I was barely walking when we went to a convention in NYC in 1955. I went to Pasadena in 1963 (114,000 at the Rose Bowl). Those were 8 days, with field service in the morning, afternoon and evening sessions. Slowly the WTS cut it back to 5, then 4, then 3 days and less going out door to door to invite people to the convention. I survived a lot, super hot in 1963, smog was still around and made people sick, seats were hard, we had umbrellas to protect us from sun, and large jugs of water so not to get dehydrated. The WTS had plumbed pipes with holes where water bubbled out in the outdoors. Just bent over and drank cool water, we went ever during the sessions. It rained one day and water flowed down the seats, but we weren't there, we went a sealife park. We took off one day and went to Disneyland. We were wicked. It was boring, and Fred Franz had the closing talk and he went over 45 minutes at least. We left before the end to beat the jws leaving. But Billy Graham was having a large group near by and it was the battle driving of the holy ones. We discovered tacos and had a swimming pool at our motel. It was fun then. But I was young then. But I remember very little from the sessions. I could never endure it now, my last day with anything WT was at a circuit assembly, where I left at the lunch break and never attended anything jw-related after that. I woke up that Sunday and did not have to go to an assembly again, or a meeting or "field circus" and could sleep in, get up and drink my coffee and read the paper, and stay in my pajamas. I was like being let out of a prison I had been in for 40 years.
