Friday, 11 August 2006

The Packatollah

Back in the 1970s, when I was still a keen young WCG member studying at Teachers College, I came across a great kid's picture book called Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-good, Very Bad Day. I've been meaning to improvise on the title and write an entry called Dave Pack and his Huge, Immense, Gargantuan, Very Big Work.

Thankfully, Gary Scott has spared me the bother with a telling commentary on XCG dealing with the Packatollah's obsession with size. It seems the Titan is really a wiener, flatulent ego notwithstanding.

There's been some debate about the value of exposing preachers like Pack in the media, and I'm sure there would be a long line of people eager to talk about their experience. Unfortunately, any publicity is good publicity and Pack should be starved of it. The only people who know about his obscure little organization are those with a prior commitment to Armstrongism, and even this little band largely ignores his inane boasting. Those who do take him seriously are an aging, dwindling bunch. Neither he nor his work will endure.

Pack is merely a legend in his own mind, as Gary clearly demonstrates.

3 comments:

charlie kieran said...

Like 50+ year old men driving Ferraris...Pack is overcompensating for a small...

Neotherm said...

Soon there will be enough offshoot groups of the Pack sort that we will be able to describe them with fractal mathematics. The big question is whether these groups and subgroups and sub-subgroups (ad infinitum) will possess Exact Self-similarity or Quasi-self-similarity.

I am struck with how many people entrapped within Armstrongism want to be either HWA or GTA. I am dismayed when I read about some tiny offshoot group, with a couple of small Feast sites, flying in "special speakers" -- just like in the Gulfstream and Cessna Citation days of the pre-1995 WCG. The thrill.

Neo

Dennis said...

I suspect Dave will be having himself flow in from a local Starbucksin a Cessna 150, during the Festival, with the promise to add a new Starbucks country visit each year new to report on. The Celebration will be about Dave and one of the highlites will be a Feast film showing him going from Walmart to KMart, To CVS and then on to WalGreens taking the gospel to Wadsworth, Ohio...North Side. There will be a thrilling update on "Just What Do Your Mean...hits?" and their significance in light of computer prophecy. The Twelve finalists for the Two Witnesses, who will win a two week, no expense paid trip to Wadsworth for TW training under Dave, will accompany him. These are the top twelve tithers in RCG and those most able to take direction instructions from Dave and say the word "overarching" without laughing out loud. After the opening night sermon of about six hours, everyone will go home for a good four hours sleep and return at 6AM to meet Dave personally and then on to all day services with such noted speakers as Dave Pack, Mr. Pack, Apostle Pack, Watcher Dave and Mr. David C Pack. An offering will be taken up after a sufficiently guilt and shame driven sermonette is given by President of RCG..Mr. Dave Pack.