Hi Shelley, thanks so much for your comments, it means a lot to me. It is disgusting how the church can turn otherwise great people into such hateful people. That sister of mine that you speak of knows better, more than any of my other siblings and that is what upsets me the most, she knows the truth and that is the ultimate betrayal………

I too was a young kid bashing around the Joburg org circa 69 onwards – did my first course (HAS) in 1969. I remember ‘the Jory girls” so well – beautiful young ladies with flaming locks of gorgeous red hair. You and your sisters were real head-turners!

Who would have known that 25 years later your sister and I would end up becoming best friends for close to 21 years and our children would grow up together as soul-mates?

That, of course, all came crashing down 3 years ago this very month when I knew the inevitable was about to happen and made the decision to phone your sister for one last chat and tell her what had happened (I’d been subjected to a horrific witch-hunt for months by that stage and had finally had enough). All I wanted was to present my version of events and wish her well into the future. I was utterly dumbfounded by the icy, stone-cold response I got from her. For her, there was NO question that I be summarily excised from her life without any sorrow or regret and she wouldn’t even let me tell her my side of the story. I had become an overnight SP in her eyes despite having not even appeared before any ethics committee or comm-ev at that stage.

But what was unforgivable in my book, was that by extension, my daughter was tarred with the same brush and her lifelong soul-mate cut ties with her too – literally weeks after he had given a speech at her 21st Birthday party about what an incredible person & friend she had been to him for 2 decades. Of all the “friends” I lost, (and there were many), that one hurt the most.

Thanks again Madge for your kindness that night. Yes it was a hard time. I hope you will enjoy the rest of my stories to come. It has been a real “awakening” for me…..

I also remember this ‘the end is nigh’ doomsday prophecy. It’s how many of us were recruited – myself into the GO in Joburg org at the ripe young age of 15. Wonder how LRH justified this when he railed against the media and others as being ‘merchants of chaos’ and responsible for major suppression on society? Telling a young child or anyone for that matter that they better buck up because ‘the world is going to end’ is just downright criminal (whether you believe it or not). Right up until the time I made my exit 3 years ago these ‘hell-fire and brimstone’ horror stories were still being used as a tool by SO recruiters. I’m sure nothing’s changed.

Fascinating to read your story and am looking forward to more. I got in in my late 20s and there were very few children around the org. So your viewpoint, I believe, if very important to the long history of scio. Thank you so much for gifting us with your history.

The Apollo was sold twice between 1977 and 1980, then in Sept 1980 it was sitting in dock at Brownsville, Texas. when a train accidentally rammed it, causing 10 millions bucks of damage, way more than it’s last two selling prices (1977 it brought 90,000 bucks, 1978 it brought 188,000 bucks, and during the arguing over how much it was worth after the accident one side said 2.5 million and the other said only 350 thousand bucks), but the damage ended up so costly it was a total loss. (Water was taken on due to the damage, but it didn’t sink.)

Total loss due to it not being worth the money to fix it, following the Sept 1980 train smashing into it.

http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/533/392/1506796/

I did my first locational at birth. The command was ‘Spot your mother.’ You probably ran the same one, unless it was ‘Find the beach.’ ?

Am working to fill in the rest of the pieces.

Thanks but with the pain comes wisdom somehow as odd as that may seem. I’m sure it will all be worth it in the end. I’m so sorry for everyone else that has lost kids and the siblings that lost siblings is painful too. I never thought a heart ache could hurt like a head ache. Scientology drills the love and compassion out of one eventually. Produces self-centered robot beings and they don’t know it. I’d rather have the pain – thank you 🙂