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Hope R.

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  1. Hope R.

    Another Poll

    Thanks Abi – you are 100% correct in your statement. You always seem to have your head and heart in the right place and I admire you for that. Thank you Shell for #3 on your post. I would rather speak for myself and am a bit disturbed that pieces of my conversation in the chat room were misrepresented on this thread. And Hap – thank you, too – you tend to see things quite objectively and I appreciate that. I will post my comments this one time because of the words that have been put in my mouth (fingers?). I did not suggest that GSC start using real names. I said that the Corps site used real names because it is a social network and when you socialize with someone, it helps to know who they are. It is also a place to reconnect – which goes with the above statement. And it probably does keep the mean people away. No one wants to socialize with mean people anyway! When I first came on Trancechat and Waydale I was still involved in TWI and used a pseudonym (Amie Friend). I needed to at the time for many reasons I won’t go into here. The night we got the boot – I went into the chat room and proudly announced my real name and started using it on Waydale. It was a huge deal for me – almost cathartic. It may not be that way for anyone else and I appreciate the need for anonymity on a site like this. But I do think that when people use their real names, they may choose their words more carefully. John was called some horrible things by people who do not know him or me by anonymous posters. I always wonder whether those folks would say the same things to his face. I doubt it. Regarding the relevance of today’s TWI… Please see Socks post #143 that was made on December 29. He says what I meant much better than I can say it. But --- I remember when I first saw “No Way Out” in 1997 – which I believe was around about the same time as Trancechat. There was an article in it about the “gun training” class the Corps had taken in Emporia in the mid 1970’s. In 1997 it was really old news – ancient history in Way years. I don’t even think there were any Corps in residence in Emporia at the time it was posted. In other words, the article was irrelevant to the TWI of 1997. I thought the site was out of touch and really didn’t apply to what I was looking for at the time – current TWI events! (btw… The class wasn’t militia-like gun training – it was the Kansas Safe Hunters class that the 4-H Club and Boy Scouts took. I still have the badge!) Again - see socks post… which is also the reason I suggested a GSC social site. As far as what I said about professional help – I believe it was taken totally wrong. My comment was that GS may have become a band-aid for some people who might need more help than a web-site can give them. I commented that folks who had been hurting for years and years might seek other forms of help if GS became a read-only site. I did not suggest that everyone who posts here needs therapy or medication! I will confess that both Waydale and GS were wonderful places to vent all my anger and frustration about my 29 years of service in TWI. Especially right after I got out. But there came a time when I knew I needed more and I got help. Period. As far as editing goes – I write my posts on a Word document before I put them on the forums. It’s still faster than editing on the web site over and over until I get it right (even then, sometimes I don't). When John was lambasted on the Corps site thread, the awful names he was called were deleted, yet the answers he gave to those folks were kept on the site. He looked like a mean s.o.b. – getting angry over nothing and making crazy accusations. If those comments had been left alone the context would have been better understood and he wouldn’t have looked like he was getting po’d over nothing. And Paw, I disagree, the Corps site is not heavily regulated. The only requirements that exist are that you use your real name and that you (or your parents) were in the Corps program for at least one year. Yes, the main forums are informational only (“how to” stuff, a memorial thread, “does anyone know where_______is?”, etc.). But each person has their own page – which is more or less like having your own web site - and they can blog about whatever they want to. All we ask is that no one attack someone personally or make incendiary comments, much like the GSC forums state. Anyone who wants to discuss my opinions can do so by emailing me at hoperich6@gmail.com or you can find me on Facebook (I just joined!). This is probably my last post, and I won’t even think about coming into the chat room again. Adios.
  2. Excie -- only if Craig shows up. :blink: But I don't think either one of them qualify, since they weren't in the Sickth Corpse.
  3. Don't know how to edit my post, but wanted to add my thanks to Bob Mirabito - who is also on the reunion committee. xoxox Hope
  4. Hey everyone - Just got an email regarding the 6th Corps 30th Reunion that's scheduled for next year. Check out the site at 6th Corps Reunion Thanks to David Dougherty, Dan Stockemer, Roy Gotrik, Valerie Edwards, and Gary King If you know any 6th Corps that may be interested in this, give them the link. xoxox Hope
  5. Hope R.

    Song of the moment

    Just when I think I'm out - Green Day keeps pulling me back. I fell in love with them in 2004 when American Idiot came out, and went backwards, starting with the pre-Dookie CD's. I continue to listen to them all the time - not sick of them yet. I also bought the "Instant Karma - the Campaign to Save Darfur" CD - it's worth getting. About 7 of 8 of the tracks are awful (Avril Lavigne singing "Imagine" - ugh) - but to hear Christina Aguilera sing an amazing version of "Mother" makes up for it. xoxo Hope
  6. My dear Ex- Have a wonderful birthday. Relax and let everyone wait on you hand and foot! You deserve it! Here's a "toast" to you! xoxox Hope
  7. Another opinion to give some thought (on an MSNBC blog)
  8. Ditto on the TV going out! We have brown outs all the time in the summer. When the credits came on a few seconds later I thought - "that CAN'T be IT!" But it was. There have been a lot of articles written about the ending this morning - and tons of blogging going on! The NY Times is a good one, and one from Newsweek as well. Did anyone watch "John from Cincinatti" ? Very odd. BTW, I was mistaken - David Chase was "The Sopranos creator". David Milch produced "Deadwood". Both are amazingly good writers/directors/producers, IMO. "Big Love" tonight- I'm going to try it again this season - I couldn't seem to wrap myself up in it last year - it was a bit too unbelievable for me. I will miss "The Sopranos" - but there was so much time between seasons anyway, I sort of got used to it not being on TV. Hope PS The ending to "The Tudors" left me wanting more... but we all know what happens anyway... Poor Anne... Notawayfer - I, too, am obviously an HBO/Showtime junkie. "Weeds" will soon be returning soon! And they also have a bunch of new shows that will be starting in the next month or so. I faithfully watch "Ugly Betty" as well, but have also given in to "Heros" and am hooked. There are a few good non-network series like "The 4400" I'll be watching this summer because nothing else is on.
  9. Okay - so what about the FBI guy who has continued to briefly show up week after week? I think he will have something to do with the end - perhaps something to do with the terrorism task force stuff he's been discussing with Tony? I don't know, but I thought it was strange he was around - he's been a fairly insignificant character these past few seasons. Why now? I was upset that Bobby was killed in the toy store - and yes, Sudo, I knew it was coming, too. I'll be sad if and when Syl dies - I was hoping he'd get another job, perhaps as a guitar player for a rock and roll band! Maybe disguise himself with a bandana around his head! Why hasn't Paulie been knocked off yet? I sure thought Tony was gonna kill him a few weeks ago! Perhaps he'll take a bullet for Tony... What about Uncle Junior? Do you think the mention of moving him to another home was the last we've heard of him? There's a lot of plot lines to tie up - I don't think we're going to know everything about everyone. There was an entertainment reporter on Countdown the other night who has been writing about the Sopranos in the Newark, NJ paper since the series began. He said he doesn't believe that David Milch will wrap up everything in a neat package. He also compared the scene when Dr. Melfi shuts the door on Tony to the scene in "The Godfather" where Michael Corleone shuts the door on Kay when she's visiting her kids. He thought it might be a "tribute" to the film from Milch. Interesting idea... Okay - final thought... Tony will wake up and he'll REALLY be the guy he dreamed about after he was shot... the whole Mafioso thing was a dream after all. I'm sad it's over- but am anxious to see what happens. Hope PS - is anyone watching "The Tudors" on Showtime? It's really wonderful - great acting - beautiful costumes. You can actually view the first two episodes on Showtime.com for free. Speaking of wrapping things up - I thought HBO was going to air two - 2 hour movies to finish out "Deadwood" - which I absolutely loved. Anyone know anything about that? (article from last summer)
  10. Actually - it was pushed ahead! Plus - they didn't discuss the case they were going to discuss with her - they sort of blind-sided her with this horrible murder in Kansas which really had nothing to do with stalking at all. I felt sort of bad for her - she had to be vague because in cases with predatory stalkers, there really are no specifics. No one even knows if this young girl was being stalked by him or not. The good news is that she's got her foot in the door as far as being considered an expert for the news media. Hopefully they'll use her again when the topic is more appropriate to her specialty. xoxo Hope
  11. Well, what can I tell ya... I can name 3 women who I know only through Waydale and/or GS - 2 whom I've met face to face. The 3rd lady and I have never met, but we talk on the phone a couple of times a month. We know so many of the same people in TWI that we figured we must have stood in the same line for a Wowburger at least once! I consider them all dear friends. I also believe that women are generally more open to friendship with other women and can relate to each other in a more personal way - without the need for a face to face relationship. But, having said that, I do understand that many people are afraid to get close with a cyber-friend. Had these women and I not known the same people, but just never crossed each others paths, I might have been more reluctant to get close to them. xoxo Hope
  12. My sister, Ronnie Harmon, will be on Fox News tomorrow morning. They’re doing some kind of story about stalking and stalkers – which is her field. She’s the Administrative Director of the Bellevue Hospital Forensic Psychiatry Clinic in NYC. If you google her name along with “forensic” you’ll see all the info about what she’s done on the subject. (If you leave out the word “forensic” you get all the info about a San Diego Charger football player!) Anyway – I’m very proud of my sister. My mom would be ecstatic! The people at Fox told her she’d be on the air at 9:48 a.m. If you’re up that early (?) you can see her! Xoxox Hope
  13. Hiya ala! As I said in an earlier post - I was determined that the friends I had in TWI would always remain my friends - in or out.... however.... We were ditched by more people who couldn't stand the fact we stayed in TWI after they'd left. Most of them were involved with a CG ministry, but a few others just cut us off for no reason. We weren't trying to convince them to come back, we never preached how great everything was (because it wasn't), we never "witnessed" to them. There was no reason to sever what we thought was a friendship at the time. There are still folks we run into from time to time who used to be in our twig years ago! When we were still in TWI, they simply nodded at us - acknowledging the fact that they recognized us! When they found out we'd left, they actually said hello and asked how we were. Coulda knocked me over with a feather! I stayed close to a few friends who left long before I did. We're still close. They loved me for who I was and it didn't matter what "church" I attended. I felt the same way about them. Here is a very old poem I read when I was in elementary school. It has stayed with me for many years. To me, this is what being a true friend really is: FRIENDSHIP Dinah Maria Mulock Craik (1826-1887) from A Life for a Life Oh, the comfort— the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person— having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away. xoxox Hope
  14. TWI 1 - absolutely! I still keep in touch with many of them. When we stayed in TWI and so many of our friends left - we REFUSED to mark and avoid anyone. Friends are friends are friends. TWI 2 - nope - none - zero. I don't think there's a person I encountered in TWI 2 that I was interested in making a friend (oops! - Except for Belle). Waydale & GS - I've made several friends I've never met. I wouldn't know them if I walked by them on the street. I love them dearly and hope someday to see them face to face! My best friend is a woman named Barb who I met when our 20 year olds were in Kindergarten. She never heard of TWI until she met me. Trying to explain things to her is like trying to teach her a foreign language. For example: when I say to an ex-Way friend, "I was a WOW in Texas during the 4000 for the 40th year" - they know what I'm talking about. When I say it to my NBW* friend it has to come with a lengthly explanation - it has to be translated! xoxox Hope *nbw= never been way PS: Sushi - "A true friend stabs you in the front!" - Oscar Wilde
  15. Hope R.

    2007 Weenie Roast

    I've never attended - but want to tell you all about a place we've done John's family reunions in Kentucky. It's called "The Moors". It's on Kentucky Lake and is fairly inexpensive. There are things to do - boat rentals, etc. It will be lovely there in Autumn. Just a suggestion...
  16. "These Are Days" - 10,000 Maniacs (Natalie Merchant) I love the words: These are days you’ll remember Never before and never since, I promise Will the whole world be warm as this And as you feel it, You’ll know it’s true That you – you are blessed and lucky It’s true – that you Are touched by something That will grow and bloom in you These are days you’ll remember When May is rushing over you with desire To be part of the miracles You see in every hour You’ll know it’s true That you are blessed and lucky It’s true that you are touched By something that will grow and bloom in you These are days – These are the days you might fill With laughter until you break These days you might feel A shaft of light Make its way across your face And when you do You’ll know how it was meant to be See the signs and know their meaning You’ll know how it was meant to be Hear the signs and know they’re speaking To you, to you
  17. We stayed in TWI longer than most people. We left in July of 2000. Both our girls (now 20 & 16) were born into it. We NEVER, EVER forced TWI's doctrine on our children. We never made them memorize bible verses. We didn't "teach" them to speak in tongues. We didn't tell them to pray for the MOG. We never made them take classes or watch TWI videos. They went to children's fellowship when there was one - which in our fellowship was only on Sunday - and was apart from the adult fellowship. During the week either John or I would stay home with them and the other would go to fellowship. School and bedtime were the reasons, and our leaders who also had kids, seemed to understand that. We used a wooden spoon on rare occasions - very rare. We mostly just flicked the back of their hand if they were behaving badly. Most of the time, all I had to do was give them a "look". They were (and still are) good kids, and got the message without us resorting to anything harsh. Even the few years when we were enjoying TWI, we decided that if we forced our beliefs on our children, they'd rebel against them when they got older - which is what both of US did to our parents (John was raised Catholic, I was Jewish!). We felt that if we just lived our lives well, taught them the "golden rule" and some other simple bible teachings --and we let them know what we believed without shoving it down their throats, they'd make the right decision when it was time for them to do so. It got more intense after LCM's class came out. When my oldest turned 12 the BC's expected her to take it. I told the BC's that while she was in school it wasn't going to happen - that it could wait until summer break. When the time approached, I arranged for her to take a 3 week "People to People" trip that happened to be at the same time the class would be running! Oops! My bad! By then - TWI was so corrupt, the teachings were so strange and the legalism was so obnoxious that there was no way I'd let my DOG sit through LCM's teachings. Shortly before we left, I told the BC that the teaching about Eve was too strange for my daughter to understand - among other things. He actually said "I know the class is not 'easy to be entreated', maybe it'll be better for her to sit through it when she's older". He never raised the issue with me again. So we got lucky - and I believe we did the right thing. I saw too may "Way-bot" kids - it was pretty frightening - I couldn't stand it if mine were like that. What do our girls believe now? The older one declares herself to be an atheist / agnostic / sometimes Buddahist (more philosophically than spiritually - depending on her mood). She remembers more of the TWI experiences than her younger sister and believes it was a cult. She doesn't resent us for our participation, but is glad we're no longer involved. The younger one used to attend a large youth group on Friday night at a local, non-denominational church - but stopped attending when she started High School. She still goes to a week of the summer camp they offer - it's a lot of fun and a bunch of her friends go. The teachings can be a bit charismatic -- some kids raise holy hands. She doesn't and won't because she knows that if she did it wouldn't be sincere. I admire both of them. They're lovely, intelligent, talented young women who (I hope) will make the right decisions for themselves. I'm a very fortunate mom!
  18. I believe B & D are about 60 give or take a year or so. Remember - their son and grandkids live at HQ's and have been staffers there for a few years. Before that, Bri@n used to take care of the horses in Gunnison. Just shows ya what a college education can do for you! You too can shovel horse-sh~t in Colorado and use that 4 year degree to wipe your hands off! How much you want to bet that they're re-assigned there once mom and dad move in? Who knows, they may already be there. ****************************************** Anyone know exactly how many Wayfers there are in the UK? I was surprised when I heard that B & D had been assigned there, thinking there weren't enough people to constitute a small branch or twig area. Perhaps that's why they're coming back - there's nothing there to coordinate!
  19. Thanks to all -- been w/o a computer since Monday - but I'm back! Excie - it was the most difficult b-day I've ever had... I miss my mom so much it hurts. Birthdays were a BIG deal to her - she loved celebrating them for herself and others. I always got 2 cards from her - one really funny one and one that was ridiculously mushy and sentimental. My sister is coming down on Weds. and we're going to S. Florida to finish cleaning stuff out of my mom's condo. We decided we're going to put it up for sale. We're going to leave it furnished in order to show it - but getting all the personal stuff we left behind after the funeral. It's going to be rough for both of us. The only good thing about the trip is that my cousin is getting married on Saturday - so we're going to her wedding. It should be a lot of fun - she and her fiancee are both in their late 40's and neither have been married before - they were both pretty wild and took their time settling down. So that's something to look forward to - and will hopefully be a distraction to all the work we have to do. I think their dog is going to be the ring-bearer!!! Anyway - thanks to all again - perhaps next year will be a bit easier. xoxox Hope R.
  20. Belle - I was in the Sickth Corps. I never heard or saw any contincency of women sleeping together sexually (if that was the implication in your post). When Sunny S*nd*rs was the women's Corps Coordinator, she did have small groups of us over to her dorm for slumber parties. We made popcorn, told stories, and "shared hearts". Sunny was an amazing person and it is something I won't forget. I wonder what happened to her... but that's another topic. Mrs. Green was in the 5th Corps - perhaps that's what you mean. Regarding Donna, I do recall this... One night during our last year, when we were getting ready to graduate, VP and Loy met with the men, and the next night VP and Donna met with the women. I believe I'm remembering this correctly... We were discussing love and marriage -- LCM & Donna had only been married for about a year then. Lots of women were asking bs questions about "corps marrying corps" and "how do you know if it's the right man", etc. I don't recall how it came up, but Donna shared about a time that she went to VP to talk to him about her feelings for other women. If my memory serves me right, she was concerned because she felt like she loved her women friends too much - that she wanted to spend time with them -- she was worried that she might be a lesbian (and I really think she used the "L-Word"). VP's reply to her was something like "honey, you have a big heart and a so much love to give to people -- you're misinterpreting your love for something sexual... but it's not - you just love people so much you feel like you're gonna burst!" I remember DM saying she was relieved when he told her that. Then she went on to tell us how VP fixed her up with LCM ... and they lived happily (???) ever after. Years later, when I started hearing the rumors about DM & RFR, I thought of that night - so I wasn't really surprised by it. Up until then, it never crossed my mind - but after hearing it - it sorta made sense. No, there's no proof - no eyewitnesses (ugh). No one has photos or video tapes. It's all a matter of perception... like sudo said... if it looks like a duck...
  21. Funny - I just emailed someone and told them that there's not too much about TWI that hasn't been discussed on GS - and nothing new has happened for quite a while. Here's what I wrote to them: Then I suggested that it might be a good topic!! LOL!! Guess someone beat me to it. The internet is too powerful for TWI to hide from. It's what brought them down in the first place. Waydale showed anyone who had internet access the truth about LCM and VPW and their perversions. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it was less than a year from the time the first law suit was brought to light until LCM resigned -- perhaps less than 6 months. Anything they do now, anyone they've recently wronged, can post it for all to see -- not just here, but on blogs and MySpace as well. No wonder they're acting nicer and boring and bland (oh my!). There's nothing to discuss about today's TWI other than it'll put you to sleep!
  22. You can look at it in a couple of ways. If you define an offshoot the way mstar stated it - then there may be hundreds of them. Lots of people who decided to leave TWI continued having their own home fellowships. Many still do. They do their own thing, but still teach the basic tenets of TWI. Some even have PFAL tapes and run classes. Then there are groups that are "together with but distinctly independent of" the major spin-off (remember pros?). The one here in Clearwater comes to mind. They're affiliated with the Geerites because they offer his class, but they're autonomous in every other aspect. If you follow Mr. Hammeroni's point of view, then there are only a handful of really large offshoot/spin-off groups. IMO - an offshoot is a group continues to support their "leadership" in the same manner as TWI. In other words, the guys who run the split off don't have realjobs and their followers give them money so they can "do the work of the Lord". There are several that I have heard of, and some I don't know much about - but I'd venture to say there are about 20 of them - give or take a few. IMO, many of these so-called leaders hadn't had jobs for years because of their TWI positions. I think some of them might have been intimidated about going out "into the world" to earn a living after splitting from TWI. So they just kept on doing what they knew how to do - teach the bible and ask for money. Only this time they weren't filling out blue forms and sending money orders to New Knoxville!
  23. Hope R.

    Guitar Talk

    This might be a bit off topic, but I've been playing around with alternate tunings for the past couple of months - mostly revisiting Joni Mitchell songs. I found these sites really interesting and a way to look at tunings without actually needing to hear the note the string is tuned to... Joni Mitchell Tunings Notations and Joni Mitchell Tuning Patterns They're fun to play with. I also found some really wonderful strings called Cleartone. I switched from Extra Light to Light because of all the alternate tunings -- there's not as much twang when I tune down. These strings are expensive - but really worth it, IMO, I think they're much better than Elixirs - which I never cared for anyway! They're supposed to last 3 times longer than D'Addario or Martin Strings. Mine aren't that old yet, so I'll let you know it that's really true. It's been a couple of weeks and they still sound brand new.
  24. Copenhagen - No apology is needed - I was just kidding around... To answer your question -- The 1st through 3rd Corps programs were 2 in residence years in a row at HQs. VP started the Interim year with the 4th Corps and those Outreach Cities in 1974. That's when it became a 3 year program. There were about 80 5th Corps if my memory is correct - and they started off at HQs. TWI purchased Emporia in 1975 and many of the 5th Corps lived there getting the place fixed up for the 6th Corps which was the first Corps to be in residence in Emporia full time. We had no "elder" Corps - the 4th remained at HQs for their last year in-rez. We had LCM and Sunny S@^ders and a handful of 5th Corps who were assigned there on their interim year as our elders. I don't know exactly when the "apprentice" year started - but I'm sure it wasn't in place for the 6th or 7th - though it was strongly suggested that you went WOW or into a Fellowlaborers program before going in residence. I was actually kicked off the WOW field 6 months before I went in-rez! Just goes to show ya they'd take ANYONE back then Hope R. PS: socks, 3cents, alfakat, Evan, or anyone with a better memory -- please feel free to correct my foggy facts!
  25. Hope R.

    Go Colts

    I'm in Tampa and we all LOVE Tony Dungy down here. Truth is - the only year the Bucs won the Super Bowl was the year after the idiots who own the Bucs got rid of Dungy. So many people thought it was John Gruden who won it for them - but it was the team Dungy put together and coached. See where the Bucs are now and it's obvious that Gruden doesn't deserve squat. The jerks who got rid of Tony Dungy deserve what they got... the Bucs suck GO COLTS! YEAH TONY D!!!!
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