Reading "The Emperor's New Clothes" started me thinking about the few times that people in TWI had dropped subtle hints that all was not right in TWI land. Longtime staffers at HQ, good friends, all done one-on-one and in such a way that no offense could be found.
I wondered about these things but being a good wayfer, just filed them away.
I also remember getting together with good friends, usually late at night after a branch or limb meeting, and discussing inconsistencies that we saw in the teachings. Nothing ever came of it.
Anyone else have this experience?
Jim
In Fellowlaborers, our personal time was extremely limited.
Our day started at 5AM and ended at midnight.
After midnight, it was "lights out" and no talking was permitted.
We had no phones or TVs.
Our only real connection to the outside world was the time we spent at our secular jobs which was supposed to be focused on witnessing to co-workers and promoting the ministry. Also, there was the car radio as you went to and from the complex to work.(mostly AM back then)
The apartment complex was set in a rural area. There was not much development nearby and it was forbidden to leave the complex and go into the city without special dispensation.
There was, however, a truck stop about a half mile away, on a state route, that had a pay phone.
(Everything was long distance)
They sold cigs. and coffee and twinkies and so on.
There was usually about a 20 or 30 minute stretch of time between night twig and lights out.
During that time, some of us would walk together in the darkness to the truck stop under the pretense of going for smokes or coffee. We called them "junk runs".
It was during these "junk runs" that we would discuss matters such as those you described.
There was no one to listen in as you walked down that dark back road.
Of course, you were careful not to make a "junk run" with just "any old body".
The name of the truck stop was Wayside Truck Stop.
That is why I call myself Waysider.( not THE Waysider, just A Waysider.)
Of course, even though many things were discussed, it was not at all obvious that what we were seeing was part of a much larger picture. We thought it was isolated to our program and perhaps to some of the smaller areas from which the program drew participants.
I think, in a technical sense, you might consider yourself to be a "waysider" of sorts, also.
I spent some time at all of the root locations, there were problems at every one.
A couple of examples=
One staff member at Gunnison told me there was so much paper work and red tape to go through just to buy one screw it wasn't worth the effort. He got so frustrated he quit very shortly after we had talked. He was a wonderful man with a great heart.
Another time while staying at HQ in New Knoxville I was talking to someone about a new patio that was built at the auditorium. It was absolutely beautiful, no one other than this egocentric moron would have thought otherwise. Well this goof ball told me that he wasn't happy with it and was going to have the contractor come and do it all over again. Well I thought to myself, this poor contractor is going to think we are nuts. Later I found out most of the work that was done for the Way by outside contractors was never good enough. Great witness.
Oh, I've got many but I'll limit myself to one more. A friend who was living at the dorm at HQs told me that there was a manual you had to read before you were allowed to live in the building. You could only use the soap, detergent, and all others materials that the manual prescribed. There were also hundreds of rules as to when and where you could go at certain times. (No thanks, I'd rather live in a grass hut.)
Why it took me so long to wake up, I'll never know. I guess they had a pretty good hold on our minds.
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waysider
Jim
In Fellowlaborers, our personal time was extremely limited.
Our day started at 5AM and ended at midnight.
After midnight, it was "lights out" and no talking was permitted.
We had no phones or TVs.
Our only real connection to the outside world was the time we spent at our secular jobs which was supposed to be focused on witnessing to co-workers and promoting the ministry. Also, there was the car radio as you went to and from the complex to work.(mostly AM back then)
The apartment complex was set in a rural area. There was not much development nearby and it was forbidden to leave the complex and go into the city without special dispensation.
There was, however, a truck stop about a half mile away, on a state route, that had a pay phone.
(Everything was long distance)
They sold cigs. and coffee and twinkies and so on.
There was usually about a 20 or 30 minute stretch of time between night twig and lights out.
During that time, some of us would walk together in the darkness to the truck stop under the pretense of going for smokes or coffee. We called them "junk runs".
It was during these "junk runs" that we would discuss matters such as those you described.
There was no one to listen in as you walked down that dark back road.
Of course, you were careful not to make a "junk run" with just "any old body".
The name of the truck stop was Wayside Truck Stop.
That is why I call myself Waysider.( not THE Waysider, just A Waysider.)
Of course, even though many things were discussed, it was not at all obvious that what we were seeing was part of a much larger picture. We thought it was isolated to our program and perhaps to some of the smaller areas from which the program drew participants.
I think, in a technical sense, you might consider yourself to be a "waysider" of sorts, also.
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excathedra
it's the only worthwhile time i had in the corps i think
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polar bear
I spent some time at all of the root locations, there were problems at every one.
A couple of examples=
One staff member at Gunnison told me there was so much paper work and red tape to go through just to buy one screw it wasn't worth the effort. He got so frustrated he quit very shortly after we had talked. He was a wonderful man with a great heart.
Another time while staying at HQ in New Knoxville I was talking to someone about a new patio that was built at the auditorium. It was absolutely beautiful, no one other than this egocentric moron would have thought otherwise. Well this goof ball told me that he wasn't happy with it and was going to have the contractor come and do it all over again. Well I thought to myself, this poor contractor is going to think we are nuts. Later I found out most of the work that was done for the Way by outside contractors was never good enough. Great witness.
Oh, I've got many but I'll limit myself to one more. A friend who was living at the dorm at HQs told me that there was a manual you had to read before you were allowed to live in the building. You could only use the soap, detergent, and all others materials that the manual prescribed. There were also hundreds of rules as to when and where you could go at certain times. (No thanks, I'd rather live in a grass hut.)
Why it took me so long to wake up, I'll never know. I guess they had a pretty good hold on our minds.
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