waysider

"Do you really believe that Wierwille has done anything close to deserving eternal death?" Not my call to make. After hearing accounts of his physical disgressions,though, it has occurred to me that , as heinous as they were, they didn't compare to how he spiritually raped some of us, depriving us of ever trusting any organized religion or organization again. edited for spelling error

Well, there you have it. Now we have a thread of good and a thread of bad. Maybe we could do the Ben Franklin thing where we make two lists and see which outweighs the other.

Well, this is off topic, but I couldn't resist the chance to respond to it. ChattyKathy mentioned that our ABS is used to help fund TWIs' monitoring activities of GSC . I'm not sure exactly why, but it kinda tickles me that my hard earned dollars are being wasted to see if my hard earned dollars are being wasted. Anothern---------You can't change the past. If it helps with your recovery to "spill your guts", I'm more than happy to offer a receptive ear. As a parent,myself, I can understand the disdain others may feel. But, hey, Would it be better if you had just kept this information hidden? If it's OK with you, I will pray for your continued recovery.

If no anecdotal evidence is produced, how can anyone possibly remember the good or bad things VPW did for The Way Ministry? "Hey! I'm just sayin'------Stop yellin' at me!"

Chuck Norris = Lone Wolf McQuade =Walker, Texas Ranger. Man! ------This trinity stuff is really starting to gel for me! Oh sorry, that's on another thread.

Sorry Belle. I was just having a little fun. Thank you for posting that thought provoking information. Good to see your posts again. edited for spelling.

UMMM.------------ Is there any wheat gluten in beer? No particular reason for asking.-------Just wondering. :unsure: :unsure:

Ummm. Did you want it to be?

Kathy------DialThis is fine, though his wife could use a few prayers regarding her ongoing struggle with diabetes. I will tell him you inquired. I'm sure it will bring a smile to his face. Is that off topic? Maybe not. It's all about connecting with friends,right?

I can't do anything high tech here so I haven't been able to look/listen to this. I do know ,though, that David Seville used to create the "Chipmunk" music by performing in a regular voice while the recording tape ran at a slow speed. He would then play it back/record it at normal speed and thus create that high pitched chipmunk sound and yet maintain & preserve the correct metre so as not to sound like a tape that was being played at high speed. Of course, this digital world we live in makes all that stuff much simpler to do.

VPW was "the real deal". Was he? Please define what it means to be "the real deal". Maybe then we'll have an objective criteria by which to judge.

Oh, for goodness sake! Maybe poor Elmo is overdo for a good tickle. HeeHeeHee. BTW---My real name is Rumplestiltskin Rabinowitz-JonesIII. Now tell me. If you had that name, would" Waysider" be so out of the question?

Great idea, Polar Bear :eusa_clap:

"More harmonica in the home" Hey! that's what I thought it said on the green card! That's why I took "the class". Believe it or not, there is actually a book titled "Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers(The Evolution of the People's Instrument)" by Kim Field. Pretty good book if you have any interest in the history of the instrument or bios of key players. Kinda lengthy for the casual reader, though(325 pgs.) It has some great black and white photos too. "Have fun while you can, fate's an awful thing." THE T-BONE SHUFFLE by T-Bone Walker :)

This is not directed at any particular post or poster. I was never in the WC so I never had to write the aforementioned paper. I do recall, however, having to fill out a rather personal questionnaire as part of the Christian Family and Sex class.(as a student) Later, as a class instructor, I recall having the students fill out the same questionnaire and being instructed by HQ to immediately seal them in an envelope without looking at them and sending them to HQ. This would have been in about'73 or '74. What was the purpose of this? Was it somehow related to all this stuff? I don't know the answer to those questions. Seeing it in retrospect, however, it is kinda creepy to think of a so-called "ministry" having any valid need to know personal information of this nature about people they were not professionally counselling or actively involved with in some sort of therapy. Anybody remember those questionnaires?

Lots of chromatic blues players out there to serve as role models. Check out Rod Piazza. He plays that big octive style that has become so popular. Kim Wilson and Mitch Kashmar, too. Then, of course were the giants, William Clarke and Paul Delay who are no longer with us. But the granddaddy of them all was George"Harmonica" Smith who taught and mentored so many great players throughout his career.

Man, is it hot in here or is it me? I don't think anyone is denying the fact that there were many fine men and women in The Way. Nor do I think anyone is ignoring that there were local areas where these things were not the norm. The fact remains, however, that this line of thinking and modus operandi was deeply rooted at the highest level. Herein lies the gist of the issue, at least in my opinion. We are discussing what happened at the International Headquarters level, not what happened in Philly, LA, Detroit or Cleveland.(Lot's of good stuff happened in Cleveland.I know because I was there) We are discussing the reality that VPW said one thing and did quite another. We are discussing the fact that he had an inner circle of people who knew full well what was really going on and participated as well. We are discussing the reality that lots and lots of innocent people were duped by VPs' deliberate falsehoods and many paid a very high price for their involvement even though they may have participated quite innocently with the best of intentions in their hearts. And lastly, we are faced with having to admit to ourselves that we were commited, heart and soul, to a cause that was,perhaps, built on false pretenses. edited for typos

Polar Bear-------Congratulations! That 64 is one mighty fine piece of equipment. Mighty fine! As you may know, the chromatic is as much a different instrument from the diatonic as the sax is from the trumpet. I have a 64 (4 octave) as well as several 3 octave chromatics. I play them mainly in third position because I play blues. This means that your 64, which is in C Major, would be used to play in D. (That danged circle of fifths again). The advantage of the 3 octave models is that they are available in a variety of keys other than C but they don't have that lower octave that is the signature of the 64. If you have never played a harmonica before, the first stumbling block you will face is learning to play single notes. The most common way to approach this on a chromatic is to use what is called tongue blocking. Using this method, you place your mouth over 4 holes and use your tongue to cover the 3 holes to the left of the hole you want. This technique is especially important if you choose to play classical pieces because some passages require a reversal of the blocked side. It can be quite frustrating to develope this technique. What I personally recommend, is that, at least for starters, you learn what is called the "U" block. To do this, you roll your tongue into a "u" shape and place it under the hole you have chosen. Even if you choose to abandon this method in favor of tongue blocking,you will at least have overcome the frustration of learning how to get a single note. (Don't force it into this position, just let it relax) This will probably seem natural for you because it resembles the embouchure used to play trumpet. One very good place to get supplies and instructionals is a place called "The Best Li'l Harp House". I don't know how to link you but goggle will take you right there. I like the series that Charlie Musselwhite has because it parallels diatonic lessons beside chromatic lessons but this may not be what you are after because it is focused on blues. Another good place to check out is called "harp-l". It is a forum where, on any given day, you are likely to find posts from novices to world renown classical players. Some of the best players in the world come here to nurture and encourage. Good luck! it's the only instrument that is played both on the inhale as well as the exhale(as far as I know)

WG-----Yeah! I remember Randy. I didn't personally know him like I knew you or your hubby but he always seemed like a straight up kind of guy to me. So sorry to hear of his passing. Please accept my belated condolences. Waysider

MMMMM! Bach on classical guitar! Now we're gettin' somewhere!

As an organization, I don't think they are likely to cease to exist. Consider, if you will, The Malthusians( followers of Thomas Malthus), The International Order Of Odd Fellows/Rebekahs, The Flat Earth Society, etc. All TWI has to do is stay under the radar and maintain a semblence of existance in order to survive. Please note that I have not singled out the above organizations to suggest that they have negative implications. I am merely citing these to illustrate that organizations that may be completely unknown to the general populace have managed to endure the test of time. The question that I ponder is; what ,if any, role will they play in the general scheme of things and especially in the religious community? My personal opinion is that as a spiritual beacon, their light has been extinguished for quite some time now.

"MI MI MI----LA LA LA" Oops, sorry ---You said "fat lady." There was a thread awhile back about biblical scholars that, if I remember correctly, may have mentioned some "real" ministers that were involved with The Way. How about Rev. Tracy and Peter Wade? Were Doop and Heefner ministers before the "Jesus Movement"? This part I don't recall. I don't know if Bishop Pillai was truly involved, but his name certainly got dropped in a manner that seemed to be meant to lend credability.

"The evil men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones. So let it be with Caesar." As to "Are The Dead Alive Now?"---------I believe the origin of that text has been discussed here at GSC and can be found in the archives.(Nudge, nudge--Wink, wink)

Bolshevik I think your question was relevent and not at all a derail. I have a special relationship with both my parents even though they are two distinctly different individuals. Maybe "relationship" isn't the best word to describe what TWI devalued regarding Jesus. There was always an inordinate emphasis placed on Christ Jesus (the resurrected one) and very little discussion of Jesus Christ(the man). Trinity or no trinity, we learned very little about Jesus, the man , and instead talked about how we ourselves took his place on Earth after the ascention(to the extent that we represented The Word, as Jesus Christ WAS The Word) What could possibly be so wrong with reading the gospels and learning how Jesus handled himself in day to day life? Yet, that is not the approach that was taken in TWI(at least during my involvement which was primarily in the '70's and early '80's.) Personally,I believe in praying to God with Jesus being my advocate. But again, I think that maybe that discussion is just a red herring diverting us from coming into a knowledge of Jesus, a man just like us in so many ways.

I have been removed from the situation too long to know one way or the other. If it is true, though , I should think it would be on a level of importance that parallels the death of VPW from something he himself proclaimed to be devil possession.