My congregation (soon to be 'ex'-congregation) is assigned to Veteran's Stadium (that will be held next week and then again on the last weekend of July. I have made it my resolve to make this year, 2002, my final District Convention. Since it will be my last one, I decided NOT to go to the hot-a$$ Veteran's Stadium! ESPECIALLY in July! So, here's where I went and here are some of my observations...
The Stadium: Nassau Colliseum (Long Island, NY)...Home of the New York Islanders (NHL hockey) and the New York Dragons (Arena Football).
My wife and I skipped Friday because I am a Contractor and if I miss work I don't get paid! If the WTS decided to pay me my wages then I would have gone Friday. Anyway...
I ironed my clothes, shaved, and showered just before I went to bed. I did this primarily because I'm NOT a morning person and the congregation from Brooklyn rented a bus that was to depart at 7:00 in the morning. I wanted to sleep in as late as possible. My mother-in-law had other plans for my wife and I. She swings open our bedroom door (we stayed with my wife's parents), turns on the lights and shouts: "WAKE UP!". I glanced at the clock and it read: 4:30 AM!!! I...wanted...to...KILL...my mother-in-law.
Now, Saturday morning I was quite cranky! We had to walk to the bus, which was waiting for us outside the Flatbush Assembly Hall. The bus was uncomfortable, but at least the AC was cranked up! I nodded off on the way to the convention site. It was an hour ride. By the time we arrived my neck was stiff.
We go into the stadium and all of the "good" seats are gone. We sat in the middle of a row. My knees were nearly touching my face because it was so friggin' cramped because of how the seats are designed and because the ailes were stocked with briefcases and lunch containers!
I began falling asleep very soon after the opening song. By the time the second song played (you know, the song that's played between the opening song and the lunch break) I had to get the hell up. So, I went to the corridor, checked out some women (LOL), and then went outside where there were some benches set-up. The day was beautiful so I stayed outside for a while. I called badwillie and left him a message on his voicemail. What can I say? I was bored out of my skull!
For the afternoon session, I decided to play a mental game. I looked around the stadium and found many ironic things, like:
When a brother was giving a talk about the Great Dragon (Satan the Devil), only 25 yards away from him was the end-zone logo for the New York Dragons:
These signs also seemed to contradict the JW message:
Oh, and gigantic flags:
After that, I got tired again and fell asleep. This, despite having a little girl kick the back of my chair during the entire time I was in my chair!
The only thing that caught my attention from the platform was that one brother mentioned something about being okay to let the authorities to temporarily use the Kingdom Halls for their own use if they had to and that JW's can perform alternative service (instead of the military, for example). It no different than paying a tax, they said.
I will post Sunday's lovely experiences, too, in a 2nd thread. Believe me, it gets much better (or worse).
Edited by - Simon on 14 July 2002 5:5:59