chapter 21.
“black thursday” the day the music died.
knorr gathered all the bethel overseers and governing body to the kingdom hall in the 119 building.
Enjoying your story, new boy.
Dean Songer was my overseer in proofreading. A kind and understanding man. I wish I had talked with him before feeling forced to leave Bethel. He told me Bethel was first, the congregation second. My foreign language congregation took all the starch out of my sails. I really loved my work at Bethel, which prepared me to be a writer and editor. Something good there, perhaps.
Fred Hilmo, who was a relative's overseer, seemed a good man, too.
Thanks.
greetings, dear friends and fellow survivors:.
i am grateful to be alive and associated with like-minded people, both here on this wonderful forum and in day-to-day interaction with friends, neighbors, clients, but, sadly, few if any jehovah's witnesses.
i have, somehow, become detached from the sadness and sorrow of the past, about which i have written on this and other ex-jw forums for some dozen-plus years.
Thank you, LV101, for your ever encouraging words.
Kindly refer to my newest, A Boy, a Man, and accompanying image of Mont Bleu.
Best Wishes.
now stagnant in heart, mind, and body (nothing fits nor operates as it should), i recollect, without emotion, the vast spread that had, at one time, been my surrogate guardian.
my impoverished family cherished the land and the sea that stretched outward beyond infinity; but it was i, more than all the others, who took to the bleak and harsh landscape of the mont bleu coast.
in a most peculiar manner, the dank surroundings soothed and enveloped me in crawling mists that were more welcomed by me than were the evaporating rays of an inland summer sun.
now stagnant in heart, mind, and body (nothing fits nor operates as it should), i recollect, without emotion, the vast spread that had, at one time, been my surrogate guardian.
my impoverished family cherished the land and the sea that stretched outward beyond infinity; but it was i, more than all the others, who took to the bleak and harsh landscape of the mont bleu coast.
in a most peculiar manner, the dank surroundings soothed and enveloped me in crawling mists that were more welcomed by me than were the evaporating rays of an inland summer sun.
NOW STAGNANT IN HEART, MIND, AND BODY (nothing fits nor operates as it should), I recollect, without emotion, the vast spread that had, at one time, been my surrogate guardian. My impoverished family cherished the land and the sea that stretched outward beyond infinity; but it was I, more than all the others, who took to the bleak and harsh landscape of the Mont Bleu coast. In a most peculiar manner, the dank surroundings soothed and enveloped me in crawling mists that were more welcomed by me than were the evaporating rays of an inland summer sun. I, alone, it would seem, saw what lay beneath the obvious, the physical.
I, however, am no longer that inquisitive lad who found delight in the weird, the grotesque, the unseemly. A man in the physical sense of the word but now devoid of the erstwhile childlike fascination of a once magical existence, I now reside in The City, my material needs fulfilled and luxuries absent during youth abounding. With languid eyes, I gaze upon the cold of steel and stone and glass; their combination in regal, imposing edifices commands my admiring view yet scarcely my heart.
It is through a clean and shining pane that I survey my kingdom, while the wild child of yore vanishes from all remembrance . . .
greetings, dear friends and fellow survivors:.
i am grateful to be alive and associated with like-minded people, both here on this wonderful forum and in day-to-day interaction with friends, neighbors, clients, but, sadly, few if any jehovah's witnesses.
i have, somehow, become detached from the sadness and sorrow of the past, about which i have written on this and other ex-jw forums for some dozen-plus years.
I am glad you have found a measure of peace through your writing and with time and distance. Every moment of joy and contentment is a victory. -- LisaRose
Your good wishes mean a lot to me, LisaRose. Those thoughts on staying focused are helpful, as I compartmentalize whatever -- good or bad -- occurs today. Thank you.
Dagney:
Yes, a long and complicated journey, but here we are, survivors!
Thanks!
Wishing both you ladies peace and love.
greetings, dear friends and fellow survivors:.
i am grateful to be alive and associated with like-minded people, both here on this wonderful forum and in day-to-day interaction with friends, neighbors, clients, but, sadly, few if any jehovah's witnesses.
i have, somehow, become detached from the sadness and sorrow of the past, about which i have written on this and other ex-jw forums for some dozen-plus years.
I am going home, yet not without sorrow;
for too long have I been adrift.
There was no place to call my own nor
anyone to take me in.
The price I paid for careless days of youth
spent has been too dear.
I look upward to a welcoming sky that beckons,
reassuring that, soon, this
Wanderer shall be home, in the warm and loving
embrace of the cosmos.
greetings, dear friends and fellow survivors:.
i am grateful to be alive and associated with like-minded people, both here on this wonderful forum and in day-to-day interaction with friends, neighbors, clients, but, sadly, few if any jehovah's witnesses.
i have, somehow, become detached from the sadness and sorrow of the past, about which i have written on this and other ex-jw forums for some dozen-plus years.
LV101: As already stated, I have begun branching out!
greetings, dear friends and fellow survivors:.
i am grateful to be alive and associated with like-minded people, both here on this wonderful forum and in day-to-day interaction with friends, neighbors, clients, but, sadly, few if any jehovah's witnesses.
i have, somehow, become detached from the sadness and sorrow of the past, about which i have written on this and other ex-jw forums for some dozen-plus years.
That's on my bucket list, OUTLAW! I appreciate your words of friendship and encouragement.
Cheers, mon ami!
Thanks also to you, LV101. You've always encouraged me. Who knows, one day I may branch out into other subjects!
it seems that every 2nd witness often posts pictures of themselves at conventions, or out in 'service'.
but i have noticed that they never seem to post anything about the actual "spiritual content" of their activity!
instead, it is pictures of them with their witness "friends", along with some contrite comment like #bestlifeever (arrghhh).
On my various pages where JWs post, there is virtually no original textual comment, just preformed Bible- and WT Society-based words with pretty pictures. Those memes may get a "so true" acknowledgement. For a while I posted JW-friendly Bible "reasoning from the Scriptures." Not any more.
Also, as mentioned, there are lots of photos of the group going out in service and those manning the cart.
greetings, dear friends and fellow survivors:.
i am grateful to be alive and associated with like-minded people, both here on this wonderful forum and in day-to-day interaction with friends, neighbors, clients, but, sadly, few if any jehovah's witnesses.
i have, somehow, become detached from the sadness and sorrow of the past, about which i have written on this and other ex-jw forums for some dozen-plus years.
Perhaps it comes, in part, from getting older and wiser, Xanthippe. Joy, an occasional visitor, is welcome but not necessarily expected to prolong her visit.
I can live with that.
Thanks!
Join you in a beer, OUTLAW?
