Mary Cate

Hi Ex, TJ had just left Gunnison when I got there in rez. I think he had enough of me when he had to put up with me during ROA '84. He told me I didn't show enough "reverence" towards the Wierwille family and that he would make a phone call and have my assignment changed to going out WOW. (like that was a bad thing??) He didn't know what to say when I told him nothing would make me happier and I'd start working on getting my money together. Either he didn't make the phone call or whoever he called didn't answer because I spent my interim year with the D and W Wierwille household. The time I spent with D and W wasn't too bad. TJ was at Emporia my last year in rez, but he never spoke to me for the couple of weeks I was there. I thought he'd look for the chance to make my life hell because I said a few other things to him during his stay at chez Wierwille that left him pezzed off and/or speechless. Not sure why he didn't. I think he was too preoccupied with cleaning up a Martindale mess. Weird happenings that year... Mr. vicramsey, What does WERD mean? Why won't you tell us? I never even wanted the da-am drapes.

vicramsey, Were you joking or serious? Maybe you could tell me what bee leaving axion Juan would take if Juan were to pray for a tornado to not drop a house on Juan's local cult leader.

Bowtwi, My chihuahua, Rosa, was potty trained when I adopted her. She is very funny and soo-o-o-o cute. She sleeps with me and loves to snuggle. When we drive, she sleeps on my lap for hours at a time. I wish I had a job where I could take her to work. Tom, Of course you scare me. ;)--> Do you think I should call Camp Gunnison and ask if they'd pray for red grapes?

Ummmm.... The red drapes for the dog house... was a joke. Apparently a misunderstood one, and maybe a bad one. Maybe no one remembers the red drapes from PFAL. If I really wanted red drapes, I would go to the store and get some. I was up to late, bein' way too goofy and now I have to go and get that triple shot espresso so I can function at work. Toodles....

Excuse me, but I think they have the word "re-search" mixed up with the word "re-cycle". Or would it be compost?

Since I still can't get to sleep (tomorrow's going to be a triple shot espresso morning) I'll just respond to myself again. My dog doesn't really have a dog house. My house is her house which would mean if Way Boy's prayer worked, I'd have to live with the red drapes. I hate drapes of any color. I am much more of a plain wash and wear curtain type of person.

Oh, and when I was there, I had to see what it was like to talk to a devoted Corps or staff innie. After I did my driving up in the public lands, I drove up County Road 9 and stopped at the gatehouse. There was someone there manning the post. I asked a couple of questions about the camp without identifying myself as anything other than a tourist - an eccentric one at that. The guy started in on the Wayspeak. I was very pleased with myself to realize these people no longer frighten me, I just find them very annoying. I thanked the young man and told him that was nothing I was interested in and left. In hindsight, I should have asked him if he would pray for my dog to get a dog house with red drapes. My dog, a 4 lb chihuahua, was all dressed up in her cute little western ensemble -denim jacket and miniature red bandanna. She was so cute and polite, how could he have refused?

When I was in Gunnison visiting a very good ex-Way friend, I took a drive by the camp (from the BLM side, of course). The place looked desserted. Do those people ever take advantage of the beautiful location they live in? When I was there on staff under the Strzxxx regime, he did his best to make sure no one rafted the river, rode the horses or did anything to enjoy the beauty of that place. I have often wondered why they don't just sell the place to someone who wants to use it to enjoy God's great outdoors rather than hole up in the buildings "studying the Word". Any recent innies ever heard of them doing anything on the river? Do they still have the horses?

Wacky, I told your joke at work today. It got some laughs. I roared when I first read it. It reminds me of my Irish grandmother's humor.

Thanks, excath, imbus and danny. My interim year was hard, but I left TWI a lot quicker because of it. I saw things that people on the field didn't see first hand. They only got to see the "show" that HQ put on for them so they'd keep sending in their money.

Thanks, smitty. I am just glad that I got out when I did and learned to be skeptical-now that I am old. Uncle Hairy, But I did tell you what I really think. ;)-->

I remember the weeks before, the day of his death and being at the man's funeral. I lived with Don and Wanda Wierwille that year as their interim Corps housekeeper. One of many things I learned that year was that VP was a horrible father. I had developed a real dislike of the guy before he died. When he was laying in his motorcoach death bed, Don, Wanda and the kids would go to sit with Mrs. W everynight for almost a week. They seemed to be in such pain over a man that used them like props for his ministry/business. When VPW would come to Don and Wanda's...well... I'll just leave it at he really pizzed me off at how he treated his own family. What everyone saw on stage at the ROAs was a good show but not real. The night Don and Wanda came home and told me the old fart had just died, I thought: Good riddance. As I watched them lower the casket into the ground at his funeral, I was relieved. I knew my friend whom he'd been trying to molest all year would be left alone. Maybe she would not be sick all of the time anymore. I knew I wouldn't have to sit next to the basturd when he'd come for dinner. He somehow thought all of us housekeeper types were just interchangeable, non-human devices and that our thighs were his personal hand rests. Dead men keep their hands to themselves. I was very relieved that he was in the ground with 6 feet of good Mother Earth keeping him in his place.

TWI was viewed as being anti-Jewish by some outside of TWI. If VPW, the leader of TWI, was so totally clean of being anti-Jewish, how did others outside of TWI get the idea he was himself anti-Jewish and was promoting to others anti-Jewish beliefs? In about 1981, TAKIT (a TWI band) did a show at a theater in the Twin Cities here in Minnesota. I remember there being quite a few people picketing the building carrying signs about TWI being anti-Jewish. At the time, I had no idea why the picketers would think such a thing, but I wondered. A couple of years later when I read "13th Tribe", "Myth of the 6M" and heard teachings and comments in the Way Corps, I realized why the picketers were at the theater. Even while still involved with TWI, I had come to realize that TWI was anti-Jewish. Having been very interested in the Holocaust and Hitler's role in inciting people to murder the Jews, I'd done a lot of reading, had taken a course on Totalitarian governments and written a paper on the subject. This was in high school before I even heard of TWI. Having seen pictures of emaciated Jews, reading of the horrible things that happened, it didn't matter to me if there were 10 Jews or 6M Jews treated and exterminated that way. VP and TWI lost lots of respect and credibility in my eyes. It was part of my process of getting rid of the rose colored glasses that I had formerly used to view TWI.

When VP first started his "ministry", he didn't have much luck with winning people his own age to be his blindly obedient followers. VP's age group had some life experience and healthy skepticism under their belts and weren't fooled by his snake oil sales pitch. At my age, 47, if a stranger told me to give them money so I could take a bible class that would change my whole life, I would tell them to go away. At age 20, I didn't have the life experience, the learned skepticism and good judgment I now have. At 20, I believed the stranger that offered me this "magic class" for a price. I paid my hard earned $100 and took the magic class because I thought the "salesperson" would deliver the goods they'd promised. It took time and hard won maturity, but I found out the "goods" were really a load of crap. Yeah, OM and clones can argue that we gave this power to TWI. But most of us were kids. VP figured that out and that's why he targeted our age group rather than 30, 40 and 50 somethings. We were naive, looking for "truth". We were the "Target Market" for VP's slickly packaged and promoted "truth, love and goodness" tour. Remember, it was the cool and cute guys in Pressed Down, Shaken Together and Running Over, not Lawrence Welk Running Over. Do I feel like a maroon for getting involved with TWI when I was 20? No. I was a good hearted young person who wanted to learn the truth. I was taken advantage of by middle aged men who knew what they were doing. Shame on them and shame on anyone who continues to defend these thieves, rapists and all around sadistic control freaks.

"What is the real purpose of this website? All I see is bashing, slamming and cut downs. If this ministry was really that bad why continue to talk about it. I know if I had a bad experience with a group (which I have) I might talk about for a little bit, but then its history! Why the constant talk??" How about if this website has as many purposes as there are posters? How about if this is the only place some people have found where they can unload years of pain, grief, guilt, fear, shame, etc, etc, etc? I don't care how many times someone might say the same thing, if it helps them hurt a little less, heal a little more, they should say it a thousand times. Wonder, Why are you asking and why do you care?

She was on staff at Camp Gunnison when I left in '88. She had married Roger Paschke (sp). I think they had one child or she was pregnant when I left.

DMiller and Vickles, We could do a Minnesota get together at the Spam museum in Austin! Not really. I am serious about at least the three of us getting together. Should we start a Minnesota get together thread to generate some other interest? I was looking at the map. One of youse guys is heading from northeast of me, other from southeast of me. I could meet you east of here someplace in St. Paul if you want. My humble abode is all right as a meeting place as well. Papa Murphys is around the corner. I like the gourmet veggie. What do you guys like?

The number of us GSers who are divorced after being married to "Christians"/TWIers is a commentary in and of itself on the whole unequally yoked thing as taught by TWI. IMO, unequally yoked shouldn't be confined to religion but open to other very important areas such as attitudes about money (how about saving some money, not spending more than you make), material things and the relentless acquisition of such (and why do you want to spend my bonus on another toy for yourself?), independence (I need my alone time -dammit! Me and the dogs will be back from hiking in New Hampshire when we're good and ready), sex (really heterosexual, or hoping to be converted by marriage?), compatability with each person's family (quit telling me my mom is nuts - I have known that for years but she is still my mom and I love her as best I can), etc. Just speaking from my experience, doesn't hold true for everyone.

If there are folks interested, I'd be glad to look around here. I am a camp out, bring the dogs kind of person, but would be fine with restaurant or other indoor meeting places if that would interest/accomodate others. Dr. Strange, You never answered my questions.. Are you going to come and "fellership" with us Northlanders? Are there direct flights from your home in left field to the Lindbergh or Humphrey terminals? We have the Mystic Lake Casino in Shakopee (now a suburb of Minneapolis, I guess). Never been inside the casino, only to the shooting range next door, but I hear they have a nice buffet at the casino if anyone likes that sort of thing.

OK, TS Does that mean you are going to come for it? How far is left field from Minnesota?

I would be up for a Minnesota GS get together. I live in the Twin Cities, but don't mind driving elsewhere in the state. I'd even be up for having a small group at my house. However, I have to warn you that I have a Tasmanian Pomeranian and an attack chihuahua as a security system. Would be fun to have Wisconsin neighbors or even those southerners from Iowa. I am the anti-Martha (as in Martha Stewart), so someone else would have to do the organizing, but I would show up or open the gate to my back yard and house if anyone else is interested.

Crowns-- The only ones I know I have are on my teeth. Anything else is speculation and is just not relevant, motivating, comforting or anything that I will bother with right now. Like imbus said - just too complicated.

EmmaDog is beautiful! But to me, all dogs are beautiful. Congratulations.

Dot, I just adopted another dog on Saturday. I read about her on a rescue website and drove 3 hours each way to go get her. She is a "middle aged" (the vet's description) chihuhua with horrible teeth and a knee that will probably require surgery. She had been abandoned and was scared to death. I have had her for a little over 24 hours and she is snuggled next to me sleeping peacefully. She is such a sweetheart. Shelters and rescue orgs are such a great thing and a wonderful way to find amazing animals. Thanks for spreading the word and caring about the animals that need families.

Oh.. and for the record.... The pastor that made that statement: He was straight.