waysider

When I stumbled into the cafe, I hadn't "fellowshipped" for 15 years! Some of this stuff becomes so ingrained, it seems impervious to time tables.

Koko Taylor--- RIP

Honestly? I don't think it was anything quite as logical as that. It's sort of an exercise in futility to look for a logical explanation for illogical lunacy. It's like when you see some news report of someone doing something particularly heinous and you ask yourself, "Why"? Some things in TWI simply can't be explained other than to say that they were a bunch of wackos who made decisions based on delusion and fantasy.

You could try putting a religious statue out in a conspicuous location. It's my understanding they like to sneak behind them to take a little smoke break from time to time.

I'm not so sure that's the same thing. "Good times" are when somebody gushes over the "swell" time he had hanging out with VPW for a week 30 years ago or how "blessed" they got at those infamous "nite-owls" when all the young ladies sat around in their pj's singing Kumbaya while VP perused the attendees with a lustful eye. Why was this woman in a position to have to drive a car that was in such a state of disrepair, scrape for change and subject her children to less than healthful conditions? I'm not faulting the woman, herself. What I'm doing is bringing into question the type of system that fostered and propagated these kinds of situations. What you are remembering is a good person, not a good time.

It's been reported that some of them are known to chain smoke little menthol cigarettes with fake filters. I hope that helps.

Maybe it's all a matter of perception and definition. When someone makes the focus of their posting activity an avenue to promote a personal agenda, I see that as "speaking from the pulpit". Maybe prosylatizing would be a better word. It could be about anything, really, but typically it's been about an inordinate promotion of such things as: PFAL equaling The Word of God, insisting that every incident be proven, looking for any opportunity to bash Obama, repeated invitations to join a "church" and so forth. Just my opinion but those are things that I would consider to be encompassed in this pulpit idea. I don't let it bother me, though, as long as the "preacher" is open to honest and open discourse regarding whatever their agenda might be.

Gonna miss ya, Short Stuff. Just remember to keep that Swiss Chard weeded.

Where is the puke emoticon when you really need it?

------Melanie

GOOD TIMES/BAD TIMES

"Don't bite the hand that feeds you." A fair share of that was practiced in The Way, as well. If you had something they wanted or needed, you may have gotten different treatment than those who didn't. People who had access to free/nice meeting facilities, people who had ties to periodicals that could possibly wrangle some free advertising, musical or artistic talent that could be exploited, people with potential to offer large sums of money to help the organization, etc., often got the red carpet treatment. I recall a particular time when VPW was planning a trip to our area. We knew about it a month in advance. One of the newbies was a limo driver who had access to company stretch limos. He got the royal treatment up until he picked up VP from the airport and chauffeured him around town all weekend. After that, the squeeze was on to get him wrapped up in "The Class". Suddenly, he was like every other sales prospect who wouldn't commit to closing the sale. He got used and he knew it. He didn't stay long after that. Even those who got special treatment, though, would sometimes express confusion and disappointment over the less than special treatment of the regular believers. There were definitely mixed signals being sent. I guess my point is that the people sitting in the audience may have seen it as a "good" time. The guy who was scammed would probably recall the instance in a much different light.

Whatever happened to the days when the burden of zoning enforcement fell on a government entity?

I'M LOOKING THROUGH YOU-------The Beatles Free post, anyone?

Bol You "kids" were drafted. You didn't get to make the choice yourselves. Us old codgers volunteered. We joined up on our own. Maybe that's a factor. I don't know how else to explain why there will always be a discrepancy in various perceptions. I guess if I had been forced to join The Way like you guys were, I might feel a lot of the same conflicts as you. But, I wasn't forced to join. I was 21 at the time. All "growed up". (or so I thought)

Ironic, isn't it? The introductory verse of a class declaring the dangers of "private interpretation" was a prime example, in and of itself.

I think that's really kind of a pivotal time. It was no longer "OK" for the guys to have long hair and come to twig in blue jeans if they were involved in any of the machinery of running things. Likewise for womens apparel, though I'm not qualified to offer specifics in that area. Briefcases had become the order of the day. There was much focus on conspiracies. We were supposed to see ourselves as being involved in something bigger than any of us on an individual level. And, you were supposed to accept that 'the honeymoon phase" might be over and rise above your own personal needs for the betterment of the movement. For me, personally, I think it was a point in time when the bad times started exceeding the good. But, without the ability to foresee the future, I assumed that maybe the problem was with my own perception of things around me. Hind site is 20/20 even if it requires wearing "corrective eyewear".

There seems to be a pattern evolving here. It appears that, for those involved in the earlier days, there were more instances of what might be perceived as "good times" and for those involved in later years, there appear to be more instances of what might be perceived as "bad times". Of course, there were really good and bad in both time frames but the ratio seems to be disproportionate. And, there are those for whom the pattern contradicts their entire experience. Kinda reminds me of a line from an old Buffalo Springfield song----"Nobody's right if everybody's wrong."

Is it time to put this one to rest?

I thought I knew you---What did I know? You don't look different but you have changed.

I was just funnin' with you. The kind of "Greek" he talked about in CF&S was not a language. No offense intended.

WWJS (what would Jesus sing?) "Yes, I love me This I know-----"

Yes

"They only hit until you cry---" MY NAME IS LUKA

okey dokey.