It's Nightside with Dan Ray. I'm busy Boston's news Radio.
Thanks so much, Nicole. Hope you have a great weekend. As we wender away towards Saturday, we'll get you to about eleven fifty eight and you can handle it the rest of the two minutes. The rest of the way. My name's Dan Ray, the host of Nightside, heard every Monday through Friday night. In some form of fashion, as they say what I'm off, generally Morgan White sits in which we really very much appreciate. Morgan did a lot of work the last week and a half here on Nightside,
and I appreciate that. But I'm here be here all of next week. So just stick with us, and we'll try to give you interesting and entertaining and informative programs, simple as that. That's sort of the formula of success. Rob Brooks is back in the control room in his normal position, and Marita is also back. She helped produce the program today, or produce the program today. And we have a couple of topics coming up later on tonight then I think we'll interest you. One is the arrival
of congestion pricing. If you're heading to New York, it's going to cost in a car, it's going to cost you more money beginning Sunday, depending upon where you might drive in the Big Apple, we'll talk about a new law in Florida which is intended to protect firefighters, police officers and first responders as they respond to people in need of assistance. And later on, but ask him your New Year's resolutions are they still intact? Well, it was good to see the stock market having a comeback today.
I'd like to see the Red Sox and maybe the Bruins and certainly the Patriots have a comeback like the stock market had today. But it's always up and down at the stock market and in sports. And here with his twenty twenty five Boston sports predictions, Boston Globe sports reporter Chad Finn. Chad, I read your article and you're out in the limit a couple but it's an interesting piece. How are you tonight?
I'm good, Dan, great talking to you. I fully expect my crystal ball to be as faulty as ever this twenty five.
Well, let's uh, there's one here that you know again. I like sports. Sports are not my daily work. I don't make my living covering Sports, But I'd like to see them give Jarrod Mayo a second opportunity here. I think he got delt to bad a bad hand. But you think he's done.
I do, But I've been really wish you washing on that. Two weeks ago I wrote that he should keep his job, and then it went so badly against the Chargers last Saturday, including putting rookie quarterback Drake Mayo is really the one hopeful thing on their offense in a bad situation where he had taken a couple of hits to the head.
They had him out there up down thirty points late in the game, and that kind of felt like a little bit of a tipping point with me to you know, to whether or not may ultimately Mayo ultimately keeps his job.
Uh.
Well, that's so, this is not what you wish. These are your predictions, what you believe will happen. Just to make it very clear. Okay, Well, maybe you could be both, or maybe it could be both. I guess I hope they give him a second chance, that's all. He's a pretty nice guy, and I think you get dealta bad hand. Okay, the Celtics are going to repeat. I'm not so sure about that. They've looked a little shaky in December they did.
Yeah, and they're running into a tough part of the schedule right now with a bunch of West Coast games. Full disclosure, I wrote that section while they were beating the Toronto Raptors by fifty four points, So.
Yeah, that was very might have been a little bit. What was the over on that? What was the over on the Toronto Raptors game? Thirty points four?
I can tell you that.
Oh no, no, no, I know it was fifty four, And I thought it was interesting that I guess four of the six fifty plus wins have come under coach Missoula. Interestingly in the last yeah, a few years.
Yeah, that's one of the differences between this year and last year. Was last year they crushed some teams. I think they've set a league record for thirty point victories. I believe they were ten, and they've had a few this year. That Toronto game was won. But they haven't been quite the same team this year. They haven't had their best six players together for more than six games
because christeps Porzingis has been hurt. But I have total faith in this team that once it comes to playoff time and the stakes are the highest that they'll play their best. They I think they're in that you know that trust last year with the way they handled themselves in the postseason, ultimately winning the championship.
No. Absolutely, So you're predicting the Brewers won't make the playoffs. They only have forty four points at the halfway mark, eighty eight. Probably won't do it, but I think their goaltending should get them there. Maybe they won't too well. But why do you think you're saying Pastor and Acts only gonna won't won't reach thirty goals. I've tried to look up how many he has right now. Was he got about fifteen?
I think it was thirteen when I wrote that. I don't know I think what he's said since, but yeah, he said thirty at least thirty every year of his career, going back to believe twenty sixteen, other than the COVID year where everything was abbreviated, he hasn't quite been right. And I think part of the issue of this team is that they've got guys playing just sort of a level up from where they need what they really are. A guy who's a third liner is playing in the
second line. Second liner is on the first line, and Jeremy Swaven the goalie, came into camp lay because of his contract situation, took him over the time to find his stride. And I think they get overtaken by the Lightning once the Lightning has played as many games as the Bruins and Bruns will be looking at a wild card. It's about fifty to fifty where they get one in probability. And I just don't think they're that good. I don't think this is a great team.
Well, the reason I think they might make the playoffs is they had that Western Canadian trip out of the way, so they don't have to go back to Winnipeg. They don't go back to Calgary, even Vancouver. I think they caught Vancouver on an off night, so we'll say, okay, of course the Red Sox. We saved the best for last. I love the line about predict Craig Breslow will someday answer a question without the question of requiring tooth of services and a copy of the Baseball Analytics for Dummies
to comprehend the answer. These yalely guys, these these these the Yale guys, they they have some big words, don't.
They They do, and US sportswriter guys don't know a lot espersonally. Now, you'd never know talking to Kirk Breslo that he pitched more than ten ten seasons in the major leagues because he doesn't sound like a guy's ever been in a clubhouse. He's just incredibly smart, but and articulate, but in a jiargony kind of way that sometimes gets in the way of his the messages intending coming out
the way that he wants. And if he could be a little more plain spoken, I think it would serve him well, and maybe maybe the fan base enough simple sports writers would would understand his thinking a little better.
Two things I like. I like the signing of Bueller, the guy from the Dodgers. And I also think that Richard fitz showed me a lot in his four starts last September. I don't he did. I don't know if. Yeah, I mean, I think he could be a sleeper, as you know in the four or.
Five Yeah, I mean, you can't make a better impression than he did down the stretch last year. And the one thing that we know is going to be better about this team as a starting pitching where there were so many questions going into last year, some guys emerged. Tanner hawku barely made the starting rotation out of spring training, ended up being the best starting pitch. Now they've got Bueler, They've got Garrett Crochet, who's just he's fantastic to watch.
Well.
Durability has been a question in his career and he doesn't have a long track record, but he's a spectacular pitcher and he's going to be their ace if if he's healthy. So there, they're in a better spot there with the rotation than they've been in quite a while, and that's to me, signifies progress. They still need some help on this team, but it's not been a lost off season like so many have in recent years.
Well, you'd like to see them sign Bragman, and my question is what do you do with him? Put him at second base? What do you do with Grissom?
Yeah, I mean Grissom. I like him. I think they have questions about whether he's strong enough and whether he's going to be a durable player. But he's very young still and they give up Chris Sale to get him, so they thought highly of him. They've Christian Campbell, who's their number two prospect, a terrific young hitter, but I think gets there this year. That was one of my pretty he's a Rookie of the Year candidates. But I
Bregman fits in a few ways. I think you can play them at third base and DH Devers more Devors. It's been a real detriment defensively at third base the last few years. Bregman's a leader out. Corr really likes him from their time together in Houston, and he's a good defensive player and no matter where you play him, and this team has been a bad defensive team for
too long now. So he's a declining hitter in it in a way, but he's still a productive one and he's got a lot of other stuff going for him.
Well, Chad Finn, You've got a lot of stuff going for you. We've covered the waterfront here and we'll have to do an update. Well we'll do We'll do a few updates during the year, but we'll see, we'll see what happens. And I love the piece and I love when to come on the show. You had a lot of fun to talk with and I love love talking sports. I know just enough about each of these professional sports teams to be able to have a conversation with guys like you, and I really enjoy talking to you. Chad.
Thank you so much for coming on any time. Dan, so it's always a pleasure.
We'll talk soon, all right, Chad Finn the Boston Globe his twenty twenty five predictions. Great piece. I hope you get a chance to read it. We come back, we're going to talk about an event that is coming up tomorrow, which is a polar plunge, and it will be a polar if they break the ice. Now this one is rally for Nelly. We will explain. We're going to talk with Dan Nelly who lost his mom to als, and
they're going to try to raise some money tomorrow. And if you'd like to be brave and say you took the polar punge, we'll get all the information for you coming up right after the break.
Now back to Dan ray Line from the Window World night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Delighted to be joined by Dan Nallly. Dan lost his mom to als in twenty twenty two. Kathy Nally was diagnosed with this horrific condition. Back in October of twenty twenty, Dan Nally joins us because we're going to talk about an event. It's tomorrow morning, so it's kind of a little short notice, but we noticed it. And Dan Nally, first of all, welcome to Night's side.
Oh, thank you so much for having me on, Dan, I really appreciate it our pleasure.
This is the fourth annual rally for Neale and it will be held on January fourth. Is January fourth? Was that your mom's birthday?
It was? Yeah, so definitely a very special special day for us for multiple reasons, celebrating her birthday and just the legacy that she left for us in Balley.
Thisvesnon. Try to make sure your mom's name was Kathy. Tell us a little bit about your mom.
Yeah, Mom's name was Kathy. She was the absolute best. Could not have asked for a better mother grown up And as you mentioned, she was diagnosed unexpectedly as it is for everyone with als, back in twenty twenty, and in the two years that she was baling that disease, she never complained. She just you know, kept her head up and said, what can I do to try to raise awareness to make sure that other people don't have
to go through this themselves? And she was just always that positive, bright spirit and impact so many lives that she met, so many lives that she hasn't met, and just you know, we're trying to carry on that legacy of her.
So the legacy continues tomorrow morning from well, the event is from ten to two. It starts at Carson Beach in South Boston, so everybody knows what Carson Carson Beach is and I guess the Plunges is at eleven o'clock, but the event begins at ten with registration and all of that. Tell us about what people need to do. Obviously it's a little late to have people try to
check it out, but you got a website. Give us the website and tell us what folks can do to support the cause, whether they're going to be able to attend or not.
Yeah, whether or not you're able to attend. We have a website with all the details. Give butter like a stick of butter, dot com, flash rally, the number four and nally which has all the details. But as you said, if you want an extra cold bath to start your day tomorrow, we'll be there bright and early ten ham registration at Carson Beach. We'll be running into the water
at eleven am. We'll be running out even faster at probably eleven you know one, and then we have reception over at Amoris in South Boston.
After that, everybody be able to warm up at a reception, that that is for sure. So this is the fourth year. Has it always been held at Carson Carson Beach?
It has been. Yeah. We grew up just outside of Boston. My sister and I lived in South Boston for a while and so had gone down to that beach for you know, many years, and it just seemed like the perfect spot to hold this, you know, with the whole Boston style in the background there. Get to say, that's always meant a lot to us, and yeah, I couldn't think of a better place to hold it.
So how is it easily accessible? I've gone to some of these events when I was younger, and you know, whether they're road races or again polar plunges, which are great. Is there anything that people need to know who want to get there, because if they've never been to Carson Beach, I mean it's it's pretty easily accessible off of the Expressway and also off of Morrissey Boulevard, but parking pretty easy.
I know there's parking along the beach front there. Give us a sense of what people might run into tomorrow. Just just paint the picture for Since this is the fourth I'm assuming that accessibility is pretty good.
Accessibility is usually very very good. As you said, it's just off the highway, you've got parking right there. The one year where accessibility was a bit of the problem was actually our first year, when it snowed about a foot the day before, and so we had the shovels out right and early that morning getting everything prepared. Still went off without a hitch. The feat were a bit colder going into the water that was catched there, but
no knock on woods. Should be very easy to find parking and make it down to the beach tomorrow.
And the funds that are raised people can donate. Is is there a minimum that people are encouraged to contribute a lot of the road races now, particularly a marathon, if you're lucky enough to get a number for the marathon and you want join one of the charitable teams there there's an obligation in some reason, you know, because those those are valuable numbers. And marathons, what are people expected to raise or is there an expectation does it matter?
I mean, I know that you're looking to raise forty thousand dollars this year and you're well on your way to that figure.
Yeah, no minimum at all. I mean, whatever anyone can contribute, we always appreciate it. And unlike the marathon, is a much shorter run down to the water and back, so hopefully makes a little bit easier on people.
There's no heartbreak hill or anything like that. That's fine, no heartbreak kill.
I gotta say, come back up from the water. It feels like heartbreak hill. Yeah, it's not much of an incline, but it certainly feels like it.
Okay. And then at the am Rine's event afterwards, which is also a big, a big part of the day, there's lunch, there's cocktails. I think you got an auction over there as well. So you're really hoping to have a really full day celebrating in mom's life and also contributing to the fight against als.
Right exactly, silent auction, raffle and just people all getting together. And I think that's the biggest thing. Again, this is an event to certainly raise funds for ALF at the same time, It is a celebration of our mom and just one incredible person she was, and even more so tomorrow on her birthday. So we'll have a ki out there, we'll have a card. It's going to be a great day, and we're hoping to raise a ton of money in the process.
I'm going to ask a tear jerker question, Now, what how old wuld have your mom been? How old would your mom be tomorrow.
If you'd be Yeah, this would have been her sixty fifth birthday.
Yeah, that's an awful young age to lose your mom. Sixty five is not like what it used to be many years ago. And she certainly raised a great sun. That's what Sue. By the way, the contributions that you raise are going to go to support a couple of other great organizations. Tell tell us about that, because I want people to understand that this money is going to help some great a great cause.
Absolutely, thank thanks for asking that. All the funds that we raise are going to be split between two incredible charities that both focus on als. The first is the Peter Frady's Family Foundation, which just had their own plunge last week and and raised a ton of money there and they were so supportive of my mom right out of the gates, providing her funds to make sure that she could stay in the Boston area she fought this disease.
And then Compassionate Care Als based out of Falmouth, another terrific organization that really is is nationwide in terms of providing resources to people battling als and sam as the phrase Family Foundation. They were there from the start to support my mom and and made those last two years, as you know, as fruitful as possible for all of us. And you know, we're just hoping that other people can continue to benefit from those two incredible charities.
By the way, you folks have raised an incredible amount of money in the you know, in the last three years. I didn't want to embarrass you, but you guys have raised three hundred and forty thousand dollars. So that is a very serious fundraiser and one that that you have uplish amazing things so far. The other thing we say, I got to ask you about if you go to the website which is give butter dot com slash rally, the number four nolly n a l y, very very
rhythmic there. Everybody, a lot of folks are wearing some pretty fun uniforms or costumes. I guess would be the weather with the way to describe it, what's the background doing the costumes? Tell us about that.
Well, the first year, my mom had just this incredible curly blonde hair, and so we thought it was a nice little tribute to that as a surprise for her, we'd all show up with these curly blonde wigs on. And so you're a bunch of yeah, a bunch of frosty frows going into the wire that first year, and then it kind of spirals from that where people are like, Okay, you know, instead of Foster fro whatef, I did this costumer that costume, And we've seen more creativity year for year.
There's a competition for the Golden Plunger Award very co toward. It's not quite the Stanley Cup, but it's maybe just a notch below it that goes up to the best Best Dress Costume. So we'll be awarding that again tomorrow.
That's great, Dannally, thanks so much again. Let's give that website one more time. You go right ahead on behalf of you mo. What's the website that people can go to and contribute or go to and get information and physically be in Carson Beach tomorrow morning between ten and twelve. What's the website.
The website again is www dot give butter dot com, slash rally the number four and Nally and A L L Y. Thank you again so much. Dan. I can't begin to say how much we appreciate.
This my pleasure. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate you carrying on your legacy and raising funds to find somehow a way to beat back this disease. It is the cruelest disease that I can imagine amongst a lot of cruel diseases. So again, congratulations, and I hope that some of our listeners will we'll go and make a donation. Thanks so much, Dan, appreciate it very much. Here your mom, I'm just looking down and smiling, particularly tomorrow. Okay,
thanks again, Thank you. You're welcome. All right, here comes the news at the bottom of the hour, And when we get back on the other side, we're going to talk to a gentleman about failing your way to success. May sound a little oxymoronic, but it's not failing your way to success with Jim Sweeney coming up right after the news right here on wbz's Night Side. This is Boston WBZ, Boston's news Radio. My name's Dan Ray.
It's nights Side with Dan Ray on w Boston's News Radio.
Delighted to be joined by Jim Sweeney. Jim is an entrepreneur who is founded, amongst of the things, fourteen healthcare companies, including care Mark. But he has a book out, Creative Insecurity is but it's uh. It's called Leaning to the Unknown and Unleash your Inner misfit Secrets to Failing your way to Success Jim, as I said that in the preview before the newscast, almost sounds a little oxymoronic, failing your way to success, as some people say that military
intelligence and all of that. But it's entitled Creative Insecurity. Tell us a little bit about yourself as an entrepreneur, and tell us what lessons you learned along what I guess was occasionally a bumpy road.
Well, thank you for having me on. I'm happy to ad just that issue and others as well. So I think that you know, most people think about failure as being in one extreme and success of being the other extreme. And we want to fail to succeed rather, and my view is that they're intertwined inexcurricably. You can kind of blink your fingers together in your hand, and you continue to fail as you become successful. Your listeners are probably familiar with the product WD forty. What's happened to be
the San Diego Company and I'm from San Diego. They got the name w D forty. They're now in one hundred and sixty seven countries with four hundred and ten million dollars in revenue because they tried forty times to get the formula right. That's how they get about the name w D forty. They failed thirty nine times.
I'll tell you this, WD four mirror success, Jim. I'll tell you many one who has ever used WD forty. It will do everything. I mean, I think the only thing that doesn't do is make people's hair grow. It's if you got a problem at home, spray a little w D forty on it. Most of the time it fixes it. So that's that is a great example. You know, Jim's funny when you talk about, for example, I don't if you're a baseball fan or not, you from San Diego, is that what you're telling me.
Yeah, I am okay, yeah, okay.
You got pretty good basebe about day the padres and they've failed a lot. But you know, if you're a major League baseball player and you get to bat three times and you strike out the first two times and you get a single the third time, and you're hitting three thirty three, if you keep that up for your career, three thirty three put you in the Hall of Fame.
So you have to periodically fail. Tell us about a couple of your failures, maybe your most spectacular failure, and then we can talk about some of your successes in the book.
Well, my most objecular failure was the care Mark, which I started and it went extremely well, and I took a public and it went extremely well. The start split a couple of times, and it was trading at about thirty thirty sellers to share. Metcair called me and said, you know you're doing home Parentual Electrician, which were reimbursing. Then you're also doing info electric and we decided that that's like feeding people, so we're going to stop. We're
not going to pay for that. So and one day my stock went from thirty to three as a result, of that, and I had I realized that I'm not a I'm not a hero on Wall Street. I'm also not a bum. And so when I when the stock went down to three, I had to work for eight quarters to get it up to forty five dollars this year. So that's the example of you know, failing your way to success.
Well once again. You know when when someone knocks on your door and says, the worst thing to hear is I'm from the governments, that I'm here to help you. And there was an example of what the government came in and they were not there to help you. That that is for sure.
Well, I could spend an hour talking about healthcare, because help share is the five trillion dollars to your business decimated. We had, we lose about we had, we waited about a trillion, but that five trillion dollar business ranks the last in terms of developed companies and countries in terms of outcomes. So I could go on for hours about healthcare and what's along with that, more importantly, how to fix it.
Well, if you come up and fix it, you know, one of the things that we're having problems with here in the Boston area or in New England is just to find a personal care physician is very, very difficult. There's a shortage of personal care physicians.
And well, one of the things the other problem there. The other problem with that is that they're now promoting your practitioners and position assistance to where they're now writing prescriptions without any oversight from positions. There's a consequence. The rate at which people are dying from medication erors is beyond anything you could possibly imagine.
Well, that's a great point, the most you'll ever go. The thing that I'm also concerned about, and I've I've done this story a couple of times, is that we have law schools. I'm a lawyer as well as a broadcaster, and it's easy to go to law school there's law schools everywhere. It's very difficult to get into medical schools. And there are a lot of young Americans who are eminently qualified to become doctors, you know, you know, personal care physicians who have to go offshore to a lot
of these medical schools in the Caribbean. And I just don't understand why we can't open more doors. But that's a story for another time. Let's talk about your book, Okay, how long has it been out? Tell me about the book and how's it doing.
The book came out on December tenth, so it's just been out a very short period of time. The most important thing about the book. I didn't do the book to make a nickel. I did the book because I want to help influence people and what they can do to get out of their own way to be successful. That's the underpinning of the book. And I've been blessed with the fact that I've already had dozens of people who say my life has changed as the guilt of
this book. And so to me, if I could affect one person's life, I would say the book was successful, and what we will see how successful it becomes. But most importantly, how many people can make a difference in their life because of something to think the book. That's my main objective. I say in the book that being first is more important than being right. The reality is you can only be first once, then you could be
right later, and you're never right when you start. You're going to constantly pivot to get it to where it's right. I have something called the innovator's trifecta, which is a triangle at the base of that triangle is humility. On one other side of the triangle is vision, and on the other is what I learned from the Navy fields, which is the no quickening, which is you'll die before
you quit. If you're able to take that innovator's perfecta and apply it to a you're doing, I believe that will greatly improve your ability be successful, while at the same time asking yourself continuing the question of one am I missing? One of I missing, and U versus a great undoer. The whole bedrock of all of this is humility, not hu verus. And to hire people who are better than you are, who wants your job. I do what I call it pre mortemis. I think I am doned
that tournal. Maybe I didn't. But a pre mortem is you interview so many you want to hire. At the end of the interview, you predict why they will fail. That's a pre mortem. And you don't do that because say, oh, I told you so, that's why you failed, and so you can make sure that you help them avoid that from being a failure, at the same time having them write their own job description, so you break the job around the person instead of mold it instead of trying
to mold a person to the job. My job is, I have a one line job description. My job is the CEO of a company is to make sure if you're more excited on Monday morning than you are on Friday night, and that means you have the passion and the excitement and you want to change the world and make it a better place.
All great, great points. Look, you also have I noticed on your website you have something called the Contrarians Checklist, and you offer this to people. They can get this framework to evaluate your big ideas. So if they go to your website, they can find the book. The website is the name of the book, Creative Insecurity dot com. That's a great easy website to remember. They can order a copy. I assume it's available Amazon and all the
regular places. But again they should go down to the bottom and says get this framework to evaluate your big ideas, the Contrarians Checklist. I'm a bit of a contrarian myself, by the way, So I'm going to try to get the Contrarians Checklist and you send that out to people for free. They just have to give you an email address and their first name, and you'll send this to them for free, as I understand it. Correct, that's correct.
Yes, The Innovative checklist is a guideline that I believe will help you and others examine what their idea and go through the checklist, and it will help you address all of the issues that I believe you need to take your business to make it a success. I don't mean to be statypical when I tell you this, Robert. Of the fifteen companies that I've started, I haven't had one fail. I've never had a down rounds in financing
because I under promise and over deliver. And these are all things that are a part of the Contrarians checklist that I believe can help people like you and me who are contrarians who want to be old a company and want to build a business, can go for that checklist and greatly improve their odds of success.
Well, that's great, really nice to talk with you. Know. One of the things that I like to stay I like to avoid people. I know, if you've heard the phrase often mistaken, never in doubt. I like to be the opposite of that. I doubt, yeah, right, but I like to be the opposite of that. And if you say to me, is the sun going to rise tomorrow
in the east. I will tell you the sun is highly likely to rive, but he can never be one hundred percent sure about anything because it might just not rise in the east tomorrow morning, although it has a very good track record. So again I think a little insecurity in the way you think and the way you approach ideas is valuable, even on something as certain as the sun rising in the east. Jim Sweeney, I really
appreciate it. Anybuddy of mine who used to play for the Padres who was a Sweeney, Mark Sweeney, great baseball player for many years with the San Diego Padres. So you've got a great last name, that's for sure. Thanks Jim. Great to talk with you. Good night, good night time.
And I really appreciate enjoyed talking with you as well.
Rob.
Thanks, Thanks very much. Dan. Rob's my producer. But that's okay again, we all make mistakes, Thanks Jim. We come back. But to talk with a woman who has a really tough cautionary tale, Patricia Bonus. She has written a book called Jetta Bride. Way do you hear this story coming up? Particularly? Well, it's a frightening story. I will explain it right after the break here on night Side.
Now back to Dan Ray live from the window World night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.
All right, welcome back. The next guest that we're going to talk to tells a story. He has written a book. Her name is Patricia Bonus. I hope I'm pronouncing it correctly. Is a bonus of Bonnis, Patricia, it's Bonus Bonus. Okay, Well, welcome,
welcome to Night's Side. You're a wealthy college graduate and spent obviously a lot of time in Boston, and you fell in love with a gentleman from a far away country, Saudi Arabia, and you have a tale to tell in this book, which is an incredible story, and it's also an incredible cautionary tale. It's gonna we cannot cover it in the few minutes that we have, but if you can't,
just outline for us. This is a wild tale of a world win romance with the son of a wealthy Saudi family and how you were separated from your children for over fourteen years after he kidnapped your children. It's frightening. It's frightening what you went through. So just tell us, give us a little sense of the story, if you'd be so kind.
Oh, thank you, Dan, thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak about Jeddah Bride my book. Yes, I was at Wellesley and he was at Boston University School of Management, and we met. And at the time, in the late seventies early eighties, there was a huge I don't know if there still is now, but there was
a huge international crowd of students from every country. Boston and it probably still is now was a magnet for all of these international students, and so we really, you know, it was great fun and everything was so exciting, and I fell in love and he wanted to marry me, and I did, and so I went to Saudi Arabia in like nineteen eighty as his wife. And it was quite horrifying to you know. It was nothing I really expected,
no matter how much you would describe it. It was like stepping into the Bible, like two thousand years ago, and it was extraordinary. Things happened to me when I was there that were terrifying. I witnessed things with my own eyes that were terrifying. I heard stories that were even more terrifying from other ladies that lived there and other people they.
Well, there were I don't know if there's still going on, but there were public executions at that time.
And I witness won myself when I was just walking from my car to a store and I turned around. I heard all these people screaming, and I looked and there was a lady getting stoned, and they actually killed her in front of me.
Right. And when they say stoned in Saudi Arabia, they're not talking about marijuana. They're talking about stony. Literally, no, no, I'm serious. Look, I want you to know, Patricia, I might have crossed paths with you. I'm probably from that I'm from that same generation. I was at Boston University law school back in the nineteen seventies and.
They probably there at the same time.
And there were many of the clubs that you probably frequented, were clubs that you go to Jason's on Clarendon Street back in the day. Yes, yes, yes, yeah, you know so, I mean those were all the hotspots around Boston. So this guy, he went so far not only to try to control you in a different culture, but then you were able to get your two children out of there, but he kidnapped them here in America and our law enforcement and our state department, they really weren't able to help you.
No, they weren't. And you know it's still that way. People don't realize that I'm involved with an organization called Find my Parent and this is going on all the time. There is a Hague Convention that many countries find and it controls international child abduction and custody issues. Saudi Arabia has not sign that still not and you really have no I mean, you can't fight it. You cannot fight it. When you're in that country, they'll just throw you in
jail and kill you. I mean, it just happens like that. You'll disappear and nobody'll be able to find you and that'll be the end of you. So I wasn't about to. I will never step one in that country again.
And how long how long were you were you married to this guy?
Well, let's see, like probably nine years, nine years? And I did I waited to have children. You know, we kept having these issues and I kept thing, should I shouldn't, should I shouldn't? And then I did and then I had two children and that was really you know, had I not had the children, had they not been kidnapped. I could have told this story a long time ago, my hair raising marriage to a Saudie, But once my children were kidnapped, there was no way I was going to make waves and make it worse.
You've been able to re establish I guess through a stroke of luck. You found out you were living in New Jersey. But you found out that your son was going to prep school here in New England.
And yes, can you imagine? Yes, no, my son, Kareem was in Culver Military Academy. It's a boarding school in Indiana. I think Indiana, I don't think. I think that was probably chosen because it was so kind of off the grid. But I do know a lot of people whose kids went there. But I didn't know this, and I until someone called me mysteriously in my office and told me, your son is in the United States playing polo at boarding school. And I looked up all the boarding schools
that had polo, and then I found a listen. Then I gave it to a private investigator and they found him and he was a graduating senior at that time. And I could have driven, I could have jumped in my car and run to Indiana that day, but I thought, wait a minute, waitmen, this is a military school. Who knows what's happening, who knows if he'll even't accept to see me? I thought, okay, let me wait. They found he was going to go to Boston in the fall.
He was living in Fenway Park. He rented an apartment, and I thought, that's a much better way to approach him.
Not in Fenway Park, but living and living in living in what we call the Fenway area.
Yeah, yeah, well Peterborough, Peterborough.
Peterborough Street. Sure, that's that's very close to the ballpark. So you went unannounced, knocked on the door, and he asked, who are you?
Who told you?
That's right? He was so shocked, he was really shocked.
You have a good relationship with him. Is he still in the States or has he gone back?
No, he's gone back. He runs his family company. And I can't say that I blame him. He's doing very well and he's, you know, he's happy with his life. My daughter, the younger one of the two, she lived in the United States. Now, she actually came here and she went to Wellesley of her own volition because her mom had gone.
There, I guess.
And they accepted her. Actually, when she was sending in her application, she told me, and I wrote a letter to Wellesley and I don't know if it affected her admissions, but I begged them. I said, this is my daughter. I was a student at Wellesley and she's kidnapped. I haven't seen her since she was two years old. I hope you accept her. And they did accept her, and she did graduate from Wellesley and I saw her at least once a month for the whole entire time that
she was a student there. So that was aing.
And she's resettled or settled in the US and not likely to go back to Saudi Arabia.
I hope not likely. No, she's very happy here. Yes, So it's a happy ending. Only the middle part is sad. The first part was exciting, shocking, daring. The second part was tragic. For fourteen years I was I didn't even know. I couldn't even think.
I was what year did you reunite with you? So if I could ask, I'm just trying to put it on.
It was the year after nine to eleven, so what would that be.
Two thousand, two thousand and.
Two to two thousand and one. It was September nine, to eleven have happened a year ago, right now? Whatever nine eleven was, yeah, and nine eleven nine.
Eleven two, Well, nine to eleven was nine eleven two thousand and one because it was the first year in the Bush administration, so you would have united in September of two thousand and two. But you're still in contact. Are you still in contact with good?
Absolutely?
Yes?
Absolutely?
What What is what is the caution? What is the cautionary the caution that you would give to other young American women who are thinking about doing what you did, falling in love with someone from a country that whose culture is so significantly different than ours?
What?
What?
What?
What would be your your message?
My message is my method is probably don't do it. But I'm not going to be that harsh. It's a very difficult thing to do. It's very difficult in so many ways. You have to give up so much of what your expectations are and what you might have dreamt for yourself. It's difficult with raising children, there's so many different approaches to it. Their way, our way, and especially with the girls in some of these repressive countries.
I would have had to fight.
I mean, even if I had raised them. It never ends. They don't want they don't want them to. You know, a Muslim girl cannot marry anything but a Muslim man. She could never be If my daughter married a Christian man right now, she could never go back to Saudi Arabia. They could cut her head off if she wants to.
That's what I don't understand. I see so many young so called progressives in the streets demonstrating against Israel, and uh uh And I'm a huge supporter of Israel, the one beacon of hope in the Middle East that is actually in the twenty first century. So I hope people buy your book and read your book and learn whatever lessons Jetta Bride j E. D. D A. H. Bride. It's available everywhere. Patricia. So nice to talk with you.
You sound like an awfully wonderful woman. Uh And I wish you all the best of success in life and with this book. And I maybe somebody that can be back and we could we could take some phone calls from my listeners. We do our second one. Okay, I'll have my producer get back in touch with you. Okay.
Yeah.
I love I love talking to people answering questions. It really It really clears a lot of things. People have a lot of those great options.
Patricia Author My Pleasure, author of Jedabride. Congratulations and having the courage in the backbone to accomplish what you've accomplished.
Thank you, Thank you.
You're more than welcome. What a story. When we get back right after the nine o'clock news, we're going to talk about the concept of congestion pricing. Ladies and gentlemen, It is coming to a downtown area near you. And why do you hear? I think one of the dumbest governors in America, Kathy Hokeel, talk about congestion pricing. It's unbelievable. Stay with us.