it's pretty creepy.
i'm right on canal st. & st. charles, next to french quarter.
you can see the high water mark everywhere.
Bryan,
Thanks for the update. New Orleans is a special place and a lot of us who never called it home have been saddened by the disaster. I can't imagine what you guys who actually live there are going through. I can't wait for N'awlins to recover from this tragedy.
I wish you guys the best and please let us know if you need anything.
CountryGuy
back in the late eighties while still in high school instead of doing something fun for spring break i got an all expense paid trip to bethel.
on a bus no less with about 75 other jws headed to the promised land.
somewhere i still have a photo album filled with snapshots of the printing presses and all of the "cadets" happily churning out literature -- and of course all of the female cadets happily scrubbing toilets and doing laundry.
I did. We went to Brooklyn. (Of course.) Jersey City. (Kinda interesting.) Walkill (Wow, Jehovah has a lot of printing equipment.) And, Niagra Falls (The Canadian was much nicer than the American side.)
At the time, I have to say, I liked the trip. Mostly because it was me and my friends without our parents. There were a couple of elders from our cong. on the trip, so we had to be 'good.' But, it was a nice way to spend a week with your friends.
I do remember the trip wasn't going so good for one of the older gentlemen. At the Jersey City site, he told the brother in charge of the tour, "The ONLY way I'm going to get back on that bus is if Jehovah God HIMSELF tells me to do it. I'm going to fly home." And he did! I always thought that was funny and considered it to be one of the highlights of the trip.
CountryGuy
do you every worry about dying?
do you think that you probably won't have a very long life?
I'm a little afraid of dying... I'll admit it. But only because I no longer "know" (or think I know) what's going to happen after death.
But more than anything, I'm afraid of being left behind, alone, by my husband. I often tell him that I hope I go first because I don't want to have to live without him.
CountryGuy
ok i just finished watching antwone fisher.
it's not the first time i've watched it.not even the second or third time.
i've seen it a lot.
Basically, any emotional outpouring will get me crying, as Truvy said in Steel Magnolias (yup, cried in that one), "I have a strict policy that no one cries alone in my presence."
But, movies (and tv shows) that have not only gotten tear, but a full-fledged body moving sob are:
The Cure: Story about two little boys in Minnesota. One has AIDS and they read about a doctor in New Orleans who has "found a cure" for the disease, so they start down the Mississippi River to find him.
Finding Neverland: When they are doing the play at home for Kate Winslet's character and they ask who believes in fairies. Then, the stick-up-her-booty grandmother starts clapping... I lose it!
Extreme Makeover: Exactly, whenever there is a kid with a special need. And/or when they give out a scholarship. The one that got to me the most was the deaf parents who had a son with no diabilities (he got the scholarship) and a son who was autistic. Pretty much if Pauly is crying, so am I.
Touched by an Angel: OMG, the one where Wynonna Judd played Audry. Her son way dying and he made a list of things he wanted to do before he died. The angels came to help him complete the list. The last thing on the list was "Help Mom finish the song." Which was a song she had started when he was born, but stopped writing when she found out he was sick. Needless to say, she finishes the song and Andrew takes the little boy to heaven as she is singing it to him.... Damn, I'm starting to tear up just thinking about it.
I think that a good cry is very cleansing and good for you.
CountryGuy
i mean stuff that is right now, this minute on your table or desk, not something you might read someday?.
my desk is currently littered with;why won't they listen?
ken hamwhat the cults believe.
I've started re-reading the Harry Potter books. Right now I'm on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling. (Movie was good, but the book is better!)
CountryGuy
i'll start:.
hey brother smith, how about if we go preach the good news tomorrow morning, hey?
pick you up at 9
JWs are like coca-cola, we're everywhere.
(Big deal, so are cockroaches.)
Jehovah has really blessed your efforts.
(Whatever, like he cares.)
a) you'll find no ash trays.
b) no lottery tickets laying on the counter.
c) a jw calendar in sight for everyone to see.
My mom did a needlepoint piece of work:"But as for me and my household, we shall serve JEHOVAH" w/ the scripture reference. (and, yes, there was red lettering - although maybe only the word 'Jehovah' was in red.)
OMG! We had the same thing at my house. LOL!!!
CountryGuy
first and foremost let me describe my situation.
i am a senior in high school.
i've had a very rough past and alot of people have wronged me in many ways.
Rohrix,
Welcome to the board. At least you are doing a bit of research before you jump into a huge (HUGE) commitment. As you go through this process, let me give you two pieces of information:
1. Everyday, in your neighborhood, JWs are usually very nice, polite people. They will become even nicer once the find out you want to become a JW. In fact, many have called it being 'love bombed.' However, if you decide that you ever want to leave the religion, you will get the complete opposite. JWs shun those that leave their organization. It does not matter if it is your parent or child, your brother or sister, cousin or best-friend for thirty years; if you leave the JWs you will lose any 'friends' you have on the inside.
2. Having grown up a JW, I've seen other guys in your situation. A cute young JW girl flirts with a guy at school or at work. He decides that he wants to date her. She tells him that she can only date other JWs. He starts studying with the JWs to get closer to her. Right after he's in too deep to turn around, she decides that it's best if they just stay friends. I know that there are some JW couples that are still together because the husband came into the JWs just for the wife, but I have seen them 'dumped' more often than not.
Over all, just know what you're getting yourself into... Best of luck and Happy Holidays. (By the way, those are two things you can't say if you're a JW.)
CountryGuy
as some of you may recall from other threads i have started on this topic, my sister is engaged in a battle for my 15 year-old nephew's mind, with her adversaries being her pentecostal ex-husband, his wife, and their church.. i wish i could say that my sister is a great parent and that this is purely a black and white issue, but unfortunately i have to admit that my sister leaves *much* to be desired as a parent.. my nephew, who is a pretty typical 15 year-old boy, is often in need of gentle correction for his sometimes thoughtless behavior.
but gentle correction is not what he gets from my sister, not in the least.
what he gets from her is constant anger, screaming, accusations, and the like.. a couple of examples:.
Her big fear is that he's going to go nutty religious (he already is pretty on board with a lot of the Pentecostal stuff) and shun us altogether. But her treatment of B is a factor in favor of that prophecy being fulfilled. But I don't dare tell her that.
I think that you must find a way to tell her that. She may not like it, but since she values and respects you, she will think about it. It may be what she needs to hear, even if she doesn't want to hear it.
My sister is the same way. But, then again, so am I. I tell her exactly what I think, but I do it a gently as possible. There have been a few times that it resulted in a big blowup between us. And, I knew it was going to happen that way, I just chose my battle. Usually, my battles have something to do with my family. The last time this happened, she didn't speak to me for a month. Eventually, she comes around. You just have to decide is the risk of losing your nephew great enough to go through an argument with your sister. You may even tell her that you know it's going to cause an argument, but you care enough about B, that you're willing to risk an arguement.
I think that B is very fortunate to have an uncle like you, that cares about him.
CountryGuy
i don't know if this thread has been done before, but can anybody think of times that jehovah's witnesses were made mention of or joked about in music, tv, or movies?
for example,there are a couple of simpsons episodes, one were marge alludes to being so desperate for company that jehovah's witnesses ran away when she went to get them more lemonade.
another time, two jw's approach the simpsons' house and one turns to the other just before ringing the doorbell and asks "ruby, do you ever think we should get real jobs?".
Designing Women:
Suzanne is complaining about Julia, "She's always telling me what I can and can't do. Like, shooting warning shots over the heads of those Jehovah Witnesses who knock on my door."
Golden Girls:Very late one night, someone rings the door bell. Rose asks, "I wonder who that could be?"
Dorothy answers, "Its a Jehovah's Witness with a caffiene problem."
