Do COs have a cushy life? (page 3)

snare&racket

Exactly Talesin, her identity is nothing more that "the CO's wife."

They receive a modest stipend from teh society. something like $1,200 a month or so. They have a CO residence (at least at our circuit they do). And if they are serving a congregation that is a far drive away.....that congregation will almost certainly have an elder that willingly builds an apartment onto his house so the CO can stay there. Worst case is the CO stays with one of the elders when he visits. On top of that.....I know at our congregation....the CO would turn in all his expenses (food, groceries, gas etc) while he was with us for a week. Our congregation would then take a "vote" (ha!) as to whether or not we should reimburse him. It never failed....someone would always suggest not only reimbursing him but also adding $50 to it.

Overall....I don't believe any CO is hurting for cash. By no means are they wealthy.....but really....when all of your expenses are paid for by the congregations AND you get a monthly stipend from the society.....you're not doing too bad.

Still....not a lifestyle I would like. They are basically middle managers that travel constantly.

JRK

Sapphy,

You almost made me do a spittake.

Circuit Overseer's Wives=COWs! Moo.

JK

Gayle

Hard life for most of the wives. Especially as they get older. She has to be very careful what she says always, because she is eyed on as extra special. If they serve remote areas, not possible to have their own mini-apt, living with people, different each week takes it toll. Not much privacy. Difficult to get 'close' friends, but then uprooted for CO rotation. Soon enough get health probs, special diets required. Understandably, most didn't seem happy.

That's the way I saw for most Bethel wives too. But at least there they had their own rooms or mini-apt. so had their 'nest.' Again, there was much pressure to always watch what she said ever as would be so easily quoted negatively. A difficult life for most of the gals there, but some seemed to truly like it.

DaCheech

yeah, forgot about the "rotation".......... any friends at all are stripped away

dozy

Other than the hapless Gilead graduate getting the dreaded Burkina Faso assignment , being a CO is probably the most miserable WTBTS assignment imaginable. For 30 years I had successive COs staying with my family ( first my parents , then my wife & I ) & it is surprising what they discuss over a couple of beers in an evening. Many of them will admit that they envy JWs who have a normal life , with a home & children. More than once , my wife was sympathising with a tearful CO's wife. Often they are an idealistic 30 something pioneer couple & get involved by being "encouraged" by an existing CO or DO , become temporary COs & before they know it , they are "on the circuit." ( Actually there is a big shortage of COs , so it is almost inevitable that sooner or later they get called up. ) Once on the treadmill , it is almost impossible to get off , unless a relative's illness can be hyped up.

Other than the circuit car , they get literally nothing from the WTBTS - not even a mobile phone. One CO I knew had a faulty laptop & the society refused to replace it , so a local JW who ran a computer business gave him a second hand one. If they are unlucky and don't have a circuit flat that is centrally located, they have to live most weeks with the few JWs that are prepared to put them up - sometimes pretty crappy accommodation. One CO I knew slept in a room with the owners pet snakes & tarantula!

There is no respite. The CO is at the beck & call of every loony and attention grabbing JW in the congregation. They also are constantly being contacted by elders throughout the circuit with congregation problems. ( I remember one visit where the CO spent more time trying to handle a disintegrating body of elders in another congregation than he did with his host congregation. ) Their wives have to hear every sob story & comfort all the sisters - no wonder so many of them suffer from anxiety disorders or mystery illnesses. Many of them bitterly regret giving up parenthood.

A CO that remains a good friend ( despite my faded status ) gets every Monday off unless it is a pioneer or elders school week , refuses to answer his landline phone , turns off his mobile & goes with his wife for a long walk or climb in the country ( he can always use the excuse that there was no mobile phone signal ). It is the only break he gets. He told me that he would " crack up" if he didn't have that option.

When they leave , they often have literally nowhere to go. Perhaps some kindly JW will let them have a flat to rent. So no - not a cushy life ( leave that to the GB & Branch committees.)

NVR2L8

I agree with Dozy...my dad's best friend was a lifetime full-time servant, CO and DO and now in his mid-80's he has nothing for himself. As he was too old to keep up the pace, the society gave him a Public Relation job and he serves as an elder in a local congregation. His younger second wife always had health problems while her husband was involved in different training schools. They do it out of loyalty to God.

In my district the DO had a stroke and later died...there was a collection to assist them because they had nothing after they left their assignment...he later passed away and local witnesses had to support his wife because the rich WT does not assist them...even those who gave up everything for them.

Billy the Ex-Bethelite

Their lives will be as cushy as they decide they want their lives to be. The COs and COWs that are caring, giving, and can't say "no", usually get burnt-out and leave the road. It can be a miserable and demanding life if they let themselves be controlled by the "locals"... especially the crazies that make endless demands of time but have nothing to give in return.

The COs that learn how to play the system have a very cushy life. I've seen these that are very clear about their "showtimes" and their "off-times". They are all enthusiastic for the meetings and ministry, but after the designated times is up, they are 100% out of there. Many of them certainly know how to minimize the time they have to actually "work" when they have some "sick relative or parent" that they always have to run off to care for. And I think most of us would be able to recall COs that could be extremely demanding about their accommodations and food needs.

They also learn how to make life-long friends with ca$h, so that they get clothes and vacations bought for them. Since I've moved around some, I've actually had the same COs and DOs a few times. They completely recycle their talks. I recently had to suffer the visit of a DO that I'd had before that everyone gushes over what a great speaker he is. I remembered most of his illustrations and experiences, unchanged from over a decade ago. And I found out that he carved out lots of free time for golf, boating, and lots of other stuff with rich dubs. Obviously, he wasn't really spending any time preparing talks from what I could tell.

Some of these manage to have a life beyond cushy.

wha happened?

yea I've seen a few work the system. They knew that no one would say no to requests. I've provided some very expensive meals via a CO's request

Quarterback

It's not what I would call a cushy life. I have close friends in the Circuit Work. I have heard them describe some horror stories to me. Some have invested their personal resouces (cash) to serve in this capacity. Some come from wealth families, and some have worked at successful businesses before they entered this work. Some don't even put in any expenses forward with congregations that are having financial problems.

There are some CO's that are Jerks, and some really giving, kind nice fella's. I also admire their wives, at least I could say some of their wives.

When they leave that work, they really don't have much to retire on. In most of the congregations I have been in, we have put the CO family in basement appt's in KH's Not a pleasant place to live.

Do COs have a cushy life?