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confessions of a way baby


minicorpse
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man, that place sure was big, especially for us kids. i am still having a hard time just remembering all the grounds and buildings. when you mentioned the big wheels (i had a cabbage patch kids one) i suddenly remembered that there were horses there! horses! TWI sure had some dough back then... that place was a world all its own...

what else? how about the snack shop? what i want to know is who ever had the money to buy snacks with? i sure didn't... my folks would just try to appease me with the carob chips in the trail mix, as if it were an acceptable substitute for a snickers bar. they were all such hippies, it was so obvious. there was freakin' powdered KELP on the tables. who ever used that? and what for?

all i ever wanted as a kid was processed food. all the kids at school had pringles. i don't even remember what we ate... i just know it came in a brown bag and it was terrible... *sigh*

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my god.. who could forget the orchards.. crab apple wars.. shucking green beans.. the soap house with the overpowering lye odor.. the cottage.. the bats that would get in through the fire door and terrorize the halls..

Chinese stars.. GIVEAWAY (gawd awful teal OP long sleeve shirt I had to roll over 3 times and basically tuck in my socks)

every friggin meal sucked, bland, bland, bland.. I swear they were regulating calories..

painting camoflauge on the back of the name tag, curbing the edges and pulling off the pin so I hopefully wouldn't have to wear it.. or atleast get a trade in with clips instead..

learning my first real cuss words from Eddie Murphy's Delirious and Richard Pryor compliments my dad's smuggled collection and reciting the contents to the rest of the mini corps any and every chance I got.. getting woken up at 3 am to participate in the viewing of a calf being born.. helping my mom with housekeeping and my dad with grounds..

mom letting me fake sick to stay home while she cleaned a staff house and basically stalling until the eventual resignation of my third grade teacher Ms. Lewis ( this woman used to settle the class down by threatening to beat us with a bull whip, ostracizing wayfers, and reading the supposed true ghost stories out of the local paper, just bent on terrorizing a room full of wide eyed gaped mouthed 8 year olds) Ferris Bueller would of had to taken notes off of me the way I mastered playing sick for as long as I could till mom caught on and filed a joint complaint.. Seems the rest of my childhood is damn near impossible to recall, but IC just comes easy..

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ewww I just remembered the nasty foot greasy peanut butter pita pockets, Care packages were better than Christmas (hoho relo :rolleyes: ) God the storage barn was INSANE.. 1000s of people with all their belongings in one Space.. amazing.

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wow you're good!

it is true, the faculty at rome city public schools totally hated our wayfer guts! and i am not exaggerating. they were mean mean mean.

one day, in first grade, i sat down unknowingly in some gum on my chair which then promptly adhered itself to my dress. i was mortified, but guess who got in trouble for it? me! guess who had to go to time out? me! guess who got spanked when they got home? yup. me.

some of the hatrid we somewhat earned though. i was a trouble maker, even at school. i think i was either very angry or very neglected (or both) because i was always getting into fights with other (non-way) kids. i would wreck their projects (even kids who were not even in my own class), mark on their homework, steal their homework, throw tantrums and refuse to do pretty much everything that didn't involve recess. once i got in a fight in the girl's bathroom and got sent to the principals office with one other girl-- and i swear to god that there was something that looked like a very large cricket bat hanging on the wall behind his desk. he never said a word about it, but we swore we would be good from that moment on... yeah right.

i don't remember ever being spanked at school though. but i'm sure i lived in constant terror of all adults anyway.

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Minicorpse, I enjoyed reading your story. I am glad you kept up the struggle for your rights. Tell us about your education since your Waybrain days? What did you major in as a college student and where did you go to college? What are you studying now in Grad school?

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  • 3 months later...

My goodness - my parents were way Corps too and I swear to you while I was reading your story... parts were like reading pages out of my own freakin' diary!

I also hated that whole smile more thing - I mean seriously wtf? I always felt like a posable doll or something.

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Ohmygod! Your story, your life just hit me like a ton of bricks. Some days I just weep when I come here and find stories like yours and I continue to weep all day long, it seems. But I am thrilled you have landed on your strong feet and are creating such a wonderful new life as an artist!

Again, I'm so sorry for the awful treatment you endured. Believe me, you are not alone, if that makes you feel any better. Keep on creating and teaching art! You go, girl!

Much love to you,

penworks

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  • 6 months later...

I find it absolutely amazing how similar the stories are for everyone that did their time at the Indiana Campus! I was there earlier than you guys and I have some of those same memories!

I remember getting into an egg fight in the chicken coupe with Brian M. my second year there while collecting eggs. Oh man our folks were mad!

Did anyone else ever swing on the rope between the two lofts in the old barn out by the fields?

I remember harvesting cherries from the orchard and sitting up in the mulberry tree for hours hiding and eating mulberries!

My final year there, Claudette accidentally left her curling iron on and almost burnt down the annex.

Those memories are my childhood!

Edited by pavlov
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The three months we were in FWC they were very strict indeed with the kids, who were all expected to conform and be perfect. My son flatly refused and caused all sorts of mayhem. He was and is like greased lightning on his feet, and if an adult wanted to "reprove" (as in beat the stuffing out of) him, he simply took off like a shot, laughing over his shoulder all the while. He stole food from the third floor WC kitchen, threw eggs out his bedroom window across Adam's Alley, and offered to beat the snot out of his roommates if they tattled which they did anyway, being solemn little 19th FWC kids, who took their responsibility to make my son into their image quite seriously indeed.

During all of this, I never really understood how miserable he was, and how like dirt the other adults on staff treated him, along with several of the FWC 19 children, who as mentioned above, considered themselves "in charge" of him. He of course was having none of it and when a kid his age ordered him to make his bed, vacuum the bedroom and scrub the bathroom before breakfast, simply suggested he take a flying leap. He was behind a year in school, so was older than the other kids in his age group, yet had to go to bed at 8 PM like little kid. When we humbly petitioned FC to let him stay up until 9 with kids his own age, we were brusquely told he was in such and such grade, that grade went to bed at 8 pm and that was that!

Finally, he got in a fight or two at school and that, combined with the eggs and the pop tarts, and a few other attitude problems, got us thrown out of the FWC after three months.

I can never thank him enough.

WG

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Minicorpse thnx for telling your story and I am pleased that you are getting healed and are working as a teacher

Im glad you resisted the mind controlling and Im glad you got away from the Way people.

I know the loss of your parents to the Way and theyre lack of support for you is bad, and I wish there were some way I could help you!

Just remember that the Way was WRONG, you were RIGHT!

As for myself and Im sure many in this community, we will help ya as much as possible, please feel free to message me or email me anytime.

I spent 4 years in the way (from about age 19 to 23) so I basically was a young adult. But it really also for me took a miraculous effort to pull myself away from the Way home and go back to my hometown, so I know what an effort it musta been for you too

So anyways best wishes on your freedom path!

Edited by Steveo
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  • 5 weeks later...

Hey there!

I hope that I correctly edited my post. I am struggling with this computer stuff. I just lit another cigarette to get me through the mild stress of posting a hopeful reply (not the typical Christian action, but it works for me at this moment). My heart and prayers go out for you in your life struggles. Maintain your critical thinking skills and use your reasoning, and most of all PRAY!:) Life is not without adversity, from the movie "Steel Magnolias" "That which does not kill us only makes us stronger!" God is not out to kill us, but he is present with us through our struggles and fights! I believe that he led us to the Grease Spot for a reason, and can be a fellowship of believers in His Son Christ Jesus! God has all of the time you need to develop your trust and faith in Him! Keep moving forward, just place one leg in front of the other!

Love,

kgannok

Edited by kgannok
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  • 3 months later...

Your story is just heartbreaking! I was so blessed to have avoided so much of that crap. But, glad you are out and healing. It boggles my mind to remember constant preaching "there is therefore now no condemnation to those in Christ" and then hear how they so condemned so many!!

Kathie

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  • 3 months later...
  • 9 months later...

minicorpse...

Thanks so much for sharing your story! You will never know how many other lives you will impact because you did... an amazing amount of people come here and read and learn and heal, and your story tells a side we don't hear as often: the kids' point of view.

I'm so sorry for what you went through, but so glad to hear you are making a great life for yourself. I hope the therapy helps you put all the crap behind you for good.

THW

Dear Minicorpse,

I, too, thank you for writing your story here and am deeply saddened by what happened to you by people who claimed to love you.

You are brave. I admire you and cheer you on in your recovery!

Charlene a.k.a. Penworks here at GSC

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