During the second world war, my grandmother, not a JW, was put in a concentration camp in the Soviet Union. After about 2 years she and others managed to escape and eventually made their way to Canada. Her experience there was extremely negative, and for the rest of her life she refused to let the matter drop. She never got over it, but she didn't really try either. She never tried to find other interests in life. The memories of the camp became her life. Eventually she got cancer and died, but during the last week of her life she mentally went back to the camp, and no longer recognized any of her family. As far as she was concerned she was back there.
Obviously, my experience with the watchtower was not as bad as her time in the camp. But I won't let myself go on and on about it for the rest of my life either. I fully intend to put it behind me and recover from it, much like I would recover from a bad case of diarrhea. I've given them more of my life than they could ever deserve. I intend to live a full life, and will concentrate on accumulating good memories rather than dwelling excessively on the bad memories of the past.
When I'm ready to die the LAST thing I want to be thinking about is the stupid bloody watchtower.
Walter
