James Thomas Rook Jr.

Cats are VERY mercenary!

Unfortunately, people kept dropping their trash on the floor from the food, and making disgusting chewing sounds and burping during the presentations, so they had to stop selling hamburgers and fries through the hole in the wall. Today, even chewing gum is discouraged, as there would be used gum on the bottoms of seats, and it would also get into the carpet. You can still chew gum if you promise to swallow it after it looses its flavor.

Speaking of Animated DAILY TEXTS! Ever miss breakfast or lunch before the meeting? Here is what they looked like in California, in 1957, before large computer monitors in the front of Kingdom Halls, and before Kingdom Halls had water dispensers in the lobby, and holes in the wall to the next door Burger King !  Â

I personally do not care if the Memorial is attended by the entire group of characters from the "Star Wars" Cantina scene, straight from the bowels of Mos Isley Spaceport ... where they were judged by Obi Wan ("Old Ben") Kanobi as "a wretched hive of scum, and villainy" ... certainly more reprehensible than your average disfellowshipped person. ...as long as they behave themselves, be polite and respectful ... and keep their blasters and laser pistols and odd light sabres holstered.

... and a very large pile of dead batteries.

I see nothing wrong with what the Society is doing, per se, in recruiting ... and paying for seminars for specially qualified people to fill a need .... but the duplicity does bother me ... and also the fact that the Society obviously intends to take all the information the Elders feed upstream into account to decide whether or not to contact the "selectee" ... and send no information whatsoever about what is going on downstream to the Elders acting as private investigators. It seems to me painfully obvious that the Elders are deliberately being kept from knowing what is going on as far as interviewing, selection, AND COMPENSATION, of lawyer types recruited. We should be proud of EVERYTHING we do ... and have complete and total transparency .... not compartmentalizing information like it was nuclear secrets.

I worked in Norway for awhile ... everybody I met knew some English ... if they were under 60 years old.

I like it when the Internet is properly used for what it was made for, designed for, and does 2nd best .... cute pictures of CATS! Before the Internet ... if a magazine wanted to sell more copies ... it had a cover of either cats, or helicopters.

Until they notice you. I think there was a really good reason why Jesus waited until he was 30 years old to be baptized. We are supposed to follow Jesus' example as well as his teachings ... and most people do not form a basis for a firm resolve based on character ... until they actually have enough life experiences to DEVELOP character. Unless you are an Elder in good apparent standing, where the "Three Year Rule" applies, after dedication and baptism, you will always be subject to scrutiny, and chastisement ... if they notice you.

I suppose the REAL question might be ... how much faith is needed to move a million and more 200 ton stone blocks to build a pyramid?

Years ago I was staying at a Brother's house in West Virginia, and his home was on a flat spot on the side of one of the mountains. He had a vegetable garden which suffered badly because it was always in shade by the mountain. The garden needed more direct sunlight. So he started praying that that mountain would be moved one afternoon ... and prayed continuously all afternoon and into the night ... that in the morning, the mountain would be relocated so his garden could get some direct sunlight. The more he prayed, the stronger his faith became, and the stronger his faith became, the more he prayed, and with absolute faith that the mountain would be moved that night, he prayed himself into a coma, and fell asleep. That night he was barely aware of the great thunderstorm raging outside, and he woke up about 10AM to sunny skies, and a cloudless day, and there ... behind his vegetable garden, the mountain had not moved at all. He raised his eyes to heaven and exclaimed " I figured as much ...." .

Well .... after it is all said and done .... and a million words have been used to say it ... this analogy comes to mind ....... Let's call Biblical Chronology "Fahrenheit" . Lets call Babylonian Chronology "Centigrade". If we are talking about temperature ... 20 degrees Centigrade is EXACTLY 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Where do we have an EXACT match theologically and secularly? The CORRECT answer should be able to be explained and stated in ONE sentence. Backup in the second sentence. Â

Yeah ..... but that is why I know I am not one of the Annointed ... I like "hugs", bar-b-que, and puppies too much, and it my understanding in Heaven they play Harp music.

Before I retired, I became a Space Pirate, a decidedly male dominated field where you get to use laser pistols and other neat stuff ... but we like to be referred to as Intergalactic Relief Transport Agents (IRTAs) ... and my backyard shed is full of crates of TANG orange drink powder.

Not any more ... I used to be ..... before they lost their collective minds with liberal insanity.

Actually, that was me ... and I moved on to another job before they found out. I was painting "M"s, ... "W"s, ... "3"s, ... and "E"s on the M&Ms with a small artist's paintbrush ... but the eyestrain was too great, and I got carpel tunnel syndrome. My next job was working for a fencing contractor, stockpiling fence post holes at his riverside facility, but unfortunately the river flooded, and washed all the inventory away.

Sometimes, invisible hugs you cannot feel .... do not help.

The dead deer is sad ... the fact that someone tied a "Get Well Soon" balloon to his leg is INCREDIBLY FUNNY! I first saw this photo about three months ago, and have been chuckling about it ever since. I have been SERIOUSLY thinking of buying a small helium tank at a party supply store, and a similar mylar balloon to keep in the trunk of my car, for when the opportunity arises, and here in North Carolina it arises about three times a year, that I have observed. BE PREPARED ..... that's my motto !

Also remember that those 8 million or so Brothers and Sisters who wrote letters to the Russian Government had absolutely NO EFFECT whatsoever, except that the Universal Postal Union transferred approximately 56 MILLION DOLLARS ( 70% of the Postal Terminal Duty of the face value of the postage on the letters...) to the Russian Federation. When you deal with "gunfighters" with a "Have a Nice Day" helium filled mylar balloon, the results are VERY predictable. Â

During World War II, one of the reasons the persecution of the Jews was very popular among the general German Population, is as they were rounded up and shipped in boxcars by railroad to the death camps and labor camps ... the people back home raided their homes, and stole all their furniture and assets ... and even stole their homes .... some of which had been handed down for 600 years. Among people like this life is not precious and "justice" is only a tool to administratively and under the color of law steal someone else's stuff. Humans only had value if they had gold in their teeth, and the Nazis had prisoners extract teeth from the dead, pry out the gold, and melt it down into gold ingots. TONS of it are still in Swiss Banks. I say all of this so you have some sense of perspective of who we are dealing with ... as The Soviets, AKA Russian Federation are a different government ... but their thinking as a civilization has not changed. The End justifies the means ... and justice is perverted when it comes to money and policy. Among societies of humans, this is NORMAL, and there have never been any exceptions, and there are no exceptions now. It is all just a "matter of degree".

I have never found a worm in a "JW.org apple" .... but many times while eating, I have found HALF a worm. Â What Jehovah needs is better humans .... but it is a long, hard process, and we have to live with unfinished students. We "get even", by them having to live with US. Pesky Humans! . Â

Birds eat worms! AND THEY CAN FLY ! (The birds ... not the worms...)

It is best to leave MANY things in Jehovah's "hands" ... some things we have to do with our own hands, or "chance and circumstance will without a second thought kill us, and not even notice. I pray for wisdom and patience, because if I prayed for strength ... I may need a shovel and a bail bondsman.

SPOING!

In searching for a "soul-mate" remember this basic fact .... a person who does not love dogs you do not need to know .... and a dog who loves and respects it's human guardian, you do need to know. Both the dog, and the person.