Just a little good news story for y'all...
Back in high school I had a friend who was a little weird, but he was cool enough and I liked him. He was really into martial arts. After graduation I lost contact with him. At the last circuit assembly that I will everattend, I was surprised to see him there and we caught up on things.
It turns out that after graduation, he'd been partying a lot (just drinking), and getting tired of the same neighborhood idiots. He didn't go to college. There had been a JW man in his 50's calling on his mom for a long time, and now this friend (let's call him Joe) began to look up to this guy as a father figure. Joe wanted to clean up his life. He began studying and was hooked quickly.
I met up with Joe at a time when I was on my way out, so it was a little bit painful to hear him so enthusiastic about the religion I didn't really care for. For a month or so after the CA meetup, we hung out for a bit. After a particularly drama-filled JW boozefest party, we didn't talk for many months.
After I got my revolver and started a little gun club on Facebook, Joe joins and mentions something about "some toys needing attention." I thought he had guns of his own. It turns out that he didn't, but he wanted to go shooting anyway. We went shooting yesterday; it was very fun for the both of us. He really liked the Remington 870.
After the shooting and catching the Chargers beat the 'Skins at a downtown bar, he opened up about how he wasn't studying anymore, and he knew that I wasn't going to the meetings anymore. He was tired of the controlling doctrine, and the fake friends. I agreed with him.
It was good to know that he quickly figured out that the Witnesses weren't worth his time.