When I was little, the only thing remotely "fun" about the assemblies were the dramas.
Of course, they're still fun... in a totally different way...
by Aphrodite 107 Replies latest jw friends
When I was little, the only thing remotely "fun" about the assemblies were the dramas.
Of course, they're still fun... in a totally different way...
Undercover; you could start an entire thread on that pub.
My dad built props and acted in a few dramas in Southern California in the 60's. The rehearsals and seeing the production of sound synchronization and building public address systems (my dad built PAs for assemblies and Halls) - that was interesting.
We travelled to Las Vegas when a couple blocks from downtown was still just dust. The trip out was an interesting drive, the stay was nights of agony in a fold-up bed in a room that reeked of cigarettes, days of sheer boredom.
I guess it was the International at San Francisco's Candelstick Park that was particularly memorable for the searing sun, the biting wind, the days in the bleachers, the jackovs that stole our seats that one day, the incessant droning of speaker after speaker telling us how great we were and how evil everyone else was...the only thing of interest I recall on that one was the glossy printed program and the repeated echoes from the insanely designed sound (which my dad did not contribute to).
After the International, the circuit and even district assemblies we attended throughout the 70's were poor reflections. Then the rules on food got tightened up - manna would have been infinitely superior.
The highlight of my assembly career: seeing The Ten Commandments in a specially rented theater in the mid-60's in LA. That was cool.
It's funny that no one really talks about the "talks" given at the assemblies! I would spend the entire day trying to figure out how to make the day go by quicker. I would scan the audience for people I knew. Count the mum pots lining the stage. Pick out my favorite color of the mums. Stare at the baptism pool and imagine having a normal life swimming in a backyard pool with kids from school. Critique outfits worn by "sisters" walking past stage. Decide what time would be a good time to get up and go to the bathroom. (stretch time) Sneak a peek at my watch without others knowing I was checking the time . Decide if I should have the bean buritto, chicken patty, or Italian hoggie. Lemon-lime Shasta or cola Shasta. Vanilla Swiss Miss pudding or chocolate. haha! I really hated the assemblies!
Some us had the ability to create fun ourselves along the way there. The organization didn't create the fun. Meetings and programs were so boring that "working at the assemblies" could only be uphill from that. So we worked in "refreshments'' or the cafeteria. Even cleaning the cafeteria trays was fun by comparison sitting through those boring programs. We would have had more "fun" working at McDonalds. We had fun in spite of the organization, not because of it!
Two words:
Cheese. Danish.
Hell yeah.
Aeiouy
Yes, the orange juice cups did kick ass. If I was really lucky, I'd get one still partially frozen. It was like a slushy.
I remember AFTER the assembley was fun. Dinner out, swimming at the hotel....assemblies themselves were torture.
The religion is dying, however slowly. Move along folks, nothing to see here.