The Man With the Big Nose (page 2)

You Know

Thanks for sharing that story. It reminds me of my tutelage under Elson Aucion down in Houston in the early 80's. He was also of the anointed remnant, and was one of the only truly selfless people I have ever known. He was an old Cajun from Lou-ze-an.' Totally unassuming; disheveled; same ear-to-ear grin. He used to go downtown to the courthouse and shuffle around amidst all the flurry of activity and place books with laywers and judges and folks that were waiting to be sentenced; sometimes over a hundred books a month. He used to bring homeless people from the streets of downtown Houston and put them up in his place. / You Know

hillary_step

Hello,

I make no apologies for searching for and resurrecting this wonderful post that I read some weeks ago. I hope that 'TMS", the writer has no objection to his piece being re-posted.

New subscribers have been added to this list since then and no doubt many 'lurkers' are coming to the Board daily, some of whom are active JW's and may have concerns about the teachings of the WTS or are just curious about what happens to those who leave the WTS.

Not only is this essay wonderfully written, sensitive, graceful, and above all compassionate, but it reflects the attitude of most of us on this Board who do not hate Jehovahs Witnesses as individuals, many of whom we freely acknowledge are loving, kind and compassionate people.

Our ire is directed at the 'System' which we may eventually discover is just a few dozen people, that misuses these people to achieve its ends.

I hope that those of you who did not read this tale at its first posting, enjoy it now.

HS

Pathofthorns

Thank you. A brilliant piece.

I think one of the saddest things in the WT is the funeral talk. For those who sacrificed a lifetime in the cult, at least they could be honored in death with more than a few sentences said about them.

To turn death into an opportunity for a sermon to advance the organization's agenda is more than sad.

As much as the organization is a fraud and a sham, there are good people who sacrificed their life for what they thought was the highest cause. Many of these people gave up everything for something they believed in. Just because their life was centered around false hopes and expectations doesn't mean they didn't have good hearts.

They deserved something better in death than another sermon.

Path

(and the wedding talks could use an overhaul too)

joelbear

TMS,

Bravo. Thank you so much for sharing this story with us. It reminded me of the many Jehovah's Witnesses I have loved during my life. Those who had a true love and caring for all people and spent their life trying to help them and by this make the world a better place.

These old humble dedicated brothers and sisters are such a contrast to the badgering vulgar ones we have on this site who claim to represent Jehovah.

take care

Joel

teejay

I know this type of thread is of miniscule interest in this forum...

Well, let's see what we can do about that.

amac

Thank you TeeJay, that was a wonderful read. Thanks for taking it bttt.

nilfun

I hope that those of you who did not read this tale at its first posting, enjoy it now.

I did, very much.

Thank you TeeJay, that was a wonderful read. Thanks for taking it bttt.

ditto.

TMS

My apologies for resurrecting a 5 year old thread, but like Ricky Ricardo may have implied: "I got some 'splainin' to do."

I wrote this thread in anger. I had just attended my brother-in-laws' funeral and had been subjected to one of the most gawdawful witness funeral talks you could imagine. Nothing about the deceased, just a scripture-flipping, mind-numbing whirlwind through witness beliefs. What really grates at me is not the talk, but the fact that I actually gave a feeble congrats to the speaker afterwards. You always regret the things you did not say, did not do. Believe me, I have a lifetime of such regrets.

tms

ps: Martin, of course, was not my bro-in-law. I started thinking about witness funerals in general and my thought drifted to Martin's. Don't know if any of this makes sense.

Nathan Natas

TMS, that is one fine character sketch you've given us. I'm glad you brought it to the top - I missed it the first few times around. Have you ever thought of having it published? If not you ought to.

JWdaughter

Thank you for sharing your friend Martin with us. It is a good reminder to us that we were not all just hung up on some stupid religion, but that there were and are wonderful people in it (just as deluded as we were!) that make it less the waste of our lives than we sometimes feel. If we can remember the good parts, the good people, it keeps the bitterness at bay. My good person was Esther. She was an awesome old lady, whose daughter and son in law were the leaders in the congregation. She was the lover-she loved the babies, the children, unlovable teenagers, she loved the unlovable grownups and everyone else. She oozed a true warmth and affection for those around her. Both a blessing and a curse as those people are the ones we all hate to leave, hate to disappoint and will miss the most.

The Man With the Big Nose

Share this