it's funny, my brother-in-law, a very myopic and strict jw, said something to me once that i still feel has a kernel of truth to it even though it came from a braindead idiot.
"brad, i hated my twenties.
life really begins at 30.
Brad... I think that the answer is a subjective one that depends on the person. For me, I was in a bad marriage through my twenties. I was also still asking "What do I want to be when I grow up?" I'm in my early 30's now and feel like I've got a happy and productive life. I'm lovin' every minute of it. For me, I don't know what year it was, but I'm livin' it now.
Ern
....save the "the day i got out" posts, surely some here can dreg up some happy times of when they were witnesses, it can't all be negative.
for me, i can remember some great people, some do's some co's some elders, some pioneers some just plain ol' publishers like me.
come on everyone.......dig deep now.....
Well, I guess one of my favoriet Dub memories was a get together that we had. We did it as a "roast" and all the servants in the cong were the victimes...as well as their families. It wasn't malicious, just very funny. All of us kids embellished their actions and portrayed them to the rest of the onlookers. It was a hoot. We had at least one area to poke a bit of fun at all of them.
That's probably my chart topper for full on JW related memories.
Also, by being a 'dub, I started a study with a man who taught me that non-JW can be as much or more caring than 'dubs. I'll be ever grateful for that opportunity to have my life touched by this man. He was my friend and I miss him. He died at 46 yrs. from alcohol abuse.
Ern
the cars i've seen most in the kingdom hall parking lot: the familiar, dull 4-door car, the family minivan, or the old beater.
sometimes the occasional 2-door car, which was generally frowned upon for service.
ok, let's hear it... what kind of car did you drive when you were a dub?.
My first car was a 1966 Plymouth Valiant. I never drove it in service. I then got an 81 monte carlo w/ T-tops. Loved it. Brothers hated it. I contiulaly got counseled about my car, my stereo in my car and the volume at wich I played it, how I drove my car...
Then, I got married and was conned persuaded to get a practical car...so I ended up w/ an escort wagon. an 88 I think. Then, I got a beaut of a 1978 Buick Electra with EVERYTHING on it. Man, they loved using it for service. I got the SUV bug and bought a 91 Mitsubishi Montero..justifying it as necessary for our rough rural territory. It was a great reason for me to go off roading and not catch crap for it. I then bought a 91 Ford Ranger. That's what I drove until I left. Now I have a 98 GMC extended cab 4X4 pickup. I also have an 83 BMW for my toy...just bought my wife a new Mazda 6 and plan on getting either a Nissan 350 Z or a Mazda RX-8 next year. F*CK service cars! I'm ready to punch that gas and tote that a$$!
Ern
a friend who you can turn to,.
when the chips are down, .
who is always there for you.. who accepts who you are and what you are made from.. what kipling called the thousandth man.. one man in a thousand, solomon says,.
My best friend is Deano. We drove cross country teams together. We spent over a year 24 hours a day, 10 to 14 days at a time together in a space smaller than most people's bathrooms...and we are still best friends. I'd do anything for him, and he for me. Hey, he got me this awesome job I have now. He's definitely getting one hell of a christmas present from me!
I also have a very good friend who is still a 'dub. Even though I am out, he still associates with me. He lives a long ways away. One time, he decided to go "super 'dub" on me and cut me off. I simply wrote him a letter reminding him that our relationship was never "dub" centered. We could disagree about things and still be friends. I also told him that we had way too much water under the bridge where we both had doen extraordinary things that went beyond the professed JW loving brotherhood and did he want to throw all of that aside? I told him that "when you get your head out of your ass, you know where to find me and I'll be here for you again, just like I always have been."
It was only a couple of weeks before I got that phone call telling me that he'd had that "rectal craniotomy" that I'd recommended.
I have one more. I met him at the race track. We hit it off and we are very close friends. In fact, I'm to be in his wedding this weekend. I am so lucky to have really good friends.
Ern
the elders and the watchtower society are big fans of using "restrictions".
anytime a person has judicial action taken against them, they are imposed with "automatic restrictions".
even if a body of elders felt that a person was too fragile to have any restriction placed upon them, they were required by the society to "restrict" them in something.......were you ever put on restrictions?
In a frank conversation with a "friend" my age...we ended up talking about masturbation. Well, the "friend"'s dad was the PO..so when he found out I (like all normal people) flogged the dolphin pretty regularly...they put me on restrictions. I was supposed to be on a circuit assembly part....Nope, at the LAST MINUTE...they got another guy to fill in. ...if they had only known he and I swapped porno mags LOL. I also couldn't get baptized or do mics or any of that. Oh well...
Ern
" There's two kinds of men...those who masturbate and those who lie about it."
have any of you ever been faced with a gun at the door?
most of us have at one time or another heave of gun stories.
i was faced with this twice.
and with a brother who was known as one who could sell sand to an arab in the middle of a drought. This dude comes to the door...gets pissed and tells us all to go to hell, our car and other parts unknown. He pulled up a sawed off shotgun and pointed it in the vicinity of the brother I was with...Well, the screendoor slammed shut when he poked the barrell back into the house...and guess who's fingers were there? Mine. My crying and wailing freaked the dude out, so he let us go. He's still a "do not call" to this day. He keeps wild mountain lions on his place as a deterrent to those that might get a bit "zealous".
Ern
our nissan primera is beginning to show her age somewhat.
consequently, her ladyship and i have decided that we'll start looking around when we come back from the usa next month.. we've done some preliminary enquiring, sounded out each others preferences, and we've decided that most of all we like....... the new mini!.
of course it would have to be the mini cooper, they go like s*** off a shovel!.
I agree that the RX-8 is an awesome little car. I took one for a ride and think that next year, one will be occupying a space in my garage. The mini is neat too. a couple of guys in my race club have them. They are quick and maneuverable, but nothing like the original mini. I just bought my wife a new Mazda 6. She got one just like this:
It's a nice car..very sporty and lots of power. has a 225 hp. 3L V-6. Of course, it was her B-day...so she wasn't wanting to get anything but a sporty, yet functional car. It's got all the goodies on it sunroof and Bose sound included.
Ern
no doubt many of you are aware of the new project that society is taking on, regarding it's expansion of it's patterson complex, the sale or soon to be sale of its brooklyn building and the new printing presses that cost $50 million.. .
i haven't really thought about why they are doing this, but now i do, some questions come to mind.
i have no answers and would be grateful if someone could give me their best guess.. 1) new york is the best center for transporting goods, you have three airports, rail links and major highways.
I agree with r51785. I am in the transportation industry also. Many companies don't even like going into the NYC metro area. Costs are much higher because of the labor union influences as well as the closer scrutiny by governmental authorities. I worked for Central Transport (an LTL carrier), Western Express ( a 48 state truckload carrier), FedEx Ground, and now for a small HazMat company.
Ern
although i'm in my early 40's, i still didn't get grey hair yet.
i may find one or two gray hairs once in a while, but not more.
same thing with the beard.
I shaved my beard, which was where most were showing up. I do still get some around the sideburns...and a few others scattered. I'm only 32, but I don't care if I get more grey. My dad has gone all silver, and it looks pretty good on him. I figure I have a good shot of the same. Besides...maybe I'll catch up to my wife who is now salt and pepper.
Ern
since i was raised a witness, it was only as i got older that i started to "think" about what i was teaching and believing.
but even as a young teen, i never accepted the thought that 1975 was going to be the end of the "system of things" and the beginning of the "new system".
i just didn't quite believe that.........what belief or teaching did you have a "hard time swallowing"?
Mine was that only JW's were fit for association and friendship. That we had the best "love" among ourselves. It was one of the first real hard hitting realizations that made a big difference in my decisions in life.
Ern
