Way to go, Marilyn. BTW, we haven't heard from you in a while and were starting to get worried about you. Good to have a post from you and know that you're OK .
David
david_10
JoinedPosts by david_10
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14
I did something very rewarding today....
by Marilyn ini'm visiting hong kong at the moment and i'm on the underground train at 10 am - it's sunday morning.
sunday is the day off for 200,000 maids (politically correct term is domestic helper).
they are mostly from the phillipines.
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50
What Do You Like to Collect
by Kenneson inover the years i have had several collections, ranging from louisiana bottles, (this collection was stolen); books relating to la.
which i donated to a library; books by or about jws, which i gave to another library; a stamp collection, which is at my sister's house.
my florida related stamps are now on exhibit at the state library of florida.
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david_10
I can't believe that no one's mentioned 8-Track tapes. I love my 8-Tracks and play them all the time...........there's something about that "ca-chook" sound that brings back memories. Also, I'm proud of my vinyl LP collection--------around 2,500. Everything from opera to Zydeco.
David
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80
Where are you from?
by Rado Vleugel inmy site (
http://www.watchtowerinformationservice.org/
) has been visited by people from 97 different countries.
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david_10
Another Texan here. Also from up in the Panhandle area.
David
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3
Is this for real?
by fairy inyou have to concentrate really hard for this one.. the owners of this house had been seeing images and hearing voices for quite a while.
they did some research and found that a lady once lived in the house who lost her husband during the civil war.
legend says that she use to sit at the table and look across the fields in anticipation of her love one returning home.
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david_10
I fell for this once:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.aspx?id=25641&site=3
and I'm not falling for it again. Nearly gave me a heart attack.
David
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20
ray franze
by rekless infirst of all let me state: i read hid book two years ago.. second: is this i have corresponed with him also.. third i strill have this one question about his intergity toward mankind...he only wrote about the wrong doings of the gb after he was dfed.
most of us on this board stop going and da ourselves after we found out about the channel to god was a big joke.
all i see is mr. franz has used his position as an ex gb to make a very nice living for himself in his latter years.. i feel if he wasn't dfed he would still be hanging on to the beliefs of the jw's and still be letting innocent people die, because he didn't come forth and spill his guts while he was on the gb.. really letting all of us think that there was a direct channel to god through the gb makes him as blood guilty as those that are still there votinbg 2/3 whether the poor jdubs should live or die.this voting cost me a son that died of leukemia and a wife of a rare blood disorder.. yes, he may be a hero to most of you but if he had made a stand and walked away telling what he told after he was dfed then he would be a hero to me also, but he has play both ends against the middle and came out smelling like a rose.. when i found out about the malawi and mexico thing i stopped going and daed myself right after my wife passed away.
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david_10
Hello Rekless. I'm very sorry for your losses and I sympathize with your obvious bitterness that not only seems to be directed to the GB, but to one of the main ones who has tried to expose them and their entire cult religion as well. And if it makes you feel better to call me a moron because of this, then go right ahead--------I'm not offended. But it seems to me that Ray F was in an extremely delicate situation. I can remember when I was first starting to wake up to the real "Truth" that it was very difficult to handle. When the writing began to appear on the wall, so to speak, I absolutely did not want to accept it. I couldn't accept it. After all, my whole life was tied into this belief system, and there was absolutely no possibility that I could have been duped. But I gradually came to accept it. Even though it took some time, there was no other choice. And I know that the realization was just as hard, even much harder, for Ray F to accept. After all, he had spent his entire life, well into his elderly years, in the service of a wicked master, and just like the rest of us, he believed it with his whole heart. I can't even imagine the kind of soul-searching that it must have taken to to step down from the highest level of power when he realized that it was all a plie of crap. It would have been a whole lot easier to just nod his head and raise his hand at the right time and hold on to his cushy way of life. That's what all the rest of them do. But he didn't and thanks to him, anyone who wants to learn to learn the truth can just go to the nearest library and read up on it. Or buy his book and let him make a buck. As far as I'm concerned, he deserves it and the information he gives is priceless.
Trauma-Hound, you say that Ray F never did anything for you. For that matter, I doubt that Mahatma Ghandi ever did anything for you, either. Or Thomas Jefferson. Or Martin Luther King. Or Churchill. Or Einstein. Shall I continue? But the fact that they never did anything for you, or that they may even have had more than their share of faults, doesn't mean that they are no longer great men. Their courage and accomplishments prove otherwise. I think Ray Franz is a great man.
David
Edited by - david_10 on 28 October 2002 4:51:17
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28
Quiz - are you a genius?
by Sirona ini was given this quiz and i enjoyed it so much that i thought i'd post it here.
i assume that all the posts after this one (assuming there are any!!!
) will contain peoples answers, so if you just want to do the quiz, don't read past my post just yet!
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david_10
Sheesh. I could only figure out 5. Pardon me while I go check my pulse and hold a mirror under my nose.
David
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10
Lonely in the panhandle of Texas
by StillDissedSis in.
i have read this site many times, and i have even mentioned a few times before under the name dissedsis that i am from the panhandle area of texas.....ie amarillo area, and it seems that i can not find anyone else around this area that were witnesses in this area.
lissa
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david_10
Hey Sis. Check your email.
David
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21
Guess who called Sunday morning
by Tammie insome time around 7 am, my mother in law calls.
hubby answers.
we were still asleep.
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david_10
Hello again, Marilyn. Thank you very much for your complimentary words. No one has ever accused me of having wisdom. If the ceiling weren't here to stop me, I'd be floating off into the clouds. When I read your post, I was very touched and I'm glad to know that you've been able to keep the lines of communication open in your family, even though it sure can be hard. And I hope that that is what Tammie and countless other victims will try to do. I can think of many times when I've burned my bridges behind me, so to speak, and it seems that I usually end up regretting it. So I try to be careful and consider the eventual consequences of my actions. The word that you used---compromise---is the perfect word for this situation. I wish that everyone who is faced with this problem could find a way to get together and compromise. It would save a lot of heartache, I think.
I didn't develope this thought earlier, but I might touch on this : It seems that using children to get revenge or exact punishment is pretty common and that is what seemed to be the thinking of several who posted to this thread. But we apostates aren't the only ones who can stoop to this. Even active witnesses do this as a form of punishment and I guess that that is what shunning is all about----punishment. So I suppose that it is natural to retaliate in kind. But to use the kids seems deplorable. For example, we've all read about Barbara Anderson being disfellowshipped and how her elder son and daughter-in-law now won't let her see her grandkids. It's cruel and disgusting, and we see that for what it is. But when we on this side of the board do the same thing, I can't see any difference. It's cruel.
So........Compromise. Keep the lines of communication open. And who knows what can eventually happen. I never thought that my parents would ever leave the "truth". But after 50+ years of faithful service, they woke up to what it is and they are totally out now. It can happen. Now, I have just one brother left inside, and you never know just what will trigger him to start thinking. Maybe he'll never leave, but then again, you just never know.
Your David sounds like a very nice man, one with rare compassion and conscience, and I'm honored that you made the comparison that you did. Say "Hello" to him for me, will you?
David
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21
Guess who called Sunday morning
by Tammie insome time around 7 am, my mother in law calls.
hubby answers.
we were still asleep.
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david_10
Hi Marilyn-------------I appreciate you telling me how you feel. I left the Organization around 15 years ago, and without going into details, I despise the Society probably even more than you do. What's more, I have no use for religion at all, and I guess I can safely say that I am staunchly agnostic. But it occurs to me that I'm more of a "Christian" than most people who claim to be Christian are. There's something about that verse " As far as it depends on you, be peaceable with all men" that just gets me. Like you say, we're not dealing with normal people here, but it's not their fault; the R & F have been brainwashed into accepting this sick way of life and they honestly believe that they are doing the right thing. Now, I managed to figure things out and left the "truth", but I really feel sorry for those that are still trapped inside and I wish I could help them to get out. Unfortunately, I probably can't, but I still feel deep sorrow for them. Didn't Jesus feel pity for the crowds when they came to him, even being moved to tears on at least one occasion that comes to mind. I don't think that that is a bad way to feel about my former friends, even though they don't feel that way towards me. And I think that we should especially feel that way to those who are in our family, because, in this world, family is just about all we have. Marilyn, I feel very bad that you've been separated from your family for 20 years, and there's probably nothing that you could have ever done about it. I know the mentality real well. But I also know this : One of these days, sooner or later, you're going to be on your death bed. Or your mother will. Or brother. Or someone. And there's going to be a lot of regret and sorrow, not to mention guilt. All those lost years, and there's nothing you can do to get them back. Nothing except cry. I've seen it over and over. So that is why I gave Tammie the advice I did:
I think that you should take the high ground and try to find some way that ya'll can get together and let your MIL see her grandkids.
And it sounds like you told her pretty much the same thing, if I read your post right :
She can visit the house and behave in a civil and mature fashion. I think that that would be great.
And maybe, after all these years, you could reach deep inside yourself and make the effort to improve your family relations. It may not go anywhere, but when the inevitable time comes that I spoke of, at least your conscience will be clear and you'll know that you tried.
I would like to relate an ancedote that took place just a few weeks ago, as related to me by my brother. By the way, I gave COC to my brother, who in turn gave it my parents, who have all now pretty much done the slow fade. (It looks like I did help someone, doesn't it?) Anyway, my brother has been close friends with an elder and his wife for many years and even now are on pretty good terms with them. Unbeknownst to my brother, the elder and his wife have a daugher, now in her 40's, who was disfellowshipped when she was 17. They have not seen her for nearly 20 years. While the daughter and her husband and 2 children were driving down I-40 on their way home to California back in August, they were driving through our town and the daughter decided to call her parents. They were invited over to the house and they spent a night together. For the first time, the elder and his wife saw their grandchildren, now ages 16 and 17. And the next day, they left. My brother says that Sister Elder cried like she would never stop. I don't think anybody on either side was saying : "See there, they asked for it." "They got what they deserved." "Ah, Revenge! Isn't it sweet? That'll show 'em we're serious" No---all I see is a terrible human tragedy. I hate seeing the same thing happen to you and countless others in this wretched excuse of a religion. And that's why I say : "As far as it depends on you, be peaceable...."
David
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21
Guess who called Sunday morning
by Tammie insome time around 7 am, my mother in law calls.
hubby answers.
we were still asleep.
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david_10
Tammie-------I remember posting to a thread of yours a couple of months ago about your family, and I was hoping that things would be going a little better than this. Paduan says : "Good to read" , but all I see is another family blown apart by the WTBS. And that's never good. I don't mean to sound like Dear Abby here, but I think that you should take the high ground and try to find some way that ya'll can get together and let your MIL see her grandkids, with the stipulation, of course, that she can't be hauling them to the Kingdom Hall or out in service. I have no doubt that she can be sneaky and manipulative, but I know that, in the long run, you wouldn't have any regrets if you did everything you could do to smooth things over. I've just turned 50, and I can tell you---------absolutely, positively-------- that life is just too short to waste even a minute of it embroiled in family fueding. I hope it works out for you. Good luck.
David