A Bethel Memory #9 - God loves a good double chocolate chip

LivingTheDream

God loves a good double chocolate chip

I was a young man at Bethel about 30 years ago, back in the early 80's and I used to skip out on Bethel meals from time to time when I got tired of the same old same old. Sometimes for example, the Bethel Farms would get an extra good crop of apples, so, they used them up in our meals. I used to like apples back then, until I had to eat them for every meal for a couple of weeks. By the time the Bethel kichen was done with them, I hated apples.

Here's an example of a daily menu during apple season:

Breakfast: Eggs and an apple crusted ham, with baked apples, with apple pastries, hot apple cider and fresh apples for a snack break.
Lunch: Baked chicken and apple flambe, apple salad with apple sauce and apple juice along with an apple crisp for the snack.
Dinner: Left over apple flambe and baked apples, an apple slaw salad along with more apple cider and apple cobbler with dried apple strips for a take-home snack.

I finally knew how the Israelites felt eating manna every day.

Anyway, I skipped these meals every once in a while and bought pizza or something else at a local place with my meager stipend. I always felt guilty doing this for some reason, it seems we were told that this showed something about not appreciating the Society's provisions, blah blah blah, but I did it anyway because I just couldn't take it sometimes.

One day I was following up a clandestine pizza lunch to get an ice cream cone at the local parlor and I got in line. The ice cream shop was fairly crowded and noisey. Suddenly I was startled to hear God's voice booming out above the din :

God: YESSSS....I'LL HAAAVE A DOOOUBLE CHOOOOCOLATE CHIIIIP ON A SUUUUGAR CONE PLEEEEEASE!

Me: [jumping] What the...?

Well, it wasn't God after all. It was brother Sydlick. He only played God in the dramas. His voice always sounded like God to me. To a new Bethelite, GB was kinda like God though. Now, he was ordering ice cream and evidently ditching the Society's provisions too! Cool, I didn't feel so bad now.

I weakly called out to him when he passed me... "Hey.. Brother Sydlick"... but he either didn't see me or saw me and didn't care, as he just passed me by, licking his cone.

But that was to be expected.

After all, God loves a good double chocolate chip.

LivingTheDream

Open mind

LOL.

Was the pizza Fascati's?

Thanks again for these walks down memory lane.

om

What-A-Coincidence

loved his voice!

WingCommander

So, as is proven time and time again, in JW Land it's, "Do as we say, not as we do!"

I haven't heard or read anywhere yet where someone like the cuisine at ANY Bethel facility. You'd think they'd catch on at some point and look for a few good Chefs?

At Bethel, you're just expected to eat shit day after day, and then like little orphan Oliver inquire, "Oh please Sir, may I have some more shit, Sir?" and then like it!!

- Wing Commander

jookbeard

I always had the feeling that the Bethel canteens were a gastronomic delight and the food was of high quality plentiful and tasty, the UK bethel was always at it's busiest on Sunday night as they always served chips/french fries, I dont know if this is still the norm

LivingTheDream

jookbeard,

I think it all depends on your home situation for starters. My mother was an excellent cook and our food would probably be considered "ethic" by some so the Bethel food was totally different from what I had back home and simply not as good over all. Of course, she cooked with love for a few. Bethel cooked with function for thousands.

That said, some of it WAS very tasty and I liked quite a bit, but that was more rare. Other menus, like the boiled beef, was simply terrible. I imagine the challenge of feeding so many people all at once made many of the dishes fairly plain. To me, even the food that was fairly popular by most Bethelites, meals nobody would miss, like the Bethel Pizza and the Bethel made ice cream, I personally didn't really care for all that much.

It was when they got into a rut that really made me choke, like my only slightly exaggerated example menu of the apples-in-everything dishes.

LivingTheDream

WingCommander

^^^^ So the food to eat was recycled shit, just like their "spiritual food" then? Same shit, different day - and you'd better like it or else!!

An old retired Chef friend of mine used to tell me, "Whatever you do, never, EVER, order the Chili at a restaurant."

- Wing Commander

darthfader

Very nice! Apple this apple that.. really made me laugh.. thanks!!

LivingTheDream

All,

By the way, it dawned on me when I finished my last post that I misremembered what they called the meals. You see, not only was the menu different from what I had back home, what they named each meal was totally new to me: Breakfast, dinner, supper

All other times in my life before and since I've eaten my meals as: breakfast, lunch, dinner.

LivingTheDream

WingCommander

@ LivingTheDream:

I understand what you mean by the meals being called like that, but I also am from down here in Pennsylvania, where "Supper" and "Dinner" are able to be used to mean the same thing; the meal in the evening.

I hardly ever use the term "supper" but I use dinner to mean the evening meal. However, technically they are correct......"Dinner" really is meant as lunch, and supper is the evening meal. I'm like you though, I use the terms "breakfast, lunch, & dinner".

- Wing Commander

A Bethel Memory #9 - God loves a good double chocolate chip

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