I'm really good "friends" with a Brother who was in prison with me back in the late sixties.
He put together a Reunion of prison Brothers.
Here's the thing...
All of us (about 50 still alive) are about the same age. I'm OUT of the organization and they remained IN the org.
I have a pretty accurate comparison.
Here is a list I compiled in my head.
1. Almost all of them are way unhealthy and look awful.
2. I'm not the judge of anybody but - it appears to me they've all pretty much wasted their lives.
3. It is STUNNING how little they know about anything. (I'm not being "critical" just to be mean.)
3. As far as I can tell, nobody has led an interesting life of creativity, exploration, grand experience, or a rich
existence of self-improvement. They are vegetables in a shaded garden.
4. Absolutely NONE of the Brothers explores the World Wide Web. It is all rattlesnakes to them.
5. I would compare my beloved old friends to captives who remain in a concentration camp even though the gates are unlocked and the doors wide open. These Brothers are like birds in a zoo who remain in the fake rain forest.
6. I find myself sick at my stomach but can't bear the thought I could be JUST LIKE THEM had I remained "faithful".
7. I almost feel like I'd be killing them if I unloaded a dump of information exposing the WatchTower corporation. To have lived your entire life inside a LIE would kill them - and they'd lose family and friends and have no place to go.
The one Bro I remain friends with is a lot like me intellectually and I can tell he sees what's "wrong" with the Org but he's "waiting on Jehovah" and truly believes with all his heart we are at the end of the end of the end of the....well - you know how that BS goes, don't you?
On my 75th birthday, I am truly GRATEFUL I got out and lived a rich life and made true friends with actual love in their hearts.
My exercise, fresh air, reasonable diet, and non-JW family and friends is so much better than the gray, depressing, fruitless torpor of Jehovah's Witnesses over the age of 60.
I may be delusional but I feel I live in the Best of Times and not the Worst, if for no other reason --I am not one of THEM!
Posts by Terry
-
30I just turned 75 and here is a giant steaming pile of my "Wisdumb"
by Terry inbirthday wisdom magnum opus.
i was born 2 years after the end of wwii.. everything was in black and white.. harry truman was president.. mahatma gandhi was the spiritual leader of india.. .
by the time i was 5, a new-fangled invention called television.
-
-
Terry
-
30
I just turned 75 and here is a giant steaming pile of my "Wisdumb"
by Terry inbirthday wisdom magnum opus.
i was born 2 years after the end of wwii.. everything was in black and white.. harry truman was president.. mahatma gandhi was the spiritual leader of india.. .
by the time i was 5, a new-fangled invention called television.
-
-
Terry
With old age also comes delusion and loss of acuity.
The Escalator was a glitch in my Matrix.
Getting the vacuum cleaner wrong really sucks.
I went to bed early on the 15th and "thought" I was getting up the next day (16th) but
I had only slept a single hour! I kept waiting for the sun to rise and became very alarmed it wasn't happening.
Now that really messed with my sense of time and space!
Thanks for the kind words and fact-checking!
Much obliged... -
30
I just turned 75 and here is a giant steaming pile of my "Wisdumb"
by Terry inbirthday wisdom magnum opus.
i was born 2 years after the end of wwii.. everything was in black and white.. harry truman was president.. mahatma gandhi was the spiritual leader of india.. .
by the time i was 5, a new-fangled invention called television.
-
-
Terry
I didn't think about the Stay Alive till 75 aspects :)
So, um, now what do I have to look forward to? :)
I say to JW's (who aren't aware I'm out - "Write down on a Post-it note the outside farthest date you predict
that this Wicked System will last."
They frown puzzled and ask, "Why?"
I say to them - "Because when you pass that farthest possible date in your reckoning the way I have - you might
want to loosen up and examine the track record of the Governing Body. Spoiler Alert: not a single prediction has even come close." -
30
I just turned 75 and here is a giant steaming pile of my "Wisdumb"
by Terry inbirthday wisdom magnum opus.
i was born 2 years after the end of wwii.. everything was in black and white.. harry truman was president.. mahatma gandhi was the spiritual leader of india.. .
by the time i was 5, a new-fangled invention called television.
-
-
Terry
BIRTHDAY WISDOM Magnum OpusI was born 2 years after the end of WWII.Everything was in black and white.Harry Truman was President.Mahatma Gandhi was the spiritual leader of India.By the time I was 5, a new-fangled invention called Televisionwas sitting in our living room.I watched Howdy Doody, Boston Blackie, Rootie Kazootie, Space Patrol, Romper Room, and ate brains and eggs for breakfast.It was the beginning of the Cold War. _________In the 20th Century, technology would invent amazing things.DURING MY LIFETIME:EscalatorHelicopterRobotRadio TelescopeRadarJet EngineElectron MicroscopeAtomic bombLaserSpace shuttleCompact DiscsCell Phonescomputers______In MedicinePolio VaccineAntibioticsChemotherapyPacemaker________Other InventionsSafety RazorVacuum CleanerNeon LightsZipperToasterMicrowave OvenTransistorBallpoint PenCellophaneChocolate ChipsTea Bags____________My favorite toys were: Mr. Wizard Chemistry setMister Potato HeadSlinkyTwo cap pistols (Stallion 45 six-shooters)BullwhipThrowing knivesArchery setLasso________ SMART ASS OBSERVATIONS1. When I was very young, I felt like a male trapped in a female body. Then...I was born!2. AGING GRACEFULLY - slowly looking worse3. THE I OLDER GET - the earlier it gets late4. YOU’RE TOO OLD - when you tell somebody your age and they no longer say,“You don’t look it.”5. Looking in the mirror at 75 is like looking at the news. I know there are going to be new developments I won’t like.6. AT MY AGE, when faced with temptations - I choose the one that will get me home before 9 p.m.7. I probably should have married an archaeologist. That way, the older I got the more interesting I’d become.8. Being a young kid is about the embarrassment of forgetting to zip up your fly. Well, being old is about hoping you remember to unzip it.9. Some say you lose your mind when you get old. What they don’t tell you is that you won’t miss it very much.10. As I now look back and remember all the nice people I’ve lost along the way…I think maybe I shouldn’t have become a tour guide.11. My favorite restaurant is that Chinese buffet where they charge me full price and then act surprised when I ask for the Senior Discount. (Every single time.)12. How am I aging? Like a fine banana.13. Somebody told me the nurses in retirement homes give the men Viagra pills every night. Yeah. Keeps them from rolling out of bed.14. With great age comes wisdom.For instance, I now see clearly Romeo and Juliet is not a love story. It's a 3-day relationship between a 13-year-old and a 17-year-old that caused 6 deaths.15. When you’re young, you do stupid things because you don’t know any better. Now that I’m old, I do stupid things just to feel like a kid again.16. Regular naps prevent old age; especially if you take them while driving.17. What’s it like being 75? Life is like entering your e-mail address with a TV remote._________FAVORITE QUOTES:“When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. I’m beginning to believe it.”– Clarence Darrow_____“I don’t believe in astrology; I’m a Sagittarius and we’re skeptical.”– Arthur C. Clarke______“Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.”– Billy Sunday_______“All right everyone, line up alphabetically according to your height.”– Casey Stengel________“I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.”– Emo Philips_____“Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.”– Charles M. Shultz________“Starbucks says they are going to start putting religious quotes on cups. The very first one will say, ‘Jesus! This cup is expensive!'”– Conan O’Brien________“A computer once beat me at chess, but it wasno match for me at kickboxing.”– Emo Philips____“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”– Dalai Lama_______“There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.”– Douglas Adams_________And now--my favorite as well as my Philosophy of Life:“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”– Dr. Seuss__________ If you made it this far, you've got too much time on your hands - but I don't. Cheers! -
23
Just how much of a dramatic FLOP is this NEW LIGHT?
by Terry inhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1xpxxtqvys.
your opinion, please, on the above video.
1. before jesus, humans were judged either by the law (jews and converts) or by natural law (noahide law).
-
-
Terry
And then again ...
There might not be a "there" there to find.
I think of Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounter of the Third Kind, at the dinner table with his family, piling up and sculpting a heap of mash potatoes saying, "THIS MEANS something ..." -
23
Just how much of a dramatic FLOP is this NEW LIGHT?
by Terry inhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1xpxxtqvys.
your opinion, please, on the above video.
1. before jesus, humans were judged either by the law (jews and converts) or by natural law (noahide law).
-
-
Terry
Jehovah seems clueless and in need of further data - if the resurrection is to have
any purpose. Otherwise, He would already know which people should not remain alive.
Jehovah's immigration (from the Old system into the New by resurrection) policy
is as chaotic as the one the U.S. has with Mexico.
Every plan of His has so many contingencies predicated on...on what?
On human behavior knowing in advance the outcome.
Allowing rebellious and insubordinate humans to run rampant and allowing them to BREED is the very thing that brought about the infestation humanity suffers from the point in history EDEN was sealed off.
Allowing all the corruptions in order to cull a few "worthy" worshippers is a real head-scratcher, at least to my way of reckoning.
Billions suffer and die and the very few survive: hardly an efficient plan, eh?
According to JWs, it is Jehovah who has insecurity about His reputation according to...To what? According to what weak, sinful, imperfect humans may THINK of Him.
Or what else? The majority opinion 2/3 of angelic beings. It's all a contest as in the book of JOB.
That's simply simple-minded. -
6
Mop and Bucket: A JW minister and Three Incidents
by Terry inthree incidents (from my youth).
in 1972 i had a glorious job as a janitor cleaning fort worth's largest newspaper offices at the star-telegram for $1.60 an hour in the wee hours (midnight to 8 am).. (hold your applause till the end, please).. .
yes - i was still a jehovah's witness and yes - we young full-time ministers accepted any part-time employment such as mine to survive until 1975 (when the, um, end of human existence would occur; according to watchtower magazine leaders.).
-
-
Terry
GrreatTeacher20 hours ago
How the hell did he fit all that on his business card?
_____
Ha! It's from his Linked-In CV
He's the exception, however, as we all know. Jehovah's Witnesses are
barely above subsistence farmers and sharecroppers on the grand scale of human achievement.
This brings up another issue: How does the Watchtower run short of cash when its "employees" are VOLUNTEERS? -
6
Mop and Bucket: A JW minister and Three Incidents
by Terry inthree incidents (from my youth).
in 1972 i had a glorious job as a janitor cleaning fort worth's largest newspaper offices at the star-telegram for $1.60 an hour in the wee hours (midnight to 8 am).. (hold your applause till the end, please).. .
yes - i was still a jehovah's witness and yes - we young full-time ministers accepted any part-time employment such as mine to survive until 1975 (when the, um, end of human existence would occur; according to watchtower magazine leaders.).
-
-
Terry
I still see a lot of JW window washers and roofers in my city and usually the word
"KINGDOM" is on the business card.
I have recently been contacted by a Brother I was in prison with back in the late '60s about a reunion on ZOOM. I mention him because his profession beats everybody
else by a wide margin.
He is a computer whiz.
Read his Bio and try not to feel too envious.
Work BIO
Senor-level Software Engineer/Information Technology Consultant specializing in Business Intelligence and Visualization.
Acknowledged as an expert in the FOCUS/WebFOCUS Business Intelligence and application development environments, and solid experience, or a good working knowledge, in many of the Business Intelligence environments and methodologies, currently in use.
Experienced as a Data Architect, Programmer, Systems Developer, Systems Administration, Systems Analyst, Business Analyst, Team Lead (including offshore groups), Project Manager, and trained in the full life cycle of systems development (SDLC).
Skilled in a wide variety of Legacy and Web-based languages, a solid knowledge of API’s, strong UI skills, system interfaces adapters, and frameworks. Extensive mainframe, midrange, and workstation experience, as well as a variety of legacy environments and operating systems. IBM certified as a SQL/DS and DB2 DBA, and other RDBMS environments and DBMS environments.
Strong web-based experience, including a working knowledge of many of the newer web-based environments, and skilled in creating web portals, dashboards, data marts, complex reporting, charts/graphics, mapping, analytics, and statistics.
Experienced in the Transportation, Manufacturing, Medical, Financial, Communications, and Education fields, as well as Federal and State government.
His current employment contract nets him $50k a month.
That's even better than washing windows and emptying trash bins!! -
6
Mop and Bucket: A JW minister and Three Incidents
by Terry inthree incidents (from my youth).
in 1972 i had a glorious job as a janitor cleaning fort worth's largest newspaper offices at the star-telegram for $1.60 an hour in the wee hours (midnight to 8 am).. (hold your applause till the end, please).. .
yes - i was still a jehovah's witness and yes - we young full-time ministers accepted any part-time employment such as mine to survive until 1975 (when the, um, end of human existence would occur; according to watchtower magazine leaders.).
-
-
Terry
THREE INCIDENTS (from my youth)In 1972 I had a glorious job as a janitor cleaning Fort Worth's largest newspaper offices at the Star-Telegram for $1.60 an hour in the wee hours (midnight to 8 am).(Hold your applause till the end, please).Yes - I was still a Jehovah's Witness and yes - we young full-time ministers accepted any part-time employment such as mine to survive until 1975 (when the, um, End of Human Existence would occur; according to Watchtower magazine leaders.)Only three interesting things worth mentioning about that janitor job will I cite for you to convey the flavor of my life at age 25.There were ten of us on that crew. We were all black men of various ages and dispositions who couldn't get a decent job because of our prison records. You take what you can, ya know?The Crew Chief was not black. He was sleepy and named Ed.Ed never took part in the cleaning.His was a supervisory function.He would spot-check and make sure we didn't steal anything expensive. Ed was not very competent in that capacity.Ed mostly slept.Now before I continue...Let me adjust my comment about "all black men". It wasn't my skin that was black - it was my MOOD. Okay?Now back to my story.I mention three incidents at the top. Remember?_____#1The first incident I'm pretty sure I've written about before.There was a huge Wells Fargo safe in the Editor's office in a walk-in closet behind the desk. The door to that closet was kept locked except for this one occasion. It stood ajar revealing the locked safe. It may have been locked - but - it wasn't safe!Remember this story?If not - you really missed out!Briefly, here are the highlights ...When I was in grade school all students had a locker and a combination lock. The unbreakable rule was this: ALL lockers must be kept locked!Well, okay. However...the distance between my last two classes was three flights of stairs! I had very little time to open the locker, switch out the textbook, lock up, and (don't) RUN the crowded stairs to the last class.So what?So I - and most other students - worked the combination right up to about a half-turn toward the last digit. In the frantic mad dash process, we could run over to the lock and give a tiny twist and CLICK! Open!Now - back to my Star-Telegram janitor sees Wells Fargo's safe story...As I was sweeping, dumping ashtrays, emptying trash cans - what did I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE - but - a combination lock and the instantaneous memory of my high school locker!Yes. I simply hypothesized that ...maybe...the editor of the newspaper took the same shortcut. Possibly?You know how it is when you've been around convicted criminals a couple of years? Yeah - your mindset becomes polluted.Cut to the chase...I tried it. I HAD TO. It would annoy and nag me forever had I not tried.I had a 50/50 chance IF the shortcut was to work.I slowly pulled the steel handle as I clicked the tumbler and -by golly - YIPES! The damn impregnable Wells Fargo solid steel, six-inch, thick safe door swung open.And yes - there were stacks of cash just like it is in the movies!Payroll. No checks - just cash. Oh - and there was a bottle of Vodka too.It scared the crap out of me for about a dozen reasons.I didn't wish to go back to prison. No no no.I also didn't want to stand there eyeballing stacks of $$$$$$.I quickly shut the door and spun the tumbler and rubbed my cleaning rag all over the door.That was incident number #1.___________Incident #2One night, Ed the sleepy supervisor pulled me aside and spoke in a whisper."I work another job during the day and I'm so tired - I just need to get some rest or I'll fall down. I need you to keep an eye on Tyrone while I catch my Z's. I don't trust him. Okay - go to it and don't wake me up for ANY reason."Fast-forward a couple of hours and a few minutes after Tyrone had stabbed one of the other crew members.It was nothing malicious. Just guys with knives messing about.Should I wake ED and inform him or not?What would you have done?Personally, I have a hard and fast rule I absorbed from my prison experience. DO NOT SNITCH!Consequently ...Ed slept through the blood, the ambulance, the police part of the evening.The next night, Ed pulled me aside with a peculiar look on his face.What would you guess Ed was going to say to me?Go on ...make your guess.Okay. Time's up. You're wrong - whatever you guessed.Ed said this to me:"Thanks for not waking me up. I'm glad I missed all that shit."Yeah. Amazing.____Incident #3On my last night of work at the Star-Telegram building as a janitorI found the Entertainment Writer, Elston Brooks, dead drunk at his desk. At first, I thought he was just dead. But as I got closer I could smell the "drunk" part of it.Elston Brooks was a larger-than-life personality figure who wrote columns in a witty, off-hand manner and he hob-nobbed with all sorts of celebrities in his capacity as interviewer covering movies, actors, actresses, directors, etc.I should NOT have spoken to him - but - I wasn't absolutely convinced he wasn't dead.I jostled his arm and spoke aloud:"ARE YOU OKAY?"Instantly, Elston sat bolt upright like a Private snapping to "Attention!" when a Sgt. walks into the barracks.I won't ask you to guess what he said to me. Nobody could guess in a million years. Not even a million monkeys typing on typewriters random sentences could produce the words that came out of his mouth.Here for the very first time, I will reveal it."Steve McQueen and I -- in London -- watched a naked woman wrestle a panther in Raymond’s Revue Bar."He then leaned to the side and vomited onto the floor.Noticing the mop and bucket beside me he squeaked, "Clean that up." Then he passed out face first on the desk.Well - I did not "Clean that up."I had had enough. My black mood had topped off.This was what my life had come to. Sopping vomit.I quit.The next day I set out in my blue Ford Maverick on a mission to find my father in Detroit.I needed to find out who he was as a person and discover who I was as his son - and what kind of genetic mismatch had screwed up my life.But that's a completely unrelated story - and I've probably told it a dozen times already.That's all for now.Bye-bye!LikeCommentShare -
23
Just how much of a dramatic FLOP is this NEW LIGHT?
by Terry inhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1xpxxtqvys.
your opinion, please, on the above video.
1. before jesus, humans were judged either by the law (jews and converts) or by natural law (noahide law).
-
-
Terry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1XpxxtQvys
Your opinion, please, on the above video.
1. BEFORE Jesus, humans were judged either by the LAW (Jews and converts) or by natural Law (Noahide Law). Death wiped clean those sins." 2. With the arrival of Jesus, FAITH in Christ's sacrifice was the basis for sin forgiveness. 3. The war of the great day of God Almighty (Armageddon) punishes non-faithful (even reprobate so-called "Christians" by execution on the spot. 4. The heavenly Bride is resurrected to heaven if previously deceased; those alive are translated to heaven instantly. The faithful live through Armageddon as a thousand-year renewal begins. NOW comes the time period of CONTENTION opinion-wise: during the 1000 years. DEATH wiped clean previous sin. Why resurrect already dead people who paid that debt if they just die again in a new judgment? The previous doctrine clarified (?) this by saying "at any point" during the 1,000 years as a gradual renewing to perfection took place - a rebellious sinner would be executed summarily. By this act "it could be seen" as "theirs was a resurrection to death" because of the new sin. Feasibly this would NOT happen because Satan was locked away with his demons until the end of the renewal period. No Tempter to provoke sin, you see. When Satan and his horde are let loose..." for a short time"...in the New Eden (on earth) humanity (now unburdened by Adam's inherited sin, are on their own for a FINAL TEST. ANY who succumb to new temptation is destroyed in Final Judgment forever. The above is how I recall the Doctrinal understanding. (I have been out of the JW's since 1979, so I could be missing something.)
Jesus was making the point (Geoffrey Jackson said) that humans are JUDGED
on their past sins and NOT what they do during the 1000 Year reign (in which nobody does a vile deed). Well, this is where the confusion begins (for me).
Who has a thought on the matter?
