waysider

You want to know what happened to that little boy? I'll tell you what happened to that little boy. Ya see, people, he was born in India with a withered arm. The only way he could ride a bicycle was if he twisted the handlebars sideways. One night, some hooligan emerged from the local tavern and exclaimed, "I can whip any man in town!" (For verily, he was filled with spirits.) As luck would have it, there was not another soul in sight. (They were all snowed in and didn't dare venture from the warmth and safety of their trailers.) So instead, he brought his aggressions into manifestation by kicking the nearest object, which just happened to be that little boy's bicycle, thus throwing the handlebars into a state of serious misalignment. The next morning, the little boy jumped on his bike and, as he sped away, he plunged head first into some snow covered gas pumps. Instantly a violent explosion ensued. Yes, that's right, the snow itself actually burst into flames and then exploded. (The gas pumps, ironically, were unscathed.) His mother had him interred in a red draped coffin in honor of the boy's favorite stage play, Red's My Color, What's Yours? by Norman Wexler. His mother was heard to say, "He was one mean, mean bicycle rider."

And then there is this. http://www.nytimes.com/specials/women/warc...70305_1156.html Reference to cholesterol/ iron relationship appears near end of article.

Me thinks we already KNOW what he's trying to promote. Same thing WE were trying to promote(unwittingly) all dressed up in a different suit of clothes. One thing that really caught my attention was how they target high profile prospects. It's certainly not a revolutionary concept in the world of advertising. The Way did this quite a bit in the 1970s as well. I call it "trophy mentality". They could probably learn a whole lot more about life by examining the courage of the marathoners in your original post than they could from the rantings of a deceased sci-fi writer. Hope your friend finds his way out .

Thanks, Irish. Of course, we weren't really SUPPOSED to dream.(or admit to anyone that we did) That was supposedly a sign that one's spiritual trapdoor was ajar and debuhl spurts were poking their head in the door. I'm sure I'm not the only one who heard that taught in the Advanced Class. That was an insult you had to pretend did not apply to you. Just another control devise since even discussing it indicated you were tainted. Was that thinking prevalent in areas you lived in also? I think the reason we looked and acted like zombies is because we hardly ever got a proper night's sleep. <_< Well, that and the familia buzz that kept us functioning.

Pond Please don't misinterpret my "pasting" of a portion of your post(out of context) as anything aimed at you personally. It contains something I would like to address. It wouldn't matter who had posted it. GSC had nothing to do with my own exit from TWI. I physically walked away almost 20 years ago. I stressed the word physically because mentally I was really just a "member" who no longer attended fellowship. At least that's how I thought of myself. There is a certain degree of guilt one carries when they think(erroneously) that they are "tripped out", that they have left the "one true household". I did not know any details of VP's death. It was always an off limits topic in fellowships I attended. Likewise, I was completely in the dark about what happened with LCM. I had my suspicions about some of the sex stuff many years ago but thought it was isolated behavior. And don't forget, it was seen as a sign of weakness to even suggest that one had these doubts. Mostly I left because I had a lot of personal and family obligations vying for my time. This site has provided me with a valuable service in trying to make some sense out of what happened and continues to happen in my life. My hope for this site is that, if someone with a similar background as mine finds it, it will be as beneficial to them as it has been and continues to be to me. I'm not interested in proving anything in a court of law. I'm just interested in putting the pieces of the puzzle back together for my own understanding. Hope that makes some sense and has not strayed to far off the topic at hand.

Here's a funny story, danteh 1 A couple years ago I popped into a "Mom and Pop" kind of BBQ joint to pick up some carry-out for lunch. The gal who waited on me was a total stranger but her voice sounded just like the voice of someone I had known 15-20 years ago.(I don't remember names too well, but I never forget a voice.) I went in there several times again and each time we made small talk as I waited for my order. I marveled at how much she sounded like this person. One day, she said, "Hey!, are you "waysider"?"(Using my real name, of course.) Yep, you got it. It was , in fact, the same person. I never would have recognized her in a million years had she not spoken. Apparently, I wasn't all that recognizable either. Life is funny, though, ain't it?

Hi, Jafin Welcome There is a wealth of information here that addresses the very questions you have posed. Two items, in particular, that have been discussed here recently are: 1.The "law" of believing". 2.VPW's true nature. Something that helps in understanding GSC, is to start at the very beginning, on the home page. Read some of the articles and documents. Next, look at some of the tutorials for new posters. It takes a bit of time to approach it that way, but the forums make more sense if you do. There is also a search feature here which may be of interest to you. waysider

-------------------------------------------------------------- Hey, there, Bumpy Change a few names, toss in some scripture and--------------- "There but for fortune go you and I."

If you didn't sign for it, they have no proof you ever received it. That's why it costs extra to require the recipient to sign for delivery. Not only do you have no obligation to pay for it, you have no obligation to return it. So, if you receive a carton of paisley widgets that you did not order or sign for, you can consider yourself the proud owner of a carton of paisley widgets. I got this info from someone who spent most of his working years as an employee of the Postal Service. Of course, there may be some loophole somewhere so it would be a good idea to contact the postal authorities to verify this information. ps---The postal authorities do NOT look favorably on people using the mail to defraud the innocent. They are usually very receptive to hearing your concerns.

Anyone ever done a comparative study to see if what we think of as "tongues" is somehow connected to the "confusion" of tongues that happened at Babel? I never have. It's just a goofy thought that popped in my head. If there is a connection, it could give a whole new meaning to what "tongues" really is. Suppose for a moment that the phrase " I would that ye all spake in tongues" was referring to people understanding what was spoken regardless of their native tongue. There would be a renewed sense of unity that hadn't been know since the days of the Tower of Babel. "Even if I had the ability to speak in a way that everyone could understand me, regardless of the differences in our languages, it wouldn't mean squat if I didn't have love." Just tossing this out for consideration.

Irisheyes------That pretty much sums up how it felt to be a FLO, also. Our typical day went from 5am til midnight. Lights out and "no talking" after lights out. Two or three to a room. There was one tiny 1/2 hour break at about 11pm . That's when we would walk to the truck stop, out of earshot and share "notes". There were some other times on the weekend that we used for laundry and such. But, no one ever drove anywhere alone. (out of economic necessity.) So it was impossible to bring things up if there were 3 or 4 other people in the car. If word got out that you ever complained or questioned leadership, you would find yourself in deep doo-doo. It was a commune set in a rural location with no accessible phones aside from the PUBLIC pay phone at the truck stop. Almost any call you made was long distance and expensive and right out in the open where anyone could hear. But, at least there was that bit of time you had as you walked to or from the truck stop when you could talk without an audience. I don't think any of us had the slightest idea how far reaching some of these problems were. Mostly we viewed it from our narrow perspective inside the parameters of the program. Sorry, I think I strayed from topic.

Good choice, excie I read you loud and clear.

The weather sure was gloomy today. :blink: Just kidding, Groucho. I agree with you.

Had a '67 Le Mans with spinners, bucket seats, 326, etc, that I literally GAVE away. Can you hear me kicking myself?

Thanks for your response, Rachel. That certainly adds a great deal of clarity to the subject.

Anson is "the man", no doubt. Saw him many times with BIG Sam Meyers.(May he RIP) No frills and foo foo--- just real, honest to goodness music.

Thank you for your response, Pond. You have raised some interesting points to consider.

No, seriously, Sharon, you're supposed to post a line from a song, not a personal experience. HEEHEEHEE! (I have no idea what this one is.)

John I'm not declaring you "possessed or M&A". I'm not "threatened" by you. I'm not "all over" you. I never even mentioned the word "transparent". I'm not "afraid" of what you might say. I'm not "attacking" you. Fact is, though, John, you continually twist people's words to change the intended meaning. You flagrantly abuse the "quote/reply" feature. You constantly launch yourself into a homiletic discourse, vis a vis VPW, in an apparent attempt to dissuade those who would speak negatively of Wierwille or his alleged "ministry". Should I ignore you? Why don't you tell me if that's what you think I should do? (and then tell me "why".) "

Ya know, this stuff just takes all kinds of twisted turns. When I went into FLO(mid '70s) I signed an agreement that my marital status would not change during my time in the program. I went in as a single person.(not exactly a kid, either.) It was MEGA, MEGA taboo to engage in sexual activity in the program. (not the teenage variety) To do so(and be caught) meant you would be immediately expelled from the program. And, this did, in fact, happen. (not going to give names) So, I did my part to live up to the bargain. Yeah, I know, there are probably some FLO who will read this and think"GEEZE!, waysider, you sure were naive!" That doesn't bother me. I did what I thought I needed to do to honor my commitment. All the while, the limb leader, who ran the program, had his own personal crew of "cleaning ladies" who took care of his house when his wife was out of town. Naturally, this raised the usual suspicions. ----BUT---- We were not allowed to voice those suspicions with one another. And lest you forget, we lived in a commune where not much happened privately. To even voice a suspicion, was considered a spiritual weakness and sign of a carnal mind. That's why , during that half hour of free time at night, we would make a "junk run" to The Wayside Truck Stop and try to privately make some sense of what was going on.(hence the name "waysider") After I graduated, I got married and went back in as the spouse of a first time FLO. (marital status rule thus circumvented.) My spouse(long since divorced) was one of the limb leader's favorite people and also cleaned his house on various occasions. I guess I'm really just kinda rambling here. I hope some of that makes sense.

Pardon me for pointing this out, but if this was not a legal issue, there would be no "due process" to consider nor would there be a "system" to call into question. What happened was heinous in GOD's eyes. I believe His standards trump that of any court of law.

You can't "defoliate" that which has already been rendered bare.

Rachel I don't quite understand your point. VP frequently spoke in a derogatory manner regarding the Catholic Church as well as the doctrines that the Catholic Church adhered to. How is that not "anti" Catholic? Maybe I have misunderstood your post. Could you clarify?

Suppose for a moment there were no laws governing rape and sexual misconduct, would that make these occurrences any less heinous?

Thanks, Potato for adding women vs. women to the mix. Don't know how that one eluded me. Yes, I think you are correct in posing the probability that men harassing women is more common than the opposite. Also, men tend to be very reluctant to divulge such secrets. Dang!---edited for yet another spelling error.