Ham

Yep. Sheer misery.. sometimes, I think the whole point of it all really WAS to bring the ministry down. They certainly were successful in running off tens of thousands of dedicated followers. And Rosies little pinky is well, fatter than the size of Loy's loins.. But just when the staff gets a little comfortable in their misery, they've gotta come up with new mandates, new hoops to jump through, new requirements. And they apparently have not moderated any of the insanity- from the best I can tell. But it just keeps going on and on- one more little sacrifice, just one more little duty to perform. They've got those poor devils trying to bear up the weight of the whole world, then some. At least one of them left with far less than one stomach. Wouldn't it be nice to just be able to stand up and tell ole Rose to stick it up her a**?

I wish I could go through this kind of crap in an acceptable way too. Praying with you.

Heh heh heh. Too bad they didn't offer at the ROA when garbage bags of moolah were going on their appointed rounds. I remember one of those little meetings. And the eyes of everybody was on that little basket, looking to see if anybody really was going to take the offer.

ha ha ha ha ha.. But you know, your feelings could be pretty right about stuff like this.. Lets see. Need a life, or psychoanalysis.. Personally, I could perhaps use both. Only working on one though, can't afford the price of the other.. by the time I can, it probably won't make a heck of a lot of difference! But as far as human nature is concerned, I think I get it.. seems little things, little opinions are far more important to some than a million or so people on the other side of the world sick or dead. I'm not speaking for everybody, but those kind of things are just, inconceivable- unless you see it, or if it happens to you. Maybe personal opinions on small matters are more important to individuals because in that category, they have a little more control. Can't stop the car bombing in Lebanon, or equally bad things, but the person can "pin the devil's ears back" in their own little world, so to speak..

Northern Michigan is kind of nice, if you can stand the winters here. Real nice in the summer though.

If I were you, I wouldn't buy the idea that I am some kind of Tokyo Rose, taunting the boys in the ranks with inuendo about how their girlfriends are sleeping with their cousins back in the good ole USA or something.. You keep supporting that pile called a ministry- giving God a black eye at almost every turn- you are on the wrong side of the war. What you represent is not worth the fight, or the sacrifice. It MAY have been, once.

Or even to be able to sit down for supper, without listening to the ramblings and obscene angry outbursts from a madman.. Don't know how it is now, but that's the way it was, for a VERY LONG TIME. Think things are better? Wait till the next generation gets ahold of the thing.. You've trained them well.

Or even to have a job, that there is at least an INKLING of a hope that one day, many years from now, you may actually be able to RETIRE. The way I see it, there were only three jobs in the whole joint that could be enjoyed in an "emeritus" fashion. Now there are five.

Or even to have a REAL job, that: You wouldn't get raked over hot coals, for calling in sick because you had the stinking flu and 104 deg temperature. Even more than once a year. That you would work your forty hours, go home, enjoy your family with NO OTHER OBLIGATIONS. No other after hour responsablilities to "da boss". A job that, in between handling mountains of paperwork, you are not required to clean the parking lot, which has been assaulted with large oil leaks from the typical follower's cars. A job that, you are not "reamed a couple of new ones" for merely disagreeing with the boss. To have a job, that there is actually a small hope of self-improvement, or advancement. That you could make an income, sufficient to rent or buy a place, so you can go home and relax or sleep, somewhere other than WHERE YOU WORK. Personally, I really like the work that I do, but enough is enough.. Honestly- when I am tempted to think life is unkind, unfair, to complain about my job, I stop and think. It could be a LOT worse. I could have been on staff at HQ.

My impression is that he wanted all the benefits of being da driver of da coach without any of the responsabilities.

That's not too bad. Sometimes, I forget what I come into a room to look for. I often have to go back out and in several times in the hopes of jarring my memory of what it was I was supposed to remember. I wonder what the neighbors think..

Or it could be the icons got mixed up with all of those darn herbal viagra emails out there in cyber-space.. They probably decided to violate their weekly schedule, and take a detour without travelling by two's through hotmail or something. Internet debils got em, real good..

Maybe Paw is putting fertilizer on them..

Yep. Or wouldn't it be nice- to be able to make a stop, an UNSCHEDULED stop, ANYWHERE. Honestly. The devil is not lurking behind McDonald's, whispering and gesturing to you to deviate from your scheduled flight path, into the ravening bowels of destruction. Believe me. I've been there hundreds of times, without a schedule, and GASP! BY MYSELF. Haven't got jumped by devils, at least to this day. Maybe Ronald McDonald is hanging out behind there waiting for some poor sap, but I've never seen devils. How childish, to treat grown adults like that.. And very very sad.

Or to be able to spend more than ten hours a week with your favorite hobby. Naw, just dreaming I guess..

Wouldn't it be nice: Just to ENJOY LIFE. No guilt about it. Really. Just to be able to do something for the community, and not have the haunting thought that you are contributing to a "second rate cause". Maybe just to have the pleasure of taking a few college science classes and learning how the universe REALLY works, or at least the best that is known for now..

Even from a pessimistic "what if" attitude: what if: You lose your job. Well, if you are on track with today's work skills, that should be no problem. Unless you've been "busy" kissing TWI's backsides on some "cushy" staff job for years- then you are in for some real trouble.. What if the economy goes completely to pot. So what? If the economy went completely "south", either way, if you rent, or if you are buying, you're still gonna be in a heap of crap. Is that what they are really making people afraid of? The possibility of NOT being able to meet their obligations? I think it boils down to TWI's "greatest enemy"- fear.

Well, now that you ask.. "Forced sex" Deuteronomy 22: 28 If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; 29 Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days. Where does the woman have any say in this, AT ALL? Can't imagine what it would be like to be married to the jerk that "laid hold on her".. "abandonment of one's children.." Deuteronomy 21: 18 ¶ If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: 19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; 20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. I would call that abandonment, to the extreme. "justification of the destroying of ones brother" Deuteromy 6: 6 ¶ If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; 7 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; 8 Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: 9 But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. Not that I necessarily approve of worshipping other gods, but there it is.. Forced abortion, justification of covering up felonies, forced divorces- I think the other themes were contrived out of the bible by evil men. But back to the subject at hand. Myself, I would offer no opinion or criticism about anything Harry Potter. I never read the books, I never saw the movies. I could not give an honest assessment, nor would I by default agree with one that had any particular religious axe to grind. No fascination with Harry for me.

Honestly, I pity the poor devils.. I like that term. Its so, un-Wayish. Staffers just gotta suffer for the lord, I guess..

Mud slinging party? Naw. More like "food fight!" This is a Cafe, after all.

Wouldn't it be nice.. To enroll your child in a karate, or dance class, or music lessons.. To be able to disagree with your employer, about ANYTHING. To be able to study the Bible, on your own. To be able to spend what little money you have, as YOU see fit. To be able to spend Thanksgiving, with your own family. Just to be able to take your family, put them in YOUR car, and take them out for a nice, unscheduled ride in the country on a nice, Sunday afternoon..

Cripe, these aren't even HALF of the freedoms outside of the Gulag called The Way International. Not even half.

To live in a REAL house. Not the paper thin walls of founders hall, or in a defunct trailer.. To go on a honest to goodness, real, old fashioned VACATION. Even for just a whole week. No strings, no obligations, maybe even just BY YOURSELF. No reporting to superiors where you're going, who's going with you, who you are going to talk to, what you are going to talk about, just telling them when you are leaving, and when you are coming back. To have no extra demands on your time and talents, past a normal forty hour work week. To be able to have kids, without a committee deciding when and if you can. To have a few stinking pets. Maybe just a dog, or a cat.. To be able to spend a decent amount of time with relatives, who are not involved in da Vey, without close scrutiny from your superiors. To be able to just go to the bathroom without signing out on some dreaded form. To have sex with your spouse, when and if you and he/she sees fit. To have cable or satellite TV. To have just a FEW guarantees in life.

Nice how the "pick and choose" what they want. What about "the laborer is worthy of his hire" and "thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn"? They have violated the mandate of love, even in the law, for so many years, I would say enough is enough. Let the "unbelievers" court system have em. What can they do? Fire every stinking staffer and start over? Have Li**er run every one of them out on a rail? I think not. It would be a public relations nightmare and black eye worse than anything else they have endured in the past. Staffers have more power over them than they could possibly imagine. Perhaps they just don't know it..

A lot of the children's activities were kind of nice. The train, the ride on the (1929?) red fire engine, even a petting zoo one time I remember. All kinds of stuff beyond the children's fellowship. I remember when they blocked off a parking lot and filled it with water, even older folks enjoyed it to get out of the heat. I kind of thought it was neat, that the ministry was actually growing up in a sense, and trying to do something to bless families- i.e., those with younger kids. Sure didn't last long.. With current conditions, I bet there are not very many young kids there, for anything. Kind of sad in a way.