Who comes to the Cafe?

[Twinky]

Thanks, folks, for continuing to add to the poll votes. It's really interesting that there is a large percentage of people who have been out for over 20 years. One person says he or she is still in and several others haven't been out for too long.

Please note for anyone who hasn't voted yet that YOU CAN GIVE MORE THAN ONE RESPONSE TO SOME QUESTIONS (eg what did you do when you left) because people surely did many of those things, concurrently or consecutively).

For myself, I don't feel half so alone or weird, knowing that so many of you have been through exactly the same things that I did.

[tonto]

Well Twinky, I finally voted.

As far as the level, I checked entered corps but didn't graduate because we left on our "practicum" year after spending two consecutive years in-residence...during which vpw died and pop was read. Interesting time to be in, to say the least.

Went WOW, did twig and branch with hubs, and "other" being way home coordinators.

What did I do after I left twi? After the lease on the house was up, we moved to another state. Life became wonderful, but not without doubt and despair at times. Life is messy and uneven like that. I got a good job, but not right away...I had to go back to school first. Life isn't all bluebonnets and Bluebell ice cream...sometimes it's fireants and warm Shiner, but it's always good to be out of a cult.

[Twinky]

Just bringing this up to the top for the benefit of some recent visitors to the Cafe.

[notinKansasanymore]

I'd like to suggest an additional category for the things people did after TWI. "finished my education or otherwise re-trained for a profitable career."

That's one of the main reasons life has turned out happily for me.

love, niKa

[Twinky]

Bump for benefit of people joining in last few months.

[Lifted Up]

Bump for benefit of people joining in last few months.

...or for those old farts of us who never got to the thread.

Since I marked "other" for leaving, I am supposed to complain that my way out (depoigramming) was not listed.

[Brushstroke]

Hmm... no options for those of us who were never in TWI?

Oh well. :)

[so it was]

I had to choose other also for what I did after leaving. Basically carried on with life, finished school and busted butt to do it.

Found out I was booted from my Mom, twig was at my parents house so I showed up regular twig night and things weren't right. Mom was kicking back smoking a cigarette and dad was in a funk, it hit him hard since he was corp at one time. They disbanded for lack of a better word our whole twig and only one was allowed to stay if he was able to get his wife in line, she was non cooperative and he chose his family I am glad to say. The LC sent over someone who was in corp to do all the dirty work and then weeks later they threw her out once she got rid of everyone. It was pathetic and none of us were supposed to communicate but we did and I saw many at my wedding a few weeks later even a few who were still in and came anyway cause they thought the decisions were BS. Needless to say they didn't last much longer and they were in for about 30 years too.

[excathedra]

today i feel like azzes come here (meaning me)

[Twinky]

Nice to see this is still getting some votes.

It's good to see that less than 10% were actually thrown out.

The other 90% have left voluntarily, even if that was accompanying someone who had been thrown out. I wonder if this group has had fewer problems with adjusting to the world outside: but I think we've nearly all had adjustment issues and not being thrown out is perhaps only one less thing to deal with. For some it was a close-run thing, whether they left or were ejected.

From the more recent poll ("Who's here now?") it appears at present that we all got hooked in in the 70s or 80s, none earlier or later. Have the 90's and 00s not found the Cafe yet, or just not answered the poll?

[leafytwiglet]

LOL I didn't pay attention and added my new votes in .. I was wow and way home and ran childrens fellowship and was a spouse Corps and for the record we were treated like we had to be better than Corps or whay were we married to Corps.. I felt it hurt my Hubby more than me... he was looked down on for marrying me even though I was a complete asset to twig and the Limb.. but what ever.

We left when my Hubby decided he had had enough.. I said sure I was not too happy with some of the stuff I was seeing but what started it all was the night I turned to him and said... Sometimes I wish we didn't have to run a twig and nobody cared what we did .. That was for him all he needed to hear to give him the courage to ask me If I would leave with him.. I said yes and we have been living a better and better life every day And I am glad we left before POP or any of the other baloney that went on.

LOL I didn't pay attention and added my new votes in .. I was wow and way home and ran childrens fellowship and was a spouse Corps and for the record, we were treated like we had to be perform better than Corps or why were we married to Corps.. I felt it hurt my Hubby more than me... he was looked down on for marrying me even though I was a complete asset to twig and the Limb.. but what ever. Oh One more not of info when We got married we were told that we would have to go through the corps at some point for me that was back in late 81...

We left when my Hubby decided he had had enough.. I said sure... I was not too happy with some of the stuff I was seeing but what started it all was the night I turned to him and said... Sometimes I wish we didn't have to run a twig and nobody cared what we did .. That was for him all he needed to hear to give him the courage to ask me If I would leave with him.. I said yes and we have been living a better and better life every day And I am glad we left before POP or any of the other baloney that went on.

[Twinky]

Leafy, I'm sorry you got treated so badly as spouse Corps. Graduated Corps weren't considered spiritually smart enough to be able to choose a spouse who would be "a helper appropriate for them" (Gen 2:18) - a helper who had a great heart to serve. The choice should have been respected, not denigrated.

You obviously took some time before it became such a burden that you mentioned it to your husband. And his ready response as indicated by you showed that it had become a burden for him. That "lockbox" thing again - where spouses dare not speak openly in case the other ratted them out to TWI. How can a marraige survive and grow, where the partners are afraid of each other?

Rejoice in your freedom. Every day.

[Shellon]

Leafy, I'm sorry you got treated so badly as spouse Corps. Graduated Corps weren't considered spiritually smart enough to be able to choose a spouse who would be "a helper appropriate for them" (Gen 2:18) - a helper who had a great heart to serve. The choice should have been respected, not denigrated.

You obviously took some time before it became such a burden that you mentioned it to your husband. And his ready response as indicated by you showed that it had become a burden for him. That "lockbox" thing again - where spouses dare not speak openly in case the other ratted them out to TWI. How can a marraige survive and grow, where the partners are afraid of each other?

Rejoice in your freedom. Every day.

Amen ! I, too, am sorry for your having to live like that and get it 100%, having been one of those wives. We didn't do the Way Corps thing cuz I couldn't do it, just couldn't go there, knowing what I knew and knowing the worse mess we'd be heading into if we did. Problem wife, me.

A marriage can not survive and grow, of course, when the partners are afraid of each other, sigh. Such loss and regret.

Edited October 27, 2009 by Shellon

[chockfull]

Leafy, I'm sorry you got treated so badly as spouse Corps. Graduated Corps weren't considered spiritually smart enough to be able to choose a spouse who would be "a helper appropriate for them" (Gen 2:18) - a helper who had a great heart to serve. The choice should have been respected, not denigrated.

I tell you TWI's talent for stupidity exceeds just about any other corporation out there. With their whole treatment of the "Corps" they've managed to alienate about 95% of the people who took 4 years out of their life to go to their supposed college level training program. What other college can you attend where you are either controlled completely or ostracized? Dictated to as to who you marry?

Common sense tells you it's simply ludicrous. Spouse Corps are certainly among those mistreated. A normal rational response to this would be giving TWI the middle finger.

[Twinky]

bump

[OldSkool]

Thanks for the bump Twinky - I voted

[hampshire73]

I checked "Other" for why I left, but I thought about checking "Voluntarily - bored." I ended up with "Other" because "bored" didn't really express how I felt. I was depressed and exhausted. My then-husband and I were going through some marital and financial problems, and we were expecting our second child. One night we just decided to skip twig, just once. The next thing we knew, it had been a long time. This was shortly after we had returned from ROA 86 and I seem to remember something about PoP, but I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention because my own immediate issues were so overwhelming. Anyway, when we realized we had missed a lot of meetings, we tried to go back and our twig wasn't meeting any more. Just about everybody in our area had left TWI. We still saw some of them, but we just didn't talk about TWI. I think the others assumed we knew what was going on, but we didn't. It wasn't until just a few years ago that I found GSC and discovered the rest of the puzzle pieces.

For what I did after leaving TWI, I checked "Didn't do anything for a long time." Eventually, I did most of the things listed. Briefly tried to rejoin, moved out of the area (concurrent with going through a divorce), was seriously depressed, got counseling, tried a different Christian religious organization, raised a couple of wonderful children, went back to school, got a decent job, and life is pretty good now.

[Twinky]

Hampshire, glad to have you here and glad to hear that your life is back on track now and you're enjoying it.

Probably most of us here tried most of the options - and then some! - whatever it takes to get you over it.

It's good to live life joyfully. :eusa_clap:/> :dance:/>

A happy and peaceful new year to you.

[outandabout]

I can't see past 2012 on the thread even though there is a post today. Just sayin.

[Twinky]

Could be that someone just clicked on the relevant part of the poll.

[Raf]

Ah!

[Seth R.]

Even though this poll is 8 years old I didn't see it until today. Not surprising really, since I didn't even log in for 2 years and only visit once every three months or so when I can sleep because I'm having TWI flashbacks.

I wasn't officially kicked out, my branch coordinator just told me not to bother coming back. LOL talk about passive aggressive.

So should I have another chocolate milk and try to get some sleep or make a cup of coffee?

Seth

[CLOSE CALL]

Perhaps a "WOWED AND FORGOTTEN" button?

There was probably thousands.

[T-Bone]

1 hour ago, CLOSE CALL said:

Perhaps a "WOWED AND FORGOTTEN" button?

There was probably thousands.

welcome to Grease Spot, Close Call !!!!!

i like your WOWed and Forgotten button idea....which gives me an idea - i ought to make a Rotten to the Corps button.

 

i'm so glad you joined and look forward to you posting more - and let me be the first to offer you a cup of WOW Cappuccino

 

 

 

 

[CLOSE CALL]

Thank You T-Bone.

That cup hit the spot.

Never was a WOW myself but was a victim in 88 and left in the corn at the ROC of 89.

Ran into GSC by just wondering if TWI was still around.

Very interesting reading here, questions answered that I could not get answers to then (It doesn't Edify ya know)

Took the all important Class which really left me with more questions ( they didn't seem to like that)

May post in a more appropriate thread sometime about that old adventure.