JustThinking

LOL! Oak, It is SO good to know that I wasn't the only one to get the blank stare! Your comments reminded me of another interesting statement LCM made about the Sphinx. I put it in another thread but (if I got it right) he claimed to have figured out the meaning of it and the relation to the Zodiac. He forgot to mention it was already in one of Bullinger's books. Wait, maybe you didn't hear him correctly. Maybe he was looking for a Gap store in the north. North Dayton maybe? ;-)

The topic of LCM's gap in the north (in the "...junk science" thread) jogged my memory about something else he taught in his class: He said (if I remember correctly) that his teaching the purpose of the Sphinx was the first time it was being shared anywhere. If you go to page 20 in Bullinger's Witness of the Stars, guess what you'll find? "The Riddle of the Sphinx!" I showed it to my FC the next day and he couldn't get out of there fast enough! Does anyone still have a syllabus? Did they actually write down that comment? Or does anyone remember that statement?

wd58, You "better" get them there? What does that mean? Sounds almost like a threat. JT

Zix, Actually, I'm the one who was a little slow. Thank you. Raf, I still think some of your work would make a fine book. JT

CW, Thank you! I was too embarrassed to ask one of my teens. They'd probably think I was doing something that would some day make them roll their eyes at me...again! ;-)

Zix, BTW, thanks for bumping this up!

CW, LOL! I started to edit and forgot to finish. Sorry! Senility stinks! CJ, Would you do them in TWI colors? I actually would prefer something like "Lock up criminals, not guns." Add a pic of your favorite defendent and, voila! JT

Zix, I couldn't read it either. Excuse the ignorance but what is an avatar? This def doesn't fit the context: avatar n 1: ny new embodiment of a familiar idea; "the incarnation of evil"; "the very avatar of cunning" [syn: embodiment, incarnation] 2: the manifestation of a Hindu deity (especially Vishnu) in human or superhuman or animal form; "the Buddha is considered an avatar of the god Vishnu"

BF, That is FUNNY! If it's true though, it would mean many amazing things happened. Such as: A bunch of apologies More "oops, we were wrong on that point" statements than could be counted. Ah, this could go on all night. I bet Excy could post 50 or so herself. She and those like her have more right than me.

Matilda, That gave me smile. :-) Thanks! Glad you're doing it because I'm pretty sure it's now against the law for me to wear tights. ;-) JT

Insurgent, I remember him teaching that Paul got revelation to go specifically to Macedonia and the "revelation" for our time was to witness to just the middle class. I am fairly sure he never said "upper middle class." I always assumed it was because they didn't want poor people and assumed that the wealthy would take one look at their "abundant life" and laugh.

CW, I share your pain. You've actually made me realize something. While I hurt for people here who were harmed directly, I didn't realize I was also. Because of fear, I endured seeing people run over and did nothing. I've only thought of them up to this point and didn't even consider my only feelings. My opinion is that they still had it worse but it's something I'll have to deal with.

Galen, We had similar experiences being foster parents. It's hard for someone who hasn't been there the challenge of teaching an older child the things many take for granted. Seeing a child who uses a fork like a shovel, poor hygiene, etc. can be very disheartening. It never did and never would occur to me to beat a child. For that matter, making everyone stand around while a forced my daughter to perform like a circus monkey wouldn't either. (As in Catcup's post) Catcup, Those parents better hope that kid doesn't come back with a gun in her later years. Or, worse, treat her kids the same way. LCM used to talk about how we would have to face Jesus at the bema to answer for what we'd done, if it hadn't been forgiven. If that corps couple believed that, imagine the conversation about THAT incident! Hate to be them.

wyteduv58, He may be just a spokesperson. Was he actually part of the taping? I haven't seen it so I don't know. Some folks on tv just read what's on the cue card. Not an excuse for him but it is what some do. Anyone know more about how this got on the air? It didn't look like a commercial from the web site. It looked more like the company somehow selected TWI versus being paid to put them on the air. Did I miss something about them PAYING to be there?

I suppose my problem with the whole idea (even if you leave out the physical hitting of a child) is that you don't train a dog to be anything more than an obedient dog. You train a child to be an adult which means he has to be able to think and make decision on his own. Uh oh, now I see why this book was suggested.

Hope, You're right! I remember that. It is very similar. Didn't it have a caption at the bottom? Something about "loving obedience." I don't remember anything about "beat the s*** out of 'em till they cry uncle." That version must have been for people "spiritually mature" enough to handle it. ;-)

__________________________ Insurgent: when not one person in TWI has been able to pay cash for a house ---------------------------- Actually, I knew a number of folks in TWI who were able to pay cash for a house.

From Laleo: =============================== JustThinking: Do you think of your years(?) in The Way as a period of adversity? I've sometimes thought of it as the wrong road taken, but maybe it was all part of the path after all. In fact, I'm grateful that I didn't spend my entire life drifting in the ordinariness of it all. All those dreams and the disillusionment that followed may have had an upside. When you take a risk like that, and fail, and pick yourself back up again, other risks aren't as intimidating. For me, that's been a good thing, if only because I'm not comfortable staying in my comfort zone. ================================= We see things in a similar way. I do think of my years as adversity but they have left me a much better person. It is very hard for me to look back and parse what is due to TWI, what is there despite TWI or where TWI was irrelevent. There were jerks there but there were jerks at work too. And in my neighborhood, and so on. Overall, I am better off because of some of the very wonderful, genuine people I had the pleasure to meet. Not just at fellowship but perhaps a "friend of a friend" situation.

Ah..to be 19 again. I did have a heart, thought I had courage and won't even claim to have had a brain.

While some considered TWI home, I met one person who was more specific. HQ was home to her as she had been on staff for many years. (Arrived as a teen at TWI, now MUCH older) She was a corps grad (may still be) who truly felt that was her only home. What will she do when she is old? They won't keep her there so she'll find herself like the man in the Tom Petty song? How sad. Even Dorothy got to go home. Where will she go? You can blame her, say it was her choice but you can't take away the tragedy.

Laleo, First, very well said. You have a way with prose. Second, I would have to say all of the characters, when combined, form a whole person. Dorothy is the glue (or ego/super-ego) that binds them and causes them to move forward. As you point out, none were in a position to achieve their goal while staying (or rusting in the the Tin Man's case) right where they were. For that reason, I can find positive outcomes in my time with TWI. I'm not saying my time was positive or negative but trying to salvage the learning and growth from a period in my life. Growth, after all, can and often does come from adversity. Each of the characters realized their potential by being faced with the challenge of their journey. Again, as you said, they had it all along. The man behind the curtain simply pointed it out to them. Thankfully, he didn't try to crush it afterwards. My question is: Why didn't Dorothy do the job instead of just worrying about herself? Talk about selfish! They could have saved $100 on PFAL/Way class, more on the Intermediate, advanced class, DTA, DWA, BFC, etc... ;-)

My least favorite label: Fag. (And all it's variations) That was LCM's tag for anyone not goosestepping to his tune before he bailed/departed. I stopped going to phone hookups because I didn't want my kids to hear him talk. >:-|

There are some items which should remain on display somewhere because they were made as gifts. The sculpture of Elijah and Elisha on the 2nd floor (used to be, anyway) of the auditorium, for example. If anything happened to TWI, it would be a shame to lose the opportunity to display them to the public.

Insurgent, It actually fits the pattern they set with LCM's class. Many times in that class, items or ideas taught in PFAL are referenced as if the student already knows them. It's SOOO weird. The class is kind of for new people, kind of not, kind of new stuff, kind of old. Hey, wait, "something old, something new, something borrowed (ok, a lot!), something blue (book)!" Now it all makes so much sense...