So, I went to the memorial last night. Geez, it must have been "Welcome Home, Undercover" night at the KH. People were lining up to speak to me. And it was all nice, jovial conversations, not a single word of "encouragement" to keep coming to the meetings.
I got two or three invites to dinner with the friends. One brother followed me around like in the cartoons, "whadya wanna do now, huh huh?...(looks at camera) undercover, he's my pal".
Now I'm supposed to play golf with a group of dubs in a couple of weeks. I wonder if they'll care if I bring some cigars along?
Anyhoo, the before and after was actually kind of fun. Got to see some old friends, catch up with them, see the kids and how much they've grown. But the talk was soooo lame and contrived. As has been mentioned by others already, Jesus wasn't even the star of the talk. It was more about the 144,000 and why their remnant is allowed to partake but the rest of us aren't. I'd heard it all my life, but I tried to listen as if I was a new person. Nothing said last night would convince me that I needed to hang out at the local KH.
And the special announcement...man, what an obvious ploy to attract new suckers, er, converts. The brother that read it really played it up. I noticed a few old timers sat up straight, so as to hear better, I guess, I dunno. But it looked like they thought something big was happening, and then their shoulders slumped ever so slightly as the brother invited new people to find an attendant to set up a Bible study.
A few hotties came in, wearin low cut blouses. One girl came in low-rise jeans, tight low cut top and stripper shoes. Watching her was worth the price of showing up all by itself.
All in all, it was just another typical Memorial as far as the "celebration" itself, but having everyone fall all over themselves to "welcome me back" was fun enough to make it bearable.