George Aar

I understand what you're saying Topper, But whenever this topic comes along (and it has several times), it always strikes me as being more than a little bit in denial. Yeah, we had some good times. Geeze, doesn't EVERYBODY? But to pick those elements out as if to indicate that there was indeed some real, basic goodness in the whole experience I think is unhealthy. I'm sure the passengers on the Titanic had some wonderful moments during their cruise, but somehow I'll bet that that wasn't the focus of much of their conversations about their trip afterwards...

The most overriding one - Do not have a life!

I'm sorry Danteh, I guess you mean well, and certainly seem like a nice-enough person, but PUHLEEZE! We were in a farking CULT! How pleasant the conversation was from time to time, or how much fun it was mowing the Limb Home lawn with our friends, or other esoteric activities is meaningless. The overall effect of the whole organization was to hem you in, put reins on you, stifle your individuality and DRAIN YOUR RESOURCES. There was no point where it was a "good" ministry. It was a twisted, pathological, HARMFUL, self-serving POS outfit from it's inception. The fact that we were thrown a bone from time to time or managed to still have a laugh or two in between the BS is entirely irrelevant. We DIDN'T learn any special, secret "truths" - unknown for ages. We didn't find any special entre unto the Almighty. And we sure as hell didn't have any "abundant life" if you compare us with our contemporaries. Jeezus GAWD, we were scammed, played for fools, abused, used, and degraded. That we somehow managed to still chuckle every now and then doesn't mitigate the reality of that...

Ala, Re:"It has only been in the past few years that I have come to realize how much of this CAGEING crippled me, my life, my relationships, my spirit." I guess most of us here have had to come to grips with that realization (uh, except those that choose to live in denial and have super-glued the WayRose-colored glasses to their faces). I sometimes wonder what I could've done had it not been for the diversion into cultdom. Regret is a mother$%&@er isn't it? Ah well, we're still alive anyway. A shame we wasted so much of the "ride" though...

I once dreamed I robbed a bank with Walter Brennan. Uh, I don't know what to make of THAT. When it comes to dream analysis, I think we may be inclined to read waaaay too much into it. It's hardly a science, after all. I think there's just lots of bits and pieces laying around and our brain is working overtime trying to assemble them all into a coherent unit. Often, it doesn't succeed real well. I wouldn't pay it a lot of mind...

Oh, and re: "Yogic Flying", Uh, have you ever seen this particular ability demonstrated? It's, uh, less than overwhelming. Somehow hopping in the lotus position is still just hopping to me. But then I am already sold out to the "other side"... I used to think that I could see through walls as a kid, and read people's minds, and even control other's actions. Later - once I understood what was "really" going on - I believed I could cast out demons and perform miraculous healing. I convinced myself that I had actually performed "astral projection" and seen auras and the like. But, like Danny, as I've gotten older all of the supernatural spiritual stuff that I "knew" about and the little that I had supposedly done myself somehow slowly morphed into events that could easily fit within the realm of the known laws of physics. Yeah, and life has become a bit more mundane, but far more understandable. Imagine what it would be like if "spirits" really could override physics at their will. That would be a strange world indeed...

I think things happen a little faster out here on the left coast. All of my childhood hangouts were torn down, rebuilt, and torn down a couple times more since I was in my teens. Most everything is a condominium complex or a strip-mall now. "Playland" was the coolest place I remember around Seattle. It had a dirt-track raceway out front with a 10' high board fence around it. And inside it had a "log flume" ride that was awesome! Then all the normal "carny" kinda stuff and a parachute drop and other assorted rides. That closed down in the mid 60's to be replaced by a litany of different stores, and is currently the home of a Lowe's Home Improvement center. And such has been the fate of just about everyplace I spent a minute of my youth. It gets so I don't recognize much of anything here anymore. Ah well, I'm soundling like my cranky old uncle...

No tats for this guy, though I AM seriously thinking about investing in a tattoo removal service. I've got a hunch that business will be mighty brisk in a few years.

"Hey, man. All we represent to them, man, is somebody who needs a haircut. Oh, no. What you represent to them is freedom." HA! Oh lordy, one of the most pretentious, self-absorbed films of all time I remember when it came out I thought it was the greatest thing to ever be committed to film, as did most all of my friends. Were we WAAAAAAAYYY too full of our selves 'er what? Oh, to be a kid again...

I saw a show about how the bodies were prepared for display and all. I had some seriously mixed feelings about it all. Definitely not for the faint of heart...

It's been a good one. Got a lot done at work, stopped and picked up the girl and we got Chinese take-out and the neighbor came over and MOWED MY LAWN! (not a small undertaking). And girl got me a great Thelonious Monk CD. Who could ask for anything more? So, Mine Sama, domo arigato gozaimadanga! Oh, and Topper, Tanoshinde koudasai to you too...

I once heard of a guy who was really into "self-help" sort of therapies. He was riding on a bus one day and noticed the guy next to him was constantly taking little brown pills. "What are those pills you're taking?" he asked. "Oh, these? These are "Smart" pills. I take them all the time to make me more intelligent. Would you like to try some?" Well, being as it sounded like a good thing to do, the guy tried out the pills himself. The two of them were gobbling them up when the fellow finally remarked "Gee, you know these look like rabbit turds." To which the other replied "SEE! You're getting smarter already!" There's lots of stuff promoted as being tremendously beneficial - and ALWAYS with numeroous testimonials as to it's efficaciousness. Personally I have about an equal amount of things that I will never partake in, simply because they strike me as dorky. Scientology, astrology, new-age medicinal cures, Wicca, synchronicity, etc. etc. etc.... If the basics of what you hear about something are so diametrically opposed to what you've come to regard as sensible and worthwhile, do you really have time to venture down ALL of those (possibly) idiotic alleys? Maybe I'll take a real chance and just try to muddle through life without the help of the enlightened gurus of pop-psychology and woo-woo metaphysics. My loss, I guess...

Well, her and her mother were up in Seattle and had lunch with me a couple of days ago. Maybe she's still recovering from the experience? Geeze, I tried to be nice...

Not much bugs me about the words people use (though the "f" word every other syllable gets a little old). It's the content of some blatherings that I sometimes find offensive. Arrogance, condescension, intolerance, bigotry, those are the kind of things that I find obnoxious. Of course if I exhibit those traits, it's perfectly O.K.... Oh, but to answer your question, no, I never put anybody on "ignore" or whatever. I figure I'm a big boy now and can handle the trauma of reading other's opinions. Even if - HORRORS! - they don't agree with mine.

As much as I admire the spandex look, I still find it unsettling that Superman chooses to wear his underwear on the outside...

I've got a couple of years on you (I'll be 54 next week), but we're still pretty much contemporaries, and I'm going through similar stuff I guess. I'm looking at an imminent change in marital status, father's been gone quite some time now, mother is still healthy - but definitely showing her age, and the kids are pretty much grown now, so being a "dad" isn't quite what it used to be (though I'm sure there are some who'd say I was never much of a dad anyway). Yeah, life changes. It's easy to forget that when you're in the middle of the normal chatter of everyday life. I'm thankful that we have the luxury of contemplating our options, though. Few other cultures or generations did. I'm not particularly optimistic about much of anything now, and I don't have any religious feelings, so things are kinda in limbo for me. I can't imagine ever getting real worked up about God or some afterlife where everything will be just ducky anymore, as it all just strikes me as incredibly superstitious and naive. There certainly haven't been any "road to Damascus" moments for me in my life. So, what do we do with ourselves? I dunno. I plan on traveling some more. Do some decent work when I can, maybe help out those that don't have it so good. I don't have any earth-shaking plans or aspirations anymore, though. I'm gonna try to get by, maybe give more than I take, make sure my kids have at least a shot at a full life, that's about it. Yeah, no Corvettes or slinky bimbos in my future. A few more trips to Asia and maybe one or two to the Mediteranean and with any luck, one day I'll just die in my sleep.

I got a call from my doctor. He said, "George I've got some bad news for you, and some even worse news." "Oh Gawd, Doc, give me the bad news first, maybe I can work my way up to hearing the worse news" I replied. "Well, I don't know how to say this nicely, but you've got 24 hours to live" the Doc said. "Good Lord!" I shouted "What news could be worse than THAT!" "Uh, I meant to call you yesterday"

Yeah, I'm a little lukewarm about touting the virtues of fanatics myself. Been too many wars, rebellions, and genocide to get too poetic about the likes of Lenin, Hitler, Mussolini, Pol Pot, and such like. Funny how human life becomes so cheap when a cause gets elevated...

I guess I'd be more interested in this stuff if I saw any benefit from clinging to the wacky belief system. Hell, I never saw any benefit from it when I was a dedicated Wayfer - nor did I notice any tangible benefits in anybody else's life either. But did that stop us? NOOOOooo... If all just strikes me as kinda funny now. About the same as hearing somebody blather on about Amway, or Shaklee or some other MLM-du-jour. Gawd, get a grip already people. It was a scam.

Well, speaking of snopes, have any of you seen this posting? http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v299/oed...partgirlwmv.flv Yeah, it's a bit from the "MindFreak" magic show, but a good one. (just a guess here, but I'm willing to bet that no laws of physics were broken in the performance of this illusion. Kinda makes you wonder what the magician could get people to believe had he a religious bent)

I can't believe you guys have all overlooked the prime, irrevocable, undeniable, ironclad "rule", i.e. - GET THE MONEY OUT OF THE NEW STUDENTS! Yes, $75, $85, $100, or $200., thou shalt not run a class without the proper amount of dinero paid in advance. And why was that such an unwavering rule? Why, the students couldn't recieve the GREATNESS OF THE WORD if they didn't give first! groan...

Nope, in fact, I never heard a "tongue" that really sounded like a language at all. In 15 years of doing the nonsense, it never happened. I heard quite a few that sounded incredibly similar, though.

Bek, She BANNED SMILING? (!) Oh yeah, further evidence of how well adjusted all the anal-retentive dipsticks were. Where did they go from there? Did they progress to banning bodily functions too? All of it is so other-worldly now that I've been out as long as I have. I can't even comprehend what it was that we thought we were trying to accomplish. The "move of THE WORD" became the ulitimate goal, but isn't that just a means and not an end in itself? Oh gawd, we got so lost in vague objectives and inscrutable aspects of "growth" that we became depraved animals, denying our very humanity. And all for - NOTHING! It was all soooo absurd. So absurd... And goodseed, good for you! I'm sure poor Arlene was at an absolute loss as to what to do after being confronted with the obvious. Too bad more of us didn't point out the Emperor's lack of clothing...

I'm kinda ambivalent about this too. I mean, the guys aren't where they are because they wore brown shoes after 5 p.m., or used the wrong fork to eat their salad. But, having said that, the concept does seem to appeal to an unthinking, knee-jerk "law and order" mindset and seems to go over very well in states that aren't exactly notorious for being overrun with liberals. Personally I think prison should be ONLY for people who pose a physical threat to society at large. Keep the violent guys locked away from folks that they could harm. Those who are simple sneak-thieves, con-artists, paper-hangers and the like should be put on house arrest and be forced to pay restitution to their victims and to cover the costs of their prosecution. Anyway, I'm not going to write my congressman about the chaingangs. If they can get some work out of the guys, I dunno, that doesn't seem all that awful...

Not being terribly quick-witted I probably would have simply said something like "Ah go F#$% yourself!". Not exactly eloquent, but what does it matter with vermin like that?