Eric,
Thanks for that. What memories it stirs. There were so many experiences like that, but that one is one of the best.
Herk
Posts by herk
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35Did You Put Off Saving For Retirement?
by Shakita ini didn't think that i would ever retire in this system of things.
i felt that long before retirement age the new system would be here and i would have no money worries.
as the years rolled by and i didn't have any thing saved for retirement, i became more and more anxious.
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35
Did You Put Off Saving For Retirement?
by Shakita ini didn't think that i would ever retire in this system of things.
i felt that long before retirement age the new system would be here and i would have no money worries.
as the years rolled by and i didn't have any thing saved for retirement, i became more and more anxious.
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herk
Yes Watchtower you have indeed abused your position and condemned poor people to a miserable lifestyle they could easily have avoided.
I say amen to that. It's a message worthy of being shouted from the housetops.
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35
Did You Put Off Saving For Retirement?
by Shakita ini didn't think that i would ever retire in this system of things.
i felt that long before retirement age the new system would be here and i would have no money worries.
as the years rolled by and i didn't have any thing saved for retirement, i became more and more anxious.
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herk
Rosemarie,
Thanks for sharing. It's good to see you weren't affected by the "too busy to show care and concern" syndrome.
I seem to detect from another post that you're a mother. Sincere and best wishes for a happy Mother's Day!
Herk
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35
Did You Put Off Saving For Retirement?
by Shakita ini didn't think that i would ever retire in this system of things.
i felt that long before retirement age the new system would be here and i would have no money worries.
as the years rolled by and i didn't have any thing saved for retirement, i became more and more anxious.
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herk
Mr. Shakita,
You wrote:
Were those elders brain dead? ... Can't you just feel the love?
I met the couple when I was a little boy and wanted to grow up to be just like the husband. He always smiled and took a real interest in us kids. She did too. Later they became missionaries, but in their senior years they had to return to the States for health reasons. I first heard about him speaking against the WT from their neice who never mentioned the senility factor. She was terribly disappointed that her uncle had gone "apostate," and she wondered how her aunt was taking it.
It was after I left JWs that I found out the man's mind had been playing tricks on him and that the two had been abandoned by JWs.
Your first question is a good one. The ones with the more serious brain (as well as heart) problems were the elders. I just can't remember whether they or the CO or somebody else recommended the removal of this couple from the infirm list. But the elders can surely be faulted for not making some arrangements for the care and comfort of these people who had given so much of their lives to the Society.
Herk
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35
Did You Put Off Saving For Retirement?
by Shakita ini didn't think that i would ever retire in this system of things.
i felt that long before retirement age the new system would be here and i would have no money worries.
as the years rolled by and i didn't have any thing saved for retirement, i became more and more anxious.
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herk
Far North,
Putting Missionaries, DOs, COs and Special Pioneers on the "Infirm Special Pioneer List" is an arrangement that's been in effect for perhaps 20 or more years. In some cases, it has worked out fine, especially if the persons were able to live in a trailer or room on the property of a kindly JW family who charged them no rent and who looked after them. In a comparatively few cases they've been brought into Bethel or a branch office. But I know of one couple that ended up living in a garage because they couldn't afford rent on the measly amount the Society sent them each month. If I remember correctly, when the husband became senile and would sometimes utter a tirade against the Society, the local elders recommended that he no longer receive support from the Society. The couple faded almost completely from the view of the JWs. They were rescued by a man and wife of another religion who were simply shocked when they discovered the conditions this elderly couple were living under.
Herk
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35
Did You Put Off Saving For Retirement?
by Shakita ini didn't think that i would ever retire in this system of things.
i felt that long before retirement age the new system would be here and i would have no money worries.
as the years rolled by and i didn't have any thing saved for retirement, i became more and more anxious.
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herk
Mr. Shakita,
Just a little additional point re: the two "anointed" sisters:
I do believe they went to their graves with sadness in their hearts. Though they were led to believe they were going to heaven to reign with Christ, it seems to me that this became something secondary after their husbands died. They pined away for their husbands and for those good times when they were together and enjoying the adulation and fellowship of many in the organization. While the husbands were alive, some of the "other sheep class" gave the impression it would be a thrill just to touch such holy people. After the husbands died, the two women seemed to be forsaken by many.
On the other hand, I knew some "anointed" men who continued to thrive on popularity in their old age. They always had an audience when they spouted off their speculations about history, prophecy or anything else related to the organization.
I'm a man, but it used to bug me when I saw the disparity between the way old men were admired but some women with no experience as public speakers and with less past opportunities to shine before others were relegated to the sidelines and nearly forgotten. That wasn't true in every case, but it happened often enough that I sometimes wept.
Herk
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35
Did You Put Off Saving For Retirement?
by Shakita ini didn't think that i would ever retire in this system of things.
i felt that long before retirement age the new system would be here and i would have no money worries.
as the years rolled by and i didn't have any thing saved for retirement, i became more and more anxious.
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herk
Blondie,
You are so right about others besides JWs not planning for the future. It's not by any means the best source of encouragement and comfort, but life isn't as scary when I look around and find that there are many others in as bad a financial situation as I am.
Herk
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35
Did You Put Off Saving For Retirement?
by Shakita ini didn't think that i would ever retire in this system of things.
i felt that long before retirement age the new system would be here and i would have no money worries.
as the years rolled by and i didn't have any thing saved for retirement, i became more and more anxious.
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herk
Anne,
Your story illustrates that wisdom doesn't always come with old age. When I became a JW in the 1940s, the man who studied with our family assured my siblings and me that we wouldn't finish grade school before Armageddon. When I graduated from high school, I should have suspected that I had been misled, but by that time I was convinced that the end was just around the corner.
I started pioneering a few months before I finished school. I had a lot of ups and downs - mostly downs - due to the need for rent money and to pay other expenses, and within two years I had to give up pioneering to work full time. Like some kind of idiot, I got back into pioneering as soon as I could and remained in full-time "service" until I was nearly sixty, depriving myself of many things that people enjoy normally.
The man who studied with us eventually ended up on his death bed due to old age. I made a long trip to visit him. That was 25 years ago. Even while he had less than a day to live, he still felt he would see Armageddon. That should have awakened me to the stupidity of my life course, but it didn't. Instead of realizing that his example lacked any measure of credibility at all, I blindly saw him as an example of faith to the end.
Around the same time, I had a close friendship with two "anointed" couples who were in their eighties and nineties. I'm not kidding when I tell you that after the husbands died both wives expressed to me their doubts that their mates were in heaven or that they themselves would be going there. Instead of realizing that their lives had been spent in futility, I did my best to encourage and assure them concerning what should have been their glorious hope.
My eyes were finally opened unintentionally by a younger person who was just as "zealous" as I was. We loved "the truth," but we were disappointed in ourselves that we had never read the Bible cover-to-cover. We entered into an agreement to do it together by reading several chapters at specified times. That's when I started to discover that the WT said one thing while the context of many verses said something else. That led to sincere questions that rarely received a satisfactory answer from other elders or in letters from the Society. I noticed that some of the other elders had questions similar to mine. Quite often I would be told something like, "Don't mention this to anybody, but here's what has always bothered me about the Society's explanation. ..."
If it hadn't been for that agreement with my younger friend to read the Bible in its entirety, I probably would have ended up on my deathbed like the sad people mentioned above. My friend also developed some doubts, but due to strong family ties remained in the organization.
Today I'm poor and living alone, but I'm not to be pitied. I'm no longer in slavery to an organization that is blind to reality while leading others into that blindness and keeping them there. I'm nearly 70, but in good health with a positive outlook and able to hold a regular job. I have no idea what lies ahead of me for the rest of my life, but I know I will die having a much better understanding of God, life and the Christian hope than I would have had on my death bed as a JW.
I do miss my friends of a lifetime among JWs, and my most earnest wish is that I could somehow reach all of them in a way that would open their eyes to the idiocy of living in bondage to the WT Society. Sadly, most of them will go to their graves not having known the joy that freedom brings.
Herk
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47
WT's Billions $$$$$$$ & and NOT one Nursing Home for the Old
by JT inas i looked at these photos i could not help but to think of the $$$$$$ billions that they own around the world and they have not setup one retirement home for it's members.
outside of any members who are bethelites such as co, do, missionaries who have spent 40-60yr of service to the corp they have no where to go.
how sad.
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herk
ESTEE,
Thanks. I think we agree that the WTS has compounded it's evil regarding nursing homes and the care of the elderly. All too often younger members are kept so busy that they don't have time even to drop by and say hello to older members who are no longer able to contribute anything to the Society's interests. This busy-ness contributes to older ones being forsaken and forgotten when they are in their greatest hours of need.
Reminds me of: "In the last days ... no natural affection." (2 Tim. 3:1-5) As a JW, I think I read that text more than any other as I spoke to householders. Too bad I didn't see sooner that it was speaking to me where it says "and from these turn away."
I read in another thread that your JW daughter ignores you. I also noticed that you're without your mother and grandmother. My father who died a few years ago wouldn't speak to me, and my mother still won't. Neither will my brother and sister. Still, I love them and miss miss them, especially my mom. I'm sure she misses me as her oldest son.
I'm almost certain that your JW relatives have a strong love for you too. It's too bad that a misguided organization stands in the way of them letting you know.
Despite things as they are, I wish you a lovely Mother's Day on Sunday.
Herk
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47
WT's Billions $$$$$$$ & and NOT one Nursing Home for the Old
by JT inas i looked at these photos i could not help but to think of the $$$$$$ billions that they own around the world and they have not setup one retirement home for it's members.
outside of any members who are bethelites such as co, do, missionaries who have spent 40-60yr of service to the corp they have no where to go.
how sad.
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herk
Truthseeker and ESTEE,
I went to the WT property and chiseled in a more appropriate name. I hope they like it when they return from their Saturday field service - and shopping.