Back in the '70s, during the "return to the earth" movement, I was working in rural Ohio, about 30 miles outside Cleveland. Amish country, in fact.

Fella from the city, good job, well educated, bought a bit of land, moved his family out there, bought a pig to raise and slaughter come cool weather in the Fall.

Before it was time, he asked us at the library if we had books on slaughtering and butchering pigs. We had very little, so we bought some and he read 'em.

Bought himself a nice stickin' knife and had it touched up so that it would cut a dropped hair.

Day before he was in the library, telling us that "tomorrow is the day." One of the ladies there, an old farm wife, told him to take the pig to a packing house, but he wanted the whole "return to the earth" experience and was going to do the job himself.

About a week later he was back. I asked him how the pigsticking went. He just grunted and said, "Took the pig to a packing house."

"Why's that?" I asked.

He kinda got defensive and replied shortly, "They're not empty."