Watered Garden

(((((Polar Bear,))))) I empathize with your post a lot. For a long long time I agreed with the hypocrites that I was a leper, unworthy of inhaling oxygen on this planet, sure to be condemned to the mists of outer darkness. But you know, that was 7 years ago, and I'm starting to pull out of it, though I do have "flashbacks" if you will when people I meet exhibit certain attitudes. At least I can get hacked off at them. I am very very cautious around church people, including my own church. When it was decided, this being a baby church, that it was time to have members, my husband was all for it (he has pretty much left the past behind him). I was the last one of the church plant group to turn in a form. I had to think about it and think about it, and I'm still not sure I really wanted to or just caved in to others' expectations. The farther away from TWI I get the more independent I get. Makes for some friction sometimes, but as Old Blue Eyes (I think) sang "I gotta be me!" WG

Well, I am extremely thankful your son is okay. I expect he has learned his lesson and will become a more watchful and prudent driver. We have had our share of totalled vehicles since we moved to the country in 2003. Four deer in three years = one 1998 Dodge Dakota and one 1997 Honda CR-V. One farm tractor hay wagon + twilight + no blinkers on = one 1999 Honda Civic EX Coupe. No injuries though. Except to the deer. Puttin' the BAM in Bambi since 2003! WG

The last tool I recall being utilized for removing unwanted sod was called a Fellow Laborer of Ohio! I would suggest trying the Scott's Weed & Feed before you go to all that effort. Plus the fact that once you do sod, this spring, you will have a ton of expense, labor, and maintenance, not to mention watering to look forward to. Where we live, it's been dry, and sodding would have been a nightmare. We sodded once, when we bought a brand new house in Charleston SC. What a pile of work that was, and on a small city lot to boot. And the freakin' fire ants found corners that were not properly stomped down and made ant piles anyway! Plus we had to water and water and water that summer to get it going properly. By fall, though, our front yard did look less like a patchwork quilt and more like a lawn. I would suggest you consult your local nursery for suggestions. WG

I finally figured out after my second winter there that "Put it where the sun don't shine" really meant "Send it to Seattle." WG

I'm right there with you on the sunlight thing. Winter in the Seattle area was bad enough. When the sun broke through over one of the hills in Seattle, they'd actually announce it on the radio! "There's a sun-break over Queen Anne Hill right now, should last about half an hour!" I always imagined people rushing from their offices to stare out over the city at the little golden rays bathing a hill in the near distance. It drove me nuts, though family didn't seem to mind. The one good part was very little snow and not terribly cold weather. The bad parts were rain, drizzle, gray skies, gray skies, gray skies, gray skies, not much daylight , drizzle, rain, and gray skies. Did I mention the sun seldom shines and the skies are gray a lot? WG

"Swill with flax seeds" Nature's little freight trains! WG

Glad you're back - hope you can post some pix or e-mail them when you have time. Now I'm pumped - I wanna get the Irish thing over with so we can go there! WG

Oh she sailed away on a sunny, sunny day On the back of a croc-o-dile. "You see," said she, "he's as tame as he can be! I'll ride him down the Nile." Well, the croc winked his eye as she waved them all good-bye, Wearing a hap-py smile! But at the end of the ride, the lady was inside, And the smile was on the croc-o-dile! There! It's taken months, but my poor old brain cells finally sorted it out! I'll let Waysider figure out how to add the hand gestures. WG

No I don't think you were rude at all. Just honest. Once when we lived in NC, a couple in our twig had been contacted by JW's. They invited them to return on a Saturday afternoon, then called the TC's (us) and invited us over for the same afternoon. Whereupon, Mr. Garden, the male half of the couple, and our son promptly left, leaving me with the wife and daughter. I don't remember much of the details; it was a woman and maybe her daughter, I think, who came. Of course, the wife and daughter deferred to me, being under the impression that I knew more Bible than the JW's. Actually, I did know quite a bit, enough to put them on the defensive anyway, and encourage them to leave after about half an hour. I guess my PI was bigger than their PI! Would I do it again? Dunno. Fortunately I live way out on a country road and people don't door to door out here much. I worked with a JW a long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away. She was a wonderful person, and we could discuss things without getting upset with each other. I try not to be nasty to anyone who does come door to door, because I've been there, done that, and almost been flattened by angry words and slamming doors. It is, however, one thing I got to do with Mr. Garden and we got to know each other better. Waysider may remember our first year in FLO when we were divided up and went to some little suburb of Cols. that was "a hu11uva place to send believers." WG

I don't recall ONE incident in Scripture where Jesus Christ, whom VPW purported to represent as The Tupos for the Christian walk, bullied people. Reproved, corrected, probably raised his voice, sure. He said to Peter, "Get thee behind me, Satan!" There was undoubtedly a snap in His voice then, but He did NOT say, "Get thee behind me, you worthless piece of S***!" He never made his disciples feel useless and worthless, like VPW and LCM did the WC. I was there. I hated every minute of it. It was only after dismissal from the FWC I began to question my existence and contemplate suicide. It was graduates of the WC that made me think about it more and more. Jesus restored Peter after Peter denied Him however many times he denied Him. He made a point of restoring Peter. He would never had ascended to heaven before He had restored Peter. Why? Because He loved Peter. He loved His disciples. He cared for them when they were arguing, fearful, being stupid and vacillating. I'd rather be like Jesus than VPW or LCM. To say that VPW or LCM represented God is an insult to the Almighty. IMO. WG

When Mr. Garden was in college, his elderly mainden lady aunt died. So we went up to the northwest corner of the staet where she had a funeral mass. Then she had stipulated in her will that anyone who came to her funeral got to go to a country club, I believe in St. Mary's, for dinner on her. So off we went. There was an open bar, and I recall some really nice food. I had never met the lady, but her wake was enjoyed by all. WG

Is there no limit to the cruelty of man? WG

The only cedar trees I've seen in Ohio are the ones people have planted, usually in cemeteries. We do however have a lot of other sneeze-causing stuff. Right now the empty field next to us is full of goldenrod and I am sneezing, coughing and producing grunge out of my sinus cavities at a great rate. I ran out of Zyrtec. Which brings me to second the motion posted by Waysider. A good doctor could probably find something to help. Zyrtec is the only thing that helps me, but there are lots of others out there. I should warm you also that Zyrtec is expensive, the copay even is expensive. But it's worth it, at least to me. WG

Wow! What an inspiration! I wanna see this movie. It made me think, "This is what pushing someone to be their best should be like, not LCM's foul mouthed ranting. WG

Copenhagen, I looked for that feeling for a long time. It was never quite the same. Then I realized that what I needed was not the friendship and cameraderie of other people, which will disappear in a heartbeat if you leave the sacred walls of Zion (TWI), either by your own volition or they decide you are no longer worthy of the privilege of fellowshipping with them. What I needed in my life was a real, personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I needed to know who He is for real. I did the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, something a lot of posters here may never do. I admitted to myself that a lot of what TWI teaches as "rightly-divided Word" is not that at all. I'm not going into what I kept and what I cast aside as part of my personal beliefs; that doesn't belong in this thread. I admitted that I am a sinner and that I need a savior. I asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart and be my Lord. You don't get that from TWI. What IMO they teach is an illusion of salvation. You "confess with your mouth and believe in your heart", but you do not confess you are a sinner and need a savior. Thus, it is easy to subtly usurp the rightful position of Jesus Christ in your heart and mind and life with the false friendships of TWI, the leadership, not of Christ as the Head of the Church, but as TWI as the omniescent, and eventually omnipotent lord of your being. They teach that to ask Jesus to be your Lord and hand over your life to Him is to become possessed. That is absolute garbanzo beans; if Jesus is your Lord, they can't be. So they drive a wedge between you and Him. Anyways, that's what worked for me. And as a result, I have a church home that I love and that loves me right back. But's it's the fellowship with Christ that fills the gap, not people. WG

Cindy!, I don't know if Steve! is into it, but a few years back we attended the wedding of the daughter of a couple who were formerly on staff. They are both musical, he was in a musical group at TWI, and they sang a duet of "Sunrise, Sunset." It was beautiful and moving. I"ll try to find the lyrics. It's from "Fiddler on the Roof." WG

I took Maxx to the vet and the news is not good. She first pointed out jaundice in the whites of his eyes that indicates liver problems, scum on his gums and teeth that indicates renal failure. She then palpated a big, big mass in his abdomen, apparently a liver cancer. Maxx has gone from 30 lb, a bit chubby, to 21 lb, in about three weeks. She said he will not last the week. I love my vet. She is one compassionate, skilled woman. I have an appointment with her for Maxx to be put down Thursday at 12:15. I have to go to work after that. This is probably good for me, as long as they don't have me passing out samples of dog food or Nyla bones or tennis balls. We lived in the Seattle area when Ken Griffey, Jr. played for the Mariners. We used to roll a tennis ball to Maxx along the floor and he would look at it and take his furry paw and bat it back to us. We could get a run of this going several times. We would tell him, "Play ball, Junior," and he knew just what to do. He was always so proud of himself when he had just been clipped and would strut to the car from the groomer's with his head in the air. We are not getting another dog until our lab is gone also, but I have told Mr. Garden we need another cocker spaniel. Maxx has just been an incredible dog. I wish I could post a picture but our scanner died an untimely death a few months back. B. O'N, if you read this, I'm thankful you were there to love Maxx too. WG

Funny to think, Waysider, when you refer to running with the cows - that cow pasture was bought by a church, and we were strongly involved with that church until we moved out here and joined the church plant they started closer to our new home. Actually, it's kinda nice. The cows were the only ones that never bothered us hapless FLO's, they just jogged alongside to say hello. And that is a very nice church indeed, as far removed from FLO as the sun is from Pluto. WG

Maybe the offendee is saying the offender's mother was not a Muslim. There are a lot of other things that can be said to express one's dismay, i.e., shipwreck! We had a Muslim guy from Egypt as a resident where I worked, and his command of English was sometimes shaky. The chief resident, a clever fellow who picked up on this right away, started calling him Beeyotch, which of course meant nothing to him. Eventually someone tipped him off so he called the chief resident right back, only since his English was sometimes shaky, it came out "Zee-aytch. Thus he was called until the chief resident finally graduated and moved away. WG

I am going to take him to our vet this afternoon and see if there is anything she can suggest regarding feeding him, getting rid of the eye infection, which does seem better, etc. We don't want this to go on too long. I really don't want my grandson to see him suffering. Right now Maxx just sleeps most of the time. WG

Yep, me too. "He's busy right now. Could I help you?" I worked in a department where my supervisor was an unbeliever, and her favorite curse word was JEEEZZUS KEY-RIST! Finally on my way by as she swore, I said, "Jesus Christ didn't drop those papers, you did." Sorta hushed her right up, for a while anyway. Ever notice that Muslims never say "ALLAH DAMN IT!"? Or "MO-HAMMMMED!"? I think whether you are a believer or not, it's sort of low class. Hear it all the time on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" when the recipients of the dream home see it for the first time. I always want to say, "It's not OMIGOD, it's OMYTYPENNINGTON." WG

Well I got up this morning and Maxx seems somewhat better. He didn't want his eyes cleaned out, which of course we did anyway, and he ate a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats. I am going to see if I can't take him to the vet today or tomorrow. I think he deserves a small reprieve. He has been such a great dog. Twenty-five pounds of protective, snarling fluff that adored any child within reach, especially the small, toddling ones that poke at eyes and pull at ears, he would patiently endure until he could gracefully escape. Hopefully a few more good times for him. We'll see what the vet says. WG

I took the Advanced class in 1975. I don't remember taking an exam, but I was in Fellow Laborers of Ohio and much of that time is a blur of confusion, caused no doubt by overwork and exhaustion. I do definitely remember other people coming to Limb during that two years to take the exam. I remember that because we FLO's were working that Saturday and were strictly forbidden, under any circumstances, to enter the limb building after the exam had started. Of course, we were not informed of that happy fact until AFTER we had had three cups of coffee with our delicious familia breakfast. So we couldn't go inside to pee or anything. Nice. WG

Thanks, Sudo. We do have another dog, a yellow Lab who is 14 (obviously we take good care of our dogs). She has arthritis in her back legs and spine, and may not make it through the winter. She is quite spoiled by us running to help her get up at her every bark, but I really don't mind all that much, except at 2:30 in the morning, when she wants to go from the master bedroom to her bed in the laundry room. We are debating, when they house is dogless and boring and way too quiet, whether to get another Lab or another cocker. My vote is for a cocker foir several reason. They don't shed like a lab. They are smaller, and we want to travel and it seems all the nicer places to stay say "small dogs only." They don't take as much space on the bed and keep your feet warm on cold nights (which my husband of 30 years STILL refuses to do). They are great with kids. They do require a bit of grooming. I used to brush Maxx every morning and he would actually go to sleep in my lap. We have a groomer in our tiny town, but I've been afraid this summer to take Maxx in; I'm afraid he would just keel over and die on the spot. There is a breeder not too far from here. I think I will check them out personally one of these days. I still don't know about doggie heaven. I sure hope so, and I'll be glad to scoop the streets of gold if Maxx and Brandy and Sophie are there with me. WG

Our red and white cocker spaniel, Maxx, registered name Michael's Smart Maxwell, is 16 years old. He has lived in three states with us. We got him in North Carolina as a 7 week old pup. He was supposed to be our son's dog, but decided early on to be Mr. Garden's dog. An employee of the plant where my husband was a supervisor once remarked about seeing Mr. Garden in his pickup truck and a cocker spaniel seemed to be driving it. They were always together. When we went into the FWC, we gave Maxx to a couple in our fellowship. The man loved him dearly, but the wife noticed she was seeing the occasional dog hair, and when we left FWC and moved to Washington, Maxx was shipped to us. We were living in an apartment complex at the time, and the evening Mr. Garden brought him back from Sea-Tac, we put him on his leash and took him for a walk, and he put his little nose to the ground and back-tracked us unerringly to his new home. Whle we lived there his back went out and he was in pain for a while, but a great vet saved him and got him going again. People didn't know he was a cocker spaniel, as red-and-whites are not terribly common, and would ask his breed. I always told them he was a Rottweiller working undercover. Maxx agreed completely. He was the perfect dog for our rambuncious son, putting up with a certain amount of teasing, then explaining his objections with a snap of his teeth. He has kept my feet warm on winter nights for 16 winters now. He has never gotten in a fight with another dog or even snapped in anything but self-defense. However, all good things must end, it seems, and Maxx is failing badly. He is totally blind and nearly totally deaf. Of late, he has has mostly lost his appetite, and what little we can get him to eat does not seem to digest well. He has probably lost 10 pounds and is skin and bones. He has recently developed a bad eye infection that daily has to be cleaned, and his eyes are crusted over completely with green and yellow pus. We have made the decision to have him put down. Probably soon, as we don't want our grandson to see him like this. He can barely walk, just totters around, and sleeps 90% of the time. His nose seems to be getting some kind of an infection and crusting in it also. I know it's the intelligent decision to make. His has no quality of life. His heart is enlarged and slams against his ribs and he is just falling apart. He can't eat, and his good little nose doesn't even work well any more. I know it's the right thing to do. But emotionally, I'm just a basket case. I insist on my husband going with me. We will probably take him in tomorrow or Wednesday, depending on when my favorite of our two vets is there. Perhaps I should have put this on the Prayer thread. I would like prayer for all of us as we experience this loss, especially my precious grandson, who says Maxx is his best friend. In time we will get a puppy, after our trip abroad next spring. But it's gonna be weird not having Maxx to trip over. Thanks, WG