looking for anyone from the st. cloud congregations (i was in the north one)...or surrounding areas.
oh heck, anyone from minnesota is fine!
Hello all...I figured I'd better weigh in right about now! I'm from Minnesota too and I live in Roseville right now. By now the Aposofest is surely over. Someone email me and let me know how much fun I missed...I had to work. Looks like I'll have to take off work for the next one. I couldn't this time since I just got this job...one of three. Am I crazy or just always broke!
Love you guys!
Tammy Morgan aka Radiolady
i find myself interested in linguistics and especially ebonics and have discovered that despite the fact that i am a "whiteboy" i can "ebonicize" about anything(poem,song,letter,whatever).
so if you want/need anything translated into ebonics please give me the opportunity to do it for you.
i find myself interested in linguistics an' especially ebonics an' gots discovered dat despite da fact dat i be uh "whiteboy" i can "ebonicize" about anything(poem,song,letter,whatever).
I'm not sure if you're serious or not, however I find this very offensive. I am Afrian American and we do not all speak EBONICS. As far as I'm concerned that is not even a word. It's a slap in the face to all African Americans. What makes you think that speaking this way has anything to do with the word Ebony. Which means Black, which means "All Black People must speak this way". I'm guessing you must be very young. I'm not trying to start a flame, however please re-think about what you posted.
Radiolady
for those of you who have read this in someone elses thread, i apologize.
it was suggested i start my own thread so here is my story again for anyone who may have missed it.
i am currently from minnesota and live in st. paul (roseville), but the congregation that i went to was in the apple valley area.
Thank you so much! Everyone! I haven't been on-line a whole lot lately but that will change soon hopefully. Robdar where are you? And what kind of radio are you doing? I'm curious!
Radiolady
suppose you never took the truth, what instead would you have done differently in your life???.
richie :*)
I would have gone to college!!! During the time that I came in, they were so hung up on 1975, if you even LOOKED like you wanted to go to college you were branded as an "independant thinker" and "marked" and everything else they could think of to bestow upon your ass! These were the same elders who were supporting their families as engineers and architects. They already went to college and conveniently came into the "truth" AFTER they got their education. They spent their time looking down their noses at everyone else who dared to think they couldn't make a living working at McDonalds! All while trying to support a young family, because you know most of the people who might aspire to go to college were already married at the age of...like 17 or 18. This is a sore spot with me and it just chaps my ass!
Radiolady
i know ya'll will probably get sick of seeing my name but i hope you understand why i am here so much.. anyway, one really ironic thing i was thinking about is that its amazing how much hate i had/have inside of me my whole life.
hate my father, my sister.
i have always been angry and hated people.
Dear Flower;
I would love to email you but your email is restricted, please look up my profile and send me and email. I was really angry too, for a long time and at times still find myself gettin' "tuned up" whenever I really start thinking and remembering. And especially when it comes to my daughter and how my ex-husband treated and still treats her. (See my story under "new board member from Minnesota" in Personal Experiences). I was so angry the whole time in that organization that it made me clinically depressed and I ended up in the hospital three times a month at a time EACH TIME! Which of course they blamed on me and my thinking. I have found that anger and depression (which is anger turned inward), runs rampant in that organization. So, not only am I dealing with my own healing, my daughter is going through her own healing. Her father treats her like a non-entity, like she doesn't exist.
Radiolady
for those of you who have read this in someone elses thread, i apologize.
it was suggested i start my own thread so here is my story again for anyone who may have missed it.
i am currently from minnesota and live in st. paul (roseville), but the congregation that i went to was in the apple valley area.
As of this writing, my daughter has been pretty ill, but she's hanging in there. She lives alone and is not working and doesn't have a car. She's trying but she's in a lot of pain at times and it makes it hard for her to work. (That's really hard on me too, because I've been trying to help her as much as I can and I am totally tapped finacially). Her ELDER dad, treats her like she has the plague or something. He doesn't call her or come by and see her. She was never baptised but he treats her like she's disfellowshipped. I had to email him to tell him to please call his daughter. His wife called her today, interestingly enough. She now wears the pants in their family. My daughter refuses to have anything to do with the witnesses and I think that just bugs him so much that he can't even bring himself to talk to her. You would think that if you did indeed believe that it was "the truth" that you would be doing every thing in your power to make sure you were in constant communication with your child...since you wouldn't want to see her "loose her life" (as they put it). But that just goes to show you...he'd rather go door to door talking to strangers than put forth the effort into helping his daughter. She asked him if she could borrow his car while he was out of town (in Las Vegas), and he said he had to talk to his wife first, and then he called her back and said he couldn't do it. She desparately needed to go to her doctor who was two hours away. I let her use my car, which I wasn't even sure it would make it, and he has two cars, and wasn't even going to be in town to use either one of them! Sheesh!
Radiolady
for those of you who have read this in someone elses thread, i apologize.
it was suggested i start my own thread so here is my story again for anyone who may have missed it.
i am currently from minnesota and live in st. paul (roseville), but the congregation that i went to was in the apple valley area.
Thank you all so very much for the warm welcome! It's been tough, but I'm making it! I have more recently been doing voice work (commercials) and Property Management. I manage two different condominium associations. My illness does get me down sometimes, which is why I ended up having to leave my job as a producer about a year ago. This has proven to me what I can do and that as much as the witnesses would like us to belive that we aren't worth sh*t, we can prove otherwise. I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you!
radiolady
i've been reading a lot of stories posted here and have to say i'm glad to know there are so many ex-jw's!.
so, jehovah's witnesses sounded pretty good to me-- it never occured to me that a religion could be wrong.
was i not good enough for god?
Thank you Sean! I went over and did just that. I hope I don't annoy anyone by posting it a second time, but it will give others a chance to see it if they didn't before.
Thanks again. I'm new and am still getting the hang of things!
Radiolady
for those of you who have read this in someone elses thread, i apologize.
it was suggested i start my own thread so here is my story again for anyone who may have missed it.
i am currently from minnesota and live in st. paul (roseville), but the congregation that i went to was in the apple valley area.
For those of you who have read this in someone elses thread, I apologize. It was suggested I start my own thread so here is my story again for anyone who may have missed it.
Hello! I am currently from Minnesota and live in St. Paul (Roseville), but the congregation that I went to was in the Apple Valley area. I've been "out" now for about 10 years. I moved to this area about 12 years ago with my ex-husband. He was a ministerial servant at the time. The funny thing is, my life was so messed up and unhappy I just couldn't believe it. Here's my story:
My father was in the Air Force and I moved a lot. I was born in Bangor, Maine and I lived in Puerto Rico for three and a half years and then moved to Mass, Guam, New Jersey and then finally Missouri. While I was in New Jersey, I met this girl one day when I was sitting in my car waiting for my mother who was in KMart. She handed me a pamphlet and invited me to go to the hall with her. I told her that I didn't think I could do that because I didn't think my mother would allow me. So I politely took the handbill and she went on her way. In the mean time, my grandmother had come to live with us and unbeknownst to me...she was studying. She kept asking me to come with her to the hall and I kept refusing. Finally she said she had someone she wanted me to talk to. It turns out it was the same young lady that had given me the handbill. Hence began my Bible study. I was only 15 years old at the time. During those days...1974, once you started studying, when the person who was studying with you said you were ready to get baptised, you got baptised. I really didn't know what I was doing and didn't totally understand what was all involved. Hey, you study for six months and your ass got baptised! After that, my dad...who was doing a year long duty in Thailand, came home and told my mother "well, at least she'll stay out of trouble". I started in on my parents right away. Eventually I wore them down to a study. We moved to Missouri where I met this guy at school who happend to be my neighbor and a witness. This neighbor eventually became my husband. To make a long story short. My dad retired from the military so that he could get baptised and my mother got baptised later too. I was kind of a phenom in "the truth". 16 year old studies with both parents and brought them in..got my dad to retire after 24 years in the military...blah, blah, blah. I got married at 19 years old (waaayyy to young). But then we know how the witnesses think... Poor kids, can't have any sex until after you're married so you end up going after the first guy that looks good and pays attention to you...and then you marry him just so you can have sex! Sounds stupid...is stupid. My ex-husband was emotionally and financially abusive...plain and simple. Talks with the elders didn't help. I tried hard to do the right thing. I regular pioneered for a year and tried to be a good wife. He didn't want me to work but I did anyways. And then he wanted me to give him every cent I made. He wanted control of everything, and I ended up with nothing. He didn't want to pay the bills. I had socks with holes in them, our water and heat was always getting turned off, my mother used to give me her underwear and clothes...and my daughter slept on the floor for a while until my mother bought her a daybed...and he was a computer programmer! made pretty good money. He got all these credit cards and proceeded to run every last one up. I got pregnant (on purpose) with our daughter when I was 20...and she is the love of my life (she's 22 now). All the while, I was terribly depressed and started getting physically ill. No one knew what was wrong with me. I ended up in the hospital three times, a month at a time each, for depression. My ex said it was because I had a guilty concience...because I wanted to get out into the world. He used to always say that my thinking wasn't right. I finally got sick and tired of not having anything. He mistreated our daughter and would discipline her in ways that I didn't agree with. If she would forget to change the kitty litter, he one time put it in her bed. Another time he made her wear it around her kneck (He put used kitty litter in a planter and fashioned it around her kneck and made her walk around like that!). All the while I'm growing more and more ambitious. I started working for an insurance company as their receptionist. I used to always get comments about what a nice voice I had, so I started to wonder if I could use my voice to make a living. I had a demo tape made and saw an ad in a community paper for volunteer radio announcers..so I sent it in. I told myself that I was going to "go for it". I was surprised when I got a call and was told to come on in. My ex-husband was furious. He told me that I would be in too close of contact with the "world" etc. etc. I brought him into the station with me and had him help me pull the music etc. He finally was "okay" with it, but he still was cold towards me and would make disparaging comments all the time. One night I actually thought he was going to hit me! When he got "passed over" for elder he told me it was because my daughter and I were not doing enough in the field. Can you believe that! He was actually blaming us! One night, I had had enough. I came home from the station...saw his car was not there and after 14 years of marriage, I grabbed my daughter and we left. We stayed in a battered womens shelter, where they helped me start over. After I got my own apartment, he came over on our anniversary and asked for a divorce. He divorced me and filed for banckruptcy at the same time! What I didn't know was that he had gone to Washington and met someone that he was interested in there. (My lovely cousin introduced them!) He later said he didn't realize that it was our anniversary and didn't mean to do that on that day...yeah, right. I had already met someone in the radio business, who was kind hearted and had basically witnessed everything that I had been going through. We were good friends and had not been together...yet. After I had gotten my own place was when my best friend and I got together. I'm sure my ex-husband was just waiting in the wings so that he could be free. That's why I did it...to get away from him! My radio career did take off. To the point of having a national radio show on a popular children's station. After all the years of emotional abuse, I was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. (My daughter was diagnosed last year). My ex, certain brothers and sisters use to harrass me and tell me the my illness was all in my head and that I wasn't doing enough and that's why I was sick. I haven't been in the hospital for depression since I left! Am I'm finally happy!
i've been reading a lot of stories posted here and have to say i'm glad to know there are so many ex-jw's!.
so, jehovah's witnesses sounded pretty good to me-- it never occured to me that a religion could be wrong.
was i not good enough for god?
Hello! I too am from Minnesota. I live in St. Paul (Roseville), but the congregation that I went to was in the Apple Valley area. I've been "out" now for about 10 years. I moved to this area about 12 years ago with my ex-husband. He was a ministerial servant at the time. The funny thing is, my life was so messed up and unhappy I just couldn't believe it. Here's my story:
My father was in the Air Force and I moved a lot. I was born in Bangor, Maine and I lived in Puerto Rico for three and a half years and then moved to Mass, Guam, New Jersey and then finally Missouri. While I was in New Jersey, I met this girl one day when I was sitting in my car waiting for my mother who was in KMart. She handed me a pamphlet and invited me to go to the hall with her. I told her that I didn't think I could do that because I didn't think my mother would allow me. So I politely took the handbill and she went on her way. In the mean time, my grandmother had come to live with us and unbeknownst to me...she was studying. She kept asking me to come with her to the hall and I kept refusing. Finally she said she had someone she wanted me to talk to. It turns out it was the same young lady that had given me the handbill. Hence began my Bible study. I was only 15 years old at the time. During those days...1974, once you started studying, when the person who was studying with you said you were ready to get baptised, you got baptised. I really didn't know what I was doing and didn't totally understand what was all involved. Hey, you study for six months and your ass got baptised! After that, my dad...who was doing a year long duty in Thailand, came home and told my mother "well, at least she'll stay out of trouble". I started in on my parents right away. Eventually I wore them down to a study. We moved to Missouri where I met this guy at school who happend to be my neighbor and a witness. This neighbor eventually became my husband. To make a long story short. My dad retired from the military so that he could get baptised and my mother got baptised later too. I was kind of a phenom in "the truth". 16 year old studies with both parents and brought them in..got my dad to retire after 24 years in the military...blah, blah, blah. I got married at 19 years old (waaayyy to young). But then we know how the witnesses think... Poor kids, can't have any sex until after you're married so you end up going after the first guy that looks good and pays attention to you...and then you marry him just so you can have sex! Sounds stupid...is stupid. My ex-husband was emotionally and financially abusive...plain and simple. Talks with the elders didn't help. I tried hard to do the right thing. I regular pioneered for a year and tried to be a good wife. He didn't want me to work but I did anyways. And then he wanted me to give him every cent I made. He wanted control of everything, and I ended up with nothing. He didn't want to pay the bills. I had socks with holes in them, our water and heat was always getting turned off, my mother used to give me her underwear and clothes...and my daughter slept on the floor for a while until my mother bought her a daybed...and he was a computer programmer! made pretty good money. He got all these credit cards and proceeded to run every last one up. I got pregnant (on purpose) with our daughter when I was 20...and she is the love of my life (she's 22 now). All the while, I was terribly depressed and started getting physically ill. No one knew what was wrong with me. I ended up in the hospital three times, a month at a time each, for depression. My ex said it was because I had a guilty concience...because I wanted to get out into the world. He used to always say that my thinking wasn't right. I finally got sick and tired of not having anything. He mistreated our daughter and would discipline her in ways that I didn't agree with. If she would forget to change the kitty litter, he one time put it in her bed. Another time he made her wear it around her kneck (He put used kitty litter in a planter and fashioned it around her kneck and made her walk around like that!). All the while I'm growing more and more ambitious. I started working for an insurance company as their receptionist. I used to always get comments about what a nice voice I had, so I started to wonder if I could use my voice to make a living. I had a demo tape made and saw an ad in a community paper for volunteer radio announcers..so I sent it in. I told myself that I was going to "go for it". I was surprised when I got a call and was told to come on in. My ex-husband was furious. He told me that I would be in too close of contact with the "world" etc. etc. I brought him into the station with me and had him help me pull the music etc. He finally was "okay" with it, but he still was cold towards me and would make disparaging comments all the time. One night I actually thought he was going to hit me! When he got "passed over" for elder he told me it was because my daughter and I were not doing enough in the field. Can you believe that! He was actually blaming us! One night, I had had enough. I came home from the station...saw his car was not there and after 14 years of marriage, I grabbed my daughter and we left. We stayed in a battered womens shelter, where they helped me start over. After I got my own apartment, he came over on our anniversary and asked for a divorce. He divorced me and filed for banckruptcy at the same time! What I didn't know was that he had gone to Washington and met someone that he was interested in there. (My lovely cousin introduced them!) He later said he didn't realize that it was our anniversary and didn't mean to do that on that day...yeah, right. I had already met someone in the radio business, who was kind hearted and had basically witnessed everything that I had been going through. We were good friends and had not been together...yet. After I had gotten my own place was when my best friend and I got together. I'm sure my ex-husband was just waiting in the wings so that he could be free. That's why I did it...to get away from him! My radio career did take off. To the point of having a national radio show on a popular children's station. After all the years of emotional abuse, I was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. (My daughter was diagnosed last year). My ex, certain brothers and sisters use to harrass me and tell me the my illness was all in my head and that I wasn't doing enough and that's why I was sick. I haven't been in the hospital for depression since I left! Am I'm finally happy!
