I was reading Terry's experience of running into dubs at the car wash and his feelings aftewards. Thought I'd share my experience on a new thread instead of interrupting his.
I saw some dubs yesterday myself. Better stated - I thought I saw some dubs.
Sunday mornings for me since leaving the JW faith consist of going to either a Starbucks or a locally owned coffee shop and enjoying my coffee, danish and newspaper in a nice leather chair with ottoman. It is relaxing to sit and read and sip coffee and not worry about bills, yardwork, leaky plumbing or deadlines at the office. JWs and the WTS are usually the furtherest thing from my mind as well.
Until...
...They came in. I was sitting there enjoying my routine, looking up whenever someone came in. Lots of college kids come in this particular shop as it's near a college campus. Occassionally a small family but rarely large groups. It's a great spot to people watch.
Anyway, I hear the door open, a group of people come in. Larger than usual, even for college kids. It was a group of JWs...well...I just knew they had to be JWs. The men and boys had on short sleeve dress shirts and ties (a fashion faux pas that many JW males are guilty of. Can you blame em when it's already 80 some degrees and humid?). No jackets. The women and girls all had on modest, below the knee length full skirts. Nothing tight, nothing slit. Fully buttoned blouses. No skin, no cleavage. Hair was mid-80s country bumpkin fashionable.
Wait a minute though...Why could this not have been some other church going group? Fair question. It is Sunday, it could've been some one coming or going to the Baptist Church down the street. I actually thought about that. I thought maybe I was jumping to a conclusion. Just because people wear nice clothes while the rest of us are in dress-down mode doesn't make one a cult member.
I had already braced myself, even though I didn't recognize any of them. Just seeing JWs in JW activity can cause anxiety. I decided I needed to calm down and not jump to a conclusion. But I couldn't take my eye off them. I kept watching for a clue or something that would confirm that they were indeed JWs.
But why? Why did I need to know? What difference does it make? They weren't preaching/peddling literature...they were buying coffee/soda and snacks. They were just another group of customers. But the entire time they were there, I was on edge and jumpy.
While I congrated Terry on his handling of his situation, I can fully relate to the anxieties or anger that can be resurrected on a moment's notice over the slightest of things. In my case, just seeing dressed up people that reminded me of JWs sent me off into pit of anxiety. Just what you need after a double quad espresso...