Overheard at the coffee shop...

Jim_TX

Here's a bit of a story for you...

On the weekends, I go to a local restaurant/coffee shop and spend some time there reading, studying, taking notes, etc. I also get a light breakfast with my 6 to 10 cups of coffee. ;)

The wait-staff are nice, and tolerate my quirkiness, but I'm not the only quirky one there, as there are some real characters that go there - not to mention the wait-staff that are somewhat off-center (well, some of them).

I guess wierdness attracts wierdness, eh?

So, I am sitting at the counter, and one of the waitresses cheerily chimes something like "Only xx days till Christmas!"

The other waitress (who is a hoot) bellows out, "Well, on Friday, I became a Jehovah's Witness, and we don't celebrate Christmas!"

The entire audience of wait-staff and customers bursts out in laughter.

Of course, I laughed too. I mean... everyone knows about JWs and their oddities. JWs are a joke to the people out there.

Regards,

Jim TX

P.S. For the humor-impaired - the waitress didn't become a JW. She was mocking them. She was just trying to make a point to the other waitress that she was not happy hearing the 'only xx days till Christmas' when we haven't even gotten past Halloween.

designs

Gayle

That's a good one! :)

gingerbread

I worked with a man who used to get really cranky in December. He knew I was a Witness - I was vocal about it back in those days.

One day just before Christmas he says to me "By god, next year I'm gonna become a 'jehovah witness' like you! My wife spends all my bonus money every Christmas on her damn lazy kids. Going to your Hall would turn me into a millionaire."

Little did he know....

ginger

blondie

jws don't celebrate Christmas but have no problem accepting gifts from those who do.

clarity

P.S. For the humor-impaired - the waitress didn't become a JW

Hey Jim ... funny story, but I thought that was going to be

the irony ... the punch line! hahahhha!

>

As in ........ another one bites the dust!

>

The witnesses hate xmas but .... they sure love the turkey!

(no turkey emoticon-had to use a dog)

clarity

Faithful Witness

Blondie: I never saw that happen. I heard one old lady tell the story about how a little neighbor boy came to her door with a tray of homemade cookies at Christmas time, and she told him to scoot! "I told him I was a JW, and we don't celebrate Christmas!"

oh, some of the things they feel obligated to say, during their bible studies... I don't think they realize how some of those comments linger for years in a prospective JW convert's mind. This was one, among many, from different JW's, that really made us keep our emotional distance from some of these people.

Terry

When I was in federal prison, the dentist who volunteered his time for the clinic was name Dr. Stutman.

He was Jewish, he was young and he was sympathetic to the JW brothers there in the institution.

At Christmas time, his wife baked some wonderful-looking cookies for the JW inmates because her husband

had spoken highly of them.

Well, you can guess what happened!

Not one single JW would accept any of the cookies--but--worse, thery were rude about it, as though Dr. Stutman had laid

out a row of dog turds!

I was helping out in the clinic and saw it time and again.

At the end of the day I tried to explain it to him as tactfully as I could. He listened and shook his head and told me that

there was never a good reason to reject something given in kindness. He was clearly upset.

I felt rotten.

I mentioned his hurt feelings to some of the other brothers but they looked at me like I was crazy.

I still find it creepy that we were such idiots!!

Julia Orwell

Yeah like as if eating a cookie would offend god. I can't believe what a douche I used to be at Xmas time. I always helped mum with the Xmas meal cooking because if I didn't I'd have to clean up afterwards and I'd rather cook than clean, so had no problem with cooking and eating with the family. But I wouldn't pull a Xmas cracker or accept my gifts that day. I always gave my family presents in the leadup to Xmas and accepted my gifts on boxing day...splittr hairs like an idiot.

Pistoff

Great story, Jim.

When I owned a business, I got no end of crap from my witness employees when I wanted to send a fruit basket in the 2nd week of December to our clients.

They said, we don't celebrate Christmas.

I said, I agree, but they do, and they will think we are rude or insulting if we ignore it. No card, just a basket.

They said, do it in January; I said, then they will think we are completely disorganized and it is an afterthought.

Witnesses are so unbelievably rigid; I can't tell you how many times I suffered when working with an uber witness, and customers would wish us Merry Christmas. Rather than smile, or say thank you, he went into the full explanation.

Ugh. Like saying Merry Christmas makes you evil.

Overheard at the coffee shop...

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