Hello everyone:
Last year in June, I started a thread regarding my sister who had just visited me from N.Y. in May, 2004. I told the story about a significant change in her and how that gave me hope that we could again re-establish a relationship. Well, the deed is done, it's a fait accompli. There's no doubt in my mind that she's out. We've been talking almost every day for a year and now. We've made plans for her to come and live here in
In the mean time, she has many problems to deal with. Her husband is still a slug, good man but a major slug. He has no aspirations and is sitting so high on his moral horse, he can't see who he's trampling underneath. Recently, when a young girl (16 years old) was killed in a senseless shooting, my sister expressed her sorrow at such an innocent loss. Her husband’s reaction was: "Well, too bad. She didn't have the benefit of the Truth." My sister was crushed. All she could think of is how insensitive he was, not just at my sister’s grief, but at suggesting that the girl’s life meant very little because she didn't have the benefit of the Truth and would be lost forever. They rarely talk now. She won't let him touch her. Unfortunately, since he’s so complacent and appears to need very little to subsist mentally and emotionally (“Jehovah” is everything), he seems to be OK with that. That would be all the excuse I need to dump his ass and shock him into consciousness. My sister agrees and has no qualms about the repercussions. Her children, however, seem to have been exposed to undue pressure. The youngest (16), who my sister planned on bringing here, is resisting the idea of a visit or a move. Somebody is telling them something about how it's bad to associate with "someone who has left Jehovah". The dissolution will not be easy, but I've advised her to simply walk away (for her own sake and mental sanity) and deal with the issues later (legal separation and eventual divorce). They have a house together and since she's the primary bread winner (she makes more than he does because he's too complacent to better himself), she’ll have to contribute toward the household finances until they split legally up their assets.
One thing's for sure: She's out of there! She has expressed to me her insatiable thirst for reading (she has a quite eclectic taste) and is currently reading things that would have been totally prohibited for her as a Witness. Of course, the greatest sense of loss for her all these years has been that she had no one to discuss anything of intellect with, particularly her husband. She recently told me that her definitive moment when she started questioning the Organization came about 8 years ago when she asked the visiting Circuit Overseer if it was possible have set aside for her and her children "territory" for “Field Service”. She had odd hours when she was available and home-schooled her children. Therefore, it would have been difficult for her to go to "Field Service" when everyone else made arrangements. Without looking at her and looking at her son next to her, the overseer (what do they call them now, "Circuit Servants"?) told her son that individuals are not supposed to have "their own territory". But the main reason why he refused to address the issue is her audacity to even ask. Of course she challenged him and said something like: "Excuse me, I'm right here!" What a maroon! She later was able to challenge him further at a house where she was invited to eat, a meal that was put on in honor of the visiting overseer. While not embarrassing her hosts, she managed to stick it to the guy, who was obviously threatened by a woman, with a simple discussion of what she considered was OK to do according to the scriptures. Since she's no shrinking violet, her attitude has brought her in conflict with many situations in "The Village". Rest assured, "No. 6" is getting ready to escape The Village.
I spoke to her a few hours ago and she's taking two weeks to come and spend time with me. We'll be going to the King Tut exhibit in , at the risk of letting demonic influences take over her, according to her sister-in-law. We'll be going out for drinks at bars (something her husband would not do because of the worldly atmosphere). We’ll discuss René Descartes and the writings of the Marquis de Sade. We're going to trot out some dirty jokes, party-hearty and scheme for some way for her to stay permanently. She'll be pounding the pavement looking for a job here if we have time. I’m going to have a great time with her.
Etude.