OperaBuff

I remember going to the Miracle Mile Shopping Center over in Monroeville, that was back in the 1960s. Maybe the mall was built after I moved away, if I was at the mall I don't remember it.

Gee. I grew up near Evans City, PA which is the town where they filmed Night of the Living Dead. Now I live in Austin, TX where the digital road sign warns of zombies ahead. That's kinda spooky! You don't suppose there's a connection, do you? I really don't believe in such.... oh, hang on, there's a noise outside on my porch... I'm going to go look out the window. ... it's, it's, it's... AAAAAAHHHHH!!!! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Hi eagle709, and welcome. I was a W.O.W. in 75-76 too! Went to Birmingham, AL. After the ROA in 76 I hung up my name tag.

I'm loving all the plastic plants The Way uses on stage. Only the best for God's household. http://www.clusterflock.org/2009/01/the-re...is-the-key.html P.S. Personal note to the boy singer in the video: Closets are for clothes.

Yeah, baby! The video is back!! Why did they name that synthesizer "TRUTH" I wonder? Aw hell never mind, there's too much to wonder over in that video.

My eyes!! My eyes!! OMG Cheranne that was brutal to watch, remind me to never p*ss you off! It's even more brutal to admit that I was there that year. Didn't see myself in the videos though. It's odd that I have almost no memories of my two ROAs, 1975 and 1976. All I can remember is sleeping in a tent (with whom? I have no idea) and a few memories of the WOWs On Parade, or whatever the big tent event was called. Now I'll have to call Barb, she remembers better than I do.

26. Salted coffee.

My WOW year taught me that ketchup soup isn't half bad when you're really hungry, and I spent an entire year being really hungry while living and working in a highly advanced and wealthy country. And don't get me started again about believer coffee. I sometimes wear my old WOW name tag to Halloween parties. To this day I cannot abide people who grin all the time. So all in all, not a success. But I did find it fascinating reading somewhere here in GSC that one day, all by his widdle self, Disco Craig put down his happy stick long enough to announce that the Word had indeed been spread all over the world. Problem is, I was led to believe that when the Word was over the world, the gathering together could finally happen. Yet I'm still here!

This thread healed me. I've been wondering about this subject for decades, and now I know how the clergy thing worked in TWI. Thank you all for posting -- not just for myself, but for all the other newbies. Especially you, DontWorryBeHappy. When I left in 1976 it was just me. For years, I didn't have anybody to talk to about it. Trying to explain TWI to somebody who had not experienced it first-hand was not very helpful, or easy. I haven't laughed until I cried in a long time, Linda Z. Thanks for that paragraph!

IRS audits.

Well, VP forgot about the adultery parts in the Word of God, for sure. And the parts about not stealing. Although, I think what he actually said was, "I've already forgotten more of the Word than that old bird will ever know." I think I got that right. Sheeesh, I sure hope I got it right! I wouldn't want to start doubting myself and contract another case of TVTs.

I had a case of the TVTs once. A shot of penicillin cleared it right up. On STS #746 Vic teaches on Acts 8:27-35, starting about 25 minutes and 50 seconds into the teaching. During his teaching he said, (and God knows I quote): "You can't go beyond what you're taught." His exact words. Give a listen! (hey, that would be a good title for a song..) I once saw Pa*l C*oco sing that song in the nude. No, really! During summer school in 1975, a few of us were goofing around one day in one of the trailers at HQ, just hanging out. In walks Paul wearing nothing but a wet towel, he had just had a shower. All of a sudden he rips off his towel and starts singing at the top of his voice, "I've got something that I'd really like to show you! Give a listen, try to understand..." Haha! Oh. My. God. I hope I am not mis-remembering the title of that song. Sheeesh, now I'm aaall stressssssed ooooout. NOT!!

"Kids, it's the Word and nothing but the Word." He was half-right. It was the Word. Quite a bit of it, in fact. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. But to say there was nothing but the Word? Umm, no. There were other things that mattered immensely to him. There was money. There was power. There was unbridled sex. There was blackmail. There was coercion. Did I mention money?

Cassoulet is a fantastic and flavorful white bean and meat casserole from France that can take days to make, if you follow the old-world recipes. Here's a great shortcut recipe from Jacques Pepin that I have made many times without a hitch. It's all done in one pot, all on the stove top, takes less than an hour from start to finish. http://www.kqed.org/w/jpfastfood/recipes4.html Will keep you warm on these cold winter nights.

That's an amazing and shocking story, Eyes. Thank you for sharing it. The Way International's lawyers must be a very busy bunch.

BG Leonard EW Bullinger JE Stiles VP Wierwille BG EW JE VP GWB JEEP V In ancient Greek, the letter V was frequently preceded by the letters S and U, particularly when the V came at the end of a capitalized string. Hence, we now know that the snow storm was caused by George W Bush driving his JEEP [sU]V all over Texas, which triggered a localized global warming tropospheric inversion, which (when paired with the flat Oklahoma landscape) resulted in a freak snow squall in Tulsa. The squall was visible (there's that V again!) only to male hotel guests and it was powerful enough to cause God's own angels to lie. It's all right there in front of you, people. When are you going to WAKE UP??

Yes, and I like it a lot. In Greece they serve yogurt in ice cream sunday dishes with honey drizzled over the top. Just delicious. Greek yogurt is thicker than what we are used to here in the US. When I can't find this brand I buy another plain yogurt and let it drain for a day or two in the refrigerator to make it thicker. I use a Donvier Yogurt Cheese Maker, works great, I got mine on Amazon.com but it's also sold in stores. If you let the yogurt drain longer, say 3-4 days, it becomes like a cream cheese consistency. Makes an excellent cream cheese substitute for dieting.

Oakspear - what a great interview. Thank you so much for doing it. Your comments on PFAL were very helpful to me, how vp slowly got us to accept more and more without any challenge, without any critical thinking on our part. I feel like I've met two new friends after just listening to your interview with Paw. Hey, I was a deejay on a public radio station in the 90's too! They thought so much of me, they gave me a prized time slot, 3-6 AM Sunday mornings, but I was not dissuaded. At the time I was into modern rock, alternative stuff, my lead-in each week was this song by The Smiths: My signature line on the hour and half hour: "You are listening to KAZU, Pacific Grove. Commercial-free radio on the Monterey Bay." Yeah, baby!

Oh, you never had believer coffee? In my day, we were taught to make coffee for large gatherings by using old used coffee grounds mixed with fresh grounds. Then before brewing, sprinkle some salt on top of the grounds. It saved money you see. The salt was supposed to keep the brewed coffee from tasting like the retrieved garbage it was bitter. It never worked, but we would smile like goofs and Stepford through it.

After a few false starts and missteps, I eventually learned to set and pursue my own goals in my life and not let anyone else set my goals for me. I learned it is actually easier to be a loving, caring Christian if I'm not wearing a corporate name tag on my chest. I learned many good things while in The Way, but my life after The Way has been the better, healthier part of the learning adventure that is my life. I learned that putting salt into coffee is a bad idea, and that if I don't have enough fresh coffee grounds to make a pot of coffee then I should make a pot of tea instead. It has been 32 years since I left. I continue to learn that the Word is still the Word, that God has not changed, and that we reap what we sow.

Mantle, pallium, stole. All are lovely garbs for men. I still prefer a tiara, with a little bling around the neck to balance the look.

The snow job story wasn't in PFAL? Really? Maybe I was hallucinating from the believer coffee, but I sure remember it. Does anyone have a copy of the PFAL class on video or tape?

It would be interesting to know what a psychologist or psychiatrist could tell us about PFAL. Someone who could explain why the snow stories were presented when they were during the class; i.e. why did vp chose to tell those things when he did. How did he psychologically prepare our minds to accept such things? I absolutely believed him when he told them during my first PFAL class. I was hooked. What do I believe about them today? I can't speak to their veracity because I wasn't there with him when they happened. Gosh, nobody else was either. But I know that without those snow stories, and without the story of him hearing the voice of God audibly, I wouldn't have been hooked the way I was.

Talented magicians amaze too sometimes, but they aren't really doing what they appear to be doing. They just get your mind to believe they are doing it. Same can of worms. Wherever you go Hopefull, be where you are.

No. No one would ever fault him. But, oh please, don't throw in the towel. Pass the baton.