To the young man who stopped to talk with me

I was working in our yard during the evening of May 22. I'm not really positive as to what group or political party you were representing, but after hearing your brief introduction, and how you criticized our president and government, I quickly surmised that you and I were 180 degrees apart in our political, moral, and ethical views.

You then informed me how upset your "religious" mother was when you informed her that you were coming out of the closet. Upon admitting to me that you are gay, we again found ourselves with opposite views regarding your lifestyle. I expressed my beliefs to you based upon what the Bible states and you disagreed.

You blamed our government for destroying the environment and me specifically for owning an SUV. I would hardly call a Dodge minivan an SUV.

In our brief time together, it was very evident that neither of us was going to convince the other. It was then when I suggested that we terminate the discussion.

In retrospect, as is usually the case, I wonder now how I should have handled this situation. I was not really sure if you were here for a donation or merely to express yourself. However, I hope that you might heed some advice from a person decades older than you. In a nutshell, you will never get anyone to agree with you when you call them a "hypocrite,"

The real clincher was when you called me a "f- - - ing bitch."

At that moment, I considered one of two options. The first would have been to go and get my husband who was in the house. I informed him of the occurrence some time later and he did scout the neighborhood looking for you. WWJD was the option that I chose. There are times when asking What Would Jesus Do can be very difficult, but nevertheless, it does encourage me to consider what really would be best for you as well as for me.

In having this letter published, it is my hope that your superiors are aware of what happened that evening since, I'm sure that they don't want you representing their cause in the manner that you did. In other words, watch your mouth. You'll never win friends or influence people that way.

Irene Gehring

Admiral