Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Amish men vs. Duck Dynasty men

  I just discovered Duck Dynasty and am hooked! I haven’t  watched anything so wonderful on TV since The Waltons! Now, the families are polar opposites, but family values are at the heart of both shows. Living without any TV reception, we rely on DVDs and when I found Duck Dynasty, I thought, hey, Jack (Uncle Si says that a lot) Amish men are like the Robertson men in so many ways.

For one, I see men being men. Last year when my husband Tim went deer hunting, he was amazed that an Amish man and his 7 year old son was in a neighboring tree stand ALL DAY. Why? Because men teach their son how to hunt. They talk to them about live from a tree stand. And what Tim was amazed about, was that a 7 year old sat quietly for most of the day. Tim said the boy was just so happy, happy, happy (something Phil Robertson says) being by his daddy all day.

Now, I really hope I don’t blow your mind when I tell you the Amish hunt like the Robertsons, minus the alligators. Yep, they eat squirrel and other little four legged creatures. They also kill beavers because a beaver can destroy lots of trees. But the Amish coon hunts along with beaver and sell their fur. They fish all they can too and most likely catch frogs and eat their legs. They were raised to live off the land like their fathers before them and handing down their knowledge to the next generation is almost sacred to them.

Another similarity that the Robertsons on Duck Dynasty have with the Amish is extended family that cares about each other. I saw how Jase (my favorite) took his niece out in the woods to learn how to drive. Who does this anymore? Well, the Amish do.

But one thing you may not know is that the Amish, especially men, tease each other as much as the Robertsons. It’s all in good humor, but they can really be a rambunctious bunch. When the team that put a new roof on our house practically lived at my place for four days, the jokes never ended. They tease from everything from who pounds nails like a girl to who’s hen pecked by their wife….or who can’t grow a real beard.

Speaking of beards, the Robertsons say real men have beards. I’m laughing as I write this because they’re just too funny. The father, Phil, said only babies and women don’t have beards and he is neither. Well, the Amish have beards if they’re married. And how full and robust their beards are, well, kind of make them pop their buttons. (Well, if they use buttons and not safety pins).

But the thing I’ve just love about the Robertsons is their old-fashioned family values and their unflinching Christian faith. I see this in the Amish. When an Amish family business is really stressed, they’re as laid back as the folks on Duck Dynasty. Everything works out in the end and if it brings the family together through it all, well, it was all worth it.

 
                                                         Amish hunting tree stand ....


 
Amish buggy pulling a boat to go fishing
 
 
 
 
A beard like the Robertsons, but not the hair ;)