In 1983, the sunday services were held in the OSC dining room awaiting the construction of the auditorium. Like all sunday service events, it seemed to be the same, normal procedure which would be consumed into another uneventful meeting.....UNTIL THE FIRE ALARM WENT OFF.
As the people were briskly exiting the south doors toward the patio and curb, I headed directly to the control panel near the receptionist desk. A few others did the same.....mostly the first-responder-types and hq volunteer firemen. The panel displayed six quadrants and the light on the northwest section, the OSC warehouse/bookstore quadrant, was on. With that, we headed thru the lobby into the warehouse and dashed to the warehouse bookstore. For those unfamiliar with twi's OSC building.....the building was sectioned right down the middle from west to east. The warehousing department entailed half of the building.....six hundred feet long [two football fields in length].
Anyways....as our small group reached the bookstore/warehouse section, linder and brooks, two security guys were close behind. Back thru the shelving rows, we saw the small fire on the top tier of pallets. With some quick action, the small fire was snuffed out and then, the questions surfaced. It was obviously, intentionally set by someone(s) who devised a burning mechanism that gave the perpetrator time to climb down and get away BEFORE the flame ignited and burned the pallet of book materials. Set in the bookstore area, this little fire had the potential to cause major damage.
Before any extensive investigation was brought to bear, the security guys were on their two-way radios and using code words. The two perpetrators had been seen running out the eastside of the OSC warehouse just as the fire alarm sounded. And, with the sunday service ongoing, this raised suspicions as most everyone on grounds was in attendance except for a few security guys and refreshment/hamburger crews prepping for when the service was ended. So, who were these two guys who allegedly set the fire devise? The two security guys, linder and brooks, wouldn't say.....at least, not to us.
In whispers, it was revealed that Bobby Cumm!ns and Ralphie Wierw-lle had set the fire.
How ironic life can be at times. That sunday service, it was Walter Cumm!ns as emcee and Don Wierwille was set to teach.
Or alternatively, Gideon, standing against the corruption of the environment in which he found himself!
Or maybe two prankster kids who were just plain bored with SNS.
I would go more with Ralph and Bobby experiencing a genuine teenage #BreakingAmish moment. Continual repression seeks a relief valve. I'm sure there's plenty more of those that we haven't heard about, with those two and others.
Chalk it up to #WhatACultDoesToYourKids
So, with the kids of some leaders out of control,
what would the Bible say about those leaders who were their parents?
That they are a whole lot more normal than their Pharisee parents?
Actually, when we were at Rome City, all parents with their children were exhorted in the very strongest terms to stay off the trampoline (or perhaps it was some other piece of play equipment) unless accompanied by an adult. No exceptions. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PLAY ON THIS THING ALONE. YOU MUST be accompanied by an adult.
So one day my 11-year-old son and I are walking by the thingamabob and here's a young lady bouncing to her heart's content, alone. My son politely mentioned to her the above mentioned iron clad, no exceptions rule, to which she quite haughtily replied:
"I am _________________ and my father is the director of the Family Way Corps. I can do anything I want to. The rules do NOT apply to staff kids anyway!"
We meekly apologized to the princess royal and slithered away.
There was also a time when I was helping supervise a playground full of toddlers when John N****z's sons strolled through the middle of it, carrying loaded .22 rifles. I politely suggested they choose another route in the future and they not so politely suggested I shut the hell up and mind my own business. Did I not know who they were, and their father had said they could carry any loaded weapon they chose to anywhere, anytime, and around anyone.
"Yes Massa, suh, yassah yassah."
The oldest son of the director was always getting into trouble at school and in town, but no one did anything about it.
We were kicked out because of our son's misbehavior. Wonder if the princes and princesses had set a better example, he would have noticed. I know he wasn't happy, but he was dirt on the shoe of every adult on grounds, while the staff children were snotty little hellions.
My son said years and years later, "It was like you were a Jew and they were the Nazis. Touch a wall, walk to slowly and BAM! someone was beating you with a spoon and yelling in your ear." My son has ADHD and it took him a while to process some of the routine through his buzzing little brain. We were strictly forbidden to give him any Ritalin or any medication. He was to be literally beaten into submission. The great and mighty men and women of the FWC were only too glad to help with that.
Actually, when we were at Rome City, all parents with their children were exhorted in the very strongest terms to stay off the trampoline (or perhaps it was some other piece of play equipment) unless accompanied by an adult. No exceptions. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PLAY ON THIS THING ALONE. YOU MUST be accompanied by an adult.
So one day my 11-year-old son and I are walking by the thingamabob and here's a young lady bouncing to her heart's content, alone. My son politely mentioned to her the above mentioned iron clad, no exceptions rule, to which she quite haughtily replied:
"I am _________________ and my father is the director of the Family Way Corps. I can do anything I want to. The rules do NOT apply to staff kids anyway!"
We meekly apologized to the princess royal and slithered away.
There was also a time when I was helping supervise a playground full of toddlers when John N****z's sons strolled through the middle of it, carrying loaded .22 rifles. I politely suggested they choose another route in the future and they not so politely suggested I shut the hell up and mind my own business. Did I not know who they were, and their father had said they could carry any loaded weapon they chose to anywhere, anytime, and around anyone.
"Yes Massa, suh, yassah yassah."
The oldest son of the director was always getting into trouble at school and in town, but no one did anything about it.
We were kicked out because of our son's misbehavior. Wonder if the princes and princesses had set a better example, he would have noticed. I know he wasn't happy, but he was dirt on the shoe of every adult on grounds, while the staff children were snotty little hellions.
My son said years and years later, "It was like you were a Jew and they were the Nazis. Touch a wall, walk to slowly and BAM! someone was beating you with a spoon and yelling in your ear." My son has ADHD and it took him a while to process some of the routine through his buzzing little brain. We were strictly forbidden to give him any Ritalin or any medication. He was to be literally beaten into submission. The great and mighty men and women of the FWC were only too glad to help with that.
Yeah, personal and emotional boundaries were not strengths in the corporate culture of TWI. As I only realized far too late. It took some lessons from the school of hard knocks well after I had left TWI before I was able to learn and incorporate a socially acceptable level of boundaries.
I should say that I obviously had some sense of boundaries but until I better understood them, my family life experiences were tumultuous.
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skyrider
In 1983, the sunday services were held in the OSC dining room awaiting the construction of the auditorium. Like all sunday service events, it seemed to be the same, normal procedure which would be consumed into another uneventful meeting.....UNTIL THE FIRE ALARM WENT OFF.
As the people were briskly exiting the south doors toward the patio and curb, I headed directly to the control panel near the receptionist desk. A few others did the same.....mostly the first-responder-types and hq volunteer firemen. The panel displayed six quadrants and the light on the northwest section, the OSC warehouse/bookstore quadrant, was on. With that, we headed thru the lobby into the warehouse and dashed to the warehouse bookstore. For those unfamiliar with twi's OSC building.....the building was sectioned right down the middle from west to east. The warehousing department entailed half of the building.....six hundred feet long [two football fields in length].
Anyways....as our small group reached the bookstore/warehouse section, linder and brooks, two security guys were close behind. Back thru the shelving rows, we saw the small fire on the top tier of pallets. With some quick action, the small fire was snuffed out and then, the questions surfaced. It was obviously, intentionally set by someone(s) who devised a burning mechanism that gave the perpetrator time to climb down and get away BEFORE the flame ignited and burned the pallet of book materials. Set in the bookstore area, this little fire had the potential to cause major damage.
Before any extensive investigation was brought to bear, the security guys were on their two-way radios and using code words. The two perpetrators had been seen running out the eastside of the OSC warehouse just as the fire alarm sounded. And, with the sunday service ongoing, this raised suspicions as most everyone on grounds was in attendance except for a few security guys and refreshment/hamburger crews prepping for when the service was ended. So, who were these two guys who allegedly set the fire devise? The two security guys, linder and brooks, wouldn't say.....at least, not to us.
In whispers, it was revealed that Bobby Cumm!ns and Ralphie Wierw-lle had set the fire.
How ironic life can be at times. That sunday service, it was Walter Cumm!ns as emcee and Don Wierwille was set to teach.
.
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outandabout
Reminds me of Eli and his sons.
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Rocky
How old were the two alleged arsonists at the time?
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Twinky
Eli and his sons, maybe.
Or alternatively, Gideon, standing against the corruption of the environment in which he found himself!
Or maybe two prankster kids who were just plain bored with SNS.
I never heard a whisper of this before!!!
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WordWolf
It's come up in parts before.
If you were a kid on grounds in twi,
you were a target for every adult to swat with a wooden ruler for any cause...
unless your parents were in the cadre.
Then you got away with a lot-and could try to order a few peons around.
I don't know how successful the attempts were, however.
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Allan
Differn't at Indiana campus I guess, the Georges kids were wonderful, same as the Clapps, Niess's etc...
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excathedra
i love missy (melissa) sooooooo much
if you ever stumble upon this thread, please write to me
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoox
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WordWolf
I don't think the difference was the campus, per se.
The difference was in the parents and the kids.
With responsible and good parents,
the kids had a better shot of being healthy and having healthy boundaries.
That means they didn't need someone to shove them around to keep from
doing the wrong thing- they could avoid it willingly.
=========================
Reminds me of how the Bible says leaders are to manage their own homes and families,
THEN we consider them for leadership positions after they can handle that competently.
So, with the kids of some leaders out of control,
what would the Bible say about those leaders who were their parents?
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chockfull
I would go more with Ralph and Bobby experiencing a genuine teenage #BreakingAmish moment. Continual repression seeks a relief valve. I'm sure there's plenty more of those that we haven't heard about, with those two and others.
Chalk it up to #WhatACultDoesToYourKids
That they are a whole lot more normal than their Pharisee parents?
Kids have a built-in BS detector.
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Watered Garden
Actually, when we were at Rome City, all parents with their children were exhorted in the very strongest terms to stay off the trampoline (or perhaps it was some other piece of play equipment) unless accompanied by an adult. No exceptions. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PLAY ON THIS THING ALONE. YOU MUST be accompanied by an adult.
So one day my 11-year-old son and I are walking by the thingamabob and here's a young lady bouncing to her heart's content, alone. My son politely mentioned to her the above mentioned iron clad, no exceptions rule, to which she quite haughtily replied:
"I am _________________ and my father is the director of the Family Way Corps. I can do anything I want to. The rules do NOT apply to staff kids anyway!"
We meekly apologized to the princess royal and slithered away.
There was also a time when I was helping supervise a playground full of toddlers when John N****z's sons strolled through the middle of it, carrying loaded .22 rifles. I politely suggested they choose another route in the future and they not so politely suggested I shut the hell up and mind my own business. Did I not know who they were, and their father had said they could carry any loaded weapon they chose to anywhere, anytime, and around anyone.
"Yes Massa, suh, yassah yassah."
The oldest son of the director was always getting into trouble at school and in town, but no one did anything about it.
We were kicked out because of our son's misbehavior. Wonder if the princes and princesses had set a better example, he would have noticed. I know he wasn't happy, but he was dirt on the shoe of every adult on grounds, while the staff children were snotty little hellions.
My son said years and years later, "It was like you were a Jew and they were the Nazis. Touch a wall, walk to slowly and BAM! someone was beating you with a spoon and yelling in your ear." My son has ADHD and it took him a while to process some of the routine through his buzzing little brain. We were strictly forbidden to give him any Ritalin or any medication. He was to be literally beaten into submission. The great and mighty men and women of the FWC were only too glad to help with that.
Edited by Watered GardenLink to comment
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Rocky
Yeah, personal and emotional boundaries were not strengths in the corporate culture of TWI. As I only realized far too late. It took some lessons from the school of hard knocks well after I had left TWI before I was able to learn and incorporate a socially acceptable level of boundaries.
I should say that I obviously had some sense of boundaries but until I better understood them, my family life experiences were tumultuous.
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excathedra
how f' ing pitiful WG
wished you and your son could have slapped the c rap out of those kids and their parents
very sad
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outandabout
That spoon thing got way out of hand. Glad I left when I was pregnant.
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chockfull
WG what a nightmare. Totally toxic environment. No wonder they turned out such monstrosities.
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excathedra
i'd like to slap the f'ing crap out of 99% of the leaders with a big azz spoon
my biggest concern is that they would like it
but seriously, i could throw up listening to the disrespect and horrible things like with WG
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