Posts by new boy

4

"50 Years a Watchtower Slave" Chapter 11 Part A

by new boy in

“have sword will travel” .

roy and tom ottowell were my first roommates.

roy and i moved into tom duplex.

"50 Years a Watchtower Slave" Chapter 11 Part A

by new boy in

“have sword will travel” .

roy and tom ottowell were my first roommates.

roy and i moved into tom duplex.

Roy and Tom Ottowell were my first roommates. Roy and I moved into Tom duplex. That turned out to me a total disaster. Roy put his dog in the basement. We come from field service one day to find Roy’s dog had completely destroyed everything Tom had storied down there plus Roy hadn’t been down there in a couple of days so there was dog shit everywhere. We told Roy that either he or his dog had to go. We all ended up renting a different a one bedroom duplex on Crawford Street. The rent was only $90 a month. Tom got the upstairs bedroom and Roy and I shared the basement area without the dog.

Tom was a diabetic and a strange duck. He was studying to become a Jehovah’s Witness. He had a college education and was a draftsman for Beech Craft. Being an engineer he loved his 1966 Corvair. A person couldn’t ask for two people so totally different from each other than Tom and Roy. Roy was a 5’3” redhead who was literally bouncing of the walls with nervous energy. At Bethel he would get the nick name “The Bany Rooster.” Tom stood at 6’ 4’’ and walked around like a ghost. Tom love to walk around the house munching on a bag of Doritos. He would walk into a room and look around and just say “Hum.” Years later I found out his wife would call him “The professor.” All I have to say about that is “Hum.”

I spent most my time with Roy since we not only worked together but pioneered together too. To be honest Roy was a strange duck too. He was raised in the religion too. His mother was one of “The anointed” ones. This is a very small group of Jehovah’s Witnesses that plan to go to heaven and not live forever in a paradise Earth like the rest of us. They believe according to Revelation that this number would be only 144,000. Back in the sixties there was just a few thousands of these around, out of millions of Witnesses. Even though the society says these numbers should be dwindling down. The opposite is true. Almost 50 years later and their numbers are about the same. That’s a whole other story. Roy told me his mother would walk around the house and say “Please god take me out of here, I’m sick of this place.”

Roy introduced me to the wonderful music of Bob Dylan and Joan Collins. My favorites at the time were Simon and Garfunkel. It’s really funny now looking back how much music effects our lives. How it marks the different time periods we go through.

I was very self-righteous back then. I was a full time minister for the Lord. I knew everything about everything. I even printed a business card that would tell people how wonderful I was. It said this on it.

“Have Sword will Travel”

Contact

Casarona---Salina Kansas

SS AAA

“Have gun will travel” was a nineteen fifties western TV series. It stared Richard Boone as Pallitin the gun fighter for hire. I thought of myself as a spiritual gun fighter. The “Sword” has been used to mean the Bible. As for the SS it meant Sacred Service. The AAA meant I was only “Available after Armageddon” for marriage. I was so full of myself!

8

"50 Years a Watchtower Slave" Chapter 10 Part B

by new boy in

the congregation there had about eighty “publishers” in it.

it was a mix of farmers and city folks.

there were three to four families there who had moved in from other states, to help out.

new boy

The congregation there had about eighty “publishers” in it. It was a mix of farmers and city folks. There were three to four families there who had moved in from other states, to help out. I was the only pioneer at the time.

I rented a room in some old lady’s basement for $45 a month. I got a job at a Hamburger join called Sandys. I was just like McDonalds only with a different name. Yes, Jehovah did indeed take care of me, I thought to myself because I now got $1.40 an hour. I made $30 to $35 a week. A great job because, I didn’t have to worry about food because I got all the hamburgers I wanted for only .15 cents each.

I was completely devastated when I was fired from there on Easter Sunday in 1969 because I wouldn’t pass out chocolate Easter eggs. I was working on the French fryer when the assistant manager told me to take the window so Billy could go on break. I told him. “Fine but I will not be passing out any Easter eggs.” He told me I would pass them out or find another job. I took off my apron and left. As a good Jehovah’s Witness I would have nothing to do with any “worldly” holidays. The funny thing is my roommate pioneer partner Roy got fired too. He wasn’t even working the window. The manager had to come down to the store on his holiday I quit they were now shorthanded. He was beet red and mad as hell when he walked through the door. He looked right at Roy who was working the grill and said. “Do you believe the same way your friend does?” Roy said “yes” he said. “Then get the hell out of here!” I tell people to this day, that I thank god I was fired from Sandys or I would still be working there till this today.

Roy Baty was from Southern California also. He showed up in Salina in the fall of 1968. He was quite a sight in his 1958 Dodge pickup and his German shepherd. He too had come to serve “where the need was greater” also. He told me years later he really didn’t want to pioneer. He did it so he could get a 4-D classification so he didn’t have to go into the army and end up at Viet Nam. We became good friends there in Kansas and were Bethel roommates. He followed me to Louisiana where he worked for me in Trim Line. He later moved to Oregon. He was in my wedding and I was his best man in his wedding. Still he has not talked to me in over 16 years because I’m no longer a Jehovah’s Witness.

Many of the pioneers I pioneered with were janitors. This way they could have a fixable schedule, plus you could make more than minimum [SG1] wage. In Kansas over 90% of all the pioneers were from someplace else other than Kansas, with the vast majority coming from the Pacific Northwest or California. In Kansas there was even some “special pioneers” serving there. They would put in 150 hours of field service a month. They were directly assigned to be there by the society. They were paid $100 a month if they “made their time” quota. As regular Pioneer we were required to put in 100 hours a month of “field service.” There was no financial assistance for us, we were on our own.

July 12, 1968 was a strange night for me. The “Beach Boys” had a concert that night at the Memorial Hall in Salina. The concert was one block away from my apartment. As I was laying on my bed in my basement apartment I could hear them sing every song with the roar of the crowds in the background. I had grown up in Southern California now it seems Southern California had followed me here. I laid there thinking about all the fun things I never did, the high school dances and games I never went to. How I missed my high school class graduation and their all night trip to Disneyland. I had no class pictures and no class ring. I never dated a girl or even kissed one. I felt very alone that night in that dark basement.

I think back to that night now and wonder what would have happened if I got out of my bed and went to the concert. Just one of the many missed opportunities because of my JW believe system.

I had grown up in Southern California in the nineteen sixties and missed the whole thing. Drugs, sex and now rock n roll.

[SG1]Um

10

what happens when god loses his bet with satan

by nowwhat? in

"ok jehovah time to pay up i own 99.9% of mankind you have a pitiful one tenth of one percent of followers!

scoreboard i win!!

" says satan.

new boy

The score board

Adam and Eve, Satan got two people, god zero.

Noah and the flood, God saved only eight people and killed millions of Satan’s people.

The great world of Armageddon, God’s people number only about seven million, Satan’s people number around seven billion.

After the Great War and at the end of the thousand years of peace? We don’t know. But the Bible says a “great crowd” would go Satan’s way.

So numbers wise it looks like Satan has three or four victories and God zero.

14

The ends of empires

by Half banana in

i’ve been reading up on the last days of the roman empire.

the rule became a tetrarchy; by four regional emperors or caesars.

the emperors had these necessary concerns; they always gave first consideration to the security of their own positions followed by the annual extraction of taxes and their territorial authority.

new boy

And frankly Professor Cory made more sense than Russell ever did.

"How should I know!!!???"

14

The ends of empires

by Half banana in

i’ve been reading up on the last days of the roman empire.

the rule became a tetrarchy; by four regional emperors or caesars.

the emperors had these necessary concerns; they always gave first consideration to the security of their own positions followed by the annual extraction of taxes and their territorial authority.

new boy

Yes some old man who looked like professor Cory made calculations off of the Egyptian pyramids and came up with the year 1914. Of course it would fail.

When I was reading your post I couldn't help but think about the United States also. This great empire is in it's last days also.

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Still Contaminated After All These Years

by new boy in

jw
friends

the contaminantion of years of being a jehovah witness.. it's interesting to see in myself and in many others here how no matter how much we want it or wish it, we will never be able to erase all of the mental contamination.

in one way or another it will always be a part of us.. i've had many friends that have been out for many years say "well i can't do that it just wouldn't be right.

" yes they are still judging themselves and others.

new boy

All very good comments. After 52 years "in" and 16 years "out" I'm constantly reminding myself and my children that we are still effected by the influence or "contamination" of that thought system and to always analyze all the things we do, say and believe in.

Asking that very important question, the question we really couldn't ask as a witnesses.

The all important question of "Why?"

Why did I just say that? Why did I just do that? And do I really "believe" that.

Is this action "me" or some ancient programing, that I use in default mode.

If it is you, wonderful. If it isn't you than why use it anymore?

9

Still Contaminated After All These Years

by new boy in

jw
friends

the contaminantion of years of being a jehovah witness.. it's interesting to see in myself and in many others here how no matter how much we want it or wish it, we will never be able to erase all of the mental contamination.

in one way or another it will always be a part of us.. i've had many friends that have been out for many years say "well i can't do that it just wouldn't be right.

" yes they are still judging themselves and others.

new boy

The contaminantion of years of being a Jehovah Witness.

It's interesting to see in myself and in many others here how no matter how much we want it or wish it, we will never be able to erase all of the mental contamination. In one way or another it will always be a part of us.

I've had many friends that have been out for many years say "Well I can't do that it just wouldn't be right." Yes they are still judging themselves and others. They are under some kind of law code. Of course there are laws we must obey but there are many laws that are handed down to us by are parents or religions that are really just a matter of opinion and not laws at all.

18

Class Action Lawsuit Against The Watchtower Corporation By The Multitude Left Penniless After A Vow Of Poverty And Obediance Lasting Decades

by Brokeback Watchtower in

well i think as the exposure becomes greater of the wt hypocrisy and cover up that the likelihood of this happening great.

no retirement funds for all those laid off when they were no longer profitable due to old age has got to bite these guys in the ass some day.. and maybe in the process of man's enlighten world view and a better understanding the cruelty of disfellowshipping member and enforcing a communication ban ones family members may open them up from another class action lawsuit over such egregious action caused by a religious printing organization domination over peoples action through deceit and clever lies about supernatural claims of authority.. either way i think they are going to need a lot of outside legal help in the future as lawsuits will pile up around the world which that alone could dry up all their funds in defense costs..

new boy

I'm afraid Lost Generation is right. When I was on the front page of "The Oregonian" in 2002 blasting the shunning policy's. They wanted to interview someone from the WTB@TS for the "other side" of the argument. They said it was a voluntary organization and I "knew the rules" before I joined. Which of course wasn't true.....but that is the truth about the truth.

1

"50 Years a Watchtower Slave" Chapter 10 Part A

by new boy in

chapter 10. taco bell, kansas and the beach boys.

since college was never a consideration.

there no time for a “worldly” education with 1975 was just around the corner.

new boy

Chapter 10

Taco bell, Kansas and the Beach Boys

Since college was never a consideration. There no time for a “worldly” education with 1975 was just around the corner. There was no time to waste. So out of high school I got a job at taco bell. I made a $1.25 an hour. My mother and I decided that the best thing for me was to move to Salina Kansas, to “where the need was greater” and serve there as a pioneer. My mom told me not to tell my father about these plans. She told me “he wouldn’t understand.” She would break the news to him herself. That was fine with me. I didn’t really didn’t care for him at that time. The reason being he wasn’t taking the lead in our family spiritually anymore. Dad had bailed out of the program and I hated him for that. My mother did a good job in driving a wedge between him and me. She would consistently tell me what a disappoint he was. Maybe she was afraid I would pick up some of his bad habits. Just another classic case how this religion can spilt up families.

My dad told me years later that my mother never did tell him I was moving out. He came home from work one day and asked her where I was. With a blank look on her face she told him I had moved to Kansas to pioneer. He wept. I never even said good bye to him. I have no idea what sick pleasure my mother got out of doing that.

I was eighteen and I was on a grand adventure, moving 1500 miles away. I packed up my 1956 ford and headed south two miles to Foothill Blvd. which was the old Route 66. I turned left and just kept going. Though I have visited the LA area many times over the years I really never thought of that area as home. It was a strange world I grew up in, with no friends outside the faith and few friends in the faith. I really never did fit in back then. There was a huge sense of freedom yet sadness too. On some level I don’t think I really ever had a childhood. I was taught to be strong and independent. To act like an adult from an early age. My religion and my mother told me the only approval I needed was Jehovah’s. That is how I lived my life. So with my Bible in my hand I went to Kansas to save the world. The problem was of course, I couldn’t even save myself. Where ever you go that’s where you will be.

One of the first things I saw once as I crossed the border into the Kansas was a bumper sticker that said “Suicide is redundant if you live in Kansas.”

I drove almost straight through and got to Salina at about 1:30 in the morning. I ended up spending my first night in Salina, in jail. It was too late to get a motel. I really didn’t want to spend the money anyway for just a few hours of sleep. So I drove to a city park and tried to sleep. At about 5:30 in the morning a cop was knocking on my window with his flash light. After talking to him for a few minutes he was convinced that I was a run away and a draft dodger. So down to the police station we went. I convinced the cop to wait a few hours before we started calling everyone to prove my story was true. I never told any of the “brothers” there I was moving back. So I’m sure the congregation overseer Merle Freeman was quite surprised to get a call from the police asking if he knew me. Merle came down to the police station. After the police heard his story and mine, they let me go. Merle had a strange look on his face as he shook my hand on the sidewalk and welcomed me to Kansas. My first day there and I was already getting a bad reputation, I thought.