Posts by jonjonsimons

43

Goodbye, and Thanks For All the Fish......

by Prisca in

jw
friends

dear all,.

it is with much regret that i have decided to leave jw.com.

it is not a decision i have made lightly, in fact i had been thinking about it for many weeks now.. i am leaving because i cannot be a part of a forum that condones abuse and deliberate offensiveness towards other posters.

jonjonsimons

Prisca,
Please rethink this. I for one am glad you are here. Do we see eye to eye on all things, no. But I think you are a very special person with a very special outlook on life and I don't want you to go. If you make me, I will beg on hands and knees!!!!! (I know, not the kind of man servant you were hoping for but I'll see if Dave is free and I'll have him take over for me later!)
Please don't go!!!!! Please!!!!! I need you to stay. I realize that's not much, but I need you, so please think about it!!!

Peace and love to you and yours,
Jon (with his heart on his sleeve and on his knees begging)

26

Well, I have NEVER....

by AGuest in

jw
friends

in all my almost 42 years... received so much attention... good and bad.

never, i promise you.

and truly... all ya'll... i am neither 'worthy'... nor 'deserving' of it... good... or bad.. have you all noticed just how many times the name "shelby" has been used in the past, say 24 hours?

jonjonsimons

Shelby,

You said,"Well, I have NEVER......."

Honey do you think that might be part of the problem? I mean if I had never, I'd probably be hearing voices in my head too!

Peace and love to you and yours,
Jon

BTW Sorry but that's where my Lord led me and I dutifully followed.

86

More Bethelite Table Crumbs Please!

by MadApostate in

jw
friends

in a controversial post in a separate thread, janh makes an extremely good observation that a certain former gb member will likely carry many, many wts "top secrets" to his grave, for whatever reasons he does not wish to divulge such.. then, on this db, former bethelites constantly exchange posts where their word choice is "cloaked" so that many of us who were not insiders are left guessing at meaning, people, etc.

obviously, even individual members of this fraternity have unique experiences and insights.

if such info is not disseminated, it is lost if that person dies naturally or in an accident.. would you folks please post more elaborately so that the rest of us can benefit from your knowledge and experience.. the statement that motivated this post made a silent reference to the author of the happiness book.

jonjonsimons

Six,
Ok Ok I get it. If Amazing meant that is was a "problem" for the JW's and not a "problem" in and of itself, then I apologize for taking offense. Sorry but some of the posts on this board the last couple of days has made me a tad bit touchy on this subject.

Peace and love to you and yours,
Jon

86

More Bethelite Table Crumbs Please!

by MadApostate in

jw
friends

in a controversial post in a separate thread, janh makes an extremely good observation that a certain former gb member will likely carry many, many wts "top secrets" to his grave, for whatever reasons he does not wish to divulge such.. then, on this db, former bethelites constantly exchange posts where their word choice is "cloaked" so that many of us who were not insiders are left guessing at meaning, people, etc.

obviously, even individual members of this fraternity have unique experiences and insights.

if such info is not disseminated, it is lost if that person dies naturally or in an accident.. would you folks please post more elaborately so that the rest of us can benefit from your knowledge and experience.. the statement that motivated this post made a silent reference to the author of the happiness book.

jonjonsimons

Amazing,

You said "We already know that some were Gay, or had other serious problems."

(Deep cleansing breath before I have to say this once again)

Take it from someone who knows, being gay is definitely not a "problem".

Peace,
Jon

17

risk taking

by joelbear in

jw
friends

well, i'm getting closer and closer to turning my life upside down and breaking away from my 43 years of conservative living.

any risk experiences out there?.

the risk i want to take is leaving banking, living a much more bohemiam life, maybe work as a waiter or bartender or something, go to school, travel, work on my furniture art, write, read, live.. aaaack.

jonjonsimons

Joel,
I can only share a true story with you that might help. About 15 years ago when I was just a wee lad of 21 I took a one month trip to Indonesia. When I got to Bali I stumbled upon this small commune of huts on a black sand beach in a remote part of the island. The place consisted of about 10-12 huts that encircled a large dining/bar area in the center of the compound. On the day I arrived I met up with an Australian sailor named Guy, but that's another story! Anyway the day I got there I found out the bartender had quit that morning. I told the owner that I had slung cocktails before and would be willing to help him out for a couple of evenings in exchange for room and board. I figured if I could mix drinks in a nightclub on the weekends back home I could handle this place. Anyway to make a long story short, the family that owned the place offered to give me the job permanently and for some reason I said no. Ended up back in Ohio after the month was over as I had planned. The point I'm trying to make is that even though my life is great and I am very content, there are still times when I think about that chance and kick myself for not at least trying it. I didn't take the chance then because I was too afraid of change. Don't make the same mistake!

Peace and love,
Jon
BTW that drag name is too much fun. My drag name was Streat Walker...get it. I only do Aids benefits now days...those heels are too damn painful!

76

Why Are You Here?

by larc in

jw
friends

the question, "why are you here?

" is simple enough, and your answer may be straightforward.

however, when i asked that of myself, i find that my answer is pretty complicated.

jonjonsimons

larc,
I'm not sure why I'm here. I started lurking a few weeks before I started posting and it's become addictive. I walked away from the borg when I was 16 and in the process walked away from my entire family and everyone I had ever known. Now that I'm a much older man (ok 36 isn't that old but sometimes it sure feels like it) I have finally come to grips with the entire situation and I hope that maybey my being here will help someone else who has had a similar experience. The one thing I didn't expect was to find the many warm hearted fantastic people that I have found on this DB. And that is what makes me stick around here!
Peace and love to you and yours,
Jon
PS email me. We live in the same town, we might as well meet. I'm not really that scary in person, I swear....haha!!!!

174

get a life -- 10 facts

by joelbear in

jw
friends

i thought it would be interesting for people to just post a few things about themselves so we can get to know each other just a bit.. try posting 10 facts about your life.. joel.

1. i was born and raised in south georgia.. 2. my favorite subject in school was math.. 3. i was in the fulltime service (bethel and pioneer) for 4 years.. 4. my favorite color is blue.. 5. mitch and i have been together over 12 years.. 6. we live in a suburb of atlanta georgia.. 7. we love to eat out and have friends over for dinner and board games.. 8. the only sport i was ever any good at is tennis.. 9. my favorite tv show of all time is the simpsons.. 10. we are both naturists and wish we could lay on the beach naked every day.

jonjonsimons

Damn it Dave you're not being fair!!! Pricsa and ladonna I hate you, love you, hate you, love you, hate you, love you. OK I'm just jealous as all hell. If I had breasts mabey Dave would love me to! (hmmm silicone or saline?, nah the chest hair would be a dead giveaway and I wouldn't shave even if Sister Theresa asked me to, which won't happen because she's kinda dead!!)

Peace and love,
Jon

PS Joel your threads always get more responses than mine. I'm going to go cry myself to sleep now.

Hey Riz, me love you long time too baby....J (and take my word for it, our anniversary was fabulous. A good time was had by all, especially jonjon!!!)

174

get a life -- 10 facts

by joelbear in

jw
friends

i thought it would be interesting for people to just post a few things about themselves so we can get to know each other just a bit.. try posting 10 facts about your life.. joel.

1. i was born and raised in south georgia.. 2. my favorite subject in school was math.. 3. i was in the fulltime service (bethel and pioneer) for 4 years.. 4. my favorite color is blue.. 5. mitch and i have been together over 12 years.. 6. we live in a suburb of atlanta georgia.. 7. we love to eat out and have friends over for dinner and board games.. 8. the only sport i was ever any good at is tennis.. 9. my favorite tv show of all time is the simpsons.. 10. we are both naturists and wish we could lay on the beach naked every day.

jonjonsimons

Joel, Great Post.

Here goes:

1. I'm the 2nd oldest of 10 children and a huge dissapointment to my dad!(happy happy joy joy)
2. I'm 36 years old with br hair and eyes and a goatee(this is sounding like a singles ad)
3. I'm happily married for the last 8 years to my life partner Kevin.(today is our anniversary)
4. I was born in central Kentucky and raised in southern Ohio.(no briar jokes please)
5. Favorite movies are The Way We Were and Terms of Endearment.(imagine that!)
6. Favorite music group is Fleetwood Mac.(I am the secret love child of Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham)
7. Favorite author is Anne Rice.(her vampire novels are fabo!!)
8. No kids but I do have a cat and her name is Ethyl.(don't ask me Kevin named her)
9. Left JW's when I was 16 and am now an athiest.(Kevin is Catholic and swears that deep down I really do believe in God)
10. Secret desire is to have one of my screenplays win an Oscar.(of course I have to get one made into a film first!)

Peace,
Jon

47

"Special" meeting in October?

by Esmeralda in

jw
friends

question.

my mother told my husband that there is to be a 'special meeting' in october at the local sports arena (same place as dc's are held here) and that "only publishers are allowed to attend" that they will get "special cards" for admission from their local congregation and have to hand them in to get into the building.

i have no idea if this has anything to do with the "annual meeting" they always have (isn't that generally in october?

jonjonsimons

blondie,
I just read your comment and laughed out loud at work. Now everyone is looking at me, thanks a lot!

Way funny,
Jon

13

Is monogamy realistic?

by jonjonsimons in

jw
friends

do you believe that humans are capable of complete sexual monogamy?.

i believe 100% emotional monogamy is obtainable, but i'm not sure about sexual monogamy.

does gender figure into the equation?

jonjonsimons

Do you believe that humans are capable of complete sexual monogamy?
I believe 100% emotional monogamy is obtainable, but I'm not sure about sexual monogamy. Does gender figure into the equation? Are women or men least likely to remain sexually faithful to their partner, and why? Does sexual orientation figure into the equation? If men are more likely not to remain monogamous, is it that much harder for two gay men to maintain a sexually monogomous relationship? As I've stated above I do believe in the concept of emotional monogamy, ie being in and staying in love with the same person for life.

I posed this question to a group of people in my book club and received responses that varied greatly. One woman in the group agreed with my view that sexual monogamy was not a realistic goal, while one of the men in the group basically told me I was full of shit. I'm not looking for moral judgements but for your thoughts on the concept.

Peace and love to you and yours,
Jon