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The Great Escape

Miss Pert

Silver Meritorious Patron
I was on chat today and the subject of my actually physical removal of myself form the cult came up and it was suggested that I tell this story. It turns out to be longer than I expected so I’ll break it up a bit

It was 2009 and I was living with a friend, a Scio who was auditing on OTVII, and her 11 year old son, she allowed me to stay for free in exchange for cleaning the house, doing odd jobs, helping her with her son, as she is a single mother, and helping her with some backlogged projects she wanted done for her business. I’d been back from Flag for just over 6 months and struggling to survive financially, as you would expect on an org salary, when she told me she was going to Flag and asked if I could care for her son on weekends while she was away. I agreed to this as I had always done this for her in the past and it wasn’t a problem for me, he was always well behaved when he was in my care.

Anyway, about ten days before she is due to leave I ask her if she can organise for her son to have a sleep over on a particular Saturday night while she was away. She became a bit upset about this as I had told her I would take him on weekends, I explained it was just one night and I would collect him first thing Sunday morning and I told her I just wanted one night to go and see my friends, the Pandas, play at a club. The Pandas were already out by this time and I knew this but they weren’t actively trying to get me out or telling me horrible things about the cult so I never even considered it a problem. My friend then asked if I know if I am allowed to see them, since they were out, they may have been declared. I pointed out that there had been no been no declares posted in HCO at the Class V or the AO so I didn’t think it would be a problem, plus they have been my friends for 30 years. I also asked her about the creed, all men have the inalienable right to their own religious beliefs etc, she said to me “now you’re just being reasonable.”

My friend immediately called OSA to check, she told me she couldn’t risk going to Flag with something like this on her lines, it would slow her down and cost her more money. OSA informed her that the Pandas were indeed declared and she put me on the phone to Virginia. She explained that the Pandas were not only out but posting entheta about the Co$ on the internet, I then asked if they had proof and explained how long we’d been friends and that there was no way I would accept someone’s word on this. Virginia agreed to this and told me to go the AO the next day and she would arrange to have the Dir I&R to show them to me. So, I arrive at the AO the next day, a Friday I think it was, and see the Dir I&R who starts to ask me questions about how much of a Scio I am and about Pandas past involvement with the SO etc, checking to see how well I knew him. Well I’d never discussed this sort of stuff with him so I had no idea, at which point she decided that the so called evidence was too “entheta“ to show me. I told her that was fine I would arrange to see them personally and discuss it with them, to my shock she agreed, however by the time I got home there was an email requesting I not do that and return to the org to see her, this email I ignored.

Part 2 to follow shortly.......
 

Miss Pert

Silver Meritorious Patron
Re: The Great Escape Psrt II

The next day I called the Pandas to organise getting together with them after their gig that night and they readily agreed. I then had to organise getting there house, they lived almost an hours drive from my place and the public transport to the area at the time of night I was having to go (2am) was non-existent (I no longer owned a car as it had been repossessed because I could no longer afford to pay it off). So next I called another old friend, not a Scio, although she had plans for earlier in the night she agreed to meet up with me at a club near her house and then drive me over afterwards. The trip to the club was an hour by train but the place we were meeting had food and entertainment, so I could at keep myself amused while I waited for her.

Once we arrived at the Pandas I explained what had happened and I asked Panda straight up if he was posting on the net about the cult, he immediately answered that he was. I asked if it was entheta and he told me from the cults viewpoint yes but he was posting about experiences he had and nothing he wrote was untrue. Mrs Panda was another story, OSA had told me she was also posting on the net, she denied having ever posting anything good or bad on the net on any subject and at that time it was the total truth, she has since started doing so.

The Pandas then asked me what I wanted to do, and assured me whatever choice I made they would still consider me amongst their closest friends. Also that if chose to leave I would be welcome to live with them until I could get back on my feet, mind you there was one condition, that I have 2 weeks from doing anything at all and just relax. Gee, what should I do? Stay with this group that lied and tried to hide information from me because they thought it would influence my opinion of their precious cult, or leave and be free to spend as much time with my closest, truest friends as I chose. Hmmmm, tough one, NOT!!!!!!

At this point I had no idea about what others had gone through upon trying to leave and the Pandas gave me a brief rundown. Now I believe if I had just decided to leave and OSA was unaware of my connection to the Pandas, I would have just had to have done the usual leaving staff stuff, but since I was now a known associate of declared SPs well my chances of leaving quietly were pretty much zero. The Pandas asked how I would like to go about this and when. I told them that I had no intention of going back except to pick up any personal belongings. I also had to get out the house I was staying in as my friend wouldn’t accept my decision and it would, as she said, cause more problems for her at Flag, so the Mission Impossible covert op was put into action. :coolwink:

Final installment still to come......
 

Miss Pert

Silver Meritorious Patron
Re: The Great Escape Part III

It was agreed that Mrs Panda, Miss Jones and myself would go into town on Sunday and I would recover my meter and few other things from the org, I thought about not bothering but it was worth a few grand and I was broke, and move me out of where I was living. Collecting my clothes and belongs from where I was living was much scarier than going into the org, my friend had a very bad temper and I knew if I ran into her she would rip me to pieces for even considering what I was doing. She has imbibed enough koolaid to be totally irrational on the matter, given her way, anything said against LRH or DM would be punishable by extreme measures.

We arrive at Hercules St early Sunday arvo and Mrs panda drives into the car park to let me out and then backs out again in case she is noticed, she’s wearing her black peak cap to cover her face and we can’t help laughing. Anyway, I just waltz in, the Fdn auditor that I shared my auditing room with is outside having a cigarette and although he’d seen me he barely even acknowledge me. I go to the auditing room and clear out my stuff, this may have caused a slight flap for this guy as we used each other’s meter as a spare, and walked straight back out. No one seemed to notice my presence, probably because there was no one there, it really was an ideal morgue, it was just way too easy.

The next step, getting my belongings from where I’d been living, was possibly going to be trickier, which was why Miss Jones was there. Her not being a Scio would reduce the likelihood of my friend blowing up if she was home, or came home and caught us. We had to “case the joint” as none of us wanted to see my friend, fortunately her car was not parked in front and the shades were drawn on the kitchen window meaning she wasn’t home. Stealth was still required (gee I wish there was a spy smilie) just in case my friend had parked in the garage below and was just preparing to leave or returning home. Mrs Panda parked the car a couple of doors down, the plan, Miss Jones and I go in and just throw everything I own into garbage bags, I had nothing to pack anything in at the time, and get out, while Mrs Panda stays by the car on lookout. We come out with the first load of bags and there’s Mrs Panda standing at the back of her 4 wheel drive hiding behind the door looking very furtive with the peak of her black cap pulled down over her eyes, I’m afraid it was all too much for me, she just looked too funny and I just cracked up. Once everything was out of there the three of us laughed all the way back to Panda’s place. I can actually say I had a good time, it had been a long time since I’d had that much fun.

Here's to the Pandas, Miss Jones and freedom :cheers: :bighug: :cheers:
 

Happy Days

Silver Meritorious Patron
Loved your story Miss Pert... and those Panda's are great too :yes::yes:

How lucky are we exe's to have such great friends who care and love us just the way we are.:bighug::love2:

The future is so very bright :cheerleader:
 

Jachs

Gold Meritorious Patron
Good relay..I was waiting and hoping for Mrs Panda to shoot the tranquilizer dart....
 

Panda Termint

Cabal Of One
LOL, Jachss, Mrs Panda does her Kung Fu she never uses tranquiliser darts!

Great story, Miss Pert, thanks for writing it. :)

To all the still-in Lurkers; Yes, it's that easy. You can restart your life and with the minimum of effort you can actually have the life you want, free of restraint and unnecessary travail. They only control you because you allow them to. Disagree.

Scientology is never going to be what you wish it was.

If you need help, your friends are here.
 

Outethicsofficer

Silver Meritorious Patron
Thanks for recounting your escape from the cult, it's quite exhilerating to make a decision like that and follow it through.
Well done Pert.

James
 

Miss Pert

Silver Meritorious Patron
Thanks for recounting your escape from the cult, it's quite exhilerating to make a decision like that and follow it through.
Well done Pert.

James

Thanks James, that's the perfect word to describe how I was feeling at the time, it wasn't merely fun, it was EXHILERATING!!! :buzzin: :buzzin: :buzzin:
 

Miss Pert

Silver Meritorious Patron
Wow!!! Great story!!!

More more more!!

You know what? There should be a BOOK of everyone's stories!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hahaha! It's funny you should say that Fluff. When I tell my friends at work about some of things I experienced whilst in the cult they always say you should write a book, they are so amazed. I tell them that there are already some very good books out there that my life in seem drab and mundane by comparison. :yes:

Maybe I should tell the story about dress regulations at Flag and my socks. :giggle:
 

Kutta

Silver Meritorious Patron
Great story Miss Pert. It made me recall my escape and how wonderfully free, free at last, I felt. Now let's hear about those socks.:prettyplease:
 

Miss Pert

Silver Meritorious Patron
Great story Miss Pert. It made me recall my escape and how wonderfully free, free at last, I felt. Now let's hear about those socks.:prettyplease:

OK, Kutta, just for you! :biggrin:

When I arrived at Flag for training it was a total culture shock, before I routed in I had to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe because my clothes were "unsuitable." I used to be a dancer and the most comfortable, and still nice looking, pants I owned were actually dance pants, unfortunately they were also very tight. Shame on me! Also most of my tops were of a cotton knit type, according to Flag they were T-shirts, never mind some of them cost me over $100. I thought they were very "upstat" and aesthetic but they just weren't conservative enough for the clothing nazis. Heaven forbid someone should wear a top that had more than one colour on it :ohmy:. Anyway, my new wardrobe consisted of assorted bland blouses and black trousers, extremely boring.

One day I had to go to the optometrist, which happened to be at a Walmart, and while I was waiting for the MLO's driver (Medical Liason Officer) to come back and collect me after my eye test I found Halloween socks, AND a Winnie the Pooh watch :happydance:. Well I couldn't resist, the watch was very subtle so no one was likely to notice Pooh and mostly they didn't but the socks, one pair was bright orange with black and ghosts and bats and the other pair were deep purple with orange and black witches riding brooms. I loved my socks and wore them to death regardless of the danger to myself.

You see as an OOT at Flag you are subjected to regular ummm.... I can't remember what they called it.... like uniform inspection but we didn't wear uniforms. Anyway at inspection every aspect is checked, conservatism, clean hair and finger nails, make up, clothes ironed, etc. I was fortunate they never checked my socks as if they had I would have been given a warning not to wear them again and if I did it would have been off to ethics. The funny thing is that my socks were the talk of the course room, all the sups loved them and they would always have a big laugh when I wore them, they were quite visible when I was sitting down.

Now you may be thinking at this point that the reason they didn't check my socks was because, well, who cares about socks. Wrong!!!!!!! :no: They didn't check my socks because I was in my mid 40s and since I was towing the "conservative" line with the rest of my clothes they never suspected just how childish I was, and still am. You know how I know this? There was a young girl from Joburg org there at the same time, she was only 16 years old. Guess what? They checked her socks, :roflmao:, she was wearing Winne the Pooh socks. She was told that she was not to wear them again whilst on the base as they were not suitable for a trainee auditor to be wearing. She was telling me about this the day it happened to her so I pulled up my trousers and showed her my Halloween socks and at first her jaw dropped open and nearly hit the floor, but then both of us were :roflmao: :roflmao:
 

Happy Days

Silver Meritorious Patron
OK, Kutta, just for you! :biggrin:

When I arrived at Flag for training it was a total culture shock, before I routed in I had to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe because my clothes were "unsuitable." I used to be a dancer and the most comfortable, and still nice looking, pants I owned were actually dance pants, unfortunately they were also very tight. Shame on me! Also most of my tops were of a cotton knit type, according to Flag they were T-shirts, never mind some of them cost me over $100. I thought they were very "upstat" and aesthetic but they just weren't conservative enough for the clothing nazis. Heaven forbid someone should wear a top that had more than one colour on it :ohmy:. Anyway, my new wardrobe consisted of assorted bland blouses and black trousers, extremely boring.

One day I had to go to the optometrist, which happened to be at a Walmart, and while I was waiting for the MLO's driver (Medical Liason Officer) to come back and collect me after my eye test I found Halloween socks, AND a Winnie the Pooh watch :happydance:. Well I couldn't resist, the watch was very subtle so no one was likely to notice Pooh and mostly they didn't but the socks, one pair was bright orange with black and ghosts and bats and the other pair were deep purple with orange and black witches riding brooms. I loved my socks and wore them to death regardless of the danger to myself.

You see as an OOT at Flag you are subjected to regular ummm.... I can't remember what they called it.... like uniform inspection but we didn't wear uniforms. Anyway at inspection every aspect is checked, conservatism, clean hair and finger nails, make up, clothes ironed, etc. I was fortunate they never checked my socks as if they had I would have been given a warning not to wear them again and if I did it would have been off to ethics. The funny thing is that my socks were the talk of the course room, all the sups loved them and they would always have a big laugh when I wore them, they were quite visible when I was sitting down.

Now you may be thinking at this point that the reason they didn't check my socks was because, well, who cares about socks. Wrong!!!!!!! :no: They didn't check my socks because I was in my mid 40s and since I was towing the "conservative" line with the rest of my clothes they never suspected just how childish I was, and still am. You know how I know this? There was a young girl from Joburg org there at the same time, she was only 16 years old. Guess what? They checked her socks, :roflmao:, she was wearing Winne the Pooh socks. She was told that she was not to wear them again whilst on the base as they were not suitable for a trainee auditor to be wearing. She was telling me about this the day it happened to her so I pulled up my trousers and showed her my Halloween socks and at first her jaw dropped open and nearly hit the floor, but then both of us were :roflmao: :roflmao:

You socked it to em Miss Pert :yes::yes: .... you naughtly little gal :roflmao::hifive:

And off to Cramming for the Sock Nazi's once this is known .... FFS importances people ....
 

Ogsonofgroo

Crusader
Thanks James, that's the perfect word to describe how I was feeling at the time, it wasn't merely fun, it was EXHILERATING!!! :buzzin: :buzzin: :buzzin:

Exhilerate away Miss Pert ( <3 to you too)!

I am not alone (I believe), in enjoy all the tales of escape to freedom, in my own somewhat simple mind) it just never gets old :)

SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMONDS!

:dance: :dance: :drama:
 

Kutta

Silver Meritorious Patron
Love the sound of those socks. Ghosts, bats, and witches – perfect attire for that god forsaken place. :happydance:
 
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