Despite being told since I was a toddler that I would never finish school because the end was so near, I graduated anyway in 1975. My best friend and I were the the only kids in the Hall that didn't drop out. We didn't even go to our own graduation because doing so was considered a misuse of time that could be spent in the ministry. I didn't even get so much as a graduation card from anyone. Decades later, my oldest kid graduated in the year 2000 and just went to his 10 year reunion this past summer. My old friend left the Org decades ago. He called me a while back and said " Hey Exwhyzee... weren't we supposed to be perfect by now???" "How many 96 year olds do you see walking around" (referring to the 1914 generation)
Over the last 3 and a half decades since 1975, if I hadn't disregarded the constant talk about the urgency of the times once in awhile, other than sitting through long assemblies and driving around in field service, we would have no lifes experiences or great memories to look back on with our family. I would feel even more cheated than I already do.