Looking back on it, it's hard to believe that I ever let them have that much control over me. Well, maybe I didn't them have that much control. I still owned a 2 door car, I listened to the Beatles, I still wore my wild ties and their intrusion on my life eventually pushed me out. Thanks elder guys!
That's about the way that I was. Thanks for not being the only one!
I once got counselled for being a skinhead. You see, I had a buzz cut in the early 90's, and we wouldn't want to be a skinhead or anything... My response to the elder? My barber is black. (not politically correct these days, no, I'm not a racist), which was 100 percent true. I told him to go ask him if he thought that I was a skinhead.
I still kept my hair short. My sentence? Not carrying a microphone. I took not carrying the microphone. When people are full of bullshit, I tended to get millitaristic in my beliefs.
The elders never liked me. I didn't care.
One time the entire body of elders got a little talking to, because I just moved to a congo, and did not know which month they were missing (reporting time). I asked and asked, and the guy never got back to me. Turns out, I got turned down for aux. pio, because I was 'irregular'. The C.O. came to town, and I worked in service with him one day. He asked me why I wasn't aux. pioneering, and I told him why. He cleared the air, and rumour was they got reemed out good.
The next meeting, elder asshole comes up to me, squeeses my arm hard, and says "you really need to get your time in!". I ripped my arm away, and said "I tried".