first, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
they took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.. .
then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.. .
A line from a recent movie: "Mankind survived the last ice age, we're certainly capable of surviving this one."
Some dogs and cats get hit by cars, most don't. Kids are smarter (although I'll never forget when I was maybe six seeing my close friend Nick get hit by a car running across a busy street.... the old lady that hit him was terrified..... and probably dead now......... time for Cyg to quit thinking so much).
i've been thinking about buying another car so i started looking around on some websites like http://autos.yahoo.com.
i found two used cars in my area that were what i was interested in, only their prices were well below the blue-book value.
i thought it was a bit odd but i went ahead and sent each one an email wanting to schedule a time that i could drive by and take a look at each car.
Want to buy my 1976 Buick Skylark?
first, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
they took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.. .
then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.. .
Valis No matter what me and the rest of the other jerks say about you, I think you're A-OK for doing the best you damned well can.
first, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
they took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.. .
then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.. .
Valis had parents..... dear God, bless their souls.
first, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
they took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.. .
then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.. .
btw brenda, hope you dont mind but i copied and pasted and emailed that to some friends, and my dad, i like nostalgic stuph. edit add: my JW parents always let me play baseball or hockey with neighborhood kids several blocks away. I bet today nine year old JWs play video games and their parents have to give them/prepare them rote answers to 2 or 3 questions at each meeting, and that probably takes a night. Totally off topic but I just remembered something else. When i was a little kid a scripture in James was asked to be read so I raised my hand and instead of using the Bible I read it out of Commentary on James. I thought I was so clever. My mom thought I was cute..... and weird.
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there are so many unwritten laws, but most witnesses know when it's wrong to sit next to someone.. name a few cases, when it's ok to sit next to someone, and when it's not ok?
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This brings back another memory. When I was dating my wife, not yet engaged, I'd go to her evening Kingdom Hall meetings since she was in a different congo and we planned on attending hers so I wanted to get to know it. I would put my arm around her and one night an elder grabbed me and threw me into the back room and said 'YOU DO NOT ACT LIKE YOURE MARRIED UNTIL YOU ARE' and I replied 'GOOD, THATS WHAT I WANT TO HEAR, WHAT THE RULES ARE AROUND HERE.' She has a brother 14 years younger than her who would sit with us and newer ones would think he was our kid. That was always funny, I must have looked like a terrible dad cause I didn't give a crap what he did during the meeting, lol.
Maybe tomorrow I'll go to a rural kingdom hall, pretend I don't know what I'm doing, show up 20 minutes early, spot the best looking single girl there and sit next to her. If somebody gives me shit I'll say, most churches I go to don't have seating arrangements. Why does yours? You think I'm gonna rape her during the show onstage?
On second thought........... I'll be sleeping until 3 PM tomorrow I'm sure.
what was he like?
would he be amused to hear that talk he gave now?
This is all fascinating stuff for me, as my dad was an up-and-comer in the org. in the late '60s, was recommended for traveling circuit work at age 26, and knew many of the brothers who gave these talks. I'd love to get drunk with Chuck now and hear what he really thinks/remembers. edit: and a thank you to Randy W. for hosting the audio of that talk. I still listen to bits and pieces of it for both nostalgia sake and for laughs.
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there are so many unwritten laws, but most witnesses know when it's wrong to sit next to someone.. name a few cases, when it's ok to sit next to someone, and when it's not ok?
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prophecor (I dig your style),
You're probably right. That must be drilled into the minds of the women too. I remember a long time ago I wanted to sit 2 chairs in and my wife said NO you HAVE to sit on the end. I was like, why?
after almost a year of living abroad, away from my parents and away from anything even remotely watchtower related, having allowed myself to not worry about these silly little things (yet convincing my parents that i was still going); now that i've been back for about 6 weeks, i feel that i have to put on a double effort to cover over things that i've said or done, and avoid using "suspect" words or phrases like "cheers" or "good luck".
its driving me crazy at the moment, and 10 times more than it was doing before i moved out.
today, i had a mini panic attack at having told a "worldly" friend of mine "good luck".
I enjoyed your post. I'm not happy about what you're going through, but you did mention being the son of a prominent elder if I'm not mistaken. Maybe you could talk to him about your "doubts" and get a feel for how he'd react. Start with 10% of the truth and work up from there if he's understanding and receptive.
edit: oh and just so you know, while married to a JW I went through all that, and finally decided no (religious) man is gonna tell me what to do, how to view/behave spiritually, and I stood up for my feelings and told the elders to go fuck themselves. Maybe you get DF'd. Maybe, horribly, you lose your dad. But make peace with him. Before my DFing announcement I told my mother-in-law I was gonna get DF'd and she broke down crying and said "if I have to choose between you and Jehovah, I have to choose Jehovah." That was 5 years ago. 'Course i wasn't happy at the time but I got over it. In 5-6 you'll probably get over it too. And the best part is, I say shit good luck, goddamn, and all that and don't think twice. :) But for reasons i wont get into here I refuse to say "god bless you" when someone sneezes (Seinfeld had something to do with that....youre SO good looking)
i have written an article for my parents.
they are somewhat influential in the org and i am trying to convince them to push for changes to current disfellowshipping policy, not that i hold out too much hope.
anyway, i would like what i have written checked for accuracy.
I think it's a good article. I think Franz's chapter on DFing was good too. Unfortunately :( I don't think it'll make a difference to the WTS leaders just as Franz's didn't unless the JW populace revolts and starts talking to DF'd ones, like in the late '70s. Even today, many JWs when pressed on the matter say shunning is too strong and even my ex-wife who is a JW talks to me, and not just about 'family business.' My JW parents ignore the rule. So there's hope, but I'd be hard pressed to think the shunning doctrine will be lifted. Althought nothing would please me more.
