Hi Howard:
Yes, my husband Dave Thomas still remembers you fondly, he was 23 at the time when you were in the RPF and he was in the BC and you loaned him the sections in the BC.
I had just gotten in Scientology back then fresh graduate from Law School in Mexico, and that is when I first learned of the RPF, my husband CSW'd for Bill Yaude to be allowed out of the RPF for the weekend to be our minister and Gary Webber our best man at our wedding, as a matter of fact I still have the approved CSWs (I save everything! LOL) To tell you the truth I found strange that the Church would have such control over people's lives, but having studied my history of how since time immemorial military organizations do that I sort of accepted it.
Dave says that back then it was not a five year cycle, but about six months. However, my point of view as a lawyer, is that Scientology started taking the law into their own hands with the creation of the RPF, and you are one of the few rare success stories that I heard of, Howard you are a good person and no matter where you go you will be fine.
Ken Urquhart who appointed himself as the creator of the RPF considers it a good thing for all, a to-all-who-are-out-ethics-we-will-fix-you-even-if-we-kill-you-in-the-attempt-solution. He prides of himself of having created such monsterous idea. Once an religion starts telling you what to do, it becomes a cult. And the RPF is the ugly duckling of Scn, what am I saying? It is the most diabolical idea anybody could have concocted.
As we already know, it was a bad idea from its inception, staff should have been routed out not sent to an RPF, should have been given a choice, to do a program and work it out and come back. Go make it in the world and come back if you please. But holding hostage pregnant women, sick or old and feebble staff, children or young teenagers is not ethical. Wherever Ken Urquhart is he can rot in hell, he told me he does not feel gulty at all.
For one success story like yours there are thousands full of misery that can make a horror movie.
Howard, you are a unique, special rare breed of thetan, and nobody can take away from you, your win on the RPF. Well done for having accomplished it and succeeded at it! Looking forward to reading your dissertation about Mary Sue Hubbard on Scientolipedia, coming from you, I know it will be an honest account...
One more story.
Larry Wollershiem and the RPF. I was the RPF Bosun when Larry came on board, but first some background info.
I went through a Vietnam War era Navy boot camp, they were not nice to us. I had fellow recruits light their shoe polish on fire and pour the liquid wax unto their boots creating a shine you could shave yourself from. Then during inspection the inspectors would step on their boots and berate them and make them do push ups for the dirty boots. One person transferred into our unit with scabs all over his face. He had been berated so much for his bad shaving that he actually shaved a layer or two of skin off his face to get that close shave. The night before graduation I slept with a piece of steel in my pillow case the tension in our unit was so thick.
During the RPF that I was on we cleaned the Excalibur and we studied or audited. Everyday we did the same things; granted as Bosun I did do a Navy white glove examination of everyone's work, but there was no verbal or physical abuse. Into this kind of environment came Larry Wollersheim.
At first he blended right in with his fellow RPFer's. We were tied up to the dock, we ate our meals (weather permitting) on the bow of the ship. We cleaned the main deck right up to the gangplank. One incident where we did get off of the ship was when the RPF was called to help on a Hill 10 incident. The Excalibur’s lifeboat had been taken out previously and had been beached. When we, the RPF, got there we had just a short amount of time to dig the boat out of the sand before the tide came in. After digging like crazy and with the water coming closer and closer to the boat, suddenly a wrecker showed up. Larry had hired a wrecker to help us move the boat. We were all very lucky that no one got hurt when the winch line snapped; it sounded like a shot gun going off! We never did get that life boat unstuck; the ocean claimed it.
I have used the Internet to find Larry's statements regarding the RPF. He has stated that “I was dying and losing my mind”. I was his Bosun and I was never informed of that. He stated that the “food was so bad”. We ate off of plates with utensils and although we were the last to be served, we ate what everyone else ate. This is where I first had granola and I loved it. In my opinion the food was not that bad, but as my wife will attest I eat almost anything! Larry also stated that “there was no way for anyone to reach him”. I don’t know about him, but in the twelve months that I was there I wrote to my family and friends, and Dave Thomas even came aboard to ask to borrow my paid sections of the SHSBC.
I still remember the morning after Larry was detained from trying to leave. His whole demeanor had taken a 180 degree turn. I remember the wild look that he gave me and I remember wondering what was so horrible on the ship that caused that change in him. Heck, he was right up there alongside of the wrecker driver, days earlier, he could have easily gotten a ride at that time.
I'm sure Larry has good reasons for his actions. I'm just saying, our RPF was not punitive. I'm glad, even after 36 years, that I did that program.