L J Kritz

Pay the Devil L J Kritz

In "Dark Angel Amish" the tribulations caused by an unyielding cult religion seeking to control every aspect of its members' lives brought pain and anguish to too many good people. But, life goes on, and the church members struggled to find a way to overcome their anxiety. Sharon, the "outsider," who is getting to know the Pennsylvania Dutch community, and Michelle, the Mennonite business woman, are struggling also. First, they must understand what has happened to the seemingly innocent Amish community, particularly Anna, the Amish housewife they've come to know. This is coupled with each of the ladies having to deal with their own lives, both in and out of the Dutch community. As life continues, it is not only these players who must deal with what had just happened in the community. Because lives were involved, the local law enforcement community begins to take action. No one knows where and how the effects of Jacob Stolzfus' errant behavior will take them. They just know that lives that were impacted by his actions will never be the same. Overriding the legal situation, the personal pain of a widowed and disenfranchised Amish lady, and the unknown results from these strange happenings, is the desire of those in the tourist industry to hush up all of this, and "just get back to normal." One can almost hear the Tourist Council trying to get all the visitors to buy shoo-fly pie and quilts and forget about the odd behaviors of perverts and sinners. The Amish Elders who have had much to do with this smarmy set of circumstances must continue to work to separate their charges from the outside world, a difficult task when the law gets involved. Simply put, "Pay the Devil" shows that no matter how hard we try, the hellish consequences that we cause most often have a way of eventually setting the world back to normal again. Often, that normal is more than painful.