waysider

No, I don't think they planned it. It just oozed from their pores like sweat from a Sumo wrestler.

Amen to that, Brother!

How is "life" being defined?

Oh, swell. NOW you tell me!

Hi, TL We always have a pot of freshly brewed coffee waiting for you.

A big part of what fueled the controversy(IMO) is that the right hand had no idea what the left hand was doing. So, someone in, let's say Wyoming, becomes suspicious of activities in Wyoming. What reason do they have to suspect that similar activity is taking place in New Jersey? Even more important is the fact that we were trained specifically NOT to think such things of our brothers and sisters. There must be something spiritually wrong with us to even "allow the adversary" to plant these ideas in our heads. And if someone from New Jersey should suggest such thoughts to someone in Wyoming--- well, we all know how that would have been received. In Fellow Laborers, we had no phones except for the very expensive public phone at the local truck stop which was situated in the wide open space by the front door. There were no cell phones, no internet, not even a trip to the post office in town without prior approval, as the Post Office was only open during work hours. All lights were to out by midnight and there was no talking. (That part was usually not a problem as we were usually in a chronic state of fatigue.) You never knew who would "rat you out" for expressing doubts so you always walked on egg shells in regard to expressing opinions. Did people still express opinions? Yep-- Until they they got the ceremonious bum's rush . We weren't allowed to ask questions or talk about them. We were supposed to carry on like they had never been there. This part is quite different from the Corps experiences I have seen here that describe how the "offenders" were publicly trashed at lunch. The only thing we knew to do was to walk in pairs or small groups to the local truck stop(Wayside Truck Stop) during our 1/2 hour or so of free time before "lights out" and carefully compare notes, all the while wondering if the other person was trustworthy. And these issues didn't even include the now famous sexcapades!! What else were we supposed to do? We lived in an isolated cloister except for the time we spent at our 9-5 jobs. And surely you wouldn't go there and try to entrust your concerns to the very unbelievers you were trying to convert. It was all a very confusing time and circumstance.

Hiya, Mark Happy Birthday to you!!

Here's hoping it's a good one!

Ry Cooder Jesus On The Mainline

Re: Creativity In my pre-TWI days I wrote constantly-----poems, short stories, lyrics, music, impressions, etc. It just seemed to ooze out of me. Like the old blues song by Junior Parker said, "It's in him and it's gotta come out". The Way, of course, convinced me that was an invitation to evil consequences. Now, even after all these years of being gone, I still struggle to write anything "creative". Maybe it was The Way that changed me, maybe it was a series of life events, or maybe that's just what time does to us all. Now, I play a little bit of jazz and blues. Not very well, I'm afraid. That's not an attempt at humility. I just have no desire to delude myself about my abilities. But, I will add this: I play a style that is rather free-form. I don't make any conscious effort to memorize fancy riffs and runs and what-nots. I just play what ever I "hear" in my head. That's kind of a hard thing to explain to someone who has never been introduced to improvisation. So, anyway, maybe by doing that, I am simply expressing the same creativity that I used to years ago. I've simply found a new type canvas on which to paint.

Yes, one of my very favorite songs.

Nope.(Not that I know of.) I believe you are thinking of H@gh H3fner, not Steve H33fner. It gets confusing sometimes when characters are used instead of letters.

I don't think Wierwille sat and planned his control strategies either. They just flowed from him as fluently as jazz flowed from John Coltrane's horn.

Hmmmmm? Here's a wild guess. Is it a song by Journey? :P

There are places I'll remember all my life, though some have changed.

Sorry, Z. Didn't mean to insult you personally. It's not my cup of tea. If it works for you, then cool beans. Hope things go to your liking at your new venture. waysider

http://student.ccp.edu/student/student24/kerry.html

Hi Jeff That would make a cool bumper sticker!

Sorry I didn't derail it on purpose. To answer the question: Yes, I bought "the whole ball of wax" for probably my first five years or so. The wax started melting in front of me during the time I spent in Fellow Laborers. A lot of it was gone by the time I graduated. WARNING! Musical derailment to follow! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXp1hYM9kTk

Some people who had good judgment made good decisions. The inverse is true as well. But the real point, IMO, is that there was no bona fide system in place to qualify individuals as purveyors of sound advice. That doesn't mean that no one ever gave sound advice. It just means that "even a broken clock is right twice a day". And yes, I too heard wierwille expound on how the "real" higher powers were the elders of the church. And, of course, we all know he didn't mean just any old church, now did he?

Me too ------more than once

WW Video cassettes first became available in the early 1970's. Prior to that, such material would have been on film. They were known as "smokers". Prior to the introduction of the video tape player, PLAF (The Wonder Class) was presented on reel-to-reel audio tape and on film. It was cumbersome and frustrating trying to get some of that old equipment to function properly. HQ was reluctant to foot any of the cost of maintaining equipment in the field. Frequently, we had to buy our own bulbs and splicing supplies. I even based my car buying decisions on whether or not the trunk could fit all the gear. Then, in the early '70s, the Beta machine was introduced. They had "playback only" capabilities. Wierwille jumped on the bandwagon. He put PLAF on Beta tapes and sent Beta machines to larger areas. When Beta format was being quietly pushed aside in preparation for the introduction of VHS, Wierwille offered a special one time "deal" to select individuals in the field. If you went through him directly, you could buy your very own Beta machine for the incredibly low price of-------$800!! Well, I guess that went off topic but if he bought anything when he was in San Francisco, it would have had to have been in the form of a "smoker". Of course, he could have replaced it with a cassette once they became available. He was a snake oil salesman.

I have wondered if, perhaps, VPW's bizarre ideas and behavior might have been the result of late stage syphilis. It's not infectious at this point. No, I'm not saying he had syphilis, I am only saying I have wondered. If he did, it would certainly explain a lot, including his physical ailments.

When, as a child, you first begin to doubt the authenticity of Santa Claus, to whom can you turn? Your parents, your peers? Tough call, that's for sure.