ramtrucker

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Posts by ramtrucker

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  44

  Ok guy's what's in your pockets?

  by greenhornet in

  1. jw
  2. friends
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  ramtrucker

  Wallet in my left front pocket.
  
  Three inch case folding Case knife, keys, sometimes change in the right front pocket.
  
  White handkerchief in right rear pocket.
  
  Seldom have anything in left rear pocket.
  
  I copied my dad's habit of carrying my wallet in my left front pocket. Less easy to have stolen by a pickpocket.
  
  (During the 1958 International Assembly in New York City, I carried a subway map folded up in my left rear pocket. At some point during the time I was there, I had it stolen!)
  
  Being from Washington State, and 17 1/2 years old, and my first time away from my parents oversight for any length of time, I spent a lot of time exploring New York City. The subway system afforded a wonderful, inexpensive way to travel from point to point.
  
  I traveled back and forth from the Pologrounds and Yankee Stadium, plus out to Coney Island twice, as well as many other places in the City.
  
  I've never had a desire to revisit that town. LOL
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  383

  Thinking of becoming a Witness again and my reasons for doing so :(

  by reniaa in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i've been a faded jw for 10 years i left because of my failed first marriage, i'm no hypocrite and realised i had left completely so i embraced the world and dived in, only christmas and birthdays i could not get into, they were too foreign to me having never celebrated them, like if i suddenly tried to do ramadan or something like that.. 1/ all the criticisms of the people in the truth you say on here, i've found in the world, warts and all only in the world nothing holds them back from being utterly horrible to you.. 2/ i got stabbed by a worldly boyfriend, i got married 2 times of my own choosing to men outside the truth, the first smoked and was an alcoholic, the second gambled every penny we had and defrauded me out of money after we separated, 2 divorces later i am currently pregnant and a single mum since current boyfriend decided kids was to much of a responsibility and he needed his freedom and i was 'too selfish to expect him to give up his life'.. 3/ parents-in-law!

  i have been shunned by them as equal to anything you accuse witness families of and for the silliest of reasons, i had a disabled son and his grandparents said they wanted nothing to do with him because they didn't want to become attached in case he died.. 4/ i miss the honest friendships of the truth, i had friends of all ages from 14 to 80 years old and they genuinely cared for me, many trying to keep me in the faith a long time after i left but i was determined to fade so moved away completely, but i find friendships in the world so shallow in comparison and very hard to sustain :( i've never been a drinker and sometimes thats what friendship means you being a companion for them to goto pub with.. 5/ my recent boyfriend was in a christian religion, i thought why not find out about it, harvest churches if you ever heard of them, unfortunately it still hasn't stop him leaving me pregnant and alone and when i said to him how does he clear that with god, he replies "as long as i repent it doesn't matter" it's like he has a "get out of jail free card" for any wrong-doing in the bible, this is so alien to me and my witness trained conscience.. 6/ i recently out of frustration tried looking into atheism and joined their forums, it wasn't fun, they are as bombastic and arrogant as their religious counterparts can be from any religion, they make a religion out of not believing in god, it's very weird they talk of saving people from believing in god and offer nothing to replace it.

  they said to me "be happy you are in reality now and enjoy it" and i thought "well if this is reality i've had enough of it".

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  ramtrucker

  Jim-Tx's comments,
  
  "Most of all - ones' personal approach to life will affect ones' outcome. If one approaches it with a 'negative' attitude - most likely - one will have negative experiences. If one approaches it with a 'positive' attitude - most likely - one will have positive experiences. Also - negativity mainly attracts negative people - positivity attracts positive people. Not sure this bit makes sense... but it has worked for me." is right on!
  
  My father, aged 92, has been in the "truth" since 1950. Just yesterday we talked, and he has the most negative outlook of any person I've ever talked with.
  
  Even goes so far as to comment or complain near every time we talk, that "Jehovah is punishing him by keeping him alive so long".
  
  You need to be around positive people and maintain a positive outlook on life both for you child(ren) and yourself.
  
  As far as that boyfriend that got you pregnant, you'd be well off to never see him again, except to establish legally that he's your child's father, and make sure he pays the child support that he should be paying.
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  7

  millions now living will never die!!

  by jefferywhat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  yeah right!!!

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  http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23358515-2,00.html .

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  ramtrucker

  There are several of the book titled, "The Harp of God" on auction at Ebay right now.
  
  I myself had one many years ago. I don't remember anything but the cover and the title. I believe I let my sister's daughter-in-law have the book after I cut down on the amount of spare baggage I had to move after the split between my first wife and myself, (coming up on ten years ago).
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  14

  Street Corner Witness

  by Poztate in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  has it come to an end ??

  for many years in my small quiet community the main street was filled with faithful (dubs) putting in their time on the street but no longer... they would stand for hour after hour with the mags rarely making eye contact and more interested in talking to their companion...but the time still added up.. i remember as a young newlywed getting up at 5:30 on a saturday morning so we could start street corner work at 7:00 in a seedy part of a big city we then lived in.. we then rushed for the group effort at 9:15 and didn't complete our morning until 12:00 i am sure god was pleased with our efforts... how is the street corner work doing in your part of the world now ??

  is it dying out ?

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  ramtrucker

  Last time I remember seeing someone out on the street with the magazines, was back in the late 1980s.
  
  She was getting up in years at the time.
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  9

  Are you in the Spokane, Walla Walla or Yakima area?

  by Bryan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm scheduled for many books stores in spokane, walla walla and yakima.

  i'm currently working on seattle stores for april/may.

  then i'll move on to portland.. i'd love to see you if you're in these areas!.

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  ramtrucker

  Brian,
  
  I'm in Walla Walla. Do you have a date for when you'll be in Walla Walla?
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  19

  My brother being kicked out of Bethel

  by observador in

  1. social
  2. current

  one more sad story about someone beyond their good age being kicked out of bethel.

  i have been informed that starting in march, he will be reassigned to the wonderful privilege of working as a pioneer in a distant rural area congregation.

  my brother, 41, knows nothing but bethel life.

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  ramtrucker

  During that same conversation with my sis, she told me the pioneers in her area are having difficulties finding anyone at home, what with both husband and wife having to work out of the home these days to earn a living for their families.
  
  So they write the addresses down of the "not at homes", give them to my sister and she composes letters to those "not at homes". (My sister is somewhat disabled)
  
  I didn't inquire as to how the letters get to the not at home people. Nor did I ask how or if she counts the time.
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  19

  My brother being kicked out of Bethel

  by observador in

  1. social
  2. current

  one more sad story about someone beyond their good age being kicked out of bethel.

  i have been informed that starting in march, he will be reassigned to the wonderful privilege of working as a pioneer in a distant rural area congregation.

  my brother, 41, knows nothing but bethel life.

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  ramtrucker

  Early this week I called my sister who is a good JW, living in the Portland, OR area.
  
  During the call she told me that the congregation she and her husband attends just got a new C.O. Turns out he was let go from the printing plant and made C.O. She went on to tell me that approximately six new Kingdom Halls are being built daily which require a lot of C.O.s
  
  I asked her, rather told her that the numbers I'm seeing for the U.S. population of JWs was going down, not up, and she told me it was the worldwide numbers that were going up at such an astonishing rate.
  
  Without seeing the latest numbers from the Yearbook, I'm left in the dark as to the accuracy of her comments about growth rates.
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  10

  PRAYERS that you have endured.....

  by nomoreguilt in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in the course of our wasted time in the org we have all expierenced/ suffered through the ten minute closing prayers at assemblies/conventions.

  so many times there have been others that just couldn't escape our attention.

  humble wanna be's, pious glorified one's, and just out and out condemnatory oratories to the flock.

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  ramtrucker

  This is kind of a thread drift, but is still about how an audience becomes prisoners so to speak when a prayer is being offered up.
  
  My wife lived in Glens Ferry, Idaho for several years. Glens Ferry has established a tradition of recreating the pioneers of the 1800s crossing of the Snake River near there.
  
  So three years ago, we made plans to be at that event.
  
  It was a sweltering hot day, dust flying, insects everywhere, just plain miserable for a lot of the people that had come to watch the show that day.
  
  A minister, decked out in the same fashion a preacher might have been dressed 150 years ago, gave a benediction before the "pioneers" started across the river.
  
  Then he introduced an indian, of the Cayouse tribe I believe, and invited him to pray before the crossing.
  
  This fellow went on and on. He prayed to whatever God he felt must have been listening.
  
  He not only prayed for the safe delivery of the pioneers on the river bank near us, he started in talking about how white settlers/pioneers had taken away the Indians heritage, etc. etc.I pretty near went to sleep of bordom before he finally lowered his arms and the party proceeded across the river.
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  10

  PRAYERS that you have endured.....

  by nomoreguilt in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in the course of our wasted time in the org we have all expierenced/ suffered through the ten minute closing prayers at assemblies/conventions.

  so many times there have been others that just couldn't escape our attention.

  humble wanna be's, pious glorified one's, and just out and out condemnatory oratories to the flock.

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  ramtrucker

  As a youngster, my parents started taking me and my siblings to the meetings in the late 1940s. I continued going as a young adult, then gradually faded, although I went to circuit assemblies and district assemblies, even attended the assembly in New York City in 1958.
  
  In the younger days, the prayer at least at the congregations I attended, was ended with "Amen". spoken by the person giving the prayer.
  
  No one in the audience followed suit.
  
  So at some point, when I occasionally attended a meeting in the late 1980s and into the present, I was surprised that everyone was uttering the word Amen at the end of the prayer.
  
  When My 2nd wife and I married and I've gone to her Nazarine church gatherings occasionally, I realized everyone there says Amen at the end of the prayer.
  
  So I was led to wonder if Jehovah's Witnesses adopted that habit because they came into the "truth" from other religions that did say Amen at the end of their prayers.
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  115

  My story: "Pop!" goes the Little Circuit Breaker

  by TJ - iAmCleared2Land in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i guess it's about time i write my story.

  i've put this off for a long time... primarily becuase, while i thought my story was bad, i've read so many worse and heart-rending stories here.

  i think, though, there is some therapeutic value in 'letting it all out' with others who know what 'it' was like.

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  ramtrucker

  Reading your story brings back so many memories of my life with my parents, especially my abusive father. My mother was very much the obedient wife, and seldom objected to my father's treatment of myself and my younger siblings. I still remember him spanking her, especially on one occasion when I stood in his way as he prepared to spank her. I was knocked across the room. I was less than 5 years old at the time.
  
  Even before he came into the "truth", he'd have me eating away from my family if I didn't have "proper" table manners, etc.
  
  I too wet the bed, well into my teen years. I too was told that I was simply lazy when I wet the bed, which was nearly every night. In my case, my dad whipped me, quite often with a belt, or a rope, or whatever came to hand.
  
  However, I think you had much more mentally abusive parents, than I did.
  
  I so feel a certain kinship with you.
  
  Please continue with your story.