Watered Garden

We were in the FWC for a blessedly short time. We were fam-20. During our time at Rome City some fam-19 were sent out LEAD and they had to hitchhike. Horneys were in charge at Gunnison. As I recall, it was a disaster for several people. Some were late, many were ill equipped, and one woman had a screaming asthma attack when she got there and refused to go out to hike, be left alone in the wilderness while sick, etc. Many, including of course the asthma sufferer, nearly got kicked out, and all but one couple who, according to the Greatest Man of God Ever, "humbled themselves and admitted they were full of unbelief," were thoroughly reamed out and under suspicion when they returned. His Majesty King Craig had a five-star screaming ....-fit the Corps Night before these hapless souls returned. He bitterly, viciously castigated the asthma victim by name. He had become so filled with extremely righteous spiritual fury, outrage, and indignation at her vile and loathsome self for her lack of believing that he had Jac**e put her up in a motel in Gunnison, and refused to allow her sorry a$$ to contaminate the grounds of Gunnison until it was time for her to hitchhike home. I have no idea whether she was given medication, money for food or anything. Then when they returned, all the LEAD people were shut up in the little dining room off the main dining room and had to listen to the hole words and spittle issue forth from between his sanctified lips. This woman was there, her head down on the table, sobbing her heart out. I could hear Martinfart's voice screaming over the speakers in the room. Oddly enough, as far as I know, this family is still "in" and still "WC." She must have really broken down for him to let her stay after that. Poor woman! I had already received the impression that he did not like the FWC anyway. He only granted our unworthy selves the privilege of visiting us once and seemed very ill at ease. The children there, especially the children of the above described woman, were taught to worship him. Having LCM greet and touch the children was like Jesus blessing the little ones. He seemed very ill at ease, probably because he had to be around such lowlife, little believing, weaklings such as we. I am so thankful I was never faced with going LEAD. I would never have made it. To the best of my knowledge everyone in fam-19 was required to go, including DLM's sister who was handicapped. But thankfully I wasn't around by then. You would think that someone who considered himself to be such an intellectual heavyweight would have figured out a long time before that, that something was dreadfully wrong with the program, not the people who were forced into it. WG PS: I hope those of you who read my posts realize that the above is strongly laced with heavy sarcasm. I have nothing but contempt for LCM. I had nothing but sympathy for his victim. He had no concern whatsoever for the people, only for the program. Typical, but so very wrong.

Well to rate myself, in 1973-74 I was a pretty smart TC, taught Bible, prayed for people, taught them to love Jesus and each other. In 1974-75 I was a smart WOW, believing in God and not TWI. In 1975-77 I was an average fellow laborer of Ohio, dipping a bit below the intellectual radar in 1976 when I took the advanced class. By the time 1993 rolled around and I was in the FWC for three months, I didn't know beans from barium. WG

Gee, thanks, Waysider, for bringing those precious memories to the forefront of my tiny little mind! :blink: The firest year was the most fun, especially when I got to watch my future husband trying to sleep. His head would sink lower and lower, until his nose almost touched the desktop, then he would jerk upright with enough strength to almost cause a whiplash. Then lower, lower, lower, lower, .....whiplash! There was also a fellow who would simply go to sleep and drool on his Bible. My favorite memory of the second limb coordinator you mentioned was coming around the corner of the building on the way to the garden and almost running into him. He was strolling along with a big coffee cup in his hand, full of BEER! It was 9:00 or 10:00 AM on a Saturday. I wonder if he had a problem? (Not to gossip or anything, because I'm sure it was 5:00 somewhere). The second year I was there was when FL got disbanded a time or two at 5:00 AM as I recall. So freakin' cruel. I think Howie wised up and left TWI eventually. Dunno what happened to the other guy, who left, made a brief comeback with a different wife in tow, and then disappeared again. WG

Was the one in 1979 the one in Athens, Ohio? WG

This is odd, because I distinctly remember our BL mentioning how much easier it was to get his financial reports etc in to HQ because they had been told to e-mail it. This was about 1995. So that means someone at HQ was on the receiving end of the e-mail which would require a computer. Huh! WG

When we were in FWC we were required to mark down all these numbers from the glossary or something of the holy spirit book with uses of holy spirit, with dechomai and lambano, the "also" stuff and so on. Now I have a beautiful Oxford King James with all this crap in it, in addition to Exeeedingly Great and Mighty Words of Wisdom from the MOGFART. It makes me sick. I do take it to church, but I hope no one ever looks over my shoulder as says, "Hey, what are those numbers and notes all about?" Now, though I have great respect for our minister, I never write stuff down in my Bible. For one thing, there's not that much room, and for another, what if I find out that is not right either? I do like the Oxford, not because I can scribble LCM-required junk in the margins, but because it's very sturdily bound. Oh and in answer to the original question, I have NO idea what the numbers are for - and I wouldn't be bothered to look it up again, either. Oh, well, ...sigh. WG

Good for you, Spot, and congratulations for finding your church home. I found mine several years ago. I am constantly amazed by the love, concern, and total lack of criticism and condemnation that I find in these people. WG

I remember when this creep had the Peoples Temple going in Indpls. I lived there at the time, too. As I recall, quite a few African-Americans were going to his church. And didn't he have a radio or television spot as well? I was never the least bit interested, thinking he was some weirdo. But he was advertised and always in the news, it seemed. I just don't recall any more than that. No wonder my parents were so upset when I started going to TWI - they probably remembered all the Jim Jones crap from Indianapolis and shuddered. WG

And the line that "every woman in the kingdom belonged to the king (David)"? Every woman in the kingdom belonged to God! Israel was supposed to be set apart from the rest of the tribes who surrounded them. Bathsheba was Uriah's WIFE! David committed two sins in that instance, adultery AND murder. IMO that was corrupted to open the door for the adultery that "spiritually mature" sinners promoted in TWI. WG

You can make that 100,000 figure into 99,999, bubba. I was saved a long time before I ever heard of TWI. Oh and by the way - God saves, not VPW, not LCM, not Mickey Mouse. Only God can save to the uttermost. And Jesus Christ is the Real Deal, the only Real Deal there ever has been and ever will be. WG

Re: Iams - Sophie's allergic to Iams for seniors, so I quit getting it right away. Been getting natural choice or something like that, or Beneful, which I don't think is the best. But it was inexpensive at CostCo..

Oops! I googled it and it was 1982 and cyanide.

TempleLady - HI! I think yours is a thoughtful and logical post. As I recall, a very few years back there was an E. coli outbreak in organically grown lettuce. It turned out the big sinks used to wash the lettuce when it was brought it from the fields was next to a cow barn, and cow poop had somehow accidentally gotten into the water in the sinks, and there ya go. I do wonder if our suspicions are so quickly aroused secondary to the poisoned Tylenol incident. A few bottles of Tylenol were sold in Chicago and people who took the pills started dying of poison, strychinine I think it was, not sure. Apparently, the bottles had been tampered with. The end result was tamper-proof bottles, blister packs, and all the other protective packaging we curse every day. The perpetrator was never caught to the best of my knowledge. One heck of a mystery. This all happened in 1960 or so, as I recall (we retired folk sometimes have memory problems). WG

I am hoping it's okay to be a guest on the 6th WC thread for just a moment, to remember a 6th Corps grad. I've been wanting to do this for years now. The grad's name was Randy Maher. He was my brother-in-law. A kind and gentle soul who loved God and just wanted to help people. Randy died in 1991. We still miss him. I expect His Majesty King Okie had some things to say to you about Randy that were not too nice. We obtained his ordination plaque and sent it back to HQ attn. LCM and he actually did send my husband a nice little note of sympathy. But what really matters? Randy was a kind and gentle soul who loved God and just wanted to help people. Please don't say nasty things about him on this thread. It will just break my heart. Whatever else, he was a good person and had a great heart. Okay. Love, Watered Garden

I. Elmo, I notice you haven't answered any posts. Let me explain a couple things: 1. Most of us don't use our real names for a lot of reasons. I started out terrified that the WAYGB would somehow find me and hurt me or my loved ones, if by no other method than character assassination, e.g., finding my workplace, neighbors, church, and spreading nasty rumors about me. They have been known to do that. Some individuals started posting on GSC when they were still "in", or associated with TWI, or their loved ones were. At least one individual was successfully traced via this method and declared "mark and avoid" and as I recall it ruined this individual's marriage. 2. It is not terribly uncommon here to find that others view an individual in a totally different light. I remember not too long ago being totally crushed, hurt, upset, and filled with righteous indignation when someone I recalled as a wonderful, kind, loving leader and friend was regarded by other members of this forum as mean, hateful, and promiscuous. It is not unlikely that we were both right. The person you seek may well have been a dear, sweet, kind generous person in the context in which you knew her, however, others have revealed a side of her that sounds to me like what one would find under a rock. I hope by now you have made that phone call. I can't imagine why you wouldn't, since you don't seem to be at all traumatized by your previous experience with TWI. WG

Well, it's official. I'm retired. Kind of a weird feeling. I went around after I clocked out and gave my badge to the administrator and said goodbye to everyone I could find. Everyone (almost) thanked me for working there and being so helpful. It's been eight years. Up until last November, I worked for a doctor I really liked and respected. She treated breast cancer, children's cancers, and brain tumors. She is a woman of faith. About 2 1/2 years ago, however, the department got a new chair, also a woman. The four doctors who had been there forever were initially glad to get her, and the doctor she insisted on bringing with her. Then a great deal of conflict started to develop. I don't know a lot of the problems specifically, if you live in Columbus and read "The Other Paper", some of it had to do with the problems brought up in that article on the front page. And of course money is always at the bottom of everything. There was strife with her and three of the doctors, "my" doc being one of them, so one by one, they left. This is not uncommon in academic medicine. A new dept head is hired from outside of the system, and he or she has new ideas and different ways of doing things and gently, or not so gently if the people there don't have tenure, edges them out. But it broke my heart. One guy, internationally known in his field, went to California. Another, formerly the head of the department himself, retired, and is emeritus, which the new chief tried to stop. The doctor I worked for simply joined a practice group that serves several other hospitals, which took a lot of pressure off her, and she is very happy with it. The new chief had already hired in a doctor who had been her resident in another state, and I ended up being his secretary, in fact, he asked for me when I was going to be assigned to someone else, thank God, because he is a very nice man. So now I am officially retired. My husband has ordered 60 black raspberry plants so I won't get bored. We are going to put in a cutting garden. I don't expect to be bored. I can volunteer at our church. I may even get a part time job, but I hope I don't have to as a really clean house is something I haven't had for a long time. I also want to learn to cook really nice meals. I'm sure there will be a lot of things. Eventually we plan to travel a little. Thanks for all your kind wishes. They mean a lot to me. WG

Roll away, roll away, roll aaaawaaayyyy All the burdens on my heart role away (repeat) ev-ry sin has to go 'neath the crimson flowww Hallelujah! roll away roll away roll away All the burdens on my heaaaarrrrt... Roolllllllll AAAAAA WAYYY!! Sung ad infinitum as an indication the meal is over and it's time to clear the tables. Of course it would be just awful to simply say, "The meal is over and it's time to clear the tables."

A truck garden is a garden where you grow more than just for yourself, enough to sell at farmers' market but not a full fledged farm. You load the produce in your truck on Saturday morning, set up your tables, baskets, a chair to sit in, and wait for the townies to come buy your stuff. Don't know where the term really comes from, but that's as close as I can get to a definition. WG

No Swiss Chard. No mustard greens. Especially no wilted mustard greens. :blink:

Isaiah 58:11: And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose watrs fail not. This is where I got my user name. In case anyone wonders. Thank you all so much for the kind wishes. I am in fact retiring from The James Cancer Hospital, where I have worked for the past eight years. My plan for the future is to start a truck garden on our slightly over 4 acres, to earn extra cash, and also to just have fun and enjoyment. So this is a double birthday in some ways. March 30 is my last day on the job. We are looking to grow black raspberries. We are purchasing canes of two different varieties: Black Mack and Jewel. They are not too hard to grow, have pretty impressive thorns, and sell well. I also plan to grow tomatoes, green beans, summer squash, and a lot of basil, along with some flowers for cutting. I may not show up quite as much after this next week. But I will most certainly check in every week or so just to say "Hi". Love you all, WG

Dot, This just makes me sick. This is why I firmly believe in an armed citizenry and I believe this is what the founding fathers meant. If the town or city officials are part of the problem, vote them out of office! Publicize their misdeeds - roaches run when you turn the light on them. This mess has sneaked up on America and now is becoming a nationwide problem, even in the cute little towns. I think people in this country need to recognize that there is indeed good and evil, not the evil haves who cause the have-nots to want and to take by force. Forget the sociology, folks! Back to the constitution and yes, the truth! Folks who don't recognize right from wrong, and try to explain and excuse this kind of behavior, should be the ones who get to deal with the results, but usually they don't. We do. Even in Washington State, if a homeowner or shopowner shot someone who was invading their property and intended harm or some other crime, the home/shop owner could shoot them dead on the spot. Works for me. WG

If I'd known FLO was what it was in advance, I'd never have shown up! I always found it interesting that everything I owned immediately became communal property, however, everything that others owned was theirs, dammit, and keep your mitts off. Like the chick who "borrowed" a pair of silver and turquoise bracelets that had been courting gifts from my father to my mother, then kept fthem or weeks, locked in her car in plain view, but was "too busy" to get them for me, until I simply blew up, and said, "You get them now or I break into your car." No privacy. Four girls in the bathroom at one time, a requirement of the house leader. One in the shower, one brushing her teeth, one doing hair/makeup, and one, well, you know! And four girls always used MY hair dryer. No. 5 had her own, and kept it to herself. Of course, mine broke down fairly quickly and I was selfish and hateful with the replacement and told the three (longhaired of course) to get their own dryers! However, one thing I got out of Fellowlaborers makes it all worth it! My extremely wonderful husband of almost 30 years! WG

Abercrombie and Fitch has one called "Woods" that I like. By the way, how much of a good thing are we lookin' at (or smellin')? There is a fellow here where I work who wears very nice cologne - about a quart a day. I've never asked him what he wears, it does vary, because I couldn't buy it for Mr. Garden - the very thought makes my sinuses tremble in fear. I do think a nice subtle scent is wonderful, though.

Dot, They used that scripture against us about leaders not being a terror to good works but to evil. Remember? What is evil about having a baby? What is evil about loving your family, your husband, your children? What is evil about taking care of yourself? What is evil about an inherited disease? I'll tell you what is evil. What is evil is using God's children to your own benefit. What is evil is taking advantage of innocent helpless girls for sexual gratification and telling them God will bless them for serving the MOGFODAT. What is evil is telling people to "get rid of" their child. What is evil is intruding into every nook and cranny of an individual's life, making judgement, and demanding payment. What is evil is falsely representing the most loving, kind, generous, tender God to His own beloved. How many people have we seen post who hate God, deny His very existence, because of the manner in which TWI represented Him to them? May God forgive me for the evil I did in His Name out of my own ignorance. May He tenderly bind the wounds of our hearts left by those evil ones. WG

Dot, jeez, I don't know what to say. You struck such a deep chord within me. We went to live in WA in 1993 after getting tossed from FC 20. Shortly thereafter I began to live in fear. I was terrified to let my son out of my sight, for fear he would get into trouble. I was terrified to take him to twig, because him getting in trouble, and then me getting in trouble with our legalistic HFCs was a given. I was terrified the whole three years I was out there. Sometimes I'm still afraid that D***d M****r was right, and I am no longer saved, because he stated that if anyone left TWI the spirit within them died at that moment. I know it's not true, but I still wonder....... I remember one time V*** R**** confronted us about our lives and demanded we "get rid" of our son, and how he would happily throw any of his children out of his life and never give them another thought if they interfered with his ability to walk for TWI and my husband stormed angrily out. I should have stormed right with him but I was afraid, afraid we would be kicked out and die. When we, no longer TWI but still breathing, moved back to Ohio I was terrified. I was convinced we would never find jobs, and of course we'd never own a home again because LCM had stated that was not to be and in order to maybe live a few minutes longer than I deserved I was afraid to do anything other than obey the MOGFODAT even if I was not allowed to serve God as a follower of TWI. Well, we've owned three homes, for a while a few summers back all three at once, we have jobs, my husband even went back to school and is now a teacher. And mostly I have conquered that life-sucking terror that used to surround me all the time. WG