Twinky

Just a bit of fun, really, but as it says. Just suppose Rosalie were ever to post here (it ain't gonna happen, folks!). What do you suppose her "handle" might be? >Foxy One? >Fauxy One? >Rosa-lie? >Rug (see Old Skool's recent topic Rosalie you lie like a rug)? >SeeMeSmile? >The Enforcer? >The Forcer? Heh heh .

Ah yes. The Cabin in the woods. It was a nice place. Nice "feel" to it. Some happy times there (with friends, not with "official" TWI events).

When was the Chalet Annexe built? And the Way Woods Home? I don't remember either of these buildings. There was a little house in the woods, cure, olde-worlde, just one room up and one down. Not habitable. Used for cutesy-cutesy meetings and a quiet place away from the organized chaos of the main buildings. What was that called?

Most companies have a pension plan for their employees, especially their very senior ones. Their salaries comprise pay, pension contributions, and shares (not that shares in TWI are available, being (cough) non-profit). Old Skool, what do you know about official pension arrangements for the BoD? Do you know if there have been contributions made to a pension scheme for Rosalie or any of the others who have been around since inception? Or high-ups later, like Donna? In other words, do you know if there is a chunk that was ABS'd that has (ostensibly as pay) disappeared into private funding arrangements that doesn't show as "company assets" within that $54million?

All that effort they put into "confronting" - confronting people who already had a heart to love God and people (shakes head). Compared with all the effort they don't put into helping people who have a real need, whether in rez or in the field.

No, it's more that the vile things they said made me doubt my every move. I was a horrible mess when they'd finished screwing me up and then cast me out like waste paper. Taken a lot of time (from me) and patience (from others) to bring me back to something like I used to be.

Ed and Jacqui lived in an apartment, but there were also some staff quarters that were a bit bigger than the in rez Corps facilities. They were on the ground floor, near the door, on the "short arm" of Founders Hall. Not quite sure, it wasn't a place I had much time to visit. Possibly there were similar on the floor above. The Horneys lived on the other "short arm" of Founders Hall, kind of in the middle of the in rez Corps - at least, when I was there.

Exciting isn't quite the word, either. All my in rez Corps nights were spent, y'know, in the third row back with a real close view of him. And all the rehearsals for SNS straight after breakfast on Sunday morning (then a quick dash for some more of the same, in the BRC). And I had a few personal interviews (face meltings) from him. Worst, though, was when he would look at me with this look of deep and profound sorrow and disappointment. Like he'd done everything possible for me and still I couldn't/wouldn't learn. Once he said to me, "I just don't know why God just keeps on giving people so many [chances/opportunities]" - can't remember the exact word there - but it was in the nature of I'd f'd up again and here was he, the great LCM, being sooo patient with me (presumably because God hadn't yet given LCM the "revelation" to kick me out). Sheer manipulation. There were strangled entries in my journal about that. Oh shoot. 11 Dec of my 2nd yr in rez. I just found some journal entries. Did I really think this stuff? There was a meeting with 2 very high-ups J and Y, at which a junior V was called as witness against me; then another interview with another high-up A; then at 5pm a grilling from LCM and also present were J, A, 4 branch coords, and my in rez twig coord S. It was my "last chance". What I'd said got V, BL, Donna, BH and Howard Allen all involved, not to mention all these people hauling me over the carpet in about 4 different interviews. It appeared only S spoke up for me. Apparently I wasn't good at working in a team, and I was a professional brawler and striker. Y said: "You hear what's said and immediately start to think of your own way of doing it." Definitely not meek. I must now ring all my SPs and request they pray for me. I recorded that this was an "incredible display of longsuffering, grace, patience and love." It was "my own stupidity" if I failed after this. I recognized that ability is a liability and that to seek recognition of ability is to think carnally. Sheer manipulation. I think this stemmed from an unguarded comment to V, who was a couple of corps earlier than me, that I'd felt "stifled." Please don't think I'm stupid...I'm qualified in a high-level profession, am very practical in advice given to my clients, am proficient in my ability with outsiders, can think things through in very useful ways, and get on with a whole bunch of people from very different backgrounds. Or at least I was all these things till I went in rez.

Old Skool - do NOT post pix like that without a warning first! Irresistable ... wasn't quite the word that came to mind.

So - does Donna live in one room that she shares with 3 other people, or was that a privilege just reserved for the in rez corps? Single staff I think got one of those rooms for themselves. But Old Skool, you say: an apartment. I have a vague memory of some small flat-lets on the corners of the building that might have had two rooms, for staff couples. Maybe even (gasp) their own private bathrooms? But don't they have some sort of communal kitchen area with some other flat-lets? So are you saying that Donna has one of these flat-lets to herself? Is that because she's so spay-shal or because there simply aren't enough staff that need them and perhaps everyone now inc in rez WC can have their own room? Did in rez WC still share, Old Skool? Even though there must have been lots of space in Founders Hall for in rez WC not to be crammed together?

There was a rather large guy in my Corps. When he went home for "ho ho relo" they asked where the other half of him was. There were some very fat people on staff when I was in rez.

In odd moments, I sometimes find myself wondering what would happen if I found myself in NK (passing through as a tourist, say) and decided to attend one of the "church" services ... or even just go through the grounds (do they still have that sign up saying Everyone Welcome at The Way"? ...if I said I'd bumped into someone in (say) Dayton who'd told me about this great place to visit where I could hear the Bible taught, and I wanted to hear. I doubt there'd be anybody there who would recognize me (we've all got older, maybe grayer, maybe fatter or thinner). I wonder how long it would be before I was ejected? Not that I'd ever waste my hard-earned money passing through NK to find out.

C'mon, guys, be fair. You can't say that TWI rent out the land, and then accuse TWI of letting it fall waste. Surely it would be the farmers they had rented it out to who had let it run to waste? And in any event, if you spool up or down or sideways from the first aerial shot of TWI, you will see all of the neighboring fields are in exactly the same condition as those around TWI, and they are nowhere near Wayland. Soul searcher touches on this when he asks about the time of year the photo was taken. But since nobody's welcome at The Way And the land doesn't get used for festivals Nor for anything to do with the congregation/membership/plebs It would surely be better to dispose of the land by outright sale to the local farmers? Dispose of their surplus? Like they did at Emporia camps, Indiana campus, and other places. Surplus houses and land were sold - the proceeds distributed. Let's face it - they made enough of us sell houses and bring them the proceeds of sale, or a share thereof. Only fair that they should do the same. Unlikely they would ever distribute back to us, who put the money there in the first place, but methinks most of us would be happy if they just gave it to a genuinely Christian charity that really did help people. Or even any other organization that genuinely helps people. Ain't gonna happen, though.

TWI might have said, "Promotes more harmony in the home," BUT in a subtle bait-and-switch, this is what it became: Doncha see, it's in the Bible that there should not be more harmony in the home.

Oh. Mea culpa. But I still can't get into the article, heh heh. Funny, George, and thanks Dmiller.

It's not your money, it's God's money, doncha know? Therefore, as God's representatives, they have a right to ask. Yeah, right.

Oh I meant to add under the first part, When I was a trainee in a high-powered job that involved presenting argument to seriously important people, the suggestion was given to me that I should imagine those important people as being seated on a toilet rather than a comfy seat. And the same for anyone else who is being pompous. The image is so laughable that nervousness can dissipate. Tell me one person who doesn't sit on a toilet several times a week - greatest or least!! Can you imagine, for example, LCM or VPW sitting on a toilet with their trousers round their ankles, whilst pontificating in PFAL or during LCM's wonderful Advanced Class, or what have you? Would they have sounded quite so authoritative then? (Sorry if that gives you a horrible mind-picture. )

The greatest and the least... None of us is "greater" or "lesser" than another person, but circumstances make it so. The bigger house, flashier car, fancy clothes ... do not make the person. The rags, cardboard box and begging bowl of the person who lives on the streets ... do not make the person. Went to an event recently relating to a Christian charity that I help out with. It's lots of churches in my city that have formed a charity to help vulnerable/homeless/jobless/long-term outcasts. It's widely supported in the city, by a wide range of people and businesses. http://www.genesistrust.org.uk/ Anyway, they were celebrating their 20th "birthday" last week. All these Christians came, local dignitaries, etc - and quite a number of the "clients" - dishevelled, grubby, with the supermarket trolley that their worldly goods are stored in... Peter, the Chairman, made a point of thanking everyone for their service. And first of all, he thanked the homeless ones for their service, their being there and giving an opportunity to serve to the others, for what they contributed to the quality of lives - of the serving Christians. It was beautifully done and very touching and very inclusive. As to footwashing: the "greater" is to serve the "lesser". We are all supposed to serve each other, in whatever way we can. Foot washing was done by the most menial servant, as a gesture of welcome and hospitality. I wonder, especially in our day and time, but perhaps in that time also, if footwashing does not also denote a sort of vulnerability on the part of the person whose foot is being washed. The washed one allows someone to make that contact, and it is quite intimate contact. The washer could hurt the foot or treat it roughly - or just laugh at the ugly bunions, twisted toes and blackened toenails. And (in our time) an embarrassment about allowing ourselves to be served so personally. Just a random thought.

Definitely got their own cult-vocabulary... see Glossary on their front page.

Ruuun!!!!!! Quick, the door is over here! The application form sounds, just as Excathedra says, like the From Birth to the Corps papers. If that's what they want at the beginning - maybe i's even worse than TWI? Those poor kids. Preying on the very vulnerable.

Am very behind with my gardening this year. Today I finally set to soak overnight my runner bean seeds. Well. If they grow, they'll catch up. It hasn't rained in about 2 months here, except for a brief spell one day a couple of weeks ago. So nothing much is growing, hardly any weeds. Except for forget-me-nots, which have sprung from nowhere and taken over a border. I have been very involved with path re-laying. A friend is helping me (read, doing the work). We took up the top pavers, which had settled a little, and then there was a flight of steps that must have been erected a long time ago and the reason for them being there has disappeared. Okay, there is a slope, but nothing like the angle on these stairs. Friend has decided to remove the steps, so much later, thanks to a mighty powerful hammer chisel, we now have 3 TONS of broken up concrete in bags on what should be the vege garden. These sit on small mounds of earth that were once the path before it was dug out and proper foundations made. (Like there aren't enough rocks just under the surface of the soil ... huh.) Below is a pic which shows the "flying staircase" before destruction. No, the work wasn't done with the little geological hammer in my friend's hand. That was just a first attempt before he realized how hard it was and before he borrowed a hammer chisel. Lower down the path are 2 more steps that need to be reduced and extra ones built - that means more concrete rubble in the bags. My vege garden is only about 12 x 25' anyway so everything gets crammed in all together. At the moment only half is potentially useable; and half of that is occupied by my leeks from last year which are still in the ground! So-ooo - how does my garden grow? It sure grows rocks, all right.

Well whatever it is, I can only get a header saying Cracked.com and a blank page. Was Abi having a joke, or is there something to see?

Okay, having nothing better to do, I have reviewed all the documents on that Arizona Corporation website and you will see below a precis of their NET ASSETS ie, what they have in the bank less all the liabilities they still have to pay (a very small amount). The figure includes fixed assets (undefined) less depreciation, which may include vehicles, equipment etc. Of course, some of their fixed assets may have been depreciated down to nothing and therefore they don't show at all...you know, the old printing press that breaks down all the time. The figures in the reports are quite blurry and difficult to distinguish, so there may be some minor inaccuracies - however the trend is clear to see: Report Date filed Net assets 96 ANNUAL REPORT 02/03/1997 $35,124,127.00 97 ANNUAL REPORT 06/19/1998 $32,473,703.48 98 ANNUAL REPORT 11/13/1998 $35,800,130.89 99 ANNUAL REPORT 11/16/1999 $39,743,015.57 00 ANNUAL REPORT 12/21/2000 $43,123,987.20 01 ANNUAL REPORT 11/05/2001 $46,251,209.99 02 ANNUAL REPORT 10/29/2002 $47,500,643.72 03 ANNUAL REPORT 11/20/2003 $46,159,482.57 04 ANNUAL REPORT 11/12/2004 $48,501,315.50 05 ANNUAL REPORT 11/14/2005 $47,800,771.11 AGENT ADDRESS CHANGE 05/26/2006 - 06 ANNUAL REPORT 11/24/2006 $50,403,547.30 07 ANNUAL REPORT 11/14/2007 $52,726,231.88 08 ANNUAL REPORT 12/01/2008 $54,201,408.15 09 ANNUAL REPORT 11/27/2009 (figures not shown) (Blanked out) Look at this. The net assets figure has increased by over 50% from 1996 to 2008. In 12 years, they have managed to accumulate NINETEEN MILLION DOLLARS ($19M). Guys - forgive me - perhaps after all they should be giving us financial advice? (If only how to run an MLM heh heh). (Edited to try and get some spacing in, but layout doesn't recognise spaces or tabs)

The "members" used to be only the (three) trustees. Never included the rest, that might loosely be called "congregation" (if it were a church). Why Arizona, anyway? TWI doesn't own property there, does it?

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