Did you pick-up many people for the meetings??

by karter 37 Replies latest jw experiences

  • troubled mind
    troubled mind

    My Mom was asked for years to give others rides to the hall . My Dad was not a witness and always gave her crap for driving to Assemblies and out in service ,the Elders knew this ye always asked her anyways . She also had four children of her own to transport ! We had a station wagon and I remember sitting in the far back with no seat belts for years as she picked up another woman with three kids ! Sometimes she would drop us at the hall and then make an extra trip to pick this woman up if all her kids were coming ! I mean my Mom always put out the extra effort .

    When i was older she gave this scary old woman rides ,she freaked my Mom out . She complained to the Elders that she thought htis woman was demonized and finally refused giving her rides .

    Over the years she transported many single Moms to conventions and meetings . As I got older I started noticing the Elders NEVER extended themselves to this 'privilege'.

    When I left home ,and my Mom became Elderly ,she had a hard time finding people to give her lifts to the hall even though it was literaly only a few minutes from her home ! I am talking just up the hill from her house . I lived 25 minutes away and my Brother lived about the same distance in the opposite direction yet the loving shepards told us it was OUR responsibility to see she got to the meetings and assemblies . Assholes.

    My Dad would even drive her there as long as someone would bring her home ,and that was at times a challenge . This is something he throws in their faces now whenever they stop by, because he knew how many she helped out over the years . Once she became house bound it made him sick how little they came by to check on her .

  • Phizzy
    Phizzy

    An Elder I met a while ago was bemoaning that "All the nice people have left the JW's", loving people like you, Dozy, and Blondie are the kind of people he had in mind.

    The Cognitive Dissonance is so strong he didn't stop to answer when I said to him, as he walked away, "I wonder why ........."

  • LongHairGal
    LongHairGal

    karter:

    I am sorry you got caught up being a taxi service but at least you had your family around you to keep your mood positive and to keep people from being even more intrusive which they would be if you were a single person.

    It might start out slow and innocent (you pick up a person who lives nearby), then it becomes a regular thing. Then you get phone calls from other people asking you to be somewhere at 8:00 and pick up so-and-so. Then it becomes your JOB. Just try disentangling yourself from this trap! Everybody gets an attitude with you because now somebody ELSE has to do it.

    I have a friend (of limited means) who fell into this trap of being a taxi service. She got stuck with an elderly person with health issues and finally put her foot down. She was met with all kinds of opposition and nervy people (even an elder) who would not take her No for an answer. I witnessed all of this and wasn't getting involved with this trap. I knew that once you say Yes, people seem to think it is now your job. I even ran into an issue years earlier with a brother who tried to get out of his turn of taking somebody home because "it wouldn't look good for a single sister to be in his car, etc." What a crock of shit. Well, I put my foot down and made it clear that it wasn't becoming MY problem and I refused to be stuck with this because I was a single sister. I wasn't having any of this.

    skeeter1:

    You make the BIGGEST argument in favor of why I would never give people rides. In this day and age, all you need is to get in an accident and then get sued by somebody you didn't even want in your car in the first place!

  • life is to short
    life is to short

    One of the most upsetting things to me is once I got married my elder husband and I became the taxi service to so many. One sister lived about two miles in the opposite direction from us while we were pioneering. We had to pick her up drive her around all day and they drop her back off or if I had to work that day which was more then likely then my husband and her would go out in service alone. She was married and so my husband told me it was no big deal for them to be alone as well 'she was married and so was he.' Like the fact that she as married would keep them from having an affair?

    It used to hurt like heck when they would drop me off for work and she would hop in the front seat and they would take off. She never gave us a dime for gas as she told me why should she? After all we were going to pioneer whether she was with us or not. She was truly a BITCH toward me and right in front of my husband, but my husband told me that he saw the sweet side of her. Something I missed I guess.

    Yet when I was young and out on my own for the first time I lived three houses away from a older sister. I would walk to her home for a ride to the meetings. I was barely making it financially, there were times I did not have enough money for food. I would stock up on Top-Ramen, mac and cheese and that is what I would eat for weeks sometimes.

    So here this sister did not even have to go out of her way to take me to the hall and yet one day she totally shredded me for not giving her gas money. I was so hurt, I had never even thought about giving her money as she went anyway. I weighed about 100 pounds at the time I truly do not think my weight sucked up so much gas.

    After that I walked to the meetings which were three miles away even at night which was totally not safe while she drove her empty car to the hall.

    The elders all knew and could care less about me. Yet once I had my own car and especially once I got married we were the taxi service for all the nut cases.

    It still hurts.

    LITS

  • ambersun
    ambersun

    My dad was the unofficial congregation free taxi service back in the 60s. We had the group study in our house and there were several elderly sisters without transport who came to our group, and often to our family Watchtower study evening. They all lived miles apart from each other. Dad would have to do the rounds picking them all up (nobody else ever offered) then taking them all home again. It was all taken for granted that it was their right to be taxied about to and from the meetings without having to pay, after all it was 'Jehovah' who was providing for them.

    There was never any divine intervention when Dad went to refill the car's empty tank though, or heavenly help in maintaining his poor overworked car. No, it was 'Jehovah' who was providing, even though it was always Dad's wallet that suffered.

  • blondie
    blondie

    *** yb07 p. 173 South Africa ***George Scipio, one of Tom’s sons, recalls one of the difficulties they had in getting everyone to the meetings: “There were only two cars among all the interested ones. The terrain is rough and hilly, and there were few good roads at that time. . . . Some started walking early in the morning. I took three in my small car and dropped them off some distance along the road. They kept on walking. I turned back, took three more some distance, dropped them off, and returned. Eventually, all got to the meeting this way.”

  • jam
    jam

    A family of six, no problem.

  • Glander
    Glander

    After Grandad passed away, we always picked up Grandma for the TM/Service meeting. We had a station wagon and 5 kids. She looked forward to our car ride to and from the meeting as much as the meeting itself. Very fond and emotional memories....We loved you, Grandma Faye! RIP

  • I Want to Believe
    I Want to Believe

    An elder's wife used to pick up an older sister who needed two crutches to get around (slowly. one of her hips was missing) but transferred the duty to us when the elder moved only a few houses down from the Hall. Her house was about three times away from us as the Hall. And if my wife was sick and stayed home the sister wouldn't ride with just me (our cong. was REALLY strict on the no co-ed carsharing).

  • Open mind
    Open mind

    As a guilt-ridden, recently reproved, 20-something single guy trying to really "make the truth my own", I was assigned by the elders to pick up an elderly brother from a urine-reeking nursing home every other meeting. He had no family. He was always very appreciative.

    It was a very good experience for both of us. Seriously.

    om

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