I was very fortunate to spend most of my first five years in the church close to True Parents. I saw father the first time at 10:00 am on March first 1973 at the beginning of the first 100-day training session at Belvedere. Father spoke to us at least a dozen during the first 40 days. After 40 days I prepared the two busses for the Day of Hope Tours and then was a bus driver on the IOWC from July 73 to July 74.

I was the maintenance man at East Garden from June 1974 until February 1978, and was the only male staff member to live in the same house with True Parents. Beyond just the physical proximity to True Parents, I had a determination to break through and be a real person around them, to joke with them and argue with True Parents when I thought I was right. This made our relationship real and personal as it remains till this day.

Much of our impression of people, both public and private, comes not from the big things they did, but rather from the small personal things. I hope that a different and personal aspect of True Parents character is revealed through these anecdotes, which are a great privilege to share with you.

Some of the staff I worked with then are still at East Garden after more than 25 years. The stories they have must be much better than mine. I hope that some day they too will share them with our members.

Some of these anecdotes are specific because I kept a journal at that time where I recorded these events as they happened. I referred to this journal when writing these stories.

The first direct give and take I ever had with True Father was after pledge service on Mother’s day May 13^th of 73. After pledge we sang songs for Mother and then we had a short question and answer session with Father. Bobby Wilson who was responsible for maintaining Belvedere had just bought a new riding lawnmower. I was asked to bring the machine up to the lawn near Holy Rock to begin cutting the grass. Father decided he wanted to try out this new fangled contraption and since I was available I spent the rest of the morning. Six times I had to help with some minor problem with the mower while Father waited patiently.

I was impressed that Father had a child-like curiosity and a desire to experience everything.

Daikon took the first picture I ever got with True Father that day.

In 1973 at Belvedere I was responsible for preparing the two busses for the Day of Hope tours. On June 15^th 1973 when one of the busses was completed, I was so proud and wanted to show it to Father. At that time Father lived at Belvedere. There was no security. It so happened that on that day there was a conference of all the national and international leaders taking place at the training center. I saw Father and Mother heading down the hill from main house on the way to address the leader’s conference. The members rose and were singing to welcome them. I dashed up to True Parents in my greasy coveralls begging "Father please come see the bus!" Mother looked so young at the time much less that her 30 years, I nearly mistook her for lady Doctor Kim’s daughter who was living in the area at that time. I reached out and almost grabbed her hand to pull her down to the busses. I caught myself just before I made that mistake. Father responded that all the leaders were waiting. I countered that it would only take a minute…. So with the entire senior leadership of the national and world movement singing Father and Mother took time to look at the bus.

25 years later I met Parents at the New Yorker and asked them to look at the boiler plant we installed. Father responded that there was no time. I countered that it wouldn’t take more then five minutes. True Parents took the elevator down to more than 50 feet below the sidewalk and enjoyed the tour of the Boiler plant.

From these and other encounters with True Father, I learned that He can be persuaded by enthusiasm and sincere heart. San Kil (Col.) Han once told me that the thing Father liked most about me was my enthusiasm.

In perhaps 1975 someone gave Father a digital watch, a gold Pulsar with a red LED display. As far as I know this was one of the first types of digital watches made. It wasn’t set so it was brought to me to set the time. I had never seen a digital watch before. I thought I figured out how to set the time by pushing the little buttons with the tip of a ball point pin, but wasn’t 100% sure. I brought the watch up to Father in the dining room. Father put it on His wrist with hardly a word. I was worried that I had set the day and month for the hour and minute or something, but there was no chance to express my doubts to Father.

The following day I met father in the living room, just the two of us passing on the way to someplace else. I pointed at my wrist and mumbled "is the watch ok" in a voice too low to be heard. Father thought I was asking Him for the time; said "Its two thirty" and continued walking.

I can never say that the messiah wouldn’t give me the time of day.

True Parents room at the old main house at East Garden had Anderson casement windows. The kind that crank open and closed with the little handle. The wood had swollen from humidity and I was in Parents room alone planing the edges of the windows so that they would open and close smoothly. Mother appeared I said I would go and come back later but Mother told me to stay and work.

A few minutes later Mother returned with a bag of Korean hard candies. Mother asked if I would like a piece of candy. I said yes and extended my hand to receive it. Mother ignored my hand and proceeded to unwrap the candy and pop the piece right into my mouth. I turned about a hundred different shades of red. Mother enjoyed my embarrassment so much that she unwrapped a second piece and proceeded to put that directly in my mouth as well just to see my reaction.

August 31, 1977

After a difficult period at East Garden when I had not been seen favorably by True Parents for several months, I graduated from that course and was again on good terms. I was doing some work in the sewing room in the basement, when Mother entered. Just the two of us were there. Mother looked at me work for moment and said "Joe Kinney I love you very much!" I immediately went to my room and recorded the day, hour, minute and the exact words in my diary.

In 1976, one of the American sisters on the East Garden Staff, Louise Schmidt received a call that her father was gravely ill. True Parents said she could go tend to her family. At the time Ted Patrick and others were kidnapping and attempting to deprogram about one member per day, 700 members in two years. The illness in the family was a ruse to lure Louise away and deprogram her. Louse was held against her will and "deprogrammed." However, Louise was as wise as a serpent and, with a little help from a MFT team in her area, was back at East Garden after a couple of weeks.

True Children were very concerned about the hundreds of stories about members being kidnapped, but they didn’t have any way to express their concern to the members. Louise’s return was their chance. The three oldest girls, Ye Jin, In Jin, and Un Jin, used their own money and bought cake mix and ice cream. I watched as these young girls baked their first cake ever in East Garden kitchen. It was as funny as watching any little girls try to bake a cake, but their mood was so serious and sincere. With a little help from the sisters the cake turned out ok.

When the welcome back party was held Louise was seated at the head of the table and the True Children on the sides. This was an honor I have seen only this once. I believe Louise began to cry first, but very soon all of us True Children and staff were sobbing. I think the True Children appreciate members efforts more than we realize, but it is difficult for them to show it.

Most of the True Children rightly fell that many members want to take from True Parents rather than give, members want True Parents to solve their problems, rather than members helping True Parents solve God’s problem. Out of their love and their desire to protect True Parents, True Children can sometimes be cold or aloof to members.

Hyung had a heart big enough to go beyond this. He was a warm and consistent person who always had the time to say a kind word and the heart remember someone’s name.

I’ll never forget two encounters with Hyung Jin Nim:

I’d been away for four years and was attending Father’s speech at Belvedere. Hyung Jin walked by and took to time to greet me by name, shake my hand, and ask me how I was doing. I was so impressed that he showed this much consideration for a guy who was only a servant in his house.

I met Hyun Jin in Jacob House in Tarrytown. Several of us were standing around in the foyer near the front door. Some one dropped a quarter on the floor and Hyung Jin got it first. No one was sure who dropped it and Hyung Jin wouldn’t keep it for himself. He gave it to me even though I told him it wasn’t mine. I keep it as a Treasure to this day. His accident was three days later.

After Hyung Jin Nim’s tragic death, there was so much talk about how special he was. I am a skeptical person and I hate the deification of people. I know a quarter or a handshake are small things, but its is these small things that made Hyung Jin Nim so special to me

These days we hear testimonies from the members who attended the Chung Pyung Lake workshop. The central person in these workshops is known as Dae Mo Nim. The testimonies we hear focus on member’s experiences at Chung Pyung. Perhaps it would be useful to learn a little about how this great spirit spent her life on earth. In her physical life Dae Mo Nim was known as Soon-Ae Hong, or Grandmother Hong. She is our True Mother’s mother. In the mid-seventies I had the good fortune to be the maintenance man in True Parents house at East Garden. This testimony is from my limited experience with Grandmother Hong from that time.

Grandmother Hong arrived at East Garden without any particular fanfare and was assigned a room in a corner of the top floor of the main house. Because it was practically an attic you couldn’t stand upright in parts of the room, and it had an irregular shape because of the dormer windows. Grandmother’s furniture was what ever was no longer good enough for the True Children. I didn’t know then that in Ho Ho Bin’s church she had done three hundred and sometimes three thousand full bows a day as indemnity.

Grandmother dressed in the most humble of clothes, like any poor Korean Grandma you see on the street. She worked as if she was part of the house staff, helping in the kitchen and around the house. She didn’t take her meals at the table with True Parents, rather she would help clear the dishes and eat together with the kitchen staff. I didn’t know then that she helped to sew the garments to comfort Jesus’ heart and lay the foundation for the messiah to return, three stitches and a prayer, three stitches and a prayer, three stitches and a prayer, for endless hours.

One of my main memories of Grandmother was of her garden. One spring grandmother summoned me to a plot of land out of site of the main house and told me that this was where she would grow Korean vegetables for True Family’s table. This was a pretty good size garden about 100’ X 35’. After I broke the soil with a rotary tiller, grandmother did all the rest of the work sometimes with help from whomever she could collar on any given day. So that year and every year grandmother would plant, cultivate and harvest this large garden. Muddy shoes, dirty hands, and soiled dress, working hour after hour in the hot son like a humble farmer. I didn’t know then that this woman offered her daughter to True Father, but was not allowed to remain in her daughter’s new home. I didn’t know that on the occasion of her rare visits she had to enter through the back door like a servant and unseen like a thief in the night.

I encountered Grandmother around the house and grounds drove her occasionally and sometimes went to her room to fix something. She always said I was too skinny and tried to shove some Korean snack into my mouth. If I did any little thing for her at all she was so grateful. I was so stupid and she was so humble, I felt like I was just helping out a fellow staff member. She was really at the bottom of the list when it came to special treatment. I didn’t know then that she was the only person in history to participate in all three churches that prepared the foundation for the Second Advent. The Holy Lord Order, Ho Ho Bin’s group, and the Unification Church.

Grandmother Hong was always taking care of the needs of others, whether it be of True Family, the never ending stream of guests, or the staff. She didn’t take care of people by strutting around in fine clothes giving speeches and reminding people of her position. She took care of people from the back of the room with a comforting smile or from the kitchen with a special snack, or from the prayer room with tears. Grandmother never spoke publicly at all until one day, without warning, Father asked her give her testimony. She stood erect in the middle of the room in what ever humble clothes she happened to be wearing, and because it was Father’s order began to speak about herself for the first and only time. I don’t remember the words Grandmother spoke that day, but I’ll never forget the tears she shed. From the first sentence the tears streamed forth from her eyes. For the entire time she spoke in sobs and wails. It was impossible for the translator to translate because he too was sobbing uncontrollably. I didn’t know then what Grandmother was like. I thought that she was almost like me. She acted more like a staff member than a True Mother’s mother.

The motto of our church is "Let us go forth in the shoes of a servant, with the heart of the Father shedding sweat for earth, tears for man, and blood for heaven." Soon-Ae Hong lived this motto quite literally. I didn’t know then what that meant at all, but grandmother Hong knew.

I didn’t know then that this humble grandmother who worked in the garden and ate in the kitchen would become the designated mediator between heaven and earth, giving rebirth and liberation to our members. Do you think Soon-Ae Hong knew?

July 3, 1974. I’d only been at East Garden for a short while. Father’s fishing providence was beginning. He was taking leaders out fishing and often staff was invited. I was called to the limo just as Father was leaving and Father lowered his window and asked me in English "Are you strong for sea? Are you strong for sea?" Father wanted to know if I got seasick or not. I told Father that I had never been seasick. I didn’t tell Him that I had never been on the ocean.

The Flying Phoenix, a 25-foot fiberglass boat with two Mercurser inboard/outboards was berthed on Long Island. Father, Daikon, Alan Hoakinsen, and I were on the small boat. It was an informal environment; there was no "head" on the boat. When it was restroom time we had a coffee can that was emptied over the side. The bate was a can of worms dug from leaf piles at East Garden.

As we skimmed over the waves on the way to our fishing spot, I was confident that I wouldn’t have a problem with seasickness. In fact if we had kept skimming along I probably wouldn’t have……, but then we stopped. And the waves rocked the boat, and the waves rocked the boat, and the waves rocked the boat. Fishing, the Messiah, God, the desire to live, all slowly disappeared from my consciousness. My only thought became keeping my last several meals down.

Then Father turned and asked for the can with the bate. I was closest so I picked it up and almost gave it to Father when I lost it. I dropped the can to the deck wheeled around and heaved everything I had eaten in the last week over the side. Of course since I had been in the process of trying to hand father the bate, He saw everything. Father laughed at me and said "good training!, good training!" The rest of the trip I was totally useless and resembled a puddle of green puke.

Next time I took Dramamine.

July or August 1977

A great privilege of working at East Garden was having direct give-and-take with True Parents and developing a personal relationship with Them. I had been at East garden for a couple years and was fairly confident of my position and relationships. Then a brother who was blessed to a Korean sister became my assistant. His wife worked in the kitchen. They were physically and spiritually senior to me and I was still single.

The Korean sister thought that her husband should have my position. Since she worked in the Kitchen and spoke Korean, it was pretty easy for her to give bad reports about me to those that would pass the information on to true Mother. Since I had (and unfortunately still have) a good deal of fallen nature there was material available for these reports.

Over a period of six months my relation with True Parents went from pretty good to terrible. Father and Mother refused to look at me or speak to me and wouldn’t acknowledge my presence. Peter Kim told me Mother wanted me out of East Garden and that I would be gone soon. To say I was difficult and struggling is an understatement. The question that rang out in my mind was "In our church where do you go after True Parents kick you out?" When True parents are scowling at you for several it is definitely a challenging experience.

Finally every thing came to a head. Father called a meeting to combine the East Garden and Belvedere staffs and operations. This was shortly after we had bought the New Yorker and many offices that had been located at Belvedere were directed to relocate there. Father would call on each person, they would stand up, answer a few questions and get Father’s direction. Father spoke one or two minutes to each person none longer, except to one English brother Chris Kilengback and me.

When Father spoke to Chris, He assigned him to be the first Western member to go to Tong-Il Industries Co. in Korea. I had been dreaming of that mission literally since the first day I joined the church. My heart sank; I felt that "my" mission had been given to someone else. Chris fell away soon after this meeting, and I went to Tong-Il company in Feb 1978.

Father called my name and began shouting at me red-faced and gesturing angrily. He repeated all the accusations of the past six months. I was the most selfish, most Cain type brother. I couldn’t get along with any one and nobody liked me. But the last words father said were the worst possible for a single brother to hear. Father said "Your personality is so difficult that I don’t think I can ever find a wife for you!"

The room was absolutely silent. Everyone was looking down at the floor. In my heart I believed Father and knew that he was acting on false information. I had no complaint and redoubled my determination. However, to say I was devastated is an understatement. The meeting ended about 2:00 pm on a Saturday. I went out side and tried to continue to work, but by 4:00 pm I was in my room asleep. My usual Sunday am schedule was 5:00 am pledge and then attend Father’s speech. I slept through both.

At about 10:00 am Sunday somebody was knocking on the door of my room shouting "Father needs the bus, Father needs the bus!" I was the driver for Father’s bus and driving True Family on that bus was absolutely my favorite job ever. So at about 10:15 am, low spirit unwashed and unshaven, I pulled the bus up to Belvedere’s front gate. I stood by the door as Father boarded. I was pouting so badly that my lower lip was nearly dragging the ground. Father looked at me to make sure I was still alive.

Usually when I drove the True Family and leaders on the big bus, I would remain with the bus for security when we reached our destination. This day Father asked one of the regular security to stay at each of three stops, and I enjoyed a ride on the New Hope, a meal in a Chinese restaurant, and a movie together with True Parents.

The next Tuesday Father called me to the breakfast table gave me a sample of a lead weight and asked me to make 5,000 within a week to use on the fishing nets at Barrytown, which I did. (That’s another story.) After that business was done Father and I just chatted one-on-one for 45 minutes. The conversation and atmosphere were wonderful. It was one of the high points of my life. After I left the dining room, the couple that had told so many stories about me were called to the dining room and directed by Father to a new mission.

(Just for the record: This couple is still active in our movement and doing very well.)

Father may have spiritually known that the stories were unfair, but He had to hear them and act on them because that was his responsibility as leader. However if I could receive such a strong scolding without resentment, then Father could ask this couple to transfer with out any accusation.

To this day, this episode remains a turning point in my life.

During the staff reorganization meeting mentioned above, one Japanese kitchen sister was transferred from Main house kitchen, where she could serve True Family directly every day, to the training center kitchen to cook for members. She bowed humbly, accepted the transfer, and went out in the foyer out side the room and cried and sobbed so loud that everyone heard.

Now this sister wasn’t hurt because she lost some position or out of pride. Her pain was only because she would miss serving True Family so much. About a week later she was transferred back to main house where she served for the next twenty years.

True Parents are always moved by sincere heart and God-Centered emotion.

In 1974 shortly after I joined East Garden staff, Father decided to buy clothes for several members. We went to White Plains and quickly bought dresses for the sisters who then returned home in a separate car. Then it was just the two brothers, Michael Trulson and me. First of all generally True Parents were very thrifty. Practically all the furnishings for East Garden and Belvedere were bought at clearance centers of the big department stores. Likewise Father’s intent was to buy us nice suites at a bargain price.

However Mike and I were both hard to fit. Mike was tall and skinny and I was short and skinny. We tried two major department stores and came up empty handed, but Father had set a goal and was not going to give up. We ended up at a classy men’s clothing store and mike quickly found a suite to fit, but as luck would have it the only suite in the store that fit me was also one of the most expensive.

It was a Hart Shafter and Mark Silver Trumpeter for $275.00 (probably worth $700.00 today) Father wasn’t happy about this, but he had determined. He swallowed hard and paid for the suite. In the car on the way home Daikan translated that Father said this was the most expensive suite he ever bought anyone. Its still in my closet today ready for the museum.

Even in the most mundane things Father maintains the absolute standard, so once he determined to buy us suits, He couldn’t give up until he accomplished the goal.

It was around 6:00 am on a beautiful spring morning in 1975 at East Garden. I was passing by the (old) main house when I saw Father out for an early morning stroll. Father was by himself, no Peter Kim, no Mrs. Choi, no security, nobody but Father. At the time, I needed Father’s permission to use His bus to drive some group and needed an answer from Him right away, but I had never encountered Father alone before.

It might be difficult for the reader to understand, but I just didn’t know how to relate to Father directly. I had always asked through a mediator / translator "would you please ask Father if I can change the oil on his car, or fix the light switch, or whatever." Father was about 100 yards away and I approached, not knowing what to do or say.

Should I massacre the pronunciation of the Korean language by trying "Abonim" or Abojee?" How about Master… Christ… maybe "Your Majesty." How the heck does a young, single, no-position, maintenance guy address the living Son of God.

It felt too awkward too approach Father head on, so I walked a "J" shaped approach so I could approach from behind. (Probably a terrible mistake of Heavenly protocol) I arrived to a spot about three paces behind Father and Father stopped deliberately waiting to see how I would address Him. I could feel that he understood my uncertainty and awkward situation exactly, and it was my responsibility to address Father.

Finally the word "Father" left my lips. Father turned around and faced me with a beaming smile radiating absolute love. This was a direct spiritual experience with Father. It was a validation that beyond all differences of race, age position, one-on-one, soul-to-soul, Father’s love for me was the absolute manifestation of God’s original love.

That moment, for me, the very definition of the word "Father" changed forever.

I occasionally drove True Mother to Macy’s Clearance Center in White Plains NY to shop for household items. In Jin Nim was along on one of these trips, and one of the items we were shopping for was a piece of carpet for the staff prayer room. Mother selected a carpet remnant and considered the sale complete. I said "Mother you should buy padding for the carpet."

Mother did not agree with my opinion, and several times she said that padding wasn’t needed. Each time I came back and said it was. In Jin Nim did not appreciate me arguing with her mother. Mother was getting exasperated with this stubborn brother and had had about enough of my opinions. Finally at the end of her patience Mother asked " Just give me one good reason that we should buy padding for the carpet!"

I knew Father’s standard of praying on a hard wood floor, or on a rock, or in the snow covered frozen earth. My motivation was to make the floor softer for our staff. From Heaven’s standard my idea was ludicrous, and I realized how ridiculous it would sound to Mother. But I just had to try one last time.

So holding back my own laughter I said "Mother, so the staff’s knees won’t hurt." We looked in each others eyes and both knew how silly this was and both started laughing. Mother really cracked up, and was laughing so hard that tears were coming down her cheeks.

In Jin Nim had had enough and stepped in between Mother and I and said with a pose and a voice straight out of a Shirley Temple movie "Joe, sometimes I think you are very naughty!" She was so cute and funny that tears of laughter started to come down my cheeks too.

Renovating True Father’s bathroom Father says NO! Mother say go ahead, and teasing Mother upon Their return and receiving a gift from Father.

I had the privilege to be the maintenance man at East Garden 1974 to 1978 and had this encounter with True Parents in 1976.

I went to Parents bedroom to ask them to select some plumbing fixtures and ceramic tiles for a bathroom we were remodeling. Father and Mother were having lunch together alone.

They finished the selection and Mother started asking about Father's bathroom. Father's faucets were old and leaky, water spilled onto the floor when He filled His tub and there was no shower for the tub. The floor, walls, toilet, tub, vanity, etc. were in good condition. Only the faucets needed changing and adding a shower.

Mother and I had nearly finished selecting the faucets when Father started speaking strongly to me.

DON'T TOUCH MY BATHROOM!

LISTEN TO ME!

DON'T DO WHAT MOTHER SAYS, DO WHAT I SAY!

GET OUT!

I was blown away. Any thoughts of doing work in Father's bathroom evaporated.

The next day I met Mother and she asked me how many days it would take to do the work and told me to prepare the materials.

I was shocked! The pat answer to every question in those days was "Just unite and follow True Parents."

I wanted to follow True Parents, but I just didn't know which one of them to follow!

Several weeks later Parents left on a trip for several days and Paul Fontaine and I did the job. It turned out pretty well and was completed before Parents return.

The custom at East Garden was, if practical, to greet True Parents when they returned home. Parents arrived and as Mother entered the foyer She was looking at me for a nod of reassurance that every thing went smoothly.

Being the wise cracker that I am, I looked down at the ground shaking my head indicating failure. This gesture definitely peaked Mother's interest and put a spring in Her step as She and Father headed up stairs to see the "disaster."

I went down stairs to my room and waited. It was less than five minutes before the message came: "Father wants to come to His room right away!"

I headed up stairs to my doom. I met Parents and for the first time Father said "You did a good job!" They gave me a souvenir from their trip as a gift.

In this story Mother's motivation was to make Father's life more convenient by giving him a shower and a bathroom that worked well.

Father's motivation was not to have his life and his capacity to do God's will disrupted by construction work in his personal bathroom.

Even though the direction from Father and Mother was opposite, Both wanted to accomplish God's will.

I had to choose which True Parent to follow.

Mother had to be willing to take responsibility if I screwed up this job. I did too.

I had to be ready to accept responsibility for disobeying Father.

We have to be responsible for the choices we make and for the results of choosing to follow someone.

At East Garden I had a more flexible schedule that most staff so by default I became Mrs. Won Pak Choi’s assistant. I would go to her room after dinner several nights per week and help her with organizing her filing and correspondence and shopping etc. She received a large amount of personal correspondence from all over the world and acted as Father secretary to some extent. All the Staff was focused on serving True Family, and because Mrs. Choi was on constant standby, she had little freedom to take care of her personal needs. Mrs. Choi was so grateful that I could get AA batteries buy writing paper mail letters or any of the daily necessities she required.

Sometimes I would leave her room quite late and papers were still scattered all over the place. I felt ashamed; I would be practically dozing off and Mrs. Choi would dismiss me out of kindness. I was in my 20s and she was in her 60s. Next morning everything was organized. I finally asked how much she was sleeping and she explained that she often slept only every other night and then only for about four hours.

We became friends and I would spend hours listening to her stories of early church life with Father. Those days were very difficult for her and like anyone she needed someone to share her thoughts and act as a sounding board. These were first person testimonies of her incredible hardship and sacrifice. I was in awe of her and knew for a fact that if I, or anyone I knew, were faced with similar challenges we would fail miserably. The most striking thing of all was that in describing her incredible life of faith and service, she spoke of Father with such reverence, respect, and admiration. She was as much in awe of Father as I was in awe of her. I kept asking myself "how great can Father be if such a great lady can admire Him so much. It was and is beyond my comprehension.

We became closer and closer, we took a couple courses together. Finally one morning before dawn I received a call from Mrs. Choi "Joe would you like to take a drive and see the sunrise." We drove along the Palisades Parkway to view the sun rising over Manhattan. We did this a couple more times before Mrs. Choi returned to Korea to be the principle of the Little Angles School. Father said that she was one of the few people that actually fulfilled their mission. It is a cherished treasure to have such an historical lady reveal so much of her humanity to me.

July 28 1974

When I started at East Garden there was no security. I was the "night watchman" I stayed up over night in the main house kitchen. Father was going out fishing every day. Father slept so little that he would return from fishing and go out again while I was still on duty. He would often be home for only two to four hours. Father’s health was suffering terribly from this schedule. Father looked like He had the flue. His face was puffy, His nose was running and He looked tired to the bone.

One time when Father was at the front door preparing to get into the car to go out again, Mother gave him a spank on the butt, grabbed His arm, and drug Him into the kitchen. Mother ordered the kitchen sister to prepare hot cocoa. Mother stood brooding over Father like an angry, but loving, mother hen until He finished the last drop of cocoa. Father sat there sheepishly sipping the cocoa looking completely subjugated by His loving wife.

I learned from seeing this that the relationship between True Parents was so natural and healthy; normal in the true sense of the word. Mother wasn’t just doing full bows and proclaiming absolute obedience. She was a True creative stimulating object, Who could take the Loving Subject position.

One Sunday morning after Father’s speech at Belvedere a truck arrived from Barrytown with some carp that Father wanted to stock in Belvedere’s pond. As usual Father wanted to be hands-on directly involved. Father was picking up the carp and putting them into the pond Himself. Father’s hands were covered in the smelly carp slime. It was awful. As Parents headed back towards the training center, Father was holding His hands away from his body looking at them in disgust with no way to clean them.

I had learned to always carry two things when I was around Father, a Swiss Army Knife and a clean handkerchief, because Father needed the knife to tinker with things and the handkerchief to clean his hands afterwards. I called to Father and tried to offer the handkerchief but at this time Father’s security was very new and members were crowding around Him and Mother and jostling them. Dozens of members were shouting, "Father! Father!" I even tapped Father on the shoulder and pushed Him several times, but everyone was jostling Him so he didn’t respond.

It was really important for Father to clean the fish slime off His hands, so finally in desperation I punched Father pretty hard in His right arm. He turned around eyes wide wondering what in the world I was doing punching the messiah. I waved the handkerchief; Father understood, took it cleaned His hands, and returned it to me.

I suppose that if your motivation is right, it even ok to punch True Father.

One time perhaps summer of 1976, some of the Staff and a Few guests went to Jones Beach with True Parents. It was one of the few times I saw both Father and Mother in bathing suits. The group was gathered on the beach well away from the ocean and Father and Mother were walking together along the edge of the beach unaccompanied by security or anyone else. I decided to follow them about 50 feet behind. It was just them and me. Parents were walking in the wet sand leaving footprints in the sand to be washed away by the next wave. My delight was to step in these very footprints before the waves removed them, knowing I would be the only one ever to do so. It seemed like a metaphor for all of us who are so lucky to be UC members while Parents are alive and on this earth. No one will ever have the opportunity to walk in their foot steps again.

As we continued along the beach Father and Mother passed by some rocks and a freak wave splashed over these rocks and I could see from behind that this wave had knocked the swim suite strap off of Mother’s shoulder and one side of the top had dropped down revealing more that the suite was designed to show. Let me be clear, Mother’s back was turned to me and no one else was around. What I saw was an incredible moment of respect and intimacy between True Parents. Father turned quickly and helped Mother fix Her suit. Serious to preserve the dignity of the woman he loves. The look of love and tenderness that they had for each other in this moment showed me that they were really head-over-heals in love with each other. It just reaffirmed the genuineness of True Parents as loving human beings.

Mother dragging me by my ear down the second floor hall because my repair to Ye Jin’s tub failed 3 times.

Ye Jin Nim’s bedroom was down the hall from Parent’s room in the second floor of the old main house. The grout between the tub and the tile in Ye Jin Nim’s bathroom had begun to crack and fall into the tub making a mess. Mother showed me this and I scraped out the old grout and replaced it with new grout. I assumed it was fixed. About a week later Mother showed me that the grout had failed again. I bought a better quality grout and fixed it again. A week later Mother showed me that that too had failed. I bought the super quality grout scraped it out deeper and longer that before and fixed it for the third time, sure that it was permanent.

Another week past and I encountered Mother in the second floor hall. She was not a happy camper, in fact Mother was livid with anger at me and I didn’t know why. She grabbed my right earlobe between her thumb and forefinger and proceeded to tow me down the hall and into Ye Jin’s bathroom where she put my nose near where the tub and tile met. The grout had failed again!

Mother’s problem was that she realized that though I felt bad that I had failed again, my joy at just being with Mother and the fact that she actually touched me was so much more powerful than my fear of her anger. She looked at my face, goofy with joy and love for her and knew that she had lost the psychological advantage. She just walked away.

This time I scraped even longer and deeper bought the 2-part epoxy grout and it didn’t fail again. I don’t think my goofy grin could have saved me again.

My room was in the basement of East Garden (old) Main House where True Family lived at the time. It was nice room with good sunlight near the foot of the back stairs. It was a pleasure and a privilege to live so close to True Family. It also made for unpredictable encounters with True Family.

One night around 9:00 pm I was working at my desk with my back to the door. I heard the door open without anyone bothering to knock. I was angry because staff often showed little respect entering my room and disturbing me at any time for any reason. I started to shout something like "Don’t you know how to knock?" or some other words of anger, but for some reason I caught myself before I spoke these words of anger.

I turned and saw True Mother with 8-year old Kook Jin holding her hand silhouetted in the door way. Mother gave me a warm Mona Lisa smile pleased to see me working. It was a wonderful moment, which could have been ruined by my anger.

I’m sure Kook Jin Nim doesn’t want me to tell this story, but he was a regular visitor to my room and used to love to sit on my lap and play on my desk calculator. He couldn’t pronounce calculator so he would open my door and say "bush button! push button!" We had fun! With piggyback rides and playing horse. I got the embarrassing pictures to prove it too!

We needed to make some plumbing repairs in the basement of East Garden main house that required shutting off the water to the entire building. We had actually consolidated two or three projects into this one shut down. We obtained True Parents permission to do the work one late night / early morning so that we would not disturb activities in the main house.

At about three am the basement phone rang. It was True Mother’s voice. "Joe I am so sorry to bother you, but I need to use the toilet now. Can you turn the water on for a few minutes?" It happened that we had just completed one job and not yet broken the connections to start the next so I could turn on the water.

Perhaps ten minutes later the phone rang; it was Mother again "Joe I’m finished using the toilet now. You can turn the water off again."

It always amazed me how objective True Parents would be when for some reason they were in the object position to me in regards to some technical work I was doing. Mother was so humble to ask this 20 something maintenance guy permission to use the toilet. I’ll never forget her humility.

One day True Parents sent the Children and most of the staff to the movies. True Mother was alone in the Main House. Mike Wyatt and I were carrying a heavy cast iron bathtub into the main house. True Mother actually held the front door open for us as we entered the house. We were straining and kicked off our dirty smelly work shoes outside the front door and carried the tub up the stairs and into the bathroom under repair.

When we returned to the front entrance Mother was gone, but our shoes were neatly arranged at the side of the doorway. The bride of the Messiah had organized our work shoes.

How do you deal with daily interaction with True Family? This has a lot to do with one’s cultural background. For young and inexperienced Japanese sisters who were overwhelmed by being around True family, the answer was frequently PANIC! Americans tend to be a little more pragmatic.

One morning at breakfast time I was getting ready for my day when suddenly a Japanese sister started banging on my door. "Joe san! Joe san! Hurry! Hurry!" I’d had so much experience with emergencies that weren’t, that I made a policy never to respond without an explanation. I asked, "Tokiko, what is the problem?"

There was no explanation, but the intensity of the banging and screaming increased. "Joe san! Joe san! Hurry! Hurry! Emergency!" Still I held my ground. Again I asked, "Tokiko, what is the problem?"

Now the screaming and banging on my door reached full DEFCON FIVE mode. Man the lifeboats. The sky is Falling! "Joe san! Joe san! Hurry! Hurry! Emergency! Emergency! Emergency!" I could no longer resist perhaps one of the True Children was in mortal danger.

I dashed up to the stairs to the kitchen where the Children were having breakfast before school expecting to perform CPR or rush off to the hospital with a critically injured True Child. Tokiko was there in the kitchen dinette struggling with one of the True Children’s Jackets. She looked up at me suddenly embarrassed and realizing how ridiculous she was and said "Kook Jin’s zipper is stuck."

I went back down stairs wondering how Kook Jin felt about all this nonsense.

Shinning father’s shoes every night.

My first job at East Garden was night watchman. There was no security staff yet. I would walk down the hill to lock the main gate after Father returned for the day. There was no road lighting and it was usually pitch black so I couldn’t I was so scared. I reminded my self of Barney Fife from Mayberry; every time a raccoon moved in the woods I was sure it was a group of assassins preparing to take me out before attacking the main house.

After the gate was secured I would make sure the cars was washed and cleaned, and shine Father’s shoes. After the security brothers joined the staff I no longer had to take care of the gate or the car washing, but continued to shine Father’s shoes.

I was the second Western brother assigned to East Garden. When I started there were only three men there. Daikon, Mike Trulson, and myself. When Father brought in the security brothers prior to the Madison Square Garden Campaign, I felt that since I was senior to them, I was in a subject position.

In the beginning True Family and the new security brothers didn’t feel so comfortable with each other and the close contact jobs, like driving True Family were done by us old timers. Gradually, however, the security was traveling with True Family and Mike and I remained behind. Mike left for Japan, Daikon was driving, the security traveled with True Family and I was left behind cutting grass, fixing cars and plumbing. It wasn’t easy to take, but still, out of old habit, led the staff pledge service.

With all the campaigns and traveling going on at the time, Mike McDevitt the security leader was much more central to what was going on than me the maintenance guy. We developed the classic Cain / Able conflict and didn’t acknowledge each other’s existence for about six months. It wasn’t the right way for any members to be acting, much less those surrounding True Family.

Mike and I walked into the living room for a Staff meeting one day and Father looked at me and said "Mike is Able, you are Cain’s position! You have to understand that." I was blown away. To this day I’ve never heard of Father spelling out a Cain / Able relationship like that. I knew I had only two choices: Get with the program or get out.

The next Sunday Pledge service I told Mike that he should be leading it from then, and we have been close friends since.

When we bough East Garden there was no real fence or security. Vacuum Cleaner salesmen would actually show up at the front door of Main house and try to sell Mother a brand new Kirby. The security brothers arrived before MSG campaign and On April 30, 1974 Father directed us to build a Fence around East Garden. Father walked around the inner and outer perimeter fence lines with us. I was assigned to clear the path for the new fence. Colonel San Kil Han translated.

Father Directed that several trees be cut down. I asked Col. Han to translate twice and then asked him to translate my understanding of the direction back to Father. So the information had been stated three or four times by the time I felt assured it was clear. After we finished the tour, I went back around the perimeter making a small notch in the trunks of the trees to be felled.

I called Bobby Wilson at Belvedere, who was in some ways, my central figure, and definitely my older and wiser brother. I asked Bobby to borrow the "Bush Hog" and a chain saw to begin clearing the perimeter. Bobby said no, that he was sure that Father didn’t want to cut down those trees. I told him that this was direction directly from Father to me and that I had been very careful to make sure that I understood it correctly. Bobby stood his ground. He said that no matter what Father said that that was not what He meant. I was blown away. How could this guy know better than me what Father wanted when he wasn’t even there and I was.

A few days later a security brother came up to me directing me to report to Father along the fence line immediately. Father scolded me severely for notching the trunks of a few trees. He explained that trees sap was like blood and that bark was like skin and the notched trees could get an infection and die. I wanted to say "but father you directed me to cut them down, who cares about an infection?" Needless to say I kept my mouth shut and my opinions to my self. Bobby was too nice of a brother to say, "I told you so." Those trees remain standing to this day.

It took me 20 years to understand what this was about. Here is my opinion. Fathers direction does not relieve anyone of responsibility for the results of following His direction. If Father give a direction that you think is not correct and you cannot take responsibility for the results of following it, don’t do it. Also Father’s direction doesn’t give you the right to be arrogant and ignore the opinions of others especially if they are older and wiser than you. Some how I had to give the benefit of the doubt to Bobby Wilson and trust his understanding of Father.

A three-story building used to stand where the new East Garden main house is now. The first and second stories were garage and the top floor was three apartments and a large attic storage room. Mother had asked a group of Japanese security brothers to paint various buildings around East Garden, including this garage.

They were using a torch to soften the old paint so they could scrape it off the buildings before applying a new coat to the bare wood remaining. This is a good technique if used properly, and they had successfully completed painting several buildings. Theoretically I was the maintenance man in charge of all the physical work done on the property and I felt that the brothers weren’t being cautious enough and tried to express this on several occasions. Since these brothers had direction directly from Mother, they had no use for any other opinions. To make a long story short, the three-story garage burned to the ground before the painting was completed.

This was bad for several reasons. One we burned down a building on Father’s property. Two it was humiliating to Father because it turned out that one of the volunteer firemen was also a reporter for the "Tarrytown Daily News" and a huge picture and negative story about the fire made page one. And three, worst of all, Father’s schedule had been affected and He couldn’t return to East Garden and had to spend that night at Belvedere instead. Our failure had taken subject position forcing Father to follow a schedule dictated by the results of our failure, instead of the schedule he had planned. Father was not pleased.

The following evening at 7:00 pm Father called all the staff to a meeting in East Garden main house. To say that Father was upset is like saying fire is a little warm. I sat in the back expecting the Japanese brother leading the painting team to get slammed. Father asked me to stand up and explain why I burned down His garage. I was flabbergasted! I thought "What? Who, Me?" but I knew it was better for me to accept the responsibility. I apologized and bowed in submission.

I think there are two reasons I had to take responsibility. One I was in the official position to be responsible for maintenance of Father’s property, but at least as important, the Japanese brother was not culturally or emotionally capable of accepting this responsibility without some drastic personal results and humiliation. The look the brother gave me after the meeting was of gratitude and sincere appreciation. I won his respect.

The fish hook through my finger (not). A test not just of faith, but of what I thought was important.

To my knowledge True Mother has only Publicly given her testimony once, at East garden in 1976 or 77. I had the privilege to attend. The words she spoke are recorded for posterity, but I would like to relate the emotions.

I had seen and spoken to True Mother nearly every day for three years. Without exception mother was like a fountain of pure true love. To be in her presence, was to be bathed in radiant light, even when She was scolding me, I loved it.

Mother would be putting more food on my plate and asking about my health and especially about what kind of wife I wanted. Always comforting others and giving love with child-like purity. It seemed that Mother was just this person that was happy all the time and never had a care in the world.

When Mother began to give her testimony, she revealed a side of herself I had never imagined. I thought that Mother was literally made of laughter, but I discovered that she was constructed of tears. Mother wept and sobbed as she explained the torturous course she walked and the incredible trials and persecution She had to overcome.

My understanding of True Mother was totally changed.

I had the privilege to be on the security team for True Mother's speech April 11, 1999 in New Jersey.

I was stationed behind the curtain near the stage where Mother the True Children and the Speakers MC, etc., wait before the speech.

There was a cute little Korean girl there. I assumed she was one of the grandchildren.

She had a "Mulan" pencil case / notebook and was busily drawing pictures. I knelt down next to her and asked to see her drawings and got a showing of some precious artwork.

I remembered when Kook Jin used to sit on my lap and draw on the pages of the spiral notebook I always carried in my pocket.

The little girl had her shoes off and I played "little piggies" with her toes and she started laughing.

We were getting along famously and I asked the Japanese Nanny which grand child she was.

She said she was Un Jin's daughter.

My heart sank. Un Jin who ran off and married the horse trainer.

The MC began to introduce True Mother and Mother came out from behind the inner curtain. She knelt and hugged her grand daughter. She stood waiting to go on stage while embracing her precious grandchild.

I felt judged for all the gossip and rumor mongering I had done. For me the problems in the True Family were so far away, and theoretical. I saw that True Parents are dealing with and taking responsibility for their Family to the best of their ability.

God Bless Them!

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