TMS

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Posts by TMS

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  92

  The Pacific Northwest

  by compound complex in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

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  TMS

  It was just a SIGN.

  M

  just what I was lookin' for

  tms
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  92

  The Pacific Northwest

  by compound complex in

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  TMS

  "a bottle of milk with two inches of cream on top"

  NOT FIT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION

  M

  Well, I was never comfortable with the cream even back in those days. I always waited until the bottle was half empty. A group of old single men who had been Russellites ran an unofficial dairy in the rurals near Kent. Only one of them attended the Kingdom Hall but many of the "friends' bought their milk. When I left home at 16 they let me park my old Spartan trailer on their property which I can only describe as a golf course without the holes, just beautiful.

  The old men were really throwbacks with long beards and old ways. They boiled coffee on the stove and made flapjacks every morning. They saved Joe and I a stack with two fried duck eggs on top. If we left without breakfast they fed the stack to the dogs. So that was always their big joke in the morning: "Would you like some of the dogs hotcakes?"

  tms
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  92

  The Pacific Northwest

  by compound complex in

  1. jw
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  TMS

  the fern that becomes a perfect spear when thrown, even sticking into the ground
  the strangely warm chinook winds in winter
  thimbleberries, gooseberries, huckleberries, blackcaps
  mushrooms and trilliums on the woods floor
  the Seattle Rainiers
  the Huskies going to the Rose Bowl. . Bob Schlorett, Bob Hivner, Don McKeta
  Stan Boreson and Nomo
  Henry Ford Grade School in Renton
  the Roxy and the Renton Theatres
  cold Lake Meridian
  manic-depressive George Pringle, charismatic Joe Barnett, outdoorsman Charlie Maxwell
  hearing Dylan's "Positively 4th Street" on KJR in '65
  always the mountain
  loving the fragrance of cedar while chopping kindling
  dribbling around the puddles playing basketball
  stinging nettles
  rocky ground
  pretending I was Chingachgook of the "Last of the Mohicans"
  the Seattle World's Fair
  cold waves, sand dollars Hoquiam, Aberdeen
  the Gold Cup, Muncie, Alleson engines
  Boeing
  Shaw Drugs in Renton
  Cedar River, Maple Valley, Covington, Kent
  going to Black Diamond to get coal with my grandfather
  ice cold tap water
  a bottle of milk with two inches of cream on top
  WWII barracks as rental housing
  visiting my folks in ghost town Selleck after my dad got sick
  my roommate and friend Joe Mallory
  "Onward mighty Kent-Meridian"
  "smart guy" JW outcast
  the straits of Juan de Fuca
  model A's, T's, Marmons in the woods with little rust
  Lake Sawyer lots for $100, ten down, ten a month
  doing janitorial out of George's '47 Dodge with fluid drive, no back seat
  congregation picnics with horseshoes, badmitton, swimming
  neighbor playing for the San Francisco Seals
  nickel ice cream cones, Gene Autrey, Hopalong Cassidy, 4 inch screens
  western music
  not thinking about any of this for many years

  tms
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  25

  Chevron Food Mart

  by asilentone in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just won $5 chevron gift card recently.

  i have never went to chevron food mart before, what kind of foods do they have?

  do they have sandwiches, etc....?

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  TMS

  I should know this. A group of bikers have learned how to mix common junk food ingredients found at the Chevron Food Mart and create gourmet meals. Everything is either microwaved or warmed in the bike's manifold. Some of the ingredients I recall: Cheese Whiz, Vienna sausage, catsup, tortilla chips, Wolf Brand chili, tabasco sauce.

  tms

  ps. . You might want to purchase some Pepto Bismol if you have any money left
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  28

  I was counciled for putting in Pioneer hours and not officially "Pioneering"

  by RubaDub in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i didn't want to hijack the thread about people having to "wait" until the society approves their pioneer status.. i recall once an elder was shocked that i had done the 60 hours a couple of months but not officially on the pioneer list for the months.

  i told him that i didn't need the title, that the purpose was to do the work, not get a title.. i then heard a long lecture about how that was not encouraging to others, etc, etc, etc.. he got rather annoyed when i asked him what the purpose of the preaching work is.

  of course he said to spread the good news.

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  TMS

  I will limit myself to one account, but I know of several unrecognized, unofficial pioneers.

  In a small town in Arkansas a man I will call "Jerry" became a JW. Jerry was a WWII veteran, a war hero who came home from the war with a shot-up right arm. His right arm was just useful enough to hold a board in place or a cue stick. He built his home, managed his farm, fed his animals, drove his truck left-handed.

  Although JW's were not liked in this town, Jerry was. When we were builidng the Kingdom Hall, all you had to do was mention his name and a truckload of lumber and supplies was on its way from the building supply company. I recall once one of the elders wanted to see an invoice. The driver said: "I need Jerry's signature."

  In field service, Jerry was usually warmly received and invited in. His humble, self-effacing manner and reputation in the community caused many to agree to bible studies, subscriptions, literature placements that they would not have accepted from just anyone. Jerry's wife was a nominal JW who worked in the local diner, not out of necessity but out of pure work ethic and to some extent to keep the pressure to pioneer at bay.

  The ultimate plan was for Jerry's teenage daughter to eventually become a pioneer on graduation. Actually she and Jerry planned to submit their applications at the same time. During the daughter's senior year in high school she and a boy from another congregation engaged in what the Watchtower calls petting. I can only tell you, this was the most innocent form of this transgression imaginable, actually just a touch. But it bothered her conscience and she confided in one of the elders. Immediately a judicial committee was formed. The daughter was found to be "repentant" and given private reproof, but this disqualified her from pioneering.

  Jerry decided not to submit his application either but nevertheless to fulfill the commitment he had made in his heart. He and his daughter made pioneer hours(100 a month) for three years before she eventually married and started a family.

  This may sound morbid, but I used to keep up with Arkansas obituaries. When I saw Jerry's about 13 years ago, I got a funny feeling because I knew it was in his will for me to give the funeral talk. But I was no longer a JW and no one had my phone number. Within three months I read his wife's obituary.

  tms
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  42

  Witnessing =Dirty Householders/bible studies yuck remember??

  by Witness 007 in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  we had a bible study women who collected all the qaurter left bottles of coke and would "recycle" them into one bottle.

  a couple we studied with would give us coffee with lipstick on the cup after removing the cigrette buts and a quick rinse!

  a study gave me a glass of water which was brownish looking....tasted awful.

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  TMS

  I used to hold my newborn while sitting in a recliner near an open window as my wife "studied" with Brenda H. Brenda's three preschoolers were not potty trained. Excrement was smeared on the walls. Super roaches battled for food items, sometimes in a tug of war over a large morsel.

  One week my recliner was thrown out into the yard. Brenda explained that it had a rat's nest in it.

  I tended to my son in the car after that during Brenda's studies.

  tms

  ps: My wife was always big on teaching some of these folks how to clean, especially if they were advancing in their study. One young lady had inherited a wreck of a house from her grandmother. Grandma dipped and chewed and lived in filth for seventy-five years. My wife volunteered our services to bring the house to livibility, if possible. Several weekends we cleaned, painted, made minor repairs. We made a bonfire of most of the furniture and helped the lady find good, clean, used furniture in the antique and second-hand stores.
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  duh! just realized

  by TMS in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  that "tomorrow night" recorded by bob dylan was originally done by elvis presley in 1954. the '54 suns studios version and the overdubbed '65 version are both on youtube.. tms.

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  TMS

  that "Tomorrow Night" recorded by Bob Dylan was originally done by Elvis Presley in 1954. The '54 Suns Studios version and the overdubbed '65 version are both on YouTube.

  tms
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  5

  The List by Prominent Bethelite

  by TMS in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this list of failed watchtower predictions came out when i was still a believer.

  "prominent bethelite" had a caustic personality as we still believing jw's tried to engage him.

  but his research was/is impeccable.. each quote from the watchtower publications is followed by the specific source in brackets.

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  TMS

  This list of failed Watchtower predictions came out when I was still a believer. "Prominent Bethelite" had a caustic personality as we still believing JW's tried to engage him. But his research was/is impeccable.

  Each quote from the Watchtower publications is followed by the specific source in brackets. The volume of silly Watchtower predictions over the years is staggering. Few current JW's are aware of any of these.

  http://www.freeminds.org/history/list.htm

  tms
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  26

  Big News! 2009 District Conventions moved OUT OF STATE!

  by sacolton in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my jw wife told me today that the 2009 oklahoma district conventions will not be held in our state.

  the tulsa area will have to go to fort smith, arkansas and the central oklahoma area will have to go to witchia, kansas!

  wow!

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  TMS

  Watchtower biggies are extremely proud of their hard-nosed no-compromise convention negotiations with city administrators, convention hall managers, etc. They use the leverage of megadollars flowing to the community via JW hotel, restaurant and fuel purchases to gain sweatheart deals concerning concessions, rent, parking, etc.

  If a community refuses to "play ball", they can just watch Watchtower's business go elsewhere. I've seen these same "smart" business practices elsewhere in the big, bad business world. WalMart and other huge retail outlets treat their suppliers the same way, leveraging, badgering and tricking them into bare bones deals.

  There have been years when no conventions were held in Arkansas despite the existence of several fine facilities. The brothers were simply teaching Pine Bluff or Little Rock a lesson. Arkansas JW's could just travel to Oklahoma or Tennessee.

  I've often thought of how simple it would be to videotape district assembly programs and show them on a screen at the local Kingdom Hall. Would not that actually "simplify" things, save gas and make the spiritual banquet available to all regardless of their means, disabilities and transportation?

  tms
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  88

  Why are Arkansas men

  by John Doe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  exponentially smarter and sexier than the general population of the us?

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  TMS

  Billy bob thornton is arkansan? Funny, he doesn't LOOK arkansan;)

  S

  Not sure what that means, Satanas. But if you can't wrap yourself around Billy Bob's Arkansas heritage think of Fred Graham, the softspoken legal commentator. He's typical of many articulate, unassuming Arkies I've met. Not as charismatic as Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich or Glen Campbell or as driven as the Waltons, Dillards or Tysons, but not to be overlooked. Every state has its own list and Arkansas as a very small state population-wise is not underrepresented.

  In political circles most young people think of Bill Clinton, but he is much the political lightweight in Arkansas political history. Senator J.William Fullbright(yes, the Fullbright Scholarship originator), took courageous stands on several issues. He was the ONLY U.S. Senator to vote against Joseph McCarthy's roughshod anti-Communist vendetta in the 50's. Fullbright was also one of only 2 senators to vote against the Gulf of Tonkin resolution escalating the Vietnam War. Its not well known outside the state, but most Arkansans considered Senator Dale Bumpers much more presidential than Clinton ever was. Bumpers was willing to serve but not willing to go through the garbage to be elected. You may recall that during Clinton's impeachment woes, Bumpers although retired, asked to address the full senate. He was greeted with a standing ovation, such was their respect for the man. He argued eloquently, not in defense of Clinton, but for the preservation of the presidency and was a key figure in averting impeachment.

  tms