So, this old Amish guy standing on my roof evaluating how to put a new metal roof over the shingles (and what a genius, he immediately came up with the perfect solution to easily solve the sagging ridge beam and sagging trusses problem) tells me that he has (I forget the exact number, but I think) 59 grandkids (who knows what that number is today?). I tell my brother MikE this, and he said, “Did you ask what their names were, how old they are, and when their birthdays were?” OK, sometimes I’m kinda slow; I missed that funny. And so, when this Amish gentleman and I next spoke, of course first thing, I asked him these important questions. And he said “Oh, my wife takes care of all that”.
So, one of his grandkids fixed my roof, a GREAT job. And a month or so went by and I still hadn’t gotten a bill. So, I sent him some money, probably not enough, and in the letter said I’m still waiting for a bill. I finally got one and he said he hoped it wasn’t too much. And I said, I was hoping for free, but I’ll accept.
So, I finally got this grandson of his out again to look at re-roofing the rest of my house with metal over the shingles, with a few options. While there I asked him how he heats his home. Wood he said. So I went into full Missionary-Mode (see my first posting)1 about 400% efficient Chinese Ductless DC Inverter Heat Pumps ending with, and “of course if you’re going to heat with wood, at least do it right”, showing him my Chinese battery-powered electric wheel barrow with puncture-proof tires that goes up ramps right into the living room right next to the wood stove. He wasn’t impressed. He said, “My kids bring in the wood”.
So, anyway, the Grandson told me that he’d get back with an estimate in maybe a couple of weeks or so. It’s been quite a few weeks, but I’m sure he’ll get back. Like, I’m thinking, if it takes these guys a few months to send out a bill, how many years to send out an estimate ? My mistake was asking for an estimate !
https://timellison.substack.com/p/why-in-2020-do-people-still-heat
And, you know, that’s just one of the many things about which I am a Missionary. I’m going to do a whole post about all my Missionary Work, which also includes, besides 400% efficient Chinese Ductless DC Inverter Heat Pumps, of course, like Duh!, bidet attachments for your toilet; Insect-Shield (permethrin) clothing, Pentel mechanical pencils, 40 year old HP calculators, wolves, and who knows what else!
And like think about it ... If you can't trust the Amish who can you trust?
So, I talked again with the Grandson. And the Official Numbers are: 62 Grand Children, and 64 greatgrandchildren. He said the Grand Person Number is now stabilizing, though the Great-Grand-Children Number is still increasing. And these Amish folks apparently use technology and send all the DATA to some folks and then they print these Calendars with all the birthdays and who knows, maybe anniversaries, and like, I figure these guys must have something to celebrate every day of the year !