I Hate Him

I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I absolutely hate him. 

• I hate his insatiable greed. 
• I hate his indifference to the American people.
• I hate his voice.
• I hate his repulsive views of women.
• I hate his limited world views.
• I hate his proud ignorance.
• I hate his racism.
• I hate his treatment of women.
• I hate his criminal family.
• I hate his war on Canada. How fights with Canada?
• I hate his war on Greenland.
• I hate his affection for Putin.
• I hate his laziness.
• I hate his fake Christianity.
• I hate his disregard for the law. He is a convicted felon and he claims to be the law and order president.
• I hate his complete ignorance of foreign diplomacy.
• I hate his indifference of his job.
• I hate his ugly name calling.
• I hate his disrespect to his first wife.  He buried her in his golf course so that he could  avoid paying taxes on the property.
• I hate his disregard of our constitution.
• I hate his EO to take back the $50 ceiling on diabetes medication.
• I hate his EO to take back the $2000 yearly ceiling on medicine costs for seniors.
• I hate his Muslin ban.
• I hate his blatant stupidity and yet he refers to himself as a stable genius.
• I hate his treatment of our veterans.
• I hate his constant lying.
• I hate his whining and complaining and crying about how mistreated he is.

And I can't wait until he dies.  I don't want him murdered (although there is a high probably that he could be murdered). But I want him to have a stroke while he is on the toilet with his panties around his ankles and he dies without any dignity.  I can't wait to read his obituary.

We Grabbed Each Other's Attention

We Grabbed Each Other's Attention

Nicaragua

Spring 2011

 I was standing in the plaza, watching some professional dancers who were there to entertain us.  It was hot that day. And as I looked around to survey the crowd, this beautiful girl captured my attention. And so I captured her face. Those eyes just pierced through me.

A few weeks later, I had this photo developed and something about it seemed off. It took me awhile to realize that there are two girls in this photo.  I don't think I even saw the other girl that day in the plaza.  I just saw this gorgeous face.

With Rita

 With Rita

Katmandu, Nepal

November 2017

I was teaching leadership skills to college women in Katmandu.  Rita was in my class. She had run away from home at the age of 14 becasue her parents wanted to sell her off in marriage. And she was having none of that.

A family took her in and helped her get through high school and now she was in college and determined to step up in the world.

Her story was so inspirations that her classmates began going to remote villages every so often and giving presentations to the community about the drawbacks of child brides.  They spoke to parents and to school children and asked all of these people to sign a pledge to stand up against the practice of pushing daughters to marry so young.

I often think of Rita and wonder what has been the outcome of these courageous acts. Some people, like Rita, have so much more courage than me.

Cremations

Cremations

Katmandu, Nepal

November 2017

The first time I came to this site was in 1999.  I was with a group and our tour guide would not let us go any further out of respect for the moment.  There were several cremations going on this day. The moment intrigued me.

I returned to Katmandu in 2017 and I told me Nepali friend that I had been here before but had to keep my distance out of respect for the dead.  She was surprised by that and couldn't understand this mandate from my previous guide.

So she took me here for the afternoon and encouraged me to get as close as I wanted. She went across the river and laid down on a bench and took a nap.  I sat close to a family who were cremating a grandmother. I didn't see any outward demonstration of grief or sadness.  It seemed more like they were in a hurry to get the task down.

I later learned that this sense of hurry was a reflection of their desire to allow the grandmother to begin the process of reincarnation. She couldn't start this rebirth until her body left this earth. And so, this afternoon, she was now free to return.

The Outhouse- Belize

  This was the community outhouse. This is where men come in from fishing. This is where kids went to jump in to the water to be refreshed.  This was repulsive to me.

Trump's Reckless Tariffs

Trump's reckless approach to tariffs destabilized the stock market and hurt American businesses and consumers. His unpredictable trade wars, especially with China, created economic uncertainty, triggering volatile market swings and undermining investor confidence. Instead of strengthening U.S. industries, the tariffs raised costs for manufacturers and farmers, many of whom rely on global supply chains and foreign markets. The erratic policy shifts, often announced via tweets, made it difficult for businesses to plan ahead. 

Ultimately, Trump’s impulsive economic tactics prioritized political posturing over thoughtful strategy, putting short-term attention above long-term economic stability and growth. He needs to be impeached yet again and removed from office.

Drinking Water From the Hose

 When I was a kid, everyone drank from the water fountain. On a hot summer day, my mom kicked us out of the house right after breakfast and we couldn't come back until lunch time. And at this point, a sandwich and an apple were waiting for us on a table on the porch. We didn't go inside.  We sat out there in the heat and ate our lunch.

We could only go inside if we had to use the bathroom and we had to call to her through the mail slit to let her know we needed to come it. And then we had to go right out again.

But kids today, in the USA, don't drink from the hose.  They drink from water bottles or from pitchers of cold, filtered water. They don't even drink directly from the tap or a water fountain.

So when I saw these kids lining up for a drink from the hose, I just stopped and watch. I was so nostalgic that I wanted to put my water bottle down and join them for a nice, unsatisfying lukewarm sip.

Completely Oblivious

 I was wandering around an enclosed markets in Nicaragua. It was hot in there and loud, really loud. It was so crowded and hot and the air was unpleasant. I couldn't take the noise after awhile and so I looked for an exit.  I just wanted to get out. And then I saw her, this young girl, sound asleep in the midst of this chaos, completely oblivious of this havoc.

My Six Minute Mile

OMG, I am lazy. And, regretfully, I am a little proud of it.  There is a 24/7 fitness center in the lobby of my apartment building and I pride myself in ignoring this amenities.

But recently, I have been going there on an irregular basis. And one day, I got on the stationary bike to see if I could bike a mile within 6 minutes. And I did. And then I took a photo to show the world. And then I wobbled up to my apartment and took a nap.

Butterflies

wasn't

 I love butterflies. They remind me of my mother. She loved them too.

• At one point in life, we lived along the migration trail of the Monarch butterflies and as they flitter around our house she would wish them well and told them to return quickly.
• My dad bought my mother several butterfly pins as birthday gifts. And when she died, my sisters and I were all given one of her pins. We wear them on special family occasion.
• I started buying particular plants to attach butterflies and when this Swallowtail Butterfly showed up in my yard, I was overjoyed.

The Year of the Dragon 2012

 I was teaching in China at SIAS University in Henan Province, China.  I was teaching leadership skills to college women.  It was the year of the Dragon so I adopted a chines name, Long Nv.  I was the Drgaon Lady.

A Confrontaiton At the Market

A Confrontation At The Market

Somewhere in Tibet

 June 1999

Our guide dropped us off at our hotel and said he would be back in tow hours to take us to dinner.  The other group members went up to their rooms to relax but, out of the corner of my eye, I saw an open air market that I wanted to explore. So, off I went by myself.

There were probably 50 merchants here and the venue was empty. As a matter of fact, I think I was the only customer. So all eyes were on me. There were all sorts of things for sale: food, clothing, trinkets, artifacts, etc.  

I picked something up out of curiosity. It looked to be bronze and I couldn't tell if it was a tool or an ornament. And that was a mistake.  The merchant leapt out of her corner and charged at me, begging me with hand gestures to buy this thing that I could not identify. I tried to tell her that I wasn't interested but she just rubbed her stomach to indicate that she was hungry. "No sale today", she struggled to tell me in her broken english.

"No, no," I tell her. "just looking" and I attempt to move on as I put this thing back in its spot. I stepped away and planned on moving on. But she wasn't accepting my response.  She came right up to me and grabbed my arm, holding the thing and begging me. "No sale today" she pleaded again.

Now, a second woman appeared out of nowhere.  She, too, had a similar object in her hand and she appeared to start a bidding war on her object. She, too, had no sales today and she too was hungry. And she, too, gripped my other arm.

All eyes were on me. The place became silent and the moment was intense. The three of us were connected and had become one unit.  Their tight locked grip on my arms became stronger and stronger and more desperate.  I couldn't get away from them as they continued to beg and beg.  I used all my might to break away but I wasn't strong enough to break their grip. I began to panic a little.

I looked around and saw two police officer in the distance.  But I wasn't going to call them.  They were Chinese and the Chinese government looks for every opportunity to harass the Tibetans.  If I yelled out for help, these women would pay too big a price.  They could be beaten or arrested.  And all they wanted to do it eat.  And I couldn't give them any money at this point or I would have been mobbed by all of the other merchants who had dropped everything they were doing and now were watching to see if they had a potential  opportunity to earn some money today.

The moment was tense.  I never thought the women would harm me. But their desperation was so strong, they couldn't help themselves.

I decided to just wait it out.  I stopped resisting. I continued to give a clear message of "no" and I hoped they would finally surrender to reality that I wasn't buying anything. 

And then suddenly, they did surrender and I took off. I hurried back to my hotel as fast as I could, hyper-ventilating the whole time.

A Message From John

Facebook Post

A Message from John

On Social Media

March 16,  2011

I hadn't been retired a full year yet and one day, I had lots of time on my hands so I spent a few hours taking stupid quizzed on Facebook. At the time, I was unaware that a notice went on my wall every time I finished a quiz. So after a few hours, I looked pathetic to the general public.  John  sent me the message below:

 John StaudtBridget E Kelly

March 16, 2011  · 

Based on the fact that you are now taking facebook quiz things, I think that it is time for you to kick the job search up a notch.

Bridget E Kelly

There is no search going on right now. All efforts to find purpose in life have been aborted.

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