Hello again after lurking for almost 3 years And, some of you may remember this thread I started....
....under the name Hidden Questioner (HQ) and I thank all those who helped me during that difficult time in my life.
There are reasons why I was gone so long and I can get into why later. I am happy to report that, with some professional therapy, I am recovering from many painful issues and, at another time, I will provide further details. I am still attending meetings and doing my 2 hrs a month token service as my wife is in deep and I want to keep my marriage in-tact (for instance, she cannot know I am here). Also, I have a theory that, if in and a rebel, I can do more good in helping others to not make the same huge Borg-induced life-altering mistakes that I have made - nevermind that being a rebel helps me tell the WTB$ where they can go. Needless to say it is good to be back and among friends. (BTW I had to re-registered as Hiding Questioner because I couldn't get Hidden Questioner to work under the re-created version of JWN. I want to thank Simon for keeping this site alive. Even lurking, this site has helped me tremendously for 3 years!)
What brought me back? It was the thread "Is it really just innocent words". This thread made me think hard about the damage inflicted on many of us to the point where anger has driven us to justifiably come up with these "innocent words". In the thread it was expressed how can this Board help others and it made me realize that there is indeed a huge group on this Board that truely wants both to help others and, at the same time, send messages of hope.
So, here is an idea. Part of our anger (and mine) is that many have failed to plan for the future and retirement. Further, many have come to the diffi-CULT realization that, no matter how devoted, the WTB$ is not going to give a hoot about us in our old age. So, what about us getting together somehow to form a Not-For-Profit Foundation whose sole purpose is to assist current and ex-JWs who might need a retirement home that they can afford. This would be great positive PR for us and fill a huge void that has been created by the unfulfilled "promise" of the NS.
As I look around the hall, I am sadden that many are facing old age without any preparation and they need help. I'd volunteer to help with time and money on a program that assists these poor individuals that have been led down this path with no where to turn for help. Perhaps by pooling our resources and their limited assets we could put together something that could help. We have a lot of smart people on this Board. Any thoughts or feelings?
HQ