White Walls-Flourescent Lights-Rocking Out-Butthole Surfers-

[Anonymous]

White Walls-Flourescent Lights-Rocking Out-Butthole Surfers-Budweiser(?)

I have a creative mind artistically and I remember how difficult it was to creatively daydream in Straight about Straight. The indoor environment was so plain that it was hard to embellish upon it and make it interesting. Making pies slam into the phasors face who was talking and watching them fly backwards in slow motion with pie on his or her face then land on the hard floor was about as creative as I could get.

So, rocking out in one's head while motivating was helpful. I used to rock out to the Butthole Surfers "O-Men" on first phase and under my breath would mumble the indicipherable words(?) of the song.

Then, one night, 2 weeks into my program, I was stood up in Review. "So, Scott, ya' feeling like drinking a Budweiser?"

What?

"Michael Coursey!"

Michael Coursey: "Yeah,I was sitting here, motivating in group, and I heard you say 'Budweiser' while we were motivating." (with look of disdain, disgust, and fear on his face typical of kiss butts wanting out after 17 months on first phase).

Me: "I didn't say that?!" ::bangin:: .

[JDavid]

I started out rocking out to mostly Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd, but I remember near the end of my 9 months there it was more Neil Diamond and even that Frank Mills song, Music Box Dancer.  My lowest low in rocking out was Chariots of Fire  :skull: I used to move at least my right hand fingers to play piano tunes of stuff like that.  I was either constantly pushing piano keys or flicking my right fingers playing along with those awesome Steve Harris bass lines.  Of course, no one ever knew that when I was motivating I was actually playing the drum intro to Running Free... the Nicko McBrain version fromt the Live After Death album.


[ This Message was edited by: JDavid on 2003-06-29 22:07 ]

[85 Day Jerk]

I started out in the Milton Roy building, the largest of the St. Pete Straights.  The walls were barren exept for the 3 signs, 7 steps, and one more that said "You are not alone."  I went in the program in 1978, and Star Wars and a show called Black Sheep Squadron were hot topics.  I spent hours staring up at the flourescent lights contemplating how to build a working light saber. I figured using some kind of electrically conductive gel plasma that could be contained in a tightly controlled magnetic field would do the trick and once activated, a high pulse laser beam would run through the field and act as the actual destructive force.  Since the plasma could flow around objects, and conduct the light energy, I could kill every asshole in the group without dissapating the laser itself.

On a more simpler note, there were times that I sat in group my first couple of weeks with my fist on my leg holding my thumb up and using it as a joystick.  A staff trainee named Marie even stood me up and asked me what the hell I was  doing, so I told her the truth.  "I am flying a F4 Corsair all around the building strafing the staffer's cars in the parking lot with 50 caliber machine guns.  After everyone got their laugh, she decided to let it ride.  What the hell, I was only 15 at the time.

[gduncan]

Who came up with the idea of motivating to get called on and what was it supposed to do for us? I don't remember rocking out while motivating but I do remember thinking how stupid it was.  What's wrong with just raising your hand?  Right now I'm sitting in my office listening to Metallica's "Bad Seed"  ::drummer::  and I've been motivating.  It's been 23 years since I've motivated and after having done it a few seconds I'm amazed that I never threw my arm out of joint or suffered any sort of injury. In case you're wondering, I work from home so there's no having to explain to co-workers what I'm doing! :eek:

[Froderik]

Hey maybe that's why I got pains in my elbow joints. I think I'll sue.  :lol:  I remember "rocking out" to the Dead Kennedys album, "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables" while motivating. I knew the whole thing by heart. There might have been some Black Flag and Minor Threat mixed in there too...I never felt 'guilty' about doing it either since I didn't consider that music to be "druggie" music, (especially Minor Threat - hell, straight could have ENDORSED their songs, lol.) even though I was into it in my 'past'.

[ehm]

I can remember rocking out... I was so crushed when the songs began to fade. I did however flip people off with my hand in my pocket frequently. Throughout my entire program, I never felt guilty for doing that. It felt soooo good to do. Especially to Sherri Riley. Others too though. :wink:

[GregFL]

On 2003-06-30 04:29:00, gduncan wrote:

"Who came up with the idea of motivating to get called on and what was it supposed to do for us?    "

Motivating originated at the  Seed but I believe got crazy at the St Pete branch.  Other Seed branches didn't seem to motivate with such, ahem, "enthusiasm", but each Seed branch took on a slightly different personality. For instance, the cleveland seed had boxing matches a la synanon and no other branch did.

In the Seed, we used to talk about how "motivated" we were to be called on, and then it seemed to get out of hand and the wild snapping and waving became a trend that was carried over to the straight. The initial straight staffers were high school grads of the St Pete seed, and they just copied what they remembered and what Helen Peterman remembered.

The disrespect for the possession laws fosters a disrespect for laws and the system in general... On top of this is the distinct impression among the youth that some police may use the marihuana laws to arrest people they don't like for other reasons, whether it be their politics, their hair style or their ethnic background.
                                                                     
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/nc/ncmenu.htm' target='_new'>Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding

[Don Smith]

I don't remember rockin out to any one particular group.  I just remember playing my blue chair like a drum  ::drummer::  and driving the Oldcomers nuts with it.  ::argue::   I think I did it out of sheer nervousness and feeling trapped.

When I was on 4th Phase my former Oldcomer and I had cranked up WEBN and played our rakes, or maybe they were brooms, like guitars. That's a memory that will last a lifetime!

On first phase in St. Pete I was allowed to play the piano for both the Cincinnati and St. Pete groups.  Both times I played songs I had written to my "druggie girlfriend" a few weeks before coming in. Man if Staff ever found out about that there is no telling what they would do to me.  I smiled a Shit Eating Grin knowing I was pulling one over on everyone there.

[mithygato]

Hey Morli,

Sherri Riley and her slack-jawed husband. :wstupid:
 
They were a scary, wannabe televangelistic fucking types.  Reciting Straight's neo-religious bullshit until they were out of breath.
It's so bizarre, but out of the hundreds of people I saw there, those are two of a handful that I can remember by face.

I still remember what they look like after about 14 years (less than half my life)!
He was a short little fuck (face like a hog in a vice), and she was kinda pretty (shoulder length black hair) - taller than him  :cry2:

It's people like those who end up with last names like Bush, Rumsfeld, Ridge, Rice, Scalia, Thomas, Cheney, NEED I Go on. . .

It's amazing to remember the degree of power that they had over our lives - it still makes me shiver sometimes.

Peace.

[Carmel]

If I remember correctly, motivating became "outlawed" towards the end of my program.  Another "change" made in light of the investigations going on, and the idea that motivating was throwing our arms out.  I guess it really didnt matter since we were always told that what we did wasnt REAL motivating anyway.  We were made to simply raise our hands straight up, without moving or waving them.  This resulted in a whole range of grunting, sighing, and straining.....like the whole group was trying to take a shit loud enough so that staff would call on them.

You could get away with wiggling your fingers, or stretching your arm way out in front of you like you were just dying to wiggle your fingers right up into the staffers nose.  It was ridiculous.

[ehm]

(joking)

[Don Smith]

This resulted in a whole range of grunting, sighing, and straining.....like the whole group was trying to take a shit loud enough so that staff would call on them.

For what ever reason I picture a whole group of Arnold Horshacks trying to get called on in class.  OH OH OH OH OH! (((LOL)))
 :lol:

Don

[Carmel]

EXACTLY!

[Anonymous]

None of us who came in after the ones before us knew what REAL motivating was. That used to piss me off because they were lying. If we had motivated any harder our arms would have come out of their sockets and been flung around in the air as seen on Weird Al's Nirvana parody video "Smells Like Nirvana".

During the "bust butt" raps where we were expected to have an all out hoe down motivating our asses off and this was staff's idea of "fun" and "a good time". ::
Oh boy. I am actually grieving my lost childhood right now which I am certain was lost during these bust butt raps when the cult's true colors shined the brightest.

[Anonymous]

At the very end of my program they outlawed motivating and more so after I 7-stepped or graduated. It's funny to me how big of a deal that was to us who had come to appreciate a good motivating after months, yea even years, of repetition.

Like Mo, we were offended at the PUSSIES holding their hands straight up still like little faggot boys and girls. Ha ha. How we despised them all! Lame. I am embarrased to admit our total assness, but we were Straight purists, and we knew that it was HARD  :wave: MOTIVATING that got us and kept us SOBER! If it ain't broke, why fix it?