Boy, this has just been my lucky week. Twice in one week I was the recipient of "active shunning" by former congregation members.
Scene one-The local discount food place where all the blue collar folks (and a few smart upper crust ones) buy their food. I'm busy grocery shopping and Sister Zealous comes marching down the other side of the aisle, dutifully studying the cans on said shelf. And I mean marching. Her act registers somewhere around 1/2 on the Richter scale, and I go about my business. As I make my way down the next aisle, Sister Zealous' son comes ambling down the aisle. He walks slowly past me, staring straight ahead. He doesn't pick anything off from the shelves. Okaaaay, I think, and continue on. In aisle three, young unbaptised sister zealous comes marching down the aisle, a small facsimile of her mother, only she forgets to stare straight ahead and looks at me sternly, pursing her little unibrow. By this time, I've had about all the shunning I can take, and I smile a great big smile at her and wink. Man, she just flew around the corner. Next thing, I see Sister Zealous and the Jrs beating it for the door. I didn't see any groceries, though. Suddenly, the song "Devil In A Blue Dress" comes across the loud speakers. Yep-you guessed it. I was wearing a blue dress.
Scene two-A few days later, my daughter and I are at the local video store . Another Sister Christian goes flying around me to my daughter's side, and gushes that she is sooo happy to see her. She asks my daughter where she is living now, and when her baby is due. She tells my daughter, who quit going to meetings before me, married an "unbeliever", and has lived happily ever after, vowing never to set foot in another Kingdom Hall in her life, that she will come and visit her when the baby is born. All the while Sister Christian, who has posted herself a mere two feet from me, is dutifully avoiding looking at me. So I say "Oh Hi-how have you beeeeeeeen" in that loving agape manner. Sister Christian blanches white, says goodbye and quickly walks away, managing only to piss off my daughter, who saw the "active shunning" game being played for the first time on her mom. And coincidentally, I was wearing a different blue dress:):)
If those folks want to walk quietly by and not acknowlege my existence, okay by me. If they persist in playing games, using my children as pawns because they were never permitted to be baptised for various reasons, I will exercise my apostate charm and talk to them like an Agape Chatty Cathy, then "discuss" loudly enough with my children exactly what is going on so that the good citizens of my town can see how "loving" Jehovah's Witnesses really are:)
Happy Summer Everyone,
Devil In A Blue Dress