decided, you know, I don't want to. I'm just gonna chum out, you know.

[A]

I'm out of here.

[C]

I'm out of here.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It'll Be the first plane you've ever been in, and then you're out of it.

[C]

I'm out of it.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And then, like, like, same way with a podcast. I said, you know, the first podcast I ever be on would be Theo Vaughn, because you're pretty cool, dude.

[A]

Well, thank you, dude. I think you are, too, man. I'm really intrigued by you guys's lifestyle. I think I learned a decent amount about it today.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, there probably could have been some other avenues about it that I could have asked about.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But I appreciate you coming, bro. I really do.

[C]

I appreciate you inviting me, and I.

[A]

Admire you guys having a unique culture. I. I think there's a lot of people in the world that are trying to get. Get back to the roots of their culture and things that matter and mean something. So I almost feel like you guys are already there. In some ways.

[C]

Yeah. In some ways.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And, like. Like, some people, it feels like it's, like, not grounded anymore to family and stuff, you know? Like, they're just doing, like, really crazy stuff. But, like, if you're, like. If you touch grass every day, you know, like. Like you're outside every day, and, like, I'm outside all the time. That's why I'm, like, so dark. Almost look Mexican, but I'm not. But yeah, like. And it's really crazy. Well, I appreciate it a lot for you inviting me. This is a really crazy experience, coming out here to town and then me sleeping 10 stories up. Up 10 stories. That's like, the first time I've ever seen.

[A]

Oh, you're in a hotel. That's really high.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You never done that?

[C]

No, I haven't. Wow. So. And it's, like, my first time ever, like, staying in a big city like this, so it's. It's. It's like I'll never forget it.

[A]

That's awesome.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, good, man. Timothy, I appreciate it, man. Thank you so much, dude, for your time. Thanks for coming out to my show and. And, yeah, thanks for being here with us and helping us learn, brother.

[C]

I appreciate it, dude. All right.

[A]

Thanks for the hat, too, dude.

[C]

Dude, I. That's the least I could do.

[A]

It was nice. And when I get close to you, don't come by for some coffee soup, all right?

[C]

Yes, sir.

[A]

With me.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

You got it.

[C]

All right. Now I'm just floating on the breeze and I feel I'm falling like these leaves I must be cornerstone oh but.

[A]

When I reach that ground I'll share this peace of mind I found I.

[C]

Can feel it in my bones, but it's gonna take.