Dutchy-Welcome!! Hope you have as much fun here as I have been having. I too am fairly new here...I fell in by accident and they can't get me to leave.
you said:
Recently, I went back to the Kingdom Hall after an absence of almost thirteen years. ...a few minutes after I arrived home from that meeting the telephone rang. It was Mister Elder...he was calling to tell me that my daughter's dress was to short and if she were to continue coming to meetings then her dress would have to be much longer.
WT Corporation, if you're reading this...take a hint. Maybe it's time you finally conducted FULL Exit Interviews to find out why all your good employees are leaving in droves.
Remember, we talked about how many hours it takes to get a new convert? http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=21172&site=3
Well, here's a prime example of your poor retrieval process. THIRTEEN YEARS you've been hoping this lady 'Dutchy' would return to "your fold" and you royally mess it up! I'd say it's time for the Writing Department to get busy on a new article. "Elders-the Real Reason behind the Decline" While you're at it...Why don't they have a section in the secret manual for "Tact", "Human Relations" & "Employee Retention"?
ok...i was distracted by messenger's (f)hearts for a second...
Dutchy...that sure was a terrible experience for you and your daughter! It would take an act of Congress to get me back into a Kingdom Hall...and I've only been away 4 years! You have guts me lady. Then you go and spend money @ macy's to boot, wow. It's their loss. When they call and ask you why you never returned...tell em "Mister Elder" shocked the remaining "twinges of guilt" out of you. Since you no longer feel any guilt, you have no reason to return. But, thanks anyway.
I remember (been doin that a lot lately) in the late 70s during the disco era, I was wearing a slinky Emerald dress with a slit up the side of my leg. (during that time, you couldn't find a dress without a slit!) After the meeting, an elder's wife who was seated behind me exclaimed in a very audible voice "My son was staring at your lily white legs the entire meeting!" I was so humiliated...and could never look at her son the same again! I went home crying (i'm always doing that lol) and sewed up ALL my disco slits.
During my "bloom of youth" I received many comments from a few of the elders in my hall..."You look very nice today" "Boy, you smell good" "They sure are making the newer models much nicer these days" "Your husband is a luck.. (I mean fortunate) man" I even received a phone call from a drunk elder who told me that he "really wanted to f*** me!"
!!
After I got older and watched new crops of 18 yr olds emerge...taller, shapelier, bouncier with each generation ...I would observe the brothers in the hall. They couldn't help but follow these young sisters with their eyes as they bounced their way to the restroom. I noticed how the brothers would take turns at posts located at the back of the hall. One behind the literature counter, and another seated in front of the sound section. They pretended they were stretching their legs and trying hard to stay awake...but, the savvy sisters all knew it was the best vantage point for young JW babe watching.
Just to let your daughter know...when an elder counsels a young sister on their dress...it is the highest form of compliment.
