outandabout

"Oh for the love of Pete", from the Greek word "petros" meaning little rock, mistakenly taken for the Rock the church was built on, much as "Christmas" comes from Christ and Mass, which came about when the birth of Christ became to be celebrated during the winter solstice, thus the expressions "Christmas" and "for the love of Pete" are interchangeble as both are extrapolations of the religious misuse of the original meanings as they were in the original text.

a male quartet that Vee Pee put together.

You said Christmas.

We were taught that as long as we obeyed leadership, we were "covered" by our obedience because God loves obedience blah blah blah. That pretty much gave the "leaders" free reign to order us around. I pretty much did was I was told because I bought into that whole concept. Good thing they didn't tell me to jump off a cliff.

Ex, ha ha ha ha good one

in our heads there was. That's why we we obeyed them.

YUP, no accountability. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Yeah, and praying for the BOT, guys I never met, who didn't know me from Adam, whose actual function I had no clue of....yeah, I really wanted to pray for them. And that whole sheet of a lift list they passed out at some big event.....BORING. must have been like 50 things on it. Yeah, I'm gonna pray for all those things every frikin day.

How about sitting around after meals at Emporia, while we waited for words of wisdom from the head table. sitting and waiting, sometimes hanging spoons from our noses...... Then at last, the pearls of wisdom and knowledge were bestowed upon our eager ears.

PFAL was boring after sitting through it 25 times. Especially the jokes. Make sure you laugh now. ha ha ha

The Way Tree Class

I nominate the Way Magazine as the most boring thing in TWI.

wow that was worth it. Your house for a letter from Howard.

used bras, are you kidding???? Must have been after I was there. Although they did have that place with all the used clothing and things. I do not recall what we called it.

Oh, and here's MY current dress code: casual: night shirt casually elegant: sweats and t shirt dress your best: Jeans and a top ah, freedom

I remember having to get dressed up for corps night hook-ups. Now that I think of it, that was pretty stupid. I also knew of a rev who wouldn't allow his wife to wear blue jeans at home. I think they're divorced now.

I can't begin to understand what that must be like to lose your child. But I hope you can come to understand that it was NEVER your fear that made that happen! The universe would be in total chaos if our fears made things happen. I'm so so sorry about your child.

If I were still in TWI, I would be drinking a lot.

Well, both people are no longer with us regarding this one, but the story is VP called Donnie Fugit by revelation on a pay phone that Donnie happened to be walking by and picked up.

We were taught that fear was "believing in reverse" and thus we came to fear our fears. Yet, why would a loving God put us in such bondage? How many mothers are like little Johnny's mother in session 1 of PFAL? What mother has not feared harm coming to her child? Most children wouldn't make it to adulthood if the fears of their mothers caused them harm. "It was the FEAR in the heart, in the life of that MOTHER!" gag me please.

I also remember a joke LCM made about a sap being some one who runs out of the Way Tree. Just another example of how we were brainwashed into not leaving. The only thing that kept me in that outfit for the last several years of my involvement was the false belief that it was wrong to leave.

How about the tent at the ROA was the biggest tent in the country, or maybe on earth for that matter, don't remember which.

I just flashed on a WayCorps memory. We were in that room over the dining room, and all the honchos were seated in a row on that little stage before the meeting was to begin. A female corps member on the floor two feet below them walked sideways the length of the stage in front of them. LCM yelled and screamed and bellowed about it, carrying on about no one was to ever ever walk in FRONT of the leaders like that! Geeeesh. Seems pretty narcissistic to me now. And to think that I sat there and seriously thought to myself how to avoid "walking in front of the stage", not how insane it was for him to be yelling about it.

If you don't want to know the surprise ending, DON'T read my synopsis of this thrilling plot with all it's fascinating twists. American guy is in Japan doing commercials. Alienated and bored, he meets alienated and bored American wife of guy too busy to spend time with her. She and Bill Murray pair up and go places and do stuff. Then they say good bye.

Boy, was I ever stupid. And to think I thought the whole 15 years I was in TWI that the Word said sex was for married people.