The Governing Body is really not just "governing" so much as it is a "re-interpreting and enforcement" body.
It is - for all practical purposes of discussion - modeled on the Papacy with it's
authoritative pronouncements. Except - there is a lawyering of language to insert deniability when it comes to owning what they break.
Stop and ask yourself a question. WHAT DO THE GB MEAN when they say
they are constantly "studying" the scriptures (so as to identify NEW LIGHT) and pass along changes and interpretations??
The Book is the Book is the Book. Unchanging.
Only the Viewpoint can change. And it does. And it does again. And again, ad infinitum.
"Studying" means concocting in their framework. Ad Lib.
Improvising themselves into and out of very black and white points of view requiring
compliance, obedience, and unquestioning acceptance.
Seeing evidence of THE GREAT TRIBULATION in somebody's grilled cheese sandwich is a Catholic trick (substitute the Virgin Mary).
Watchtower plays cards with a marked deck, sleight-of-hand style.
LEGAL repercussions are in present day doing more to shape New Light than any amount of scripture scrutiny.
If you've been inside the Organization from the 1950's (as I have) you've seen radical, dramatic shuffle-footing, dissembling, deflecting, reframing, and outright dishonesty again and again. When that happens there are only 2 outcomes.
1. Hang in and "wait on Jehovah" to set things straight (making you cognitively dissonant and inoculated against falsifiability and counter-argument.
OR
2. You leave and become nullified as a spokesperson or whistle-blower able to reach
group 1.
It is a social evolutionary process indemnifying hard-headedness as a virtue.
Posts by Terry
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21How a rumor of assassination spooked the Watchtower
by Terry inpresident kennedy's brother robert excited the world as a candidate for president 5 years after jfk's murder.rfk, in turn, was murdered.the assassin's name was sirhan sirhan, he was palestinian.it just so happened the assassin's father, bishara, was a member in good standing as one of jehovah’s witnesses.so what?
so this:this seemingly innocent fact would jolt jehovah's witnesses into a near panic.
i know because i was there.here are the facts as i remember them.______the jehovah's witness, bishara sirhan unfortunately had a reputation in his neighborhood and community for being excitable, even volatile at times.
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Terry
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24
How the Governing Body elite are really Doomsday Preppers and always have been paranoid
by Terry inwatchtower boondoggle from 1929, better known as the house of princes.
this was built in 1929 to house the newly resurrected “ancient worthies” such as abraham, david, and other old testament men of faith which were supposed to have been already resurrected in the year 1925.
(note: it didn’t happen.).
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Terry
Watchtower boondoggle from 1929, better known as the House of Princes.
This was built in 1929 to house the newly resurrected “Ancient Worthies” such as Abraham, David, and other Old Testament men of faith which were supposed to have been already resurrected in the year 1925. (Note: it didn’t happen.)__________________________
While WatchTower President, "Judge" Joseph F. Rutherford was enjoying the paradise like conditions of San Diego at Beth-Sarim, a secret property was also purchased near Beth-Sarim in 1939 with similar expectations but NEVER discussed in WatchTower literature.This secret 75 acre prime real estate property was also expected to house the resurrected Moses and other heroes of the faith. The added benefit was since they were expected to return shortly, just prior to Armageddon and world wide wars, they would have 2 hidden underground bomb shelters protected with 3 feet of concrete overhead and storage provisions for months.
They would be totally self sufficient at Beth-Shan with their own 425 foot well and 10,000 gallon storage tank. Electricity would be provided by a state of the art diesel powered generator and a 4,000 gallon underground tank for diesel fuel. Water was piped to the house and 2 fire hydrants would protect them from fires. The real beauty of such a secure compound is there was plenty of room for the safety of the WatchTower leadership as well. Perhaps they could bring Abraham and his friends up to speed on the marvels of the 20th century and assist in the preparation of the Kingdom of God.
Beth-Shan is mentioned only ONCE by name in the Watch Tower publication, Consolation, predecessor to the "Awake!" magazine. The context is an article concerning the requested 1 man cemetery plot for Judge Rutherford since the original burial request at Beth-Sarim was denied.
"The judge decided to continue the case so that the new site could be brought before the Planning Commission... the second plot was a proper place for burial.... The Planning Commission, who deliberated for more than two weeks, investigating the site, was haled before the court, and denied the second application for a cemetery.... New location for interment was almost in the center of the property known as Beth-Shan, which is roughly 75 acres of canyon and mesa land, adjoining Beth-Sarim but separated by a half-mile width of canyon."(May 27, 1942 Consolation, p. 9)
The immediate personal use of this home and facilities in mild weather San Diego would be immediately available to Rutherford. However, the deed to the property makes it appear this was for the noble reason of providing a haven for the arrival of faithful men and women of old as Abraham, Moses, Rahab, and Sarah. A portion of the deed of trust reads as follows:
NOW THEREFORE this trust is created and the said trustee shall hold the title to said property in trust for the use and benefit of the following named persons, whose names appear in the Bible at the Book of Hebrews, chapter eleven, verses one to forty, to wit: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthae, David, Samuel. Until such time as the aforementioned persons return and identify themselves to the legal representatives of the said WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY and by the consent of said Society take possession and control of said premises, the President of the WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY shall have the right and be duty bound to direct the management and use of said premises…"
Unlike Beth-Sarim, this facility would be far more secure from the predicted coming of Armageddon. 2 bomb shelters, a diesel powered generator with a 4,000 gallon underground tank for diesel fuel, and 10,000 gallons of water storage with 2 fire hydrants.
It wasn't long before rumors among witnesses began to be spread about this haven of security, which apparently prompted a rather vague response from the WatchTower leadership:
"Some unreliable person is responsible for the circulation of a report that Beth-Sarim is being enlarged as a place of security and that this is being built by the Society.
There is absolutely not one word of truth in the report. Those who are interested in the Theocracy would better be circulating the kingdom message rather than false imaginations of others."(The Watchtower, June 1, 1940, p. 162)
Perhaps the leadership felt justified in stating "Beth-Sarim" was not being enlarged as a place of security, but the fact is the nearby Watch Tower property Beth-Shan certainly was.
No doubt Rutherford believed his wild speculation about the nearness of Armageddon and was preparing this haven of safety from the soon to be experienced explosions and poison he predicted years earlier:
… the next war will be…an annihilation! There will be poison and explosion everywhere, beneath the whole canopy of the heavens…(Golden Age, June 2, 1926, p. 55)
Author and researcher, Edward Gruss, interviewed Fred Eason, a eye witness to the goat barn bomb shelter. Fred Eason said he saw the underground shelter shortly after it's sale in 1945. He described the underground shelter with its secret entrance as a:
"...building that was called the 'goat barn' which was used to stable their goats. To enter the shelter one would go to the small bathroom area at the rear of the building, open the medicine cabinet, and pull a concealed lever inside.
A section of the wall would swing open, revealing a stairway down into what can only be identified as a bomb shelter--a room about 30 feet x 15 feet, with a 10 foot high ceiling. The walls were lined with storage shelves.
The cement ceiling of the room was 3 feet thick!" (interview with Fred Eason as documented in "Jehovah's Witnesses Their Monuments to False Prophecy, Edmond Gruss, p. 75)
The building at upper right is the main Beth-Shan residence. The arrow points to the “goat barn” which had the secret bomb shelter (as did the main residence). Photo taken after the sale of Beth-Shan 1945.
(photo courtesy of Edmund Gruss)
1963 Aerial photo of Beth-Shan. Extensive grading on the property
revealed the hidden “goat barn” bomb shelter (arrow).
(photo courtesy of Edmond Gruss)
Not only did the princes NOT return to claim the estate at Beth Sarim as prophesied by Rutherford, but the Society simply ignored the promised trust to the princes and quietly sold the property soon after Rutherford's death.
1945 black and white photo of Beth-Shan (now hand colored):
Beth-Shan house built in 1939, ten years after Beth-Sarim on adjacent property. Beth-Shan, which means "House of Security" in Hebrew, was literally a house of security -(cult compound)*-
it was accessed by a single dirt road that was guarded and gated. It also had two secret bomb shelters to protect the Beth-Shan/Beth-Sarim residents (such as the Society's second president, J.F. Rutherford).
The Society apparently wanted to keep the residence secret and covered up its very existence. The Society only mentioned Beth-Shan once in its literature: May 27, 1942 Consolation magazine (now called Awake!)
The Society began building a burial crypt for Rutherford just below Beth-Sarim shortly before his death. After this site was denied by local authorities, the Society proposed a second site which was located on the Beth-Shan property which was adjacent to Beth-Sarim. This second burial spot was also denied.
Here is an aerial photo taken in 1945:
(Note: the airstrip at the left was built shortly after the sale of this property in 1945)
The long building to the left of the cul-de-sac is the "goat barn" which had a secret bomb shelter (as did the main residence).
The remote inaccessibility is better seen from the following angle:
The deed to the Beth-Shan house and property were, like Beth-Sarim, made out to Abraham, David, and the other Old Testament "princes." In reading the deed to Beth-Shan, one could get the impression that it is simply Beth-Sarim, part II --the two deeds are very similar. Both of the residences and property were held in "trust" by the Watchtower Society's leaders for the Old Testament "princes" awaiting their return.
According to Fred Eason, who was later to purchase some of the Beth-Shan property and residence (discussed below), the dirt road which was accessible through a gate, was also guarded by JWs, so unauthorized individuals couldn't enter. He first stumbled onto the Society's building of the Beth-Shan residence while he was looking for "Young's Cave," a series of manmade caves or tunnels in the area. He was "rebuffed" by "several men on horseback" and watched the building of Beth-Shan from a different side of the mesa canyon.
Telephone interviews between Edmond Gruss and Fred Eason, Dec. 3, 1996 and letter dated Dec. 12, 1996 from Eason to Gruss. Gruss, p. 70.Monuments, p. 70.
Another building, a "goat barn" had a secret bomb shelter as well. It was a long building apparently used to house goats. At the rear of the building was a bathroom. Fred Eason bought 30 acres of the Beth-Shan property including the goat barn. In a letter to Ed Gruss he wrote of its bomb shelter:
To enter the shelter one would go to the small bathroom area at the rear of the building, open the medicine cabinet, and pull a concealed lever inside. A section of the wall would spring open, revealing a stairway down into what can only be identified as a bomb shelter--a room about about 30 feet x 15 feet, with a ten foot high ceiling. The walls were lined with storage shelves. The cement ceiling of the room was 3 feet thick!"
Gruss noted in his Monuments book:
“A person could go into the bathroom and would never know that the shelter was there. When a house was built on the property in 1967 it was placed on the lot so as to keep the shelter intact, and it still exists today.”
Doomsday PREPPERS?
Watchtower Society in the 1920's and 1930's believed that the "next war"would lead to Armageddon and result in the Theocracy or Kingdom of God on Earth. They believed it would be a war fought primarily or exclusively in the air with poison gas and bacterial (germ) bombs which would obliterate most life on earth. For example, they said:
*... the next war will be a completion [of the First World War] and therewith an annihilation! There will be poison and explosion everywhere, beneath the whole canopy of the heavens.... Poison will be mechanically wafted forward and backward by unmanned airplanes, going up into the atmosphere and descending to the earth.”
The compact, thickly-populated, highly -industrialized centers of civilization will be drenched with gases, bathed in a liquid-fire and sown with bacteria. Unquenchable conflagrations will overspread the sky with a blanket of smoke.... Perhaps some previous preparation will have been made of elaborate subterranean tunnels and chambers in anticipation of this awful time.
When the totalitarian Catholic combine gains control of the British Isles, which it is certain to do, then all the liberties of the people will be at an end.... What will be the condition when all nations become totalitarian?.... The totalitarian combine is going to get control of England and America. You cannot prevent it. Do not try.
Rutherford, J.F., Face the Facts, 1938, pp. 20, 21, p. 27.
Apparently, the Watchtower Society did its own preparing for this future calamity in building Beth-Shan (House of Security) with two bomb shelters. Perhaps "Young's Cave" with its series of underground tunnels on the property was an appealing feature in their decision to buy the property!
The reason for the storage shelves in the bomb shelters is they believed that great famines would soon occur world-wide, including the United States. This was also brought out in the "Demon Rule Ending" articles:
A great famine is certain to afflict the many nations of the earth in the very near future. The United States is also in line for much suffering.... the United States is faced with world disaster now impending and about to fall...
________________________________
One thing for certain. Boondoggles never end in this religion!Apparently the fear mongering of old is alive and well as reflected in the Bunker videos
Released for download at the J-Dub Org website. You have to admit, it’s slightly more comforting to know the leaders themselves believe their own baloney and are just as afraid of the Great Tribulation as the rank and file. So afraid, they sacrifice all this money for doom and luxury!
_____Speaking of paranoia...
after 9-11, the Governing Body were scared shit-less of downtown Brooklyn.
Plans were concocted to sell-off the piggy-bank buildings and convert to
more remote properties and locations. Around the planet isolated areas seemed ideal for the hideaways.This looks like a pleasant location for Doomsday, doesn’t it?
Or
Maybe just a fortunate location for. . .um. . .translating boring religious writing into WELSH.
The Watchtower Organization in 2014 made the purchase for $ 1,425,400.00
Entrance Hallway Hardwood door with double glazed side panel, high pitched ceiling with double glazed Velux window, three wall light points, meter cupboard, cloaks cupboard, oak doors, Travertine flooring with underfloor heating and glazed doors leading to:
Reception Hallway 13'9" (4.2m) x 24'7" (7.5m) max (9'2" (2.8m) min). Open spindled staircase to the first and second floors and oak glazed doors leading to lounge.
Lounge 18'4" x 20'4" (5.59m x 6.2m). Cast iron multi fuel burner on a raised slate hearth, six wall light points, television aerial point, engineered oak flooring, radiator, vaulted ceiling, double glazed patio doors and double glazed windows to the rear and side from which there are views across the extensive rear garden and Menai Straits to the Isle of Anglesey.
Superbly positioned above The Menai Strait with direct water access, the property comprises of entrance hallway, reception hallway, impressive open plan 'live in kitchen/family room', lounge, sitting room, games room, 2 studies, utility, cloakroom, shower room, 5 double bedrooms, four en-suites and a family bathroom. The property benefits from having gas central heating, double glazing, garage, established landscaped gardens with decked areas and pond. The property enjoys fantastic sea view of The Menai Strait, The Menai Suspension Bridge and across to Anglesey. (See Menai Suspension Bridge below)
Does it represent value for the people whose contributions paid for it? Will they even be told about it? Isn’t the Watchtower supposed to be a charitable organization?
Why are they closing buildings in other (often poorer) parts of the world, evicting long-established workers and at the same time investing in luxury property like this that will 'benefit' a select few?
Who chooses who the select few are?
This property is for Watchtower Elite to enjoy under pretense of their business going about the Lord’s work.
Actually, it's easy to believe the real purpose is for the Governing Body to wait out the Great Tribulation while the rank and file are in their Bunkers eating Pork n’ Bean rations.
Paranoid preppers and Doomsday propagandists from beginning to end -
that's the real inside scoop.
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21
How a rumor of assassination spooked the Watchtower
by Terry inpresident kennedy's brother robert excited the world as a candidate for president 5 years after jfk's murder.rfk, in turn, was murdered.the assassin's name was sirhan sirhan, he was palestinian.it just so happened the assassin's father, bishara, was a member in good standing as one of jehovah’s witnesses.so what?
so this:this seemingly innocent fact would jolt jehovah's witnesses into a near panic.
i know because i was there.here are the facts as i remember them.______the jehovah's witness, bishara sirhan unfortunately had a reputation in his neighborhood and community for being excitable, even volatile at times.
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Terry
Speaking of paranoia...
after 9-11, the Governing Body were scared shit-less of downtown Brooklyn.
Plans were concocted to sell-off the piggy-bank buildings and convert to
more remote properties and locations. Around the planet isolated areas seemed ideal for the hideaways.
If you were a GB elite in a religious organization, would you be motivated to buy a $ 1,425,400 property in which a Welsh translation center stood?
Well - if it didn't make you an easy target for terrorists it might!This looks like a pleasant location for Doomsday, doesn’t it?
Or
Maybe just a fortunate location for. . .um. . .translating boring religious writing into WELSH.
The Watchtower Organization in 2014 made the purchase for $ 1,425,400.00
Entrance Hallway Hardwood door with double glazed side panel, high pitched ceiling with double glazed Velux window, three wall light points, meter cupboard, cloaks cupboard, oak doors, Travertine flooring with underfloor heating and glazed doors leading to:
Reception Hallway 13'9" (4.2m) x 24'7" (7.5m) max (9'2" (2.8m) min). Open spindled staircase to the first and second floors and oak glazed doors leading to lounge.
Lounge 18'4" x 20'4" (5.59m x 6.2m). Cast iron multi fuel burner on a raised slate hearth, six wall light points, television aerial point, engineered oak flooring, radiator, vaulted ceiling, double glazed patio doors and double glazed windows to the rear and side from which there are views across the extensive rear garden and Menai Straits to the Isle of Anglesey.
Property descriptionSuperbly positioned above The Menai Strait with direct water access, the property comprises of entrance hallway, reception hallway, impressive open plan 'live in kitchen/family room', lounge, sitting room, games room, 2 studies, utility, cloakroom, shower room, 5 double bedrooms, four en-suites and a family bathroom. The property benefits from having gas central heating, double glazing, garage, established landscaped gardens with decked areas and pond. The property enjoys fantastic sea view of The Menai Strait, The Menai Suspension Bridge and across to Anglesey. (See Menai Suspension Bridge below)
Does it represent value for the people whose contributions paid for it? Will they even be told about it? Isn’t the Watchtower supposed to be a charitable organization? Hmmmm...
Why are they closing buildings in other (often poorer) parts of the world, evicting long-established workers and at the same time investing in luxury property like this that will 'benefit' a select few?
Who chooses who the select few are?
If you want to give your children a useful tool for the modern world then have them speak English, Spanish, maybe French or even Chinese. Being able to speak Welsh is a wasted opportunity better spent on other more useful things that could be taught.
Unless. . .This property is for Watchtower Elite to enjoy under pretense of business going about the Lord’s work. Or maybe for the Governing Body to wait out the Great Tribulation while the rank and file are in their Bunkers eating Pork n’ Bean rations?
A cynical Ex-JW (mentally diseased Apostate) might well ask if this doesn’t represent another Watchtower boondoggle from 1929, better known as the House of Princes.
This was built in 1929 to house the newly resurrected “Ancient Worthies” such as Abraham, David, and other Old Testament men of faith which were supposed to have been already resurrected in the year 1925. (Note: it didn’t happen.)__________________________
While WatchTower President, "Judge" Joseph F. Rutherford was enjoying the paradise like conditions of San Diego at Beth-Sarim, a secret property was also purchased near Beth-Sarim in 1939 with similar expectations but NEVER discussed in WatchTower literature.This secret 75 acre prime real estate property was also expected to house the resurrected Moses and other heroes of the faith. The added benefit was since they were expected to return shortly, just prior to Armageddon and world wide wars, they would have 2 hidden underground bomb shelters protected with 3 feet of concrete overhead and storage provisions for months.
They would be totally self sufficient at Beth-Shan with their own 425 foot well and 10,000 gallon storage tank. Electricity would be provided by a state of the art diesel powered generator and a 4,000 gallon underground tank for diesel fuel. Water was piped to the house and 2 fire hydrants would protect them from fires. The real beauty of such a secure compound is there was plenty of room for the safety of the WatchTower leadership as well. Perhaps they could bring Abraham and his friends up to speed on the marvels of the 20th century and assist in the preparation of the Kingdom of God.
Beth-Shan is mentioned only ONCE by name in the Watch Tower publication, Consolation, predecessor to the "Awake!" magazine. The context is an article concerning the requested 1 man cemetery plot for Judge Rutherford since the original burial request at Beth-Sarim was denied.
"The judge decided to continue the case so that the new site could be brought before the Planning Commission... the second plot was a proper place for burial.... The Planning Commission, who deliberated for more than two weeks, investigating the site, was haled before the court, and denied the second application for a cemetery.... New location for interment was almost in the center of the property known as Beth-Shan, which is roughly 75 acres of canyon and mesa land, adjoining Beth-Sarim but separated by a half-mile width of canyon."(May 27, 1942 Consolation, p. 9)
The immediate personal use of this home and facilities in mild weather San Diego would be immediately available to Rutherford. However, the deed to the property makes it appear this was for the noble reason of providing a haven for the arrival of faithful men and women of old as Abraham, Moses, Rahab, and Sarah. A portion of the deed of trust reads as follows:
NOW THEREFORE this trust is created and the said trustee shall hold the title to said property in trust for the use and benefit of the following named persons, whose names appear in the Bible at the Book of Hebrews, chapter eleven, verses one to forty, to wit: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthae, David, Samuel. Until such time as the aforementioned persons return and identify themselves to the legal representatives of the said WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY and by the consent of said Society take possession and control of said premises, the President of the WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY shall have the right and be duty bound to direct the management and use of said premises…"
Unlike Beth-Sarim, this facility would be far more secure from the predicted coming of Armageddon. 2 bomb shelters, a diesel powered generator with a 4,000 gallon underground tank for diesel fuel, and 10,000 gallons of water storage with 2 fire hydrants.
It wasn't long before rumors among witnesses began to be spread about this haven of security, which apparently prompted a rather vague response from the WatchTower leadership:
"Some unreliable person is responsible for the circulation of a report that Beth-Sarim is being enlarged as a place of security and that this is being built by the Society.
There is absolutely not one word of truth in the report. Those who are interested in the Theocracy would better be circulating the kingdom message rather than false imaginations of others."(The Watchtower, June 1, 1940, p. 162)
Perhaps the leadership felt justified in stating "Beth-Sarim" was not being enlarged as a place of security, but the fact is the nearby Watch Tower property Beth-Shan certainly was.
No doubt Rutherford believed his wild speculation about the nearness of Armageddon and was preparing this haven of safety from the soon to be experienced explosions and poison he predicted years earlier:
… the next war will be…an annihilation! There will be poison and explosion everywhere, beneath the whole canopy of the heavens…(Golden Age, June 2, 1926, p. 55)
Author and researcher, Edward Gruss, interviewed Fred Eason, a eye witness to the goat barn bomb shelter. Fred Eason said he saw the underground shelter shortly after it's sale in 1945. He described the underground shelter with its secret entrance as a:
"...building that was called the 'goat barn' which was used to stable their goats. To enter the shelter one would go to the small bathroom area at the rear of the building, open the medicine cabinet, and pull a concealed lever inside.
A section of the wall would swing open, revealing a stairway down into what can only be identified as a bomb shelter--a room about 30 feet x 15 feet, with a 10 foot high ceiling. The walls were lined with storage shelves.
The cement ceiling of the room was 3 feet thick!" (interview with Fred Eason as documented in "Jehovah's Witnesses Their Monuments to False Prophecy, Edmond Gruss, p. 75)
The building at upper right is the main Beth-Shan residence. The arrow points to the “goat barn” which had the secret bomb shelter (as did the main residence). Photo taken after the sale of Beth-Shan 1945.
(photo courtesy of Edmund Gruss)
1963 Aerial photo of Beth-Shan. Extensive grading on the property
revealed the hidden “goat barn” bomb shelter (arrow).
(photo courtesy of Edmond Gruss)
Not only did the princes NOT return to claim the estate at Beth Sarim as prophesied by Rutherford, but the Society simply ignored the promised trust to the princes and quietly sold the property soon after Rutherford's death.
1945 black and white photo of Beth-Shan (now hand colored):
Beth-Shan house built in 1939, ten years after Beth-Sarim on adjacent property. Beth-Shan, which means "House of Security" in Hebrew, was literally a house of security -(cult compound)*-
it was accessed by a single dirt road that was guarded and gated. It also had two secret bomb shelters to protect the Beth-Shan/Beth-Sarim residents (such as the Society's second president, J.F. Rutherford).
The Society apparently wanted to keep the residence secret and covered up its very existence. The Society only mentioned Beth-Shan once in its literature: May 27, 1942 Consolation magazine (now called Awake!)
The Society began building a burial crypt for Rutherford just below Beth-Sarim shortly before his death. After this site was denied by local authorities, the Society proposed a second site which was located on the Beth-Shan property which was adjacent to Beth-Sarim. This second burial spot was also denied.
Here is an aerial photo taken in 1945:
(Note: the airstrip at the left was built shortly after the sale of this property in 1945)
The long building to the left of the cul-de-sac is the "goat barn" which had a secret bomb shelter (as did the main residence).
The remote inaccessibility is better seen from the following angle:
The deed to the Beth-Shan house and property were, like Beth-Sarim, made out to Abraham, David, and the other Old Testament "princes." In reading the deed to Beth-Shan, one could get the impression that it is simply Beth-Sarim, part II --the two deeds are very similar. Both of the residences and property were held in "trust" by the Watchtower Society's leaders for the Old Testament "princes" awaiting their return.
According to Fred Eason, who was later to purchase some of the Beth-Shan property and residence (discussed below), the dirt road which was accessible through a gate, was also guarded by JWs, so unauthorized individuals couldn't enter. He first stumbled onto the Society's building of the Beth-Shan residence while he was looking for "Young's Cave," a series of manmade caves or tunnels in the area. He was "rebuffed" by "several men on horseback" and watched the building of Beth-Shan from a different side of the mesa canyon.
Telephone interviews between Edmond Gruss and Fred Eason, Dec. 3, 1996 and letter dated Dec. 12, 1996 from Eason to Gruss. Gruss, p. 70.Monuments, p. 70.
Another building, a "goat barn" had a secret bomb shelter as well. It was a long building apparently used to house goats. At the rear of the building was a bathroom. Fred Eason bought 30 acres of the Beth-Shan property including the goat barn. In a letter to Ed Gruss he wrote of its bomb shelter:
To enter the shelter one would go to the small bathroom area at the rear of the building, open the medicine cabinet, and pull a concealed lever inside. A section of the wall would spring open, revealing a stairway down into what can only be identified as a bomb shelter--a room about about 30 feet x 15 feet, with a ten foot high ceiling. The walls were lined with storage shelves. The cement ceiling of the room was 3 feet thick!"
Gruss noted in his Monuments book:
“A person could go into the bathroom and would never know that the shelter was there. When a house was built on the property in 1967 it was placed on the lot so as to keep the shelter intact, and it still exists today.”
Doomsday PREPPERS?
Watchtower Society in the 1920's and 1930's believed that the "next war"would lead to Armageddon and result in the Theocracy or Kingdom of God on Earth. They believed it would be a war fought primarily or exclusively in the air with poison gas and bacterial (germ) bombs which would obliterate most life on earth. For example, they said:
*... the next war will be a completion [of the First World War] and therewith an annihilation! There will be poison and explosion everywhere, beneath the whole canopy of the heavens.... Poison will be mechanically wafted forward and backward by unmanned airplanes, going up into the atmosphere and descending to the earth.”
The compact, thickly-populated, highly -industrialized centers of civilization will be drenched with gases, bathed in a liquid-fire and sown with bacteria. Unquenchable conflagrations will overspread the sky with a blanket of smoke.... Perhaps some previous preparation will have been made of elaborate subterranean tunnels and chambers in anticipation of this awful time.
When the totalitarian Catholic combine gains control of the British Isles, which it is certain to do, then all the liberties of the people will be at an end.... What will be the condition when all nations become totalitarian?.... The totalitarian combine is going to get control of England and America. You cannot prevent it. Do not try.
Rutherford, J.F., Face the Facts, 1938, pp. 20, 21, p. 27.
Apparently, the Watchtower Society did its own preparing for this future calamity in building Beth-Shan (House of Security) with two bomb shelters. Perhaps "Young's Cave" with its series of underground tunnels on the property was an appealing feature in their decision to buy the property!
The reason for the storage shelves in the bomb shelters is they believed that great famines would soon occur world-wide, including the United States. This was also brought out in the "Demon Rule Ending" articles:
A great famine is certain to afflict the many nations of the earth in the very near future. The United States is also in line for much suffering.... the United States is faced with world disaster now impending and about to fall...
________________________________
One thing for certain. Boondoggles never end in this religion!Apparently the fear mongering of old is alive and well as reflected in the Bunker videos
Released for download at the J-Dub Org website. You have to admit, it’s slightly more comforting to know the leaders themselves believe their own baloney and are just as afraid of the Great Tribulation as the rank and file. So afraid, they sacrifice all this money for doom and luxury!
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21
How a rumor of assassination spooked the Watchtower
by Terry inpresident kennedy's brother robert excited the world as a candidate for president 5 years after jfk's murder.rfk, in turn, was murdered.the assassin's name was sirhan sirhan, he was palestinian.it just so happened the assassin's father, bishara, was a member in good standing as one of jehovah’s witnesses.so what?
so this:this seemingly innocent fact would jolt jehovah's witnesses into a near panic.
i know because i was there.here are the facts as i remember them.______the jehovah's witness, bishara sirhan unfortunately had a reputation in his neighborhood and community for being excitable, even volatile at times.
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Terry
President Kennedy's brother Robert excited the world as a candidate for President 5 years after JFK's murder.
RFK, in turn, was murdered.
The assassin's name was Sirhan Sirhan, he was Palestinian.
It just so happened the assassin's father, Bishara, was a member in good standing as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
SO WHAT? So this:
This seemingly innocent fact would jolt Jehovah's Witnesses into a near panic. I know because I was there.
Here are the facts as I remember them.
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The Jehovah's Witness, Bishara Sirhan unfortunately had a reputation in his neighborhood and community for being excitable, even volatile at times. Being a JW and being seen as fanatical did not help things.
Inevitably, newspaper reporters from around the world were sniffing out conspiracy theories to punch-up their headlines and sell newspapers.
"Who was this assassin with the weird name? Why did he do it?" They showed up at the assassin's dad's house.
Sirhan Sirhan’s father became emotional, of course. What could be worse for a JW than to bring reproach publicly?
“I am very, very sorry! I brought up my children as best as I could and to fear God. I am sorry for what happened."
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BACKGROUND
Bishara had moved his family to the U.S. in the 1950’s, remaining 11 years before he split with his wife and returned to Jordan where he built his home.
This JW then began attracting negative attention.
In a public show of piety, he had inscribed on his wall in Arabic:
“Jehovah the High, you gave me happiness in the world. Give me eternal life. You are the only God and nobody shall be worshiped before you.”
In a mostly Islamic community - this did not fly well!
Neighbors made it clear to snooping reporters how they felt about the graffiti when they said they looked down on JW’s because they were too ”pro-Jewish.”
An odd complaint but not if you're Muslim :)
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Photocopy of newspaper article: http://movies2.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0605.html
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The result of those interviews first struck public attention on June 6, 1968, when a newspaper in Sarasota published the article.
In less than 24 hours, I heard about it in prison.
At the time, I was a Jehovah’s Witness serving an indeterminate sentence of possibly 6 years in the Seagoville Federal Correctional Institution close to Dallas, Texas.
At the age of 20, I was not yet legally an adult.
Adult sentence guidelines called for up to 5 years in prison for violation of the Universal Military Training and Service Act.
I was termed a "YOUTH" - a non-adult could get the “indeterminate” sentence of six months to six years depending on factors yet to be determined by parole hearings.
During the Vietnam War, Jehovah's Witnesses were urged by local congregation leaders to make ourselves targets of prosecution as conscientious objectors.
We were billboards and benign propagandists for the Most High God in our virtue-signaling.
Nerdy JW kids like me were questioned by the F.B.I., local draft-board officials, and eventually sentenced by
Federal judges to make an example of Witnesses. Why? It was the time of Student unrest on campuses and in the streets protesting the War, the President, the Military - and it infuriated Lyndon Johnson and his administration.
Seagoville Federal Correctional Institution where I was confined contained about 40 of JW's at one time along
with typical inmates of criminal convictions ranging from murder to bank robbery.
NOTE: We were then living under the shadow of a looming date of 1975. We expected the Great Tribulation at any moment.
The rumor connecting assassination of RFK with Jehovah’s Witnesses broke out like a wildfire all at once!
The impact on the 40 or so Jehovah’s Witnesses in prison was quiet panic. A fellow JW inmate named Sam explained the implications to me in no uncertain terms.
“This could be the beginning of the Great Tribulation,” he began. “The persecution wave will hit and we’re sitting ducks if the other prisoners decide to take revenge.”
I had a dim grasp of politics as many JW’s did.
What we learned as framed by Watchtower rhetoric inflamed the situation. The buzz was already in the air about 1975 being “The End of 6,000 years of Human Existence."
“Sam--let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Why would anybody attack conscientious objectors who refuse to take up arms?”
Sam gave me a look of wonderment that I could be so naive.
“Jehovah’s people are despised . All folks need is one little excuse to blame us for something--like the son of a Jehovah’s Witness murdering President Kennedy’s brother!”
I thought about what he was saying. It sounded possible but over-reactive.
“Well--I don’t know. Isn’t Jehovah supposed to be protecting us?”
Sam made an exasperated face at me--like I was clueless.
“There are such things as martyrs, you know!”
Jehovah's Witnesses love rumors and gossip. This was part of the emotion. We had an inflated sense
of our position in relation to the Divine Plan, for sure.
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Sunday June 9, 1968, the Washington Post printed an article moving things a step farther.
A reporter from the prestigious Washington Post was welcomed into Bashar Sirhan’s home overlooking the Dead Sea.
Cold beer was delivered.
The reporter asked the assassin’s father about his connection with the Jehovah’s Witness ‘sect’ (presumably from the eleven years spent in California).
This was only a few days after the first news article mentioning the JW’s.
This time, Bishara refused to talk about it directly and complained about his gossiping neighbors.
Finally, he shrugged away prying questions ‘with some irritation’ by saying, “These are confidential matters.”
(PDF copy of Washington Post article)
https://bit.ly/2FzPla0
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WATCHTOWER CRISIS CONTROL
These two publicized mentions of Jehovah’s Witnesses had created an effect.
Watchtower Society was ‘crisis prevention’ mode.
Do we have to wonder why?
Subscribers to the Watchtower magazine had immediately begun canceling subscriptions!
Subscriptions were obtained door to door in person, a laborious process at best. Each canceled subscription represented hundreds of man-hours of grunt work (called our ministry.)
A secret letter was sent to each city by the Watchtower headquarters with instructions not to show the contents of said letter to any outsiders.
The message was to be copied and passed from congregation to congregation.
Headquarters didn’t seem to know any details of any JW connection with the Sirhan family.
A vigorous denial was suggested unless anybody at the local level had contrary personal information.
The letter is dated a month after the news article appeared.
Photocopy of confidential letter:
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https://bit.ly/2UY8mJX
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Downtown Dallas, Texas, the scene of JFK's killing, was 22 minutes away from Seagoville prison.
It was only five years since the deadly deed set passions ablaze and we all felt the world change dramatically.
JFK’s assassination was the most sensational, world-stopping event in my lifetime ....until the Twin Towers fell 38 years later.
I was in High School on November 22, 1963, and one day later submitted to baptism and became officially a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses at assembly in Cleburne, Texas.
(Oddly during that religious assembly, not one word was spoken concerning the sensational murder the day before! It was all an oblivious, self-induced happy-happy New World Society talk and religious jabber.)
Among Jehovah’s Witnesses, every world event is proof positive of End Times signs and wonders!
Everything “proves” we were right!
Any minute now--the Great Tribulation and Armageddon will come and sweep everything awary.
We were “the only true religion.” We'd catch the brunt.
JW’s are indoctrinated to expect to be the bulls eye of Satan’s target when the End comes.
Such a badge of honor turned to horror having the words “Jehovah’s Witness” smeared in newspapers with a world-shaking assassination.
For us who were inside Federal prison and being so self-involved, self-centered, and special meant:
”This is it!”
THE END OF THE WORLD was beginning and we were trapped!
Oh the silly drama! Today I can laugh. Not so much back in '68.
Notably, Watchtower religion is still promoting the world’s GOING OUT OF BUSINESS sale.
At District conventions with huge audiences in attendance, the Watchtower presents slick video dramatizations about---guess what? The bunker mentality they are still promoting!
Any day now the Great Tribulation and Armageddon will come. Will they be ready?
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Back to Sirhan Sirhan
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On June 7 in Los Angeles, a News Dispatch:
In this more detailed news story, the Elders in Bishara’s community (whom he called ‘gossips’) provided news reporters with these tidbits of enlightenment:
“The elders of the community said the family became connected with Jehovah’s Witnesses ‘many years’ ago.
And it was that religious group which paid the way for the Sirhan family to go to the United States in 1957.
These notables said they believed Bishara still received money from the Jehovah’s Witnesses in addition to money sent by his other son."
"When asked, Sirhan claimed he lived off a ‘small pension’ and a bit of farming. The article explained that Jehovah’s Witnesses had been banned in Jordan in 1959, but had continued to operate secretly, particularly in the old Arab sector of Jerusalem."
"Los Angeles authorities reported that Sirhan had been admitted into the U.S. as a permanent resident who could remain indefinitely without applying for citizenship.”
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A RELIGIOUS SEEKER and a lost soul
Irony abounds. Sirhan had been a seeker after many voices of Truth.
(He joined the Baptist church and was briefly a Seventh-day Adventist.
In 1966, two years before he would kill Kennedy, he turned to an occult organization called the
Ancient Mystical Order of the Rosicrucian. )
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The Palestinian-born Sirhan is currently serving a life sentence for gunning down Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, shortly after he won the California Democratic presidential primary. Kennedy died the next day.
Sirhan was sentenced to death in 1969.
His sentence was commuted to life in prison after California banned the death penalty.
He has said that he had no recollection of the killing.
48 years after the fatal shooting, Sirhan Sirhan was denied parole for the 15th time.
He’ll go up again in 2021.
A day or two ago, Sirhan Sirhan was stabbed in prison. It made local news but of little interest internationally.
He survived.
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At the time of his arrest, Sirhan spoke of being “. . .opposed to Kennedy’s support of Israel.”
What are Jehovah’s Witness views on Zionism and Israel?
In 1946, during the time the horrors of the holocaust were emerging, the Watchtower made the following comments about Jews.
"Nothing in the modern return of Jews to Palestine and the setting up of the Israeli republic corresponds with the Bible prophecies concerning the restoration of Jehovah's name- people to his favor and organization … The remnant of spiritual Israelites, as Jehovah's Witnesses have proclaimed worldwide the establishment of God's kingdom in 1914" Let God Be True (1946) Second ed. pp.217-218
"There is no evidence in the Scriptures that the Jews as a people are meek. On the contrary, Jehovah's Witnesses only find it stated in the Bible that the Jews are "stiff-necked and hard-hearted", but when they call at their homes with the message of God's kingdom they witness the same characteristics. They seem to think that because they are Jews, and were once God's chosen people, they must ever remain that way." Consolation 1946 Jan 2 pp. 14,15
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Historical note: Jehovah’s Witnesses had spent the previous 60 years as Pro-Zionists. Suddenly, a 180 degree shift appeared contrary to that stance.
[Watchtower 1955 May 15 p.296, and the "back to Palestine" movement that the Watchtower had promoted became labeled as a teaching of Satan:
"By the publication of Volume 2 of the book Vindication that year, Jehovah's witnesses came to see that such a "back to Palestine" movement was by the spirit of Jehovah's arch-foe, Satan, who has deceived the entire inhabited earth."] http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/zionism.php
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THE ELEPHANT in the ROOM
Could Sirhan Sirhan in any way have been influenced by the writings of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in some disturbing way, seeing in print the Zionists were backed by Satan?
We may never know, but it is a question I’ve heard discussed, of course.
The Watchtower’s reaction to the mention of Jehovah’s Witness connection to the RFK killing may have brought to mind this anti-Zionist propaganda they were responsible for spreading.
Did the collective leadership feel a sense of responsibility? Did their eagerness in trying to distance themselves indicate awareness of culpability, guilty conscience, or simply a desire to prevent the loss of subscribers?
Like I said, we may never know.
Conspiracy theories spring up easily like mushrooms after a spring rain and they are as difficult to snuff out as a forest fire.
My personal memory of those dark days in prison, in a decade of upheaval, in the thrall of a cult myself, unduly influenced of my my Kingdom Hall leaders is just how compliant I was.
If Jehovah said, "Frog", I was told it was my duty to respond by saying, "How high do I jump?"
I was privately counseled in detail by the Elders and admonished to LIE to authorities if asked "Were you influenced?"
You can research the term : Theocratic Warfare if you're interested.
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All the above seemed so "alive" and "important" when I was twenty years old. Now it means nothing to anyone.
The main reasons I'm posting this are twofold.
1. Contemporary JW's are just as malleable to scare-mongering today with the bunker videos and talk of Great Tribulation being so near. I have the perspective of over half a century watching the treadmill of Watchtower fear-mongering propaganda. They have no shame.
2. Reading yesterday's news article about Sirhan's stabbing brought all this rushing back into my dreams. I was emotionally distraught but cool-headed at the time. So many pressures from outside had benumbed me, but other Brothers / fellow-inmates were sick at heart and their JW families worried sickened and frazzled.
The solution at the time was this: WORK EVEN HARDER on behalf of the Watchtower!
Yeah. It all comes down to that.
Fear still works.
It still makes me furious and it should make you furious too. -
11
Friends! (A pain in the ...?)
by Terry infriends?
some friends are like a holiday a favorite pair of shoes the scratching post for kitten fingers to caress some friends can really wear you out with their whinging and their blues yet more or less - not worse than all the rest.
some friends are chatty cherubim and others?
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Terry
When I wrote this poem I was thinking mainly of FACEBOOK friends - mainly because all but a very few of my closest lifelong friends are DEAD.
Yeah.
The number of persons I can talk too (familiarly) without having to explain anything
has dwindled down to less than a handful.
When friends die, part of your Life Verification dies with them.
Memories are unreliable narrators.
I miss the the phone call that doesn't come any more.
But that's a downer and I wanted my poem to be zany and fun.
And it was. -
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Friends! (A pain in the ...?)
by Terry infriends?
some friends are like a holiday a favorite pair of shoes the scratching post for kitten fingers to caress some friends can really wear you out with their whinging and their blues yet more or less - not worse than all the rest.
some friends are chatty cherubim and others?
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Terry
FRIENDS?
Some friends are like a holiday
a favorite pair of shoes
the scratching post for kitten fingers to caress
Some friends can really wear you out
with their whinging and their blues
Yet more or less - not worse than all the restSome friends are chatty cherubim
and others? - they need therapy!
these flock like pigeons pooping on my roof
Fickle friends and loyal friends both casual / aloof
Over weaning minions with opinions by the ton
With lots of bitter Twitter or too syrupy.Knuckleheads and pecker-woods
Tiresome? Fire some!
Who gets your jokes? Who's got the goods?
Hire some. Admire some.Some friends are like a Gatling gun
Too cranky and too critical
So wonky or political
they eat away at sanity like Limbaugh or Sean Hannity
until I think I'm really gonna SCREAM!But then I stop and take a breath
to realize we all face Death
And each of us just does the best he can
For all the loopy giggling
and the smattering of niggling
contentious as a bulldog on a bone ...
Friends are necessary - and it's scary -
just to wallow in the free time of my "me" time
ALL ALONE -
81
Evolution or Creation Poll
by Vanderhoven7 inevolution is how we got here.. demonstrate that you believe that all species evolved from a single cell over/within 3.5 billion years by tapping "like" below.. demonstrate that you believe in special creation by tapping "unlike" below..
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Terry
I try not to CARE what others think or believe.
It has taken me years and years to keep my mouth shut when a pointy-head says something absurd.
It's tough. We all know it is tough.
Tough subjects to avoid:
Climate Change, Evolution, Bigfoot, UFO's - why do I need to care what you think about them?
It's human nature to want to set "others" straight, eh? Ha!
But when has anybody EVER been persuaded against a cherished (false) belief?
Not often. What happens is an argument and social blocking and banning.
Is it worth that?
A good discussion is achievable - but it takes intellectual honesty.
What is INTELLECTUAL HONESTY?
To be willing to change your most cherished belief when faced with facts and reasons which falsify them and the willingness to be open to admitting you are WRONG.
In my opinion, no debate or argument should begin without asking: "Are you willing to be wrong if facts go against you?"
If not -- why do it?
Evolution has seldom been argued within a boundary of COMMON belief as a starting point in debate. Magesterium VS Magesterium doesn't work.
You can't argue chalk with a piece of cheese. -
19
Head Coverings for Women
by Diogenesister inwatchtower's ignorance around the historical background to many biblical directives has had a very negative effect on the lives of witnesses.. for instance paul said women should cover their heads because in corinth prostitutes walked the streets plying for business with their heads uncovered.
hence head coverings were never a symbol of headship but a directive very specific to that period, as was the blood directive!!.
watchtower leaders have been lawyers, businessmen, civil servants and door-to-door book salesmen, never, ever historians or biblical scholars.
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Terry
As a practical matter, covering up your womenfolk with veils and head-coverings in a time of outright depredation by marauders (and with the coercive power of chieftains and petty rulers to have sex at will with travelers ) would certainly help prevent targeting of daughters and wives.
As a Christian matter today in "civilized" countries, I can only roll my eyes and shake my head. But hey- that's me.
CONTROL of women by exercise of AUTHORITY (religious, domestic, and political) reveals itself in "customs".
Women are taught how wonderful it is from their youth to "submit" and surrender to (cough cough) any male through deference and obedience.
Yeah - well -- those days are fast behind us and it is unfortunate in the extreme how backward Christianity (and it's sects) self-target with pontificated pronouncements of imperious solicitude. To wit: Head covering is STILL important (or else.)
I'm sorry I wasted twenty years in a religious cult of Puritanical pointy-heads.
It's hard to grow up when you find a refuge of empowerment as a man that grants license to exercise dominion and eschew equality. Eh?
But guess what? If it weren't for these compliant Sisters, there'd be no Church at all any longer. Cognitive Dissonance reigns supreme and the well of reason is poisoned I'm afraid.
TO SHOW RESPECT for these practices bewilders me. It galls me.
I have four daughters. You can be quite certain they'd have plenty to gainsay were such customs proposed to them.
In our family, we only respect those who earn our respect sensibly, rationally, and equitably.
Religious Faith is a tenuous tightrope walk of superstition across a chasm of modernity and Civil Rights by indoctrinated victims who see themselves as righteous and the rest of us as --- well --- we remember, don't we? How we regarded people who DID NOT share our view of "THE TRUTH"... -
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The Day I Met a Midnight Cowboy
by Terry in“the day i met a midnight cowboy”a hollywood memory .
he approached me at the service counter.
clutched in his hand : something in a small paper bag.
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Terry
Thank you so velly velly mucho!
I can't help but write. Ya know?
Some part of me (a caged canary thought) banging wings against the cage.
All any writer craves is to be read. We never dare hope to be appreciated :)
This morning I had a poem inside me. I honestly don't know where these things
come from.
But -- here it is.
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REDONDO B**CH____
Preety thang she was.
Norma in jeans.
Standing by the rock wall on the strand at the beach.
Hair shocked out and colorful - wooly wonderful t'was
Men's eyes a buzz of appetite
Shorts too tight (you know what I mean.)
Redondo sunrise colored eyes
Mystery spinnakers in a pool of surprise
and life was wonderful then (Woo hoo)
And life was wonderful.
Dangerous thang she was
Norma in jeans.
Splashing wine in my face two times, what a b**ch!
Claws and fangs aren't kissable, ya dig?
All the doves in lovey dovey scattered high
Time to say, "Bye-bye."
And life was surely shitty then (Boo hoo)And life was flushable.
Preety memory she is
Norma in jeans.
Standing by the rock wall on the strand at the beach.
Life has lessons to teach
Better to love from afar ...
You know who you are
my little REDONDO B**CH.
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** BEACH
A stream-of-consciousness poem
by yours truly
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6
The Day I Met a Midnight Cowboy
by Terry in“the day i met a midnight cowboy”a hollywood memory .
he approached me at the service counter.
clutched in his hand : something in a small paper bag.
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Terry
Interesting reaction :)
