WOW....just....WOW.
What a great thread. I read ALL of it. Ok so I only served "temporarily". Thank goodness, so that I never had to go back. Had family in and friends. Some did great, some turned back. Here are my two stories.
So first, I was sponsored by a family member for temporary service. We were picking fruit at the farm. I remember a similar door experience (funny that is a recurring theme), and when the guy walked through and didn't say thank you I made a joke out of it. I curtseyd (sp?), and said "your royal majesty....". It was hilarious. To this day I do that if I'm at the mall or wherever someone is rude like that. This dude tripped. He said "excuse me"....huffed back to me and asked me if he thought my sarcasm was appreciated by Jehovah. I said I don't supposed any more or less than rudeness. I tried to lighten him up and say we were even and smiled and all that. He asked me if I knew who he was, and I just responded that I knew what he wasn't.
I guess he was in charge of the printing or some crap. I knew it wasn't for me at 19 when I did that.
My friend (female), worked in housekeeping and had health problems. Lord help you if you ever had legit health problems at Bethel. Her husband had a special skill set, and that is the only reason they tolerated her. She actually was told by her overseer specifically, to "pay closer attention" to what was in the young boys rooms. Basically, privacy be damned, you go in there and look for stuff to keep them honest. She said that did not sit right with her, and she spoke to him about it. He let her have it. She just didn't do it and say she did. She is still very loyal to the organization, but does not have nice things to say about Bethel, other than some true friends she made while there.
What a mess.