Good news. I tracked Mosie down this morning to talk about the illumination strips; he was sawing some lumber.

He asked me if I could buy him some Amtrak tickets online and drive him to Albany next week. I said sure, and could he spare a few minutes for me.

The good news is that he has agreed that my strip illumination idea – actually it was Sue from Canada’s idea –  does not appear to conflict with Amish values or spirituality in any way.

Standing by his saw, his face and hair covered in wood chips, he paused work to look at the images I brought him from my two experiments with new black 3-D strips that are invisible during the day, and very bright at night, in the headlights of a car.

Moise took some of the strips of tape I brought him and said he would put them up on one or two of the family carts and then use a flashlight to see for how bright they are and how wide the strips ought to be.

He said he would probably keep the white strips on the carts as they offer some protection in the daylight.

He might put up a new black stripe next to each of the four white strips, essentially hewing to the Amish agreement and the police made some years ago.

I see what he means.

Technically, he wouldn’t be changing the agreement at all; he simply adds to it in a restrained but effective way. However, he agreed that my proposal made it difficult to say no.

A signal element of Amish spirituality is to maintain the traditions of their fathers and grandfathers.

The Old Amish especially are loath to change those traditions, rituals, and symbols like the buggies. They set the Amish apart and give them their unique identity, which has lasted 500 years while countries and religions rise and fall.

He also reminded me that he does have to bring this idea to other people in the church, although he doesn’t see grounds for many objections. Finally, he thanked me for the time and consideration – and the patience – I brought to this idea.

I was happy to hear that Moise plans his own experiment after looking carefully at the images I showed him of mine.

If he takes ownership of this experiment, it will certainly prevail. And his wheels are already turning; he talked about different angles of light and the proper width of the strips.

He will and should do it in his own way, but he seems very clear about how he might want to do it.

I understood from the beginning that the cart could not be changed and that the agreements that preceded me had to be honored. So I decided I would think about adding to the cart, not changing it.

I was not dealing with flexible “Lancaster Amish,” who Old Amish call “upward Amish.”  They hang battery-powered Christmas lights on their buggies, something Moise would never do.

Old Amish are not the flexible ones.

This, I realized early on, is a big deal for him, which made it a big deal for me and many of the people reading my blog. Of course, there was the usual jeering and hissing, but I think most of us realized the implications.

Apart from Amish spirituality, this precisely what so much of our country is simply unable to do. Listen to each other, respect each other, tolerate our differences, and seek out common ground.

If Moise and I – two radically different people – can do it, then anyone can do it.

It is painstaking, difficult, and frustrating. But it can work. Apart from being stubborn, Moise and I are very different from one another. The Amish believe in listening and compromise when possible.

Moise is quick to smile and has a strong sense of irony, but he got earnest when discussing this. In the Amish world, how we deal with one another is an important thing.

So I feel perfect about this, and I thank many of you for your support. I hope the people who told me this could never happen have hung in long enough to see that it is happening and will go forward from here.

In America, we seem to be running away from the things that unite us and focusing more and more on the things that don’t. More and more, Moise and I are coming to see our friendship is real and valuable. Our differences don’t really matter.

I’ve learned some important things in this process: be calm, be patient, listen carefully, respect the differences, don’t plow over them.

Barbara told me they both understand that me and some other neighbors are worried about them and their safety, and they appreciated that.

It feels like a sappy thing to say, but I believe love is more powerful than anger or domination.

When push came to shove, Moise and I have come to love one another as valued friends, and he loves his family dearly, and when all is said and done, that might have been the most powerful and persuasive argument of all. for sticking with it.

Moise and I shook hands at the end of this conversation, which suggests agreement and finality. It is in his hands now, I can retire from the cart illumination business. If he wants me to, I’ll order enough tape for all of his carts.

As I headed to the car, four of his daughters came running up calling for me – they call me “Grandpa” since I got an Amish hat – now, and I thought, just for a second, that perhaps someone I don’t know or one of these beautiful and kind-hearted people might be saved injury or death one day because their father has an open mind and good heart, and put on those stickers.

I was crying as I drove down the hill.

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Many thanks to Sue deGoesbriand of Canada for taking the time to write to me and tell me about these new 3-D illumination stickers. They made all the difference.