Like Blondie and so many others, I was gossiped about while I was still active. The gossip was malicious however, I had no idea I was the subject of such hurtful talk until I moved and changed congregations.
Balaamsass was an elder in the new hall and had heard so many stories about me and my ex that he and the CO made a "Shepherding call" on me to find out WTH was going on. I had absolutely NO idea I was "famous". LOL, It was as if I was walking all over town with toilet paper hanging out of my panties blissfully ignorant.
you do remember the four day assemblies... sitting outdoors being fried in the sweltering heat,getting heat stroke in the middle of july in an outdoor baseball stadium.sitting outdoors from 9:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. was so much fun while you wore a suit,long sleeve shirt and a tie while your brain fried.
mom's who had children to take care of,lug strollers,feed all the kids,take them for bathroom breaks and try to not faint from the heat.. the sound and audio was always breaking and barely audible from the wind,airplanes flying over and (if you attended the cicero,illinois circuit )you would smell horse manure from the horse stables next door.. you know that you are a jehovah's witness.... when the only excitement waiting for the drama... where brothers and sisters dress up in ancient cloths,fake beards,fake rocks and fake soldier uniforms and wave their hands incessantly to pretend that they are acting out a drama.the excitement was unbearable!.
8 days of blistering heat in the afternoon yet freezing early morn and at night. I was not allowed to sleep either.
I remember the hideous echo in the ball parks. Everyone sitting there nodding but not understanding a word.
Does anyone else remember the HOT pastrami on onion roll sandwiches in the 60's? The ice cream in a cup with wooden spoon? and SNOW CONES? YUMMMM The only things that made the sitting marathon bearable!
IMO, The WORST aspect of this case is that the victim's own father was an Elder at the time and HE refused to report these crimes as well! What parent would choose to protect the so-called reputation of his church rather than his OWN DAUGHTER??? Answer: A despicable CULT member.
You are a gutsy lady to take the triple plunge of leaving your town, husband, and religion all at once----at the age of 70!!! You are proof positive that a person is NEVER too old to wake up and live an authentic life. You go gurl. :)
PE, I have "walked a mile in your shoes". After my mother was too old to live alone hubby and I moved her in with us and even bought a new house (which put us in a financial bind) in order to better accommodate her needs. One day she got mad that we weren't paying enough attention to her. I found her in her room tearing up family pictures.Thankfully, I caught her before she had a chance to do too much damage. It was a tantrum in order to get attention.
Not long ago she died. I wasn't notified by the rest home or the mortuary because they had been told by "the people from the church" that she had NO children! A JW aunt (through marriage) left me a vague phone message that she had died a week after the fact.
I didn't learn TTATT until I was 60 and had wasted most of my life trying to please these toxic relatives and their angry God. You are considerably younger. I promise the intense pain will fade to a dull ache which sometimes fades altogether before it shows up again.
Please do yourself and your wife and children a favor. AVOID these people and all their drama. You owe them nothing. Your place is with your immediate family. They need to be shielded from the crazy, not exposed to more than they already have.
I would give anything to know what you know when I was your age. Go, enjoy the rest of your life without the FOG. (Fear, Obligation, Guilt)
a bit of an update, last weekend was my great grandmothers funeral, now, she was never a jw, and never was going to be, no matter how hard my mother, and grandmother tried to preach to her, she was the type of person that would kindly accept a wt or a book, but she wouldn't bother reading them.. anyways, she was a great wonderful and inspiring woman, the funeral was extremely sad, she had been a school teacher for over 35 years and a member of various clubs, so there were a lot of folks besides family that attended.. well, anyways i was there and so was my jw mother, stepfather, and grandmother, we were cordial, didn't talk about anything jw related because, it was great grandmothers funeral, not really a time to discuss how i am an evil sinner, or how i've escaped the org by avoiding df'ing, right?
wrong, as i'm sitting waiting for the service to begin, a lady shows up, now- i have known this woman for a long time, apparently she baby sat me as a small child, (like i remember?
) so she isn't someone i was ever close with, but knew of her or when she was around would say hi to and make small talk.. to give you a tid-bit on her personality though, she is one of those crazy jw's.. she claims to have been possessed by a demon, very very wacky on the prophesies, or gb talks, etc.
I am very sorry for your loss and the dreadful krazy sister's emotional assault on you at the funeral. She makes the occasion about HER, then blames her hysterics on YOU. "I have been crying hysterically since I heard you left Jehovah".
it seems like mobilizing after the election, which seems pointless.
i keep hearing demands for equal rights but don't understand what rights they are missing exactly.. normally a march is to show the support (and potential votes) for a cause, but ... votes for what?
... and the election happened already.. is anyone else confused?
Simon, this (points up) Is probably your best post ever. Hubby and I were victims of not one but 2 illegal foreclosures during the Obama admin. We waited for Heads to roll, CEO's to be imprisoned, or at the very least fired and for reform. Ha!
it seems like mobilizing after the election, which seems pointless.
i keep hearing demands for equal rights but don't understand what rights they are missing exactly.. normally a march is to show the support (and potential votes) for a cause, but ... votes for what?
... and the election happened already.. is anyone else confused?
Bohm, My daughter is single, in her early 30's, college educated, and has a 6 figure income. She told me ahead of time that she was going to be at the Women's Parade in LA. She stated that she wanted to lend her support for Women's rights. Although we disagree on many political issues, I gave her an "atta girl" for being willing to march for what she believes.(and her right to believe it)
Then I saw the pictures she posted on Instagram and I had to chuckle. There she was, on top of a roof with a ridiculous sign standing next to a woman who was completely topless.Was she opposing the objectifying of women? Haha How can I take that seriously? She and her totally cool Hollywood friends had a great time in the fresh air and sunshine doin' crazy shit. I wish I was young and knew what I know now! :)
