Steve!

Aaaaahhh, perhaps I misunderstood your first post . . .

Hmmmm, that bad, huh? I'm glad you told us, now I won't take the kids to go see it. Maybe we'll see "Matrix Revolutions" instead . . .

STFI reminds me too much of STFU, which stands for "Shut Up". Almost.

I think that that's something you should see a doctor about . . .

WG, one way to start a Private Topic is to find a post by Galen, then click on the user name "Galen", and a pop-up window that appears has the link "Invite Galen to a Private Topic".

I'm really curious. This is a question for you g-spotters that were born and raised in TWI. As a child, was Christmas a magical time for you ever? Did it hold a lot of wonder? Was it a really special time of the year? Or was it just a little bit out of the ordinary, but otherwise nothing special? I know how I would have raised my kids, if I had had any while I was "in". And x-mass would not have been all that different from the rest of the year. I would be grateful to hear some of your stories.

Ummm, whoops. Would that be "Rafael"?

deleted so as not to allow a spoiler to continue [This message was edited by Steve! on December 15, 2003 at 13:21.]

She was only the cattleman's daughter, but all the horsemen knew her. (better when spoken aloud) She was only the plumber's daughter, but every time she passed a men's room she flushed. She was only the boxer's daughter, but she would go a round with anyone. She was only the sailor's daughter, but she never met seamen she didn't like.

Yeah, Mannheim Steamroller, gotta love 'em! I hate that one song, how's it go? "Do you smell what I smell", or something like that.

JustThinking, way to go! You've got all the support that you need, right here! There are probably gspotters in your area, or nearby. There are all kinds of people available to talk to for emotional support should you need it. There are all kinds of believers (yes, I said believers) that will pray for and with you should you need it. Ya, mon, do it!

PJ, what's your point in saying that? Are you saying "let's forgive and forget the past and stop talking about it", or are you saying "let it go and get yourself healed"? First of all, nobody has ASKED for forgiveness. Second, a lot of us HAVE forgiven, or at least moved on, but the evils of TWI need to keep being publicized. There are newbies here all the time, and people wondering if they should leave, or go back. The evils need to be exposed so that nobody else gets hoodwinked by that horrible organization.

Ya know what I think is wild? People that left in '79 say that when they were first "in", it was SO exciting and wonderful, but by the time they left, it was horrible. People that left in the mid-80's say that when they were first "in", it was SO exciting and wonderful, but by the time they left, it was horrible. People that left in the late 80's say that when they were first "in", it was SO exciting and wonderful, but by the time they left, it was horrible. People that left in the early 90's say that when they were first "in", it was SO exciting and wonderful, but by the time they left, it was horrible. People that left in the mid 90's say that when they were first "in", it was SO exciting and wonderful, but by the time they left, it was horrible. People that left in the late 90's say that when they were first "in", it was SO exciting and wonderful, but by the time they left, it was horrible. And people that stayed in during all those years talk about a steady decline, and sometimes periods of major decline. Imagine if you took one of those people from the late 90's and showed him/her what it was really like in the early 70's - would that person have a laundry problem from the huge difference?

BTW, I listen to Mancow's Morning Madhouse - he's here in Chicago, but syndicated in many major cities across the U.S. - and he sat in the only screening worldwide of "Return of the King" with Ebert and Roeper (also Chicagoans). He says that it is the best of the three, and that it makes the trilogy the best movie trilogy EVER. Just something to think about in the week before it opens. A whole week. A who-o-o-ole week. Dangit.

I don't know, I thought it stayed a lot truer to the books than you guys are indicating. Faramir, for example - I thought he was dead-on in the movie. And I thought that Arrowroot (son of Arrowshirt) DID resist the temptation in the book.

Well, OM, many here at G-Spot would agree that this is a PRIME example of waybrain. OM, I'm starting to think that you had some serious blinders on when you were "in". I think you STILL may have them.

Hmmm, perhaps documented OR verbal, because a lot of "policy" was never documented. Waybrain is when you are so indoctrinated into TWI's dogma that you shudder when you hear the word "Christmas", you can't bring yourself to use the word "creative", etc.

I had so much waybrain that I . . . . . . got rid of all of my prestidigitation (magician) equipment. I had a few hundred dollars worth of tricks, and I got convinced that performing magic would lead people down the path of devil spirit possession. I had so much waybrain that I had difficulty experiencing normal emotions for a long time. Of course, that was compounded by my marriage. I had so much waybrain that I couldn't listen to any religious conversations, teachings, etc., without picking them apart in my mind. Anyone else here ever suffer from waybrain?

Or heck, just work on making friends where you are, and work on developing interests, and learning who you are. While in TWI you probably didn't really have all that much time to have hobbies, or join bowling leagues, or any of that kind of thing. Start living a real life again! There's more to life than meetings! Heck, a couple of years ago, I volunteered (!) at a Roman Catholic (!) Church's community barbecue - just for the fun of it. I met some wonderful people, and had a great time.

Wonder - most here will tell you that you shouldn't go back. Craig was a symptom, not the cause. True, there won't be any churches anywhere that share 100% of your beliefs with you. But there are TWI splinter groups, known as offshoots, and many of the churches around, even though they may not have a corner on truth, still have wonderful warm hearted people, and manifest the love of God much more than has been evident in TWI for quite some time.

Wenceslaus, it's German. And "Saint" Nicholas was a bishop.

I use Front Page all the time, it's the standard for the University where I teach part-time. It's easy to use, and not overly glitchy.

"Stupid" and "Way Stories" - hmmmm, isn't that redundant?

TWI and its off....s remind me of that Heinlein novel, "Stranger in a Strange Land". You pays your money, you takes your class, then you find out that there's another class, with advanced information, and you pays your money, you takes your class, and then you find out there's ANOTHER class, and so on . . .and then you find out there's a TRAINING PROGRAM. And the only way you can understand all the jargon is to be spiritual enough.

Happy Dance Time!