Kaisersushiverbal, etc.

[TheManOfa Thousand ScreenNames]

I apologize for the length of this post. It is the second time I?ve told my story at length for general consumption. Originally, it was submitted for an English Composition class I took about 13 years ago. And, if I don?t blow my own horn, no one else will :D-->, I?m sure most of you will be shocked

to learn, I earned and ?A? for this paper. So stick THAT in your smoke and

pipe it. :D-->

I haven?t included a large part of the sordid details. Not only have I not written them down (as yet), I don?t want to bore you with them either. It is my hope you will understand me a little better after having read this.

Betrayal. It can shatter one?s sense of self like a rose dipped in liquid nitrogen. It is incalculable how much is spent on psychiatrists? couches rebuilding self perceptions after such an incident. Betrayal is no stranger to me and I would like to relate my story.

In the spring of 1977, I was working at a convenience store in Totowa, N.J. This was a chain of stores not unlike 7-11. I was seventeen and working to help support my family after my parents split up.

There were three stores in the area. The closest was three blocks away from my house.The next was fifteen blocks farther. The furthest was approximately two miles away. This was the store where I was employed.

In order to save money, I would hitchhike to work. It was a rare occasion when I didn?t get a ride. I also had a contingency plan should that have occurred. It was to allow enough time to walk there should a ride not materialize.

Thus set the stage for betrayal. One evening, a station wagon pulled over and the people inside waved for me to get in the car. The sky looked like it was on the verge of a downpour, so the stopped vehicle was a most welcome sight.

Once in the car, I found out all of them were from different geographical locations. Minnesota, Kansas, Chicago, and last but not least, Indiana. At first, I thought this a little strange, but quickly dismissed it

because I needed a ride and they were providing one.

The conversation turned to God in half a nanosecond. They were talking about how great He was, what he did for them, and just generally

having a grand old time with it all. When it came time for me to get out, an invitation was extended to what they called a fellowship. I said I would come should I not have any other plans for the evening.

Lo and behold, there was an opening in my social calendar. I went to the house which was directly across from the high school. Their apartment was on the first floor of a Victorian-style house.

Being somewhat apprehensive, I didn?t ring the doorbell immediately. I sat on the tree stump across the street. Then walked around it for a while.

This went on for quite some time. Finally, I gathered myself together and stepped onto the porch. Nervously, my finger found its way to the buzzer. At the time, it seemed like it was taking forever, kind of like waiting for the first pot of coffee of the day.

Having struck paydirt, the buzzer signaled my presence to all inside. Phil, the one from Chicago, greeted me with a handshake and a ?God bless you?. Similar sentiments were expressed throughout the living room, which was the meeting place.

Everyone present was rather friendly, which was a definite switch from the way people usually behaved at the church I grew up attending. This also belied what was to happen seven years later. Little did I realize how my trust in this group of people would one day be a danger to my personal safety. Ah, to be young and foolish.

Trust is the major component in betrayal. Those who are closest to you have the greatest advantage in the betrayal market. They are privy to a much greater amount of information than you would allow any enemy. Therefore,

friendships are not to be taken lightly.

Life was fairly uneventful until the early spring of 1984. This is when the excrement impacted the rotating oscillator. Jim, one of my friends in the organization, was having a rougher than normal period in his life. It was

thought it was due to the major influence of the organization. I know this will come as a shocking revelation to anyone who has had contact with the organization for any length of time.

Jim had a friend named Peter. Peter is a former member of The Way Corps. This is the ?leadership? training program for the organization. After spending the day with him, we all decided it would be in our better interests to disassociate ourselves from the organization.

Needless to say, the world as I knew it came to an abrupt end. On the way home, I elected to do all the driving. It was an eight hour trip. I needed something to occupy my hands, since my head was doing donuts in the parking lot of my mind.

One of the methods the organization uses to keep the rank and file in line is the threat of being ?marked and avoided?. This is very similar to the Amish practice of shunning. Within days, people who were supposedly my

best friends had great difficulty if not found it impossible to talk to me. My social circle disappeared faster than a computer file can.

Later on, I made the apparent mistake of talking to someone who expressed a desire to extricate themselves from the evil empire. I hadn?t even set a date to talk further to this person when I got a phone call from one of the

local ?gang? leaders.

It was approximately 11 o?clock at night. I had been asleep for about an hour. Therefore, I was fairly foggy for most of the phone call. The last thing this person said to me was (and this is a paraphrase) ?You better walk down the street looking behind your back?. This was should I have continued talking to people who were dissatisfied with the status quo of the

organization. An obvious attempt at the ?love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation?. I?ve since learned, they tack on ?toward the household?. ?Present truth? abounds.

The loneliness was hard to deal with at first. I no longer had the people I would have trusted with my life for conversation. Since I didn?t adhere to their belief system anymore, they thought I was possessed or worse. For approximately ten years I lived by myself. I didn?t want the complications of interpersonal relationships. Self-esteem didn?t exactly runneth over my cup.

In November of 1998, I discovered the Waydale website. I was looking for information on The Way International. When I got there, it was a

tremendous relief, because there were people who had experienced things very similar to those I had.

This opened a whole new world to me. I spent an enormous amount of time at the website, mostly in the chatroom. I could talk to people without the bother of them actually being at my house. : )

Eventually, Waydale closed up operations. This led to the introduction of The Greasespot Cafe. Again, I spent an inordinate amount of time in the chatroom.

In the course of human events, I met our own lovely Abigail. We were in the chatroom one day and, how these things usually go, one thing lead to another. I moved to where she lives and my life since has been an idyllic one. Of course, there are ups and downs, but the downs are usually from without, not between us.

I?ve been ?blessed? with an instant family, which I wouldn?t trade for the world. When I was in my pool playing phase, many of my fellow players would call me the luckiest man on the planet. I am now realizing the truth of this statement.

Edited for content error.

The lessons repeat until they are learned.

[This message was edited by TheManOfaThousandScreenNames on July 12, 2003 at 11:53.]

[Shellon]

:)--> Sushi

[excathedra]

thank you mad fellow

[Oakspear]

Az:

Thanks for posting...glad to know you.

Oakspear

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice...but in practice there is

[lindyhopper]

I did not know that.

good for the two of you.

thanks for your story

It don't mean a thing if it ain't PFAL. Doo-wat doo-wah doo-wat doo-wah la-shanta la-shanta