this interview had me glued in place because i've never seen a q&a go quite like this.i'd love to hear your thoughts on it.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxpgfekem_s&t=973s
today is a big anniversary day for me!.
october 23, 1967, was a monday.
i stood in front of district judge leo brewster as he sentenced me to six years in federal prison.. .
You guys have brought back memories!
I was (as far as I know) the ONLY Brother in the congregation who went to prison. One Bro worked for Goodwill Industries and his mom was best friends with the head of the Draft board locally.
Another thing...
When I got out on parole, nobody in the congregation ever asked me how it was in prison. Nope. The topic was avoided like a dirty little secret.
Nobody in our Kingdom Hall wrote me a card or came to visit -- except my best friend...and that was only once.
The JW girl I was engaged to was asked out by the Brothers ON DATES and she finally wrote me a kiss-off letter and began dating them.
All of this sounds very 'Boo Hoo' doesn't it :O
Well honestly--what should I have expected? Honor among Dubs?
Loving concern?
Isn't the whole idea to actually bring on the persecution?
Sure it was!
The young men in congregations were human billboards advertising a holier-than-thou message.
If anything is rotten--it is the fact the GB got away with it.
I've tried diligently to track down my closest friends I made inside the prison but only a few are still alive! ( JW lifespan is an interesting topic.)
I know former JW inmates who have never told a soul in later life.
For some self-punishment reasons I always explained to employers where I went and why.
I still get pushback and I don't blame anyone for feeling that way.
I wasn't any good to anybody, I accomplished nothing for anybody by being confined.
Plenty of kids went off and got killed or crippled. That's not my fault, of course--but sorting out what's "honorable" is certainly a damned can of worms. A Jihadist who straps on a bomb is just another version of me back then--as far as profound 'belief' in a cause. Lucky for me I wasn't THAT.
today is a big anniversary day for me!.
october 23, 1967, was a monday.
i stood in front of district judge leo brewster as he sentenced me to six years in federal prison.. .
Thank you for kind words and genuine solidarity on this, my friends.
I remembered about an hour ago how Judge Brewster counseled me before sentencing.
This is a rough recall of what he said:
"I'm going to give you 10 days to change your mind, young man. I'm sending you to Tarrant County Jail to think this over. AT ANY TIME during those 10 days you change your mine--just send word to me and I will have you out of there and in a civilian hospital job inside of an hour."
Of course, the way I heard this was a huge Satanic test!
It's laughable now. Sort of.
Once I arrived at Seagoville Federal Correctional Institution, I discovered several other Brothers had been offered an ex-tend-ded "change your mine" proviso, too.
One of those Brothers actually DID change his mind in the middle of the night. (I think his name was A.C. Williams). He was outta there before morning.
This was taken pretty hard by the rest of us!
I later heard rumors about Brother Williams--but--I don't believe any of them so I won't repeat them here.
I view what he did as a sign of intelligence now. Back then? Ohhhh noooo.
today is a big anniversary day for me!.
october 23, 1967, was a monday.
i stood in front of district judge leo brewster as he sentenced me to six years in federal prison.. .
i was sifting through some old daily musings i'd written and found one of my favorites from back in 2015. i thought i'd share it with you._____.
a day in the life.
i took a hot bath this morning.
i was sifting through some old daily musings i'd written and found one of my favorites from back in 2015. i thought i'd share it with you._____.
a day in the life.
i took a hot bath this morning.
Starbucks really has the least flavorful coffee. When I was in Paris and Madrid a couple of weeks ago, I had the finest tasting coffee ever.
Probably because they don't use African sources. That stuff is bitter through and through.
i was sifting through some old daily musings i'd written and found one of my favorites from back in 2015. i thought i'd share it with you._____.
a day in the life.
i took a hot bath this morning.
I was sifting through some old daily musings I'd written and found one of my favorites from back in 2015. I thought I'd share it with you.
_____
A DAY IN THE LIFE
I took a hot bath this morning. Then, after making my bed and saying "Good Morning" to my roommate, Sana--I jumped on my bike and headed off to breakfast.
Sound exciting enough for you yet? Stay tuned!
The Dixie House family restaurant seems to cater to defunct older men which makes it great for breakfast. At $3.99 it's hard to beat sausage/bacon, eggs, toast, cream gravy, hash browns, strawberry preserves and coffee. (Okay, coffee IS extra.)
Still not exciting enough? Hang in there . . .
I didn't realize it was 59 degrees when I got on my bike after that hot bath! Immediately my shoulders became sore. I was baffled. That is, until I remembered having the territorial battle to the death on Saturday morning with two vicious biting dogs! Swingng that bicycle back and forth must have wrenched a muscle--or something--(that's what older people always say: "I wrenched" a muscle."
So, after breakfast I headed for Starbucks, my home-away-from-home where I commence my writing for the day.
As I was sitting down, a fellow of about 45 smiled at me and spoke:
"How are you feeling this morning?"
"My shoulders are sore from fighting with a couple of stray dogs. I think I wrenched my neck."
He smiled and nodded. Then, he stood as I sat. He turned to face me and asked me another question:
"Do you believe in the power of prayer?"
___________
Now any of you who know me realize I have a wide range of quips, comebacks, parries and thrusts at my disposal from a lifetime of smart-assery. But--I thought I'd be diplomatic--for a change.
I answered the way a politician answers: without saying anything.
"I was baptized in 1963 and I'm no stranger to prayer. I'm 68 and still alive in good health." (How's that for a diplomatic answer?)
So the man grins. He asks yet another question while still standing in front of me gazing down.
"Do you acknowledge the healing power of Jesus Christ?"
Well now, I was in such a good mood this morning, I just didn't feel at all like screwing around and spoiling this inquisitive fella's morning.
"How could any man who professes Jesus Christ deny his miraculous powers of healing?" (See what I did there?)
____________
Now comes the part you've been waiting for. The good fellow with the ordinary face and kindly smile stepped closer and reached out and laid his hand upon my shoulder right there in the middle of Starbucks!
I don't know how you'd react to this--but I was suddenly having a great fun time! Where else but Texas can you get breakfast for under $4 plus your shoulder healed in Starbucks for free?
The next thing I know, this stranger summons his inner Benny Hinn and raises his right hand to Jesus as his left hand finds the sore spot in my shoulder unbidden, and he commences to beseech the miracles of heaven to flow into my anterior musculature as a soothing Balsam from Gilead. Or something.
His recitation, which included some rather colorful vocabulary usage such as "vexing affliction" and "unwarranted encounter with beasts of the field," and capped it off with a hearty "In the blood of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ." (To which I joined in with a magnificent and stentorian "AAAAA-MEN!"
I was sucking up the numinous powers of celestial succor like chocolate milk through a straw! It's the most fun I've had since I found a $20 bill in the pocket of an old pair of pants.
My benefactor was interrupted by another man he'd been waiting on, and they immediately went off to another part of Starbucks to talk 'bidness'.
And that was that!
Except, it wasn't. . .
My shoulder instantly improved and the pain in my neck vanished as sure as I'm sitting here--no shit!
Now isn't that dandy?
Post Script:
I just sneezed. A lady sitting to my right smiled at me and offered a warm, "God Bless You!"
I can see this is going to be one of the good days!
_____
I remember that guy but I never saw him again--or the two dogs that bit me.
jehovah's "failure".
we humans never seem to consider god in terms of anything but power and ability.
the idea of 'failure' is preposterous.. .
I once read someplace that mankind has passed through four stages of World Views as to how life really is and how to deal with it.
Stage 1 is SUPERSTITION
Thunder, lightning, earthquakes, winds, and nature itself was anthropomorphized (humanized) into ghosts, gods, spirits, etc.
with unseen powers and these entities had to be appeased.
Magic words, incantation, and elaborate astral / astrological concepts developed to predict and comprehend the mysteries.
Stage 2 is RELIGION which built superstitious ideas into a BIG STORY with causes and effects and RITUALS for gaining favor with the gods.
Stage 3 is PHILOSOPHY whereby rational thinking and logic were applied to naturalistic, mechanical, reasonable guidelines for thinking within limits sought to codify the world, mainly to answer the question: What do we know and how do we know it?
Stage 4 is SCIENCE (additionally technology)
The age of measurement and testing cleaned out much of the crap which crept into philosophy and religion and a remarkable METHODOLOGY arose: the Scientific Method.
Falsifiability was a brilliant conception: Truth Statements must be stated in such a way they can be tested and falsified by contrary proof and facts. Nothing was sacred when everything was testable.
The New Testament relied a great deal on the writings of Plato and much of Jesus' character borrows heavily from Socrates (especially answering a question with a question) and Neo-Platonic philosophy is all over New Testament structure and 'reasoning'. In fact, Aristotle was a huge influence on the writings of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas were huge fans of Greek philosophy and of Aristotle.
The result was a weirdly impressive systematic theology which made Christianity appear to be founded on a much higher level of superstition than previous efforts.
Unfortunately, after the Reformation and Renaissance science grew by leaps and bounds and overtook Catholic theology and the crimes against Galileo and other scientific genius dimmed the reputation of religious superiority and marginalized educated arguments into mere fluffy apologetics.
The Watchtower religion fooled the hell out of me and I was pretty intelligent--but scientifically uneducated--and consequently a pushover for the "plausible" authority of Bible Verse smackdowns.
The first important thing I did when I left JW's was to educate myself in Philosophy and Science which pulled that curtain WAAAAY back and revealed the tiny frauds scampering about in the Governing Body pulling levers and making scary authoritarian sounds.
GAME OVER
Jehovah God now stands naked and shivering in the cold light of constant disproof of His silly pronouncements.
jehovah's "failure".
we humans never seem to consider god in terms of anything but power and ability.
the idea of 'failure' is preposterous.. .
Meanwhile...I'll be stone cold in the ground :)
jehovah's "failure".
we humans never seem to consider god in terms of anything but power and ability.
the idea of 'failure' is preposterous.. .
God is like the beautiful girl who only hangs out with ugly girls for friends to make her look better ;)
