Posts by bbdodger

12

Visit from my mom, oh the joy.

by RollerDave in

jw
friends

i realize it's been a while since i spun a good yarn, but the past few days i have had my mom staying with us, and that is enough to fuel a yarn if anything ever was.. it starts last week when my sister, mrs po was over at mom's trying to discover why mom's pc seems to randomly shut itself off for no apparent reason.

i imagine she scoured the house for garage sale items with attached legions of demons or mischievous smurf dolls before noticing a correlation between the ancient prehistoric freezer mom has switching on or off, and the lights dimming and the pc simply going poof.. but it couldn't be this pleistocene menace freezer that is the problems, it has to be the top-end pc i built mom.. please excuse me while i roll my eyes and peer at the back of my skull for a moment or two..... there.. anyhoo, it gets decided that i'll come out and pick mom up along with her pc and bring the both of them back to my house for a few days.. not decided by me mind you, but decided nonetheless.. i mean, i've got a giant truck that chugs gas as if from a fire hose and an electric scooter to ride up to mom's door, why shouldn't i go collect her, haul all her stuff to the truck, load it, help her climb up into the truck and then load my scooter?.

all from the back of my scooter, mind you.

bbdodger

I laughed my ass off reading this. Thanks for sharing.

19

Body Modification...

by bbdodger in

jw
friends

i love to login to myspace and see if i can find some ex-jws, or active jws from (my) cong., or ones that i knew from other congs.. i came across a profile of someone i knew, who was in the same congregation.

her name isn't particularly common, and there is a resemblance, so i think it's most likely the girl who i went to kh with.. she says she's "atheist", and has a tattoos on her face, piercings, and her profile is decorated with naked women.

gads!

bbdodger

AGAIN, I think that it has to do with being told not to "draw attention to yourself" so much. I think it has to do with younger ex-JWs wanting to make known once and for all that they are no longer interested in being a Witness, and you know how obsessed the people in KH can be about appearance. I doubt that even if someone with tattoos wanted to come back, they wouldn't be welcomed fully.

It's like, making a decision that you're never going to go back, or be associated with the Organization ever again! It's a way of permanently ousting yourself and making yourself as worldly looking as possible. I also think that it would be a good way of making them want to keep their distance.

I think there is definitely a correlation, but I enjoy reading your opinions on the matter.

33

Mixed Race Couples - WTS literature

by TheListener in

jw
friends

has anyone ever seen a mixed race couple shown in paradise in the wts literature?.

i haven't.

i've seen pictures of modern day mixed race couples but never ever in paradise..

bbdodger

I remember that there were a lot of inter-racial couples in our district... really a large ratio compared to non-JWs in our area.

But, I have yet to see many mixed couples depicted in mainstream culture either. How many commercials on television to you see that feature mixed race couples? I can't think of any that come to mind.

11

Crazy Tactics to Get Away from Hounding Elders!

by bbdodger in

i'm really enjoying my time here.

i hope that i'm not stepping on any toes; .

i love reading other people's back stories, especially their adventures of fading out, disassociation, and being disfellowshiped.

bbdodger

You've got a good point... but I think that it's rare for one to be as secure and unafraid as you are. Most people will do anything to dodge conflict.

11

Crazy Tactics to Get Away from Hounding Elders!

by bbdodger in

i'm really enjoying my time here.

i hope that i'm not stepping on any toes; .

i love reading other people's back stories, especially their adventures of fading out, disassociation, and being disfellowshiped.

bbdodger

I'm sorry, I think I posted in the wrong place. It's not really a "scandal", it would really only be a scandal if you were still IN.

11

Crazy Tactics to Get Away from Hounding Elders!

by bbdodger in

i'm really enjoying my time here.

i hope that i'm not stepping on any toes; .

i love reading other people's back stories, especially their adventures of fading out, disassociation, and being disfellowshiped.

bbdodger

I'm really enjoying my time here. I hope that I'm not stepping on any toes;

I love reading other people's back stories, especially their adventures of fading out, disassociation, and being disfellowshiped. A lot of these stories are quite heart wrenching, but I also thing that some of the stories can be rather humorous, especially trying to dodge the hounds.
Can anyone remember some of the craziest things that they had done to escape? Were there any name changes? Did anyone move across the country in order to avoid conflict? Sex changes??!?!?!

Thanks, I look forward to reading your responses (that is, if anyone cares to respond).

7

Regarding Journeyon's post re: songbook

by ShirleyW in

jw
friends

any old timers that remember the green book remembe song #1?

i think the title was "hail him" or something similar.

that song was good old southern church rock and roller!!'.

bbdodger

#57 - "Take Sides with Jehovah!".....Once with confusion my sad heart was filled, Drinking the cup that tradition distilled; Oh with what gladness and joy it was thrilled. When your sweet message I heard (when I heard)!....Chorus: Take sides with Jehovah; Make him your delight; He'll never forsake you; Walk e'er in his light. Tell, tell the glad tidings Of freedom and peace, His rule by Christ Jesus Will ever increase.

I remember that song, that was in the pink book, and probably the brown book (if I remember it). I have it in my head... it sounds like the tune of a certain "John Denver" tune. Annie's Song. Does anyone else agree?

Anyway, I remember that the brown book had pictures of King David with his lyre in the inside covers. Am I remembering that correctly?

About practicing the Kingdom Songs with guitar and violins the night before... can you imagine what would have happened if headquarters got word of that? I bet they'd put out a bulletin to nip that in the bud!

This is bringing back so many memories! I looked through a copy of Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained the other day, and the picture of Jesus on the "stake" (what a crock...) he had NO BEARD! Now I'm wondering now if that was to coincide with the fact that beards are frowned upon in the "truth",and if Jesus had a beard, it would cause confusion

19

Body Modification...

by bbdodger in

jw
friends

i love to login to myspace and see if i can find some ex-jws, or active jws from (my) cong., or ones that i knew from other congs.. i came across a profile of someone i knew, who was in the same congregation.

her name isn't particularly common, and there is a resemblance, so i think it's most likely the girl who i went to kh with.. she says she's "atheist", and has a tattoos on her face, piercings, and her profile is decorated with naked women.

gads!

bbdodger

I love to login to myspace and see if I can find some ex-JWs, or active JWs from (my) cong., or ones that I knew from other congs.

I came across a profile of someone I knew, who was in the same congregation. Her name isn't particularly common, and there is a resemblance, so I think it's most likely the girl who I went to KH with.

She says she's "atheist", and has a tattoos on her face, piercings, and her profile is decorated with naked women. Gads! Once I saw a documentary about JWs, and there was a young woman who was molested by an elder, and had facial tattoos, very "punk" looking. Even I have lots of tattoos, I use to have piercings, but still have my nostril, and my ear lobes have 1" discs in them. I've also found a couple of people here, and read some comments about other ex-Jdubs who are into body modification.

Do you think that young ex-Jdubs are more inclined to be into body art, because being a Jdub meant not "drawing attention to yourself"? From age 13 on, I was trying desperately to look as shocking as possible, and I think that after so long of having to blend in you just want to set yourself apart and you want to do the opposite, so it becomes almost like an obsession. I've always craved attention, and I've always had a need to set myself apart from other people, inside and out. This could be especially true because being JW meant being bland and boring, so you wouldn't stand out.

Body art and ex-Jdub "youth"...I wonder if there is possibly a correlation here???

20

Were YOU Set Up To Fail?

by Sarah Smiles in

jw
friends

as a child, i believed jdubs were the only ones who had truths.

we as children tried to live our lives clean without smoking, drinking, cussing, stealing and etc,.

as i became an adult and associated with others, i had fallen beneath the jw cracks.

bbdodger

Set up for failure, maybe... but morality is morality, and no matter how you slice it, it helps you avoid a lot of the pitfalls that cause certain people to have a real rough go of things. Keep your principles high, but know that you're doing it because you have self-worth and respect for yourself by being a moral person, and not because you're being scared into it.
I sense a lot of guilty feelings coming from you... embrace your high standards, but try to separate them from the Cult's standards. Make them your own, and be proud.

I know exactly how you feel. I still get a chilly feeling when someone says the "F" word, I still smoke cigs (once in a while) in a sneaky way and feel guilty for doing it, and I actually still think that if I am possessed by a demon, and yell "JEHOVAH, JEHOVAH", I will automatically be rid of the demon.

*yeah, that was one thing I was told... sound familiar to anyone else?*

65

DF and heartbroken

by cassyrene in

let me begin by saying that i never expected to even talk about my situation let alone discuss it on the internet but i guess im just feeling so sad that i must hope that someone will understand and give me encouragement...so here it goes.. .

but the more active i got, the more abusive my stepmother became.

ironically, he sent my stepmother to the wedding.

bbdodger

You post left me so angry! I have family that won't talk to me either... love, family, does it mean nothing to these people??? I often think about the fact that my Grandma, cousins, uncles and aunt aren't going to know when I have children... I don't even think they know that I'm married. If I died, they wouldn't attend my funeral (which is another can of worms... I've read some doozies here about that subject too).

I can relate to your story in so many ways, but so do many of the other people posting. I've been here less than a week, but it's been so therapeutic, so yes, you have come to the right place. Reading other people's reactions to your story, and the stories that they share will make you feel that you are NOT alone, because you're NOT alone!

Everyone here can relate to your story in some capacity, and it's always best to learn and grow with people who have been in your shoes, and know how it feels to be abandoned. It's hard to move on, because of the incredible amount of guilt that consumes you when you were a part of something so controlling to your every move!

Please, keep reading, posting, and participating. It really helps.