Keeping Secrets (44 page)

Authors: Linda Byler

She started with the bathroom cupboards. She carefully took out towels, soap, a hair dryer, and what she guessed was a hair-curling apparatus, an assortment of combs and brushes, a box of guest soap. She washed each shelf thoroughly, replacing the objects, before tackling the bathroom closet. She stood on the vanity stool to clean the top shelf, pushing aside a stack of perfectly folded blankets.

Ouch! Her fast moving hand struck the corner of a hard object. Pulling out the stack of blankets, she let them fall to the floor before procuring the cause of her pain. She held it in her hands, incredulous. A radio! It must be. She didn’t know much about electronic devices, living all her life without them, but she did know what a radio looked like. Eagerly, the blood pounding in her ears, she unwrapped the long, brown cord, plugged it in, then turned the dial with shaking fingers.

Nothing. Her disappointment was palpable—big and heavy, black, as dark as a night without moon or stars. The depth of her disappointment fueled her anger, her desperation. She jiggled wires, shook the radio, twisted and turned dials with a sort of viciousness, yet there was nothing.

Then she thought of Jim Sevarr’s old rusted pickup truck and the wire coat-hanger stuck on the end of his broken antennae. Oh, dear God, let it be. Dashing to the closet, she flipped frantically through a long line of plastic or wooden hangers. Just one. I just need one wire hanger. Over and over, she went through them, finally acknowledging that there were none.

When a knock sounded, she had time to close the bathroom door. The fat man called her name; she told him she was in the bathroom and would he please wait until she came out. Her evening meal consisted of a great, steaming pile of roast pork and corn tortillas with tomato sauce, which absorbed her tears as she ate.

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The Glossary

Ausbund
—The
Ausbund
is the hymnbook that the Amish sing from during church services. The old, German book was written by their forefathers during a time of persecution and imprisonment.

Bann and meidung
—A Pennsylvania Dutch dialect phrase meaning, “ban and shunning.”

Barmherzikeit
—A Pennsylvania Dutch dialect word meaning, “mercy.”

Blottchich
—A Pennsylvania Dutch dialect word meaning, “clumsy.”

Botschaft
—A Pennsylvania Dutch dialect word meaning, “message.” Also the name of an Amish newspaper.

Broadfall pants—
Pants worn by Amish men and fastened with buttons rather than a zipper.

Bupp! Grosse Bupp!
—A sentence in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “Baby! Big Baby!”

Bupplich—
A Pennsylvania Dutch dialect word meaning, “childish.”

Covering
—A fine mesh headpiece worn by Amish females in an effort to follow the Amish interpretation of a New Testament teaching in 1 Corinthians 11.

Cuts—
A Pennsylvania Dutch dialect word meaning, “throw up.”

Dat
—A Pennsylvania Dutch dialect word used to address or to refer to one’s father.

Dichly
—A Pennsylvania Dutch dialect word meaning “head scarf” or “bandanna.” A
dichly
is a triangle of cotton fabric, usually a men’s handkerchief cut in half and hemmed, worn by Amish women and girls when they do yard work or anything strenuous.

Driver
—When the Amish need to go somewhere, and it’s too distant to travel by horse and buggy, they may hire someone to drive them in a car or van.

Eck
—One corner of the room reserved for the wedding party during the wedding reception.

English
—The Amish term for anyone who is not Amish.

Excommunicated
—A practice performed when a member of the Amish church breaks his/her vows to the church and refuses to repent. The former member is
excommunicated
and not permitted to participate in church activities or interact with the Amish community.

Fer-fearish
—A phrase in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “misled.”

Frieda
—A Pennsylvania Dutch word meaning, “peace.”

Ga-mach
—A phrase in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “chaos.”

Gehorsam
—A Pennsylvania Dutch dialect word meaning, “obedient.”

Goot-manich
—A phrase in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “kind.”

Huck nâva
—A phrase in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, to be an attendant in a bridal party at a wedding.

Ich mind allus.
—A sentence in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “I remember everything.”

Im bann
—A phrase in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “In the ban” or “shunned.”

In-between Sundays
—Old Order Amish have church every other Sunday. This is an old custom that allows ministers to visit other church districts. An
in-between
Sunday is the day that a district does not hold church services.

Kessle-haus
: The part of the house that Amish families use as a catchall for coats, boots, umbrellas, and laundry, also for tasks such as mixing calf starter, warming baby chicks, and canning garden vegetables.

Komm
—A Pennsylvania Dutch dialect word meaning, “come.”

Lob Song—
This hymn is sung at every Amish church service. It comes from the
Ausbund
and is Pennsylvania Dutch for “Song of Praise.”

Lod-veig
—A Pennsylvania Dutch dialect word meaning, “apple butter.”

Mam
—A Pennsylvania Dutch dialect word used to address or to refer to one’s mother.

Mennonite
—Another Anabaptist group which shares common beliefs with the Amish. The differences between the two groups lie in their practices. Mennonites tend to be more open to higher education and to mission activity and less distinctly different from the rest of the world in their dress, transportation, and use of technology.

Mommy
—A Pennsylvania Dutch dialect word used to address or to refer to one’s grandmother.

Maud—
A Pennsylvania Dutch dialect word meaning a live-in female helper, usually hired by a family for a week or two at a time.
Mauds
often help to do house-, lawn-, and garden-work after the birth of a baby.

Nay! Nay!
—Words in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “No! No!”

Ordnung
—The Amish community’s agreed-upon rules for living, based upon their understanding of the Bible, particularly the New Testament. The
Ordnung
varies some from community to community, often reflecting the leaders’ preferences and the local traditions and historical practices.

Poosing
—A word in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “pouting.”

Phone Shanty
—Most Old Order Amish do not have telephone landlines in their homes so that incoming calls do not overtake their lives and so that they are not physically connected to the larger world. Many, however, build a small, fully enclosed structure, much like a commercial telephone booth, somewhere outside their house where they can make phone calls and retrieve phone messages.

Putting patties down—
Putting one’s hands on one’s lap before praying, as a sign of respect. Usually includes bowing one’s head and closing one’s eyes. A phrase spoken to children who are learning the practice.

Recht fertich
—A phrase in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “justify yourself.”

Rumspringa
—The time in an Amish young person’s life between the age of 16 and marriage. Includes structured social activities for groups, as well as dating. Usually takes place on the weekend.

Schlofc, buppli, Schlofc,

Da doddy hüt die schofe,

Die mommy melked die rote kie

Kommt net hame bis mya frie

Schlofc, buppli, Schlofc.

A lullaby in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning:

Sleep, Baby, sleep,

Grandfather watches the sheep,

Grandmother milks the red cows,

Won’t return till early morning,

Sleep baby sleep.

Schnitza
—A word in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “lie.”

S’hut kenn dragons
—A sentence in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “There are no dragons.”

So veesht
—A phrase in Pennsylvania Dutch meaning “so much.”

Toast brot, milch und an oy
—A phrase in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “toast, hot milk, and a soft boiled egg.”

Ungehorsam
—A word in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “disobedient.”

Upp
—A Pennsylvania Dutch equivalent of “Hey!”

Unser Himmlischer Vater
—A phrase in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “Our Heavenly Father.”

Vass geht au?
—A sentence in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “What’s going on?”

veesht
—A word in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “so badly.”

Verboten
—A word in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning, “forbidden.”

Working Out
—To
work out
means to work outside of the home. Amish children usually work at a job away from home during their teen years.

Ya
—Pennsylvania Dutch for “Yes.”

Youngie
—A word in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect meaning “youth.”

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by Koechel Peterson & Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota

Design by Cliff Snyder

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