Chapter 12 mainly revolved around Brene meeting a few of his neighbors one on one and in this process he realized he was able to get to know them well compared to meeting 20 of his neighbors at the barn raising. He visited Edward and his wife, Grace. Edward was in the Vietnam War and his experience there altered his way of thinking and turned him against any type of armed resistance. He also spent time with Bill, Cornelius, Harvey and his wife, Gracie. Each person was so different and told their reasons for settling in this community. Work was the ingredient that bonded them all together. They each shared the work and lived this simpler life which seemed to bring them all closer together. Brene stated that after getting to know only three of his neighbors better that there was more than one way to live with less technology. What joined them together, beyond certain basic positions on Christianity and the use of machinery was a willingness to differ.
At the end of the Chapter Mary and Brene visited with Edna, the mid-wife. How strange to think that almost all women in their community delivered their babies at home. My great grandmother had nine children and they were all delivered at home. Today, many women insist on having a C-Section because they don’t want to go through the labor. And could you image the shock if they were told about artificial insemination. One positive aspect is that young women today have gone back to breast feeding their babies.
1 comment:
It is interesting to think that people in these communities choose to have children without any of the modern conveniences (epidural). I would really appreciate some of those conveniences, but at the same time realize that midwives must have a lot of experience that has probably been lost over the years. Natural remedies for ailments, in the chapter where Mary gave birth the midwife touched her stomach and knew where the child was positioned - without a machine giving her a picture of it!
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