When my husband was 17 and home on leave from the Marine Corps before shipping out to Viet Nam, he was walking down the road one early evening when he was struck by an 18-wheeler. He got caught underneath and was dragged for a quarter mile before getting loose and shooting out the back of the truck and nearly getting run over by the car behind. He was pronounced dead at the scene but an EMT realized he wasn't so rushed him into the local hospital. The doctor told his parents that he didn't have enough hands to do everything that had to be done, so his legs were straightened out (could hear him screaming all over the hospital), he was sandbagged and rushed to a larger hospital 50 miles away. He ended up in a coma for a few months. When he woke up and was told about the accident, he had a heart attack. He was crushed from the pelvis down. He went through surgery every week to repair the damage. He had his first artificial hip put in when he was 19. The military discharged him because he was medically unfit for duty and never paid a penny for his disability because they insisted he was on leave - not hurt in the line of duty. The truck was coming from the local paper mill and was way overweight. A few years later, he had a lawsuit against the paper mill and when it went to court, their lawyer took him aside and told him if he continued with the suit, the paper mill would fire his grandfather, father, uncle and any other relative he had working there. So, he dropped the suit and never received a penny for his injuries. He has been on total disability since 1979. We met in 1998 amd married in 2001. Some people were shocked that I was marrying a guy who can't hold a job and who very well may end up in a wheelchair one day (yes, despite his injuries he can walk... he's full of metal parts) In 2005 he underwent a fourth hip replacement and bone grafting in his pelvis. He can't remember what it is like to live without pain and walk normally. The disability he gets is not enough to live on so I work two jobs to help make ends meet. But he's an incredible guy and I can't imagine my lfe without him.
aarque
JoinedPosts by aarque
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37
The Person you were Engaged to Marry had an Accident & became a Paraplegic
by new boy in.................would you go through with the marriage or back out of it?
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Describe a typical Saturday for a jw child
by carla inplease describe a typical saturday for a jw child.
reason being my jw once told me that all jw children love the door to door (yeah right) and they have all afternoon to play.
don't they need to get ready for the sunday service?
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aarque
I remember weekends as a kid, and there was very little fun time ( this was in the 1960's...we were raised in borg). The Ministry School and Service meetings were on Friday nights. So, we'd get home from school, clean up, eat dinner, and out the door for a 2+ hour meeting which meant getting to bed past the usual bedtime. We had to get up early Saturday mornings for field service and we would hit the doors by 9am and work until noon or longer, with no coffee breaks. (we never heard of such a thing until a special pioneer from Kansas joined our congregation in the late '60s and was shocked that we didn't take breaks) When we finally got home, we had chores to do. I looked forward to Saturday nights. We would get chips or other snacks and all of us (parents and three sibling and self) would sit and watch "Saturday Night at the Movies" (remember that program? They showed some great movies.) Sundays we had to get up early to get ready because there were so many of us. The talk and WT study started at 1PM and sometimes ended around 4 (there was a bit of an intermission between the two meetings). We'd go home, change, eat dinner, do our chores, then get to bed early since it was a school night. The only free nights, Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays were for home bible studies (which were squeezed in when my dad was at work since he was not a JW), chores and meeting prep and homework and sometimes extra field service. I learned early on to get as much homework done is school as possible. We just did it... we didn't know any other kind of life. Our lives completely revolved around the hall. In the summer when school was out, we did extra field service. We lived on a very busy street and had no yard, so playing outside was extremely limited. When I was older, early teens, I would escape to the library whenever I could; it was my refuge. (maybe that's why I've been a librarian for 36 years) Looking back, it's a wonder we didn't all rebel (one sibling did, ended up disfellowshipped for years and we totally shunned her, as required. She was reinstated years later, but our relationship has suffered and things between her and the rest of us have never been right since.) We had no time for friends and no time for any real fun. and it has affected us to this day... all four of us are socially awkward, have no close friends, and would rather be by ourselves. It was a terrible way to grow up...
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What Double Standards Exist With Jehovah's Witnesses?
by minimus into be a "good jehovah's witness" you must be able to live by double standards.
you have to know how to play both sides to the middle.
you have to speak and act one way with certain persons and another way with the others.. one example of how witnesses live by double standards:you cannot join the ymca because jws can't involve themselves with religious matters or else be shunned.
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aarque
They will take advantage of any kind of social services that is offered, yet will not support this country in anything, such as military duty. This is an extreme sore point with my husband, especially during 2005 when his son was in Iraq.
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The many ways Jehovah's Witnesses harm children
by under_believer inwas talking with my therapist this morning and i made the comment "i guess i don't mind if she is a witness as long as it doesn't harm the kids.
" this got me thinking about all the ways that being raised as witnesses harms or can harm children.
1) teaches children to have an air of superiority regarding other human beings.
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aarque
Being raised a JW is also socially backwards... not being able to have friends on the outside, and close friends on the inside were frowned upon. So, my sisters and I to this day are not close to anyone except each other. Even being out all these years hasn't made a difference... none of us can get past that "wall" that exists between us and the rest of the world. We know a lot of people, but don't have any close friends at all.
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List What Things Jehovah's Witnesses Are NOT
by minimus inhere's a few-------jws are not "the happiest people on earth".
they are not the "most educated people on earth" in spite of their enrollment in the theocratic ministry school.. witnesses are not the best neighbors because they won't involve themselves with you unless they can preach to you.. .
any others to make up the list??
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aarque
NOT open-minded
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Were you a "Born-In", or were you "Converted"?
by Warlock ini was converted in the early 1980's.. warlock .
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aarque
Born in, faded out in the late 70's... and must have been totally invisible all those years in because no one has ever tried to contact me since.
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"You'll never even get to finish school in this System of Things....."
by WingCommander inthis statement was often echeod to me during my formative years.
i remember my very first day of elementary school (stateside) at the age of 4. my parents were flustered because they couldn't believe they actually had to start their only child into public school to begin with; after all, the end was right around the corner!
this was 1984, the year the first apple mac was introduced, 80's music was loud and in your face, the delorean was cool, and miami vice was just in production.
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aarque
I remember as a kid being scared silly when the service meeting had demonstrations of how to change one's appearance so that authorities couldn't find you when you were out in service... how we would have to meet in secret when the work was banned and couldn't meet as a congregation... how missing just one meeting could mean a matter of life and death. I remember being scared out of my wits when the overseer threatened me with dying at Armageddon because I couldn't sit still during the meetings. I remember being scared a lot as a kid because of Armageddon, because of death, because I feared being destroyed for not being good enough. It's a hell of a way to grow up...
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Feeling a little sorry for ourselves...
by exwitless inlittle drummer boy and i have struggled our entire married lives in just about every way: financially, emotionally, religiously, you name it.
it's like nothing ever comes easy for us.
just when one sorta good thing happens, something a whole lot worse happens and ruins our optimism.
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aarque
I can relate. It's been a struggle on all levels for us, too. My husband is totally disabled, so I work two jobs (six days a week most of the time) to help make ends meet. My sweetie would give anything just to be able to work and he can't, ( in April 1971 at age 17 he was struck by an 18-wheeler and crushed from the hips down... underwent a 4th hip replacement in 2005 and has been in constant pain for years) In 2005 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and in 2006 had a second cancer. We are now still trying to dig our way out of the resulting financial problems from back then. We "go to the movies" every Saturday night (borrow DVDs from the library, make popcorn and turn out the lights) we cook together (amazing stuff can be done with a box of mac and cheese!) Somehow we manage to muddle through.
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Sometimes It Snows in April
by prophecor inwinter has given me a wonderful reprieve from the portals of summer's appearance.
it's snowing, and its april, prince never could have said it any better.. .
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jnaon3ttj9u.
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aarque
It's been snowing on and off here in northern NY since Wednesday... and it's supposed to be like this through the next week.... UGH.......I've had enough. My husband still talks about the snowstorm that hit on Mother's Day several years ago. So sometimes it snows in May, too.
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73
Most annoying Kingdom song
by Billzfan23 inmine would have to be "dark days are here!
men live in fear!....
" followed by the annoying change to a happy beat before the chorus "but the bible gives us a reason for cheer.." .
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aarque
I remember a song that partly went:
"Once with confusion our sad heart were filled/Drinking the cup that tradition distilled..."
and the chorus went something like...
"Take sides with Jehovah/Make him your delight/He'll never forsake you/Walk e're in his light/Tell, tell the glad tiding/Of freedom and peace..."
People had trouble hitting the high note when singing "peace" ... it usually sounded all screechy.
Another one I remember went something like "Be glad you nations with his people.." I think it was in the green songbook which was before the pink one.
I remember when the pink songbooks first came out. For the service meeting, my three sisters and I were asked to sing one of the songs... about the Shulamite maiden, accompanied by piano. We sang it through, then song sheets were handed out and everyone sang it at the end of the meeting.
For the most part, the songs were dull and boring.
i've been to two Catholic funerals in the past month: my aunt on March 3 and uncle on April 3 (they were brother and sister) At both services (different churches) the same song was done. Part of it went: " and they raised you up on eagle's wings..." It was a beautiful song and made me cry both times.