Ham

"Dear Heloise, I am in a quandry as to what to do with the used coffee styrofoam cups. The slobs that come to my little meeting leave tobacco stains, lipstick, chewing gum, and goobers in the cups. I am now finding it almost impossible to remove said stains, and am about ready to mark and avoid the whole bunch of idiots. Please tell me what to do.. Helpless in Podunk Iowa (no aspersions intended to the great state of Iowa) .

Thanks Jim! Next: "101 ways to make water more appetizing for your wayfer fellowship." Just kidding..

Steve, you really beat me to that one! "no friends when it comes to the word" in a lot of ways really meant "only friends you can have are in the ministry." Can't "fully share" (there's another one!) with anyone outside of the built of straw framework of TWI. Thank God I developed a few real friendships outside of that mess before I left. The threat of expulsion was and still is very real, very threatening for a lot of folks. They really would have nowhere to go, no support, no real friends.

Ha ha ha ha ha..

Thanks for reminding me.. it was the sacred, never to be disavowed "triple dog dare". I'd still be careful, it's been know to freeze over in he** every once in a while..

That's pretty funny. Just don't lick the light pole because of a "double dog dare".

Belle, reminds me of the Christmas Story, family had to eat at the chinese place.. duck instead of turkey. Still had its head (that was easily remedied).

Interesting though. My english prof taught that clarity only often comes through revision, and sometimes much revision. You should see how some of my almost prize winning papers started. Some of us poor oafs probably don't know what they are talking about until things really get going.

Sometimes it is hard to be as clear as mud..

Heh heh heh.. but always remember, the crack may be in the bottom or along the side.

I don't know.. sick, no. Sometimes I feel rather angry about what put up with and/or did in the organization in the name of God. I think if I witnessed first hand some of the real abuse, I would feel pretty sick.

Oh well. Maybe it is too late this year, but maybe Uncle Hairy and I could cook up something good for them next year.. Hey, spend it on something good, like a bottle of Tequila or something.

What a good idea! George could "meet the fockers"

Say what anyone else will, one of the best things I ever heard Vic say was at a meeting with the WOW's right after finishing the year. "A lot of you guys should really consider learning a trade." I remember that he went on even more specifically that it would involve going to school. No plug for the corpse, or more commitment, just good advice. They should have taken that little statement and put it in a book.

True. Since I did not know him personally, I could not make that judgement either. But I do know where the underlings took things. These little phrases were used to manipulate in a big way. No wings in life? God not spitting enough in your direction? You must not be "improving' on the tithe enough. Now it's not ten percent as a minimum, but fifteen, even twenty. Forget any logic; your problem can't be because you have not improved yourself enough to be employable.

Gotta find some explanation for the presence of all of the holiday nuts I run into..

My kids got their very own copy of "Earl the Christmas Squirrel." You may feel sorry for them, but they actually found it hilarious!

Yep.. that's it. forgot it was published. I think this was one of Martinpukes failings. He did not really have the capacity to manipulate in a subtle manner- after a while, all he could do is scream. He replaced "tithing brings wings to life" with "if you do not give me a minimum of fifteen percent, God will not even spit in your direction."

Pretty good Oldies.. but how about: "Don't bother praying if you do not tithe." I heard that one taught!

Skyrider, sounds pretty valid to me. Makes me feel bad for the kids. Just makes me think though. If she dumps him, why not go all the way? Donna should distance herself as far as possible from the source of abuse, the organization itself. Then I would have a little respect for her. Instead, she is locked into the same kind of crap. Besides the obvious perks, I can't see how pleasant the situation really is.

Maybe they were trying to target a different kind of crowd. Anybody into sado/masochism would find that kind of reward to be a dream come true!

Here's another one from the Vey dictionary. "Rewards." The God-given divine right to humiliate, abuse or make utterly miserable the supposed non-standing part of the "family" of God at the gathering together, and even at this present time, if you are counted among the "most faithful".

I always wondered what would happen if "would you 'be blessed' to scrub my floors, toilet and rest of the house for the big meeting?" was answered by, "no thanks. I am already as 'blessed' as I need to be.."

Just a thought.. why should they get divorced? True, it would free up ole craigers and Donna to pursue whatever relationship they would want. But, who would in their right mind marry either of them? Maybe at tax time, Donna can still claim ole Craigers as a dependant. Probably all that she can get out of him..

Heh heh.. holy cow.. poor kids. Probably need psychological councilling after that! Might be better off leaving her in the back room of some defunct cult- at least the kids are spared.