by freedom96 28 Replies latest jw friends
"One day here you will tell us what they (your parents) are up to"!!!!!!!!
Gee's, I can't even imagine what they would be up to..
Did they join the army?
Don't tell me they went to something stricter.. or just slid lateral into something like mormons or anything like that.
It is hard for me to wait for "one day" you will tell me. I hope it is a happy thing. OOOOh that is another thought .. what if if is not a happy thing.
sincerely
Special K
In my hall...dad put a coat tree that he bought from the furniture store I worked for....It was carpeted...there was a closet under the steps. A door led into the livingroom...and another to Mom and Dad's bedroom (it was closed off) and then there were the steps to the upstairs, where mom rarely went when I was a kid...it smelled like teenager...the whole upstairs (if ya got teens and don't do their cleaning for them...you know what "teenager" smells like.
I remember one person saying that there was no way to attend a meeting while on their cruise, so their family was going to conduct its own meeting in their room. How sad is that??
I remember in one hall a camping trip was planned. Over 20 people, guys and girls. That's when the "chaperones" were included(well, forced on us). We had three distinct camping areas. The "brothers" area, the "sisters" area and the "adult/chaperone" area. Activities were to cease at 10pm so that we could all get a good nights sleep. The reason? The "chaperones(consisted of some elders) had planned to have the public meeting/watchtower study down by the stream and we were all expected to attend. We even sang the songs.
Of course that was the first and last time a "group" camping trip was held, after it was found out how much alcohol the "brothers" drank after curfew and that one brother snuck off to the "sisters" area after curfew.
A couple halls I attended as a kid weren't so bad. Then, when I was 11 my mom had to go and marry a crazy witness two towns over so we had to move. That congregation was much like yours.I remember once they had a meeting just for teenagers, so the teens could be told how important it was to tell on each other if someone was doing wrong. That a true friend would be more concerned over their spirituality than friendship.So if you saw Becky holding hands with Tom, you better tell on them!
Never miss a meeting, even when on vacation.Never miss a meeting unless you were on your death bed. Never dance with a member of the opposite sex ( a 17 year old girl once danced with a boy at a wedding reception and got in HUGE trouble ). Must go in service Sat, and after meetings on Sun, and maybe one evening during the week. Basically, have no fun at all. Then, once they decided to have a get together at a skating rink, and that was considered a no no too. Funny it wasn't a no no for surrounding congo's. Mine just played by the book is all, as many did ( but others weren't so strict ).
Never dance with a member of the opposite sex ( a 17 year old girl once danced with a boy at a wedding reception and got in HUGE trouble ).
You just can't win. If that same girl had danced with another girl, then she would have gotten called down for that too. That whole hidden lesbian desire thing, ya know.
I remember one brother who was kinda touchy/feely with the sisters. Not in a bad way, but he always hugged and put his arm around some of his more close sister friends. These sisters never took it wrong. They knew he was just a big, teddy bear. But one elder(who must have had some sexual tensions not fulfilled or something) got all bent out of shape about it. The local needs talk was about inappropriate conduct and touching. The advice from the stage: If your not married to someone, hands off. Do not touch, even to hug. Handshakes are the extent of touching between male and females not married to each other.
As anal as that sounds, sexual harrassement training sessions for major corporations pretty much say the same thing so as to protect against lawsuits.
If that same girl had danced with another girl, then she would have gotten called down for that too.
Got that T-shirt
There was once a local needs talk about girls calling each other guys. Such as in "hey you guys". It was felt this had lesbian inclinations.
I have always contended that congos can only reflect the nature of the town that they are taken from . Here in UK we have a recognized "Market Town mentality " that charecterises small places full of small minded people. , and congs that are so inter related there is a danger of in-breeding.
My best times were in a large cosmopolitan cong in a holiday town . I can recognize the behaviour mentioned above but I hope I never showed it. I was always the elder who would not attend our own afternoon meeting if I had given a talk elswhere in the morning.
The comments about the strict parents who gave it all up eventually reminded me of our old "Assistant Cong Servant" when I was a child. He was so strict with his family and himself, it was not true. Like when there was a wedding on, he would refuse to attend and still take his familiy out on service "Because it should not interfere" . One day though he just resigned his position and quickly dropped out altogether. He became known as an apostate and used to send anti witness literature to anyone that came into contact with him . This was in the pre internet days .. Come to think, I wish now that I could have got to know him better
There was a family in my hall that was much like Freedom's family. They would attend two meetings in one day all the time when the father had talks elsewhere.
The mother always had to attend any gathering that was held for young people (even if there were chaperones) or her daughter could not go. That was up until she was 18. And that is not an exaggeration.
I remember the daughter was constantly told she could not was not wear any make-up until she was 18. The parents finally caved when she was 17 and allowed her to wear lipstick.
They were probably hoping she would attract a nice brother to marry her by the time she turned 18.
There was once a local needs talk about girls calling each other guys. Such as in "hey you guys". It was felt this had lesbian inclinations.
Obviously the elders knuckleheads were unaware that "guy" is a gneder nuetral term according to Websters.
