Do you know? Do you remember? For certain, I will not pretend and say I knew before I was reminded earlier today. Today, while driving near Charlotte, NC, I heard a radio program that was asking people to call in and tell where they were or what they remembered about this date- ten years ago. February 18, 2001 – was a Sunday. Once the announcer revealed the event, I knew exactly where I was when I heard that Dale Earnhardt, Sr. had been killed in a wreck at Daytona. Let me explain.
We were still living Greenville at the time, but were traveling to Spindale, NC to be a part of the Sunday nights services at Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF). I can’t tell you what Jane Whaley preached that night or if she was even in town. But, I remember on the way home we stopped at the Texaco station in Tryon, NC. It was more than likely around 9:15 to 9:30 PM. We stopped at this station frequently on the way home as they had doughnuts – reduced or even free! I parked the van and as I went in I noticed throngs of folks in the station. This was unusual and caught my eye. Had others found out about the “free” doughnuts?
That was not the case; the folks were grouped over by the race memorabilia. Since I had no interest in the hats, shirts, flags, die cast race cars and the like, it did not stop me from getting what I “needed”. As I came to the counter, I asked the cashier, what all the fuss was about. She said, you don’t know? Have you heard? Of course, I had not. I had been in a WOFF meeting where members not only did not watch races they certainly did not talk about them! She said Dale Earnhardt was killed today. Now, it made sense. The stuff with his name on it would be going up in price — soon! I told her thank you and mused on the news as I went back to the van.
Now here is a cult member’s dilemma. You have just learned that a famous race car driver has been killed and folks in the van will not only NOT want to hear about it, they will not even care. I feel sure some folks in the van did not even know who Dale Earnhardt was! I was not a NASCAR fan before WOFF and certainly not a secret one while inside WOFF. But, what resident of NC or SC would not know who Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was? You didn’t have to be a fan to know that he was a legend in the sport. I can’t tell you exactly what was said when I went back into the van to my family and friends. But, I may have just said that someone famous had died or maybe not even that. I think I remember telling my wife later that night, but what does it matter? This was another fine example of life in a highly controlled religious group which experts had labeled a cult. I had not accepted that fact on February 2001. I just stored the goofy feeling I felt when the cashier expressed her shock that I had not heard. Did she think I lived under a rock? Well, it was a big rock, big enough for about 400 folks. It would take several more events like this one to start waking me up that “life under a rock” was not normal. Were you living under a rock on February 18, 2001?
Thank you, for taking time to visit and read this blog. Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. The author is not a licensed mental health professional and encourages those that need professional help to seek it. The intent of the material is to inform and be a resource. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. There are readers at WOFF. Comments are invited from all readers, including present or former members. Polls are not scientific and no private information is gathered.
Look on the right side of any post for the option to subscribe by email for notifications or RSS feeds notifying of new postings. It is a great feature. Also, find more posts by selecting “Categories”.
(Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. ) Scripture references are Amplified Version unless otherwise noted. (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation ) This is post number 260.
What about 9/11? Someone that was in and out of the church, called the school principal to tell them to turn on the news and see what was going on. They showed the 9/11 on the “monitors” to the school children inside the sanctuary. I just heard that some big building had been bombed. That was all I heard until later at church heard about the 9/11 attack. Some of the children did not think it was real what they were seeing on the “monitor.” How could they, they never say anything on tv or any news. It was interesting that Jane allowed the children to even watch it in the sanctuary.
Randall,
We lived in Greenville at the time of 9/11. I was out walking and MH called me from his work and asked “Did you hear?” I said no, and he described the events to that point. We had no television. I had to go to work to see what was going on. It was not as monitored in Greenville. Do you remember where you were when the compound burned at Waco? I was at a credit union in Greenville, SC trying to work. That was a useless thing to try that day also. We all were glued to the news as the buildings went up in flames.
John