Ensign Morituri

I was recently in Elmira, Ontario which is serious Old School Mennonite country. You see them everywhere on their carriages (though some have deemed black Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles acceptable), dressed (very sharply!) in their black suits and fedoras. Once I'd gotten over the idea of carriage warning signs all over the place, I didn't pay much attention to them. Until, that is, I had lunch at the local KFC.

A group of elderly Mennonite men came in, went (collectively) to the washroom and then headed to the counter to order. As they were coming back though, one of the men stayed back a bit and lightly kissed every wall he came to. Watching this old, very well-dressed man kiss the interior walls of a KFC, I felt like I'd fallen into a David Lynch film. It was bizarre. So my question is this:

Is wall-kissing some kind of Mennonite ritual, or was this old fellow maybe just a touch crazy?

Anyone?

Bree

I have no idea why they do it, but our Mennonites here do it too.

Ensign Morituri

Wow! Talk about "rapid response!" Thanks Bree! It was really a strange thing to see. My friend's wife is a Mennonite (New School?) and she had never heard of it. Interesting!

EM

elwoodblues

I lived in northern Indiana, and have had plenty of incidental contact with Amish and Mennonites. I have NEVER seen this. I'd be very interested if someone has an answer for this one.

Probably not too many Mennonite web sites out there...

Berenger Sauniere

Maybe Col. Sanders is their messiah?

m.e.h.

I bet the walls of a KFC taste like chicken. The wafting microscopic chicken particles cling to drywall, maybe? So perhaps he simply couldn't wait to order the sweet delectable bird?