George Aar

And might I add wimpy? It must be a girl thing...

Hey, as an old roofer, I fine the concept "fascinating"...

I guess my initial response would be that, yeah, myths are a bad thing. I mean to believe in them. I never was much disposed to do that till my WayWorld daze. And using them as a roadmap? How could you possibly trust a map that was made up? I don't get it. But, then, I wouldn't...

I learned that it's quite common for people to desire and look for a magical solution to all of life's problems. I also learned that once we've invested a bit of ourselves in whatever dogma we were drawn to, it's VERY difficult to give it up. So I do thank WayWorld for reminding me that religion is simply something people choose to believe. There is no real, verifiable evidence of any of it. To believe you must want to, and also must spend a least a portion of your time stopping your ears and going "la,la,la,la" so as to reduce the effect of the real world creeping in. Yes, so I am tremendously blessed in that I no longer spend any time trying to keep myself indoctrinated in mythologies. The real world may be harsh at times (and yes, I'm keenly aware of that at the present), but it's where I choose to live, and I wouldn't have it any other way...

I guess I'd be surprised too, except I don't know who Jeff Daniels is. Is that good or bad?

Well, if I go by experience, there's not a ****** thing that the "ministry" did for me, save pick my pocket and waste my time. Hardly miraculous. Lots of folks out there do exactly that to millions everyday. I'd love to wax nostalgic for all the great times I had in WayWorld and all the things of God that I "saw"... but there aren't any. Even the Wayfer girl I chose for a wife turned out to be somewhat less than advertized. Damn, 16 years and counting that I've been out of that B.S. organization, and I'm still paying the price for it...

Well, it's my job description so here goes: While this sort of feelgood blather no doubt plays well at Amway meetings and the like, it sure makes lousy history. As Wordwolf already noted, if you look into many of the claims made, they simply don't stand up to scrutiny. And, all of that notwithstanding, would anybody really WANT to emulate Abraham Lincoln's life? A (typical for the times, but nontheless) brutal childhood, he suffered from depression most of his adult life (he called it his "black dog" that followed him around), suffered the loss of his first love, a couple of his children, had a whack-o wife, spent 4 years sending thousands of boys off to die in a gut-wrenching, apocalyptic war, and ended up getting murdered at 56. Somehow I have a hard time envying the life he led.

Well, to get back to nostalgia for a moment, did anybody else see this in the news: http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/film/fe...ticle304027.ece Yeah, Marilyn is STILL the hearthrob of men (and some women, no doubt) everywhere. God, I'd give a months pay to have been a fly on the wall whilst she was taking her physical inventory. O.K., maybe I've said too much. Marilyn, I still love you! {But, BTW - Joan CRAWFORD?(!)}

Kathy, Yeah, personally I don't know much about the "adding to" part, but I think I understand the "subtracts"...

Kathy, That is the alltime saddest picture that I know of. Cute little John-John saluting his dad's casket, God it doesn't get anymore tear-jerking than that does it? Did you know that Jackie still had a birthday party for John-John in the midst of all of that? I guess they still had decorations and ice cream and cake and presents in the upstairs of the White House all the while the Mrs. had to make preparations for Jack's funeral. The lady was a lot tougher than she got credit for...

I was a W.O.W. twice. We prayed for everything. Jobs, housing, a "class", jobs for "new" people, and of course the normal intercessions for health and healing. Funny thing is, we could rationalize and say that yes, that job I finally got (that I was incredibly overqualified for) after several weeks was "God". Or the fact that we were finally able to get a POS apartment to live in - again after several weeks, was the hand of the Almighty, or any of the other stuff that we did to survive the year. Yeah, it was all God, all the time. But you know what? Unbelieving jerk-offs manage to survive out here as well, sometimes a whole bunch better than the W.O.W.s did (often?). And they don't pray or believe at all. So how do you explain that? Oh, yeah, the rain falls on the fields of the just and the unjust as well. So, why do anything then? You can attribute anything you accomplish or receive as being evidence of the wages of perseverance or of intervention of the Almighty. At the end of the day, it still don't mean squat. I always thought it funny that the most powerful being in the universe gave blessings that often had to be read with a micrometer... (BTW, we never did run a class in 2 years of being W.O.W., and the other blessings were about as miraculous as that, as well)

Jim, Well, I think I have an answer, but I'll spare you...

Gawd, even after 15 years of being "out" just looking at that crap makes me ill. The phony "authority" we assumed to have, the "special" knowledge that outsiders we're so unaware of, the whole "secret handshake" mindset of being in the know, and then all the convoluted, mind-numbing "principles" - acccck! It's all just icky. REALLY icky...

Belated response to Sudo. After reviewing your family pics, I've got to say, with daughters like that, I trust you've got your shotgun loaded at all times? (they're dollbabies)

Well, neither George or Martin are my type, but I'd take the Corvette in a heartbeat (actually a '54 would be way cool, but I could sacrifice and settle for the '59).

Well, I thought I'd be celebrating along with you, but, not to be. Life can be a mutha at times...

Worship - to me now - is sorta like putting out cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve. Maybe it makes you feel better, but what is the point? Like a being sage enough and powerful enough to command all the elements in the universe needs a few flawed humans to try their best to give Him ego strokes? Yeah, that makes sense...

Kathy, Sorry, local reference. "Jazzoid" is a term coined by a DJ at our local jazz station. He starts out his program everyday with the salutation "Hi ho, Jazzoids!"

Aw, come on guys, if you didn't know that the musician was Django Reinhardt, it's time to turn in your "Jazzoid Fanclub" membership card. Interesting to note about the inimitable Messr. Reinhardt - He was injured in a fire and the fingers of his fingering hand were burnt and left bent and only partially mobile. Yet he still managed to make some great music. He often paired up with the great violinist Stephane Grappelli. Unfortunately, Django left us all too soon in the '50's, his associate kept playing until almost 90 and finally departed this earth just a few years ago...

Yeah, I was hoping to just ignore this one. It's gonna be even tougher than Father's Day, I fear. But I do appreciate the sentiments, I do...

Sorry...

Dave, I remember the times only too well now. You're a gem. Thank you...

Ditto what Laleo said...

Well, there's seems to be an adequate supply of posters on the female side of the topic. I might add though, that there are a few husbands out here who give there wives all the room they'd like. And don't abuse them, or demand to be waited on, and yet still provide a house (such as it is) and finances and vehicles and take them on trips and laugh with them and enjoy their company. But if your home becomes an unhappy place for you, is your only alternative to dump your husband? Is that going to insure that your remaining life is going to be a barrel of laughs? How about voicing your concerns and - God forbid - actually doing something to remedy whatever ails you? Yeah, we're men. And as such we're often not as thoughtful as we should be (especially after years of being together), we're not as tuned into the unspoken feelings, the background noise, or ambiance. So sue us, we're men. Yeah, I should have said "You look really nice tonight" more often. I should have told her how much I appreciate her more often (or at all). And I could have been more supportive and less judgemental. But I thought the point of marriage was to have that one person you could trust - come what may - the one that you could always confide in and find comfort with, despite what may be going on outside the home. If your staying in the marriage is dependant upon always being happy, and you feel free to leave whenever you feel unhappy, how in the hell can your mate ever trust you again? You're only here until the next cloud comes along? Gosh, that's heartening...

I don't now much of anything about the group except that there's a rather large contingent of ex-Wayfers that follow the organization around here. It seems to me that the head folks are from the Idaho area? Not sure, but I've heard a few of my ex-Wayfer friends singing their praises. Not for me, thanks all the same...