Farm life in the 2000's

Life on the outskirts: In Conyers, Georgia, a family lives on a small farm that looks like farms once looked to me in the movies. Quaint, with a cluttered front porch full of their treasurer's that others fail to value. This happened to be one such farm that I was able to capture.

Conyers, Georgia is near Covington, GA, where most episodes of the Dukes of Hazard were filmed many years ago. Sometimes those episodes would spill over into Conyers, which is only a stone's throw away.

Today, much of Covington and Conyers still look the same, when compared to that first episode of The Dukes of Hazard in 1979.

"There's trouble and then theres trouble and the trouble with some trouble is at first...it dont look like trouble." -Waylon Jennings

The Great Race stops in Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Murfreesboro, Tennessee hosted a lunch stop on the 2017 Hemmings Motor News Great Race presented by Hagerty. The cars stopped in Murfreesboro on Monday, June 26, 2017 at 12 noon. The stop was at the Cannonsburgh Village.

The Great Race, the world's premiere old car rally, brought 120 of the world's finest antique automobiles to Murfreesboro for the $150,000 event. The Stones River Region of AACA hosted the event.

In all, the participants in the race will cover more than 2,100 miles in 9 days. The start was on Main Street in downtown Jacksonville, Fla., on June 24.  The race will finish July 2 in Traverse City, Mich., on the banks of Grand Traverse Bay just off Lake Michigan as part of that city's annual Cherry Festival.

Teams and cars from Japan, England, Germany, Canada and every corner of the United States will be participating in their vintage automobiles dating back as far as 1916.

"There are more than 450 people just in our entourage from all around the world taking part in this incredible adventure," director Jeff Stumb said. 

Along the route, competitors will travel parts of the original Dixie Highway in seven states - Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. 

The Great Race, which began 34 years ago, is not a speed race, but a time/speed/distance rally. The vehicles, each with a driver and navigator, are given precise instructions each day that detail every move down to the second. They are scored at secret check points along the way and are penalized one second for each second either early or late. As in golf, the lowest score wins.

A gas station from the past

There is something romantic in a whimsical sense about an old 1960's gas station sitting empty on an old country road in the middle of nowhere Georgia.

This was once a full service shop with a single bay, unlike what you see today. Pay at the pump did not exist, you had to make human contact for a gas transaction. Needed to use the phone, it cost you 10-cents to utilize what hung on the side of a pole about 50 feet away from the pumps. Buying a single candy bar and a glass bottle of Coca-Cola while using a credit card... unheard of.

"Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days." - Doug Larson

It was all an accident, an explosion

“In 1994 I was on a construction site in Washington and I remember entering the room and something exploded… I inhaled insulation and whatever else was in that room,” he told me while pointing out scars, recent scabs and more. “It’s in my blood, they can’t get rid of it. That afternoon I rode the bus home from work and when I got home I started throwing up,” he continued to give me more details. "It causes these scabs," he pointed at his arm. 

“Are you homeless,” I asked him. “Yes, I am,” he replied with a look of disappointment.

He then pulled an old and weathered health magazine out from under his arm and started flipping through the folded pages. He pointed at several photos, “See, that one looks maybe jaundice (pointing at a man on page 24).” He then headed to the next page, “What’s wrong,” he said while looking down at the many photos on the faded pages. “I don’t know,” I replied.

Before I left he said to me, “Why would you want to tell about me, take my picture – who cares.”

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." -Leo Buscaglia (1924-1998)

A listening ear… that is all you have to offer if you have no means to help another financially. It really is that simple.   

Leo Buscaglia, PhD was known as Dr. Love. He was an American Author and motivational speaker. He also worked as a professor of Special Education at the University of Southern California. 

82nd Airborne Division

He was once in the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army. Today, he calls the streets of Atlanta, GA home.

“So, how did you get to Atlanta,” I asked. He grinned, “When I had a weekend pass I’d come to Atlanta because I loved it, after the Army I just stayed here.”

The 82nd was initially nicknamed “All American” because of the diversity of the states that the soldiers originally came from when it was first formed. Today the patch still highlights that, “AA.”  

Sergeant Alvin C. York, who once served in the 82nd Infantry Division, stated this after capturing 132 German Soldiers during World War I (in regards to keeping the German Prisoners of War safe):

“On the way back we were constantly under heavy shell fire and I had to double time them to get them through safely. There was nothing to be gained by having any more of them wounded or killed. They had surrendered to me, and it was up to me to look after them. And so I did.”

This is a bad area

His home was the entryway of a closed down Atlanta business. “People are mean… we have had other homeless right down the street try to rob us,” he told me. While looking down he suggested, “This is a bad area.”

He is originally from California, but most recently lived in Nashville before his move to Atlanta. He came back to find his girlfriend whom is now on heroin, according to him. However, he no longer sees her because of the drug use.

“The gas station across the street won’t let me go in there anymore because I’m homeless,” he said with a frown. “And I bought a coke there every day.”

American author Wally Lamb once stated, “Human behavior in the midst of hardship caught my attention very early on, and my first stories were all pictures, no words.” 

He said he was in the Airborne Division of the Army

He had a white napkin tied around his neck and as I approached he yelled words that I could not make out and then smiled asking for a lighter. A nearby woman who was smoking happened to have one that I borrowed and lit his cigarette with. He smiled and saluted me.

“Were you in the military,” I asked with curiosity. “Yes, the Airborne Division of the Army,” he told me. He then started naming off boxers from the 60’s and 70’s… “Do you know Sugar Ray, Joe Fraizer, The Kid (Kid Gavalian)…”

The subject then abruptly changed to Presidents. He got quiet and walked over to me holding his finger in front of his mouth while looking around to make sure no one was listening, “Richard Nixon – you know who that is,” He asked me. With a swift response from my mouth of “I do” he jumped around and yelled, but I could not make out his words. He then got quite again and I asked, “How old are you?” He pointed at a Hyatt hotel across the street and said, “Old enough to know not to go back there!” He then told me that he and his wife once lived in the Hyatt, but she left him. He got close again and asked if I knew who Jimmy Carter was as he held his fingers up crossing them in front of me. “Jimmy and her were close,” he said.

As I left he told me, “Don’t trust anybody, nobody.”

President Carter sometimes looked to humor in life. He once stated, “I have often wanted to drown my troubles, but I can't get my wife to go swimming.”

Sidetracked

“My dad died of Alzheimer’s and we didn’t have no insurance. They took his place from me when he died and I was on the streets,” he told me while thinking back on his life. He told me that he is 41-years old and graduated from Smyrna High School in 1994. He later came to Nashville where he currently lives on the street.

“Do you stay at the mission,” I asked. “No, it is too much like a prison, but they have to keep it that way to keep it safe,” he explained. He went on to tell me that the mission is a good place for many, just not for him. “One guy got stabbed there like fifty times,” he told me. I suggested that many on the street have extreme mental illnesses or problems with addiction which you see magnified in some shelters.

Examining the Stabbing that he mentioned (My sidetrack):

In 2007, Frank Edward Nixon stabbed Joseph Mark Chandler approximately fifty times. The two were staying at the mission and were inside the building when the stabbing occurred. But, the stabbing was not a random event that occurred. One week prior to the stabbing, the two had an incident on the streets of Nashville. Evidently the victim tried to sell drugs to Nixon, but Nixon changed his mind and Chandler and another man beat up and robbed Nixon, according to court documents.

The stabbing took place at 7:30 in the morning on February 9, 2007. Nixon entered the shelter and headed to the TV room where he recognized Chandler from his previous encounter with the victim. Nixon briefly walked out of the shelter to smoke a cigarette and then re-entered first heading to his locker to retrieve a knife. He later went back into the TV room where Chandler had fallen asleep in a chair. Nixon then started stabbing Chandler.

With the first knife wound Chandler awoke and tried to run from Nixon, but fell to the ground where the stabbing continued. Homeless men in the shelter heard the commotion and rushed to the aid of Chandler. Those men held Nixon until police arrived. Their actions prevented Chandler from being stabbed to death. The victim was transported to Vanderbilt Medical Center where he spent four days in intensive care. He then spent three more days in the hospital recovering from surgery due to punctured lungs sustained in the attack.

In case you are curious, Nixon told the courts his marriage failed and he turned to drugs. He soon found himself homeless. Prior to his marriage failing, Nixon served in the U.S. Air Force and later the Air National Guard. He also spent several years in college at Savannah State University in Georgia. He testified in court that he originally turned to drugs to cope with “traumatic things that happened to [him] on Okinawa.” Prior to the stabbing he was a mentor to children at the Juvenile Justice Center and a “Volunteer Preacher.”

Today, Nixon is out of prison and 63-years old. He now lives in Georgia.

Welcome to Catoosa County, Georgia

"In case you want to know what she will do [showing me the reading on the radar gun]," he said laughing. Deputy Bobby Persinger was one of the nicest deputies I have ever met, considering the circumstances (speeding).

"You were only 6 when I joined the force," he said with a smile. He works for the Catoosa County Sheriff's Office in Georgia.

"Man, did you see that car," as he pointed at an antique Chrysler drive by on the interstate.

"How much will this ticket cost me anyway," I asked with curiosity. He smiled, "I don't know, they just give us a badge and a gun and say protect the roadways [chuckling]."

No stranger to speed: I later learned that in the late 1970's, the Catoosa County Sheriff's Office had a fleet of Pontiac Trans Am's. In fact, they were famous for their cars at one point. In 1978, the Sheriff's Office owned 8, all four speeds. An article was even printed in a 1979 Car and Driver magazine about their cars. The cars were purchased under the leadership of Sheriff J. D. Stewart.

Today, none are known to be in existence.

Six months to live

While in Georgia, I came across a traveling husband and wife who had been married for 15 years. The wife (pictured) was given about six months to live after being diagnosed as having a inoperable brain tumor and the two decided to travel the United States taking in sites and scenes that they have never been a part of. From California to the East Coast, they traveled the back roads by way of "Gas Jugging." 

I was unfamiliar with the term of "Gas Jugging," so with curiosity I asked, "What is that?" The woman looked at me and held her hands up as if she were holding a gallon container of milk. She said, "You pull into a gas station and instead of asking for money, which many people do, you hold out this empty milk container. You approach people filling their car up with gas and you ask, would you possibly fill up my container with gas for my camper?" 

"So, what was the most friendly city you guys have visited," I asked? Her husband smiled and said, "Really, all of Tennessee. Everyone was so kind." I did not ask what city or state was the most unfriendly, but they did tell me that they met all types of people while on their journey. "We met young people who train hopped to get across the country, we even met crack heads that we routinely bought dinner for - we had to quit doing that though, it got too expensive," they said in agreement. 

I asked the woman, "When were you given 6 months to live?" Without hesitation her husband beamed with a smile from ear to ear... "3 years ago." 

Who should tell you what to wear or how?

We are all at war. Some of us just pick different things to be "at war" about.

 Charlie Chaplin had an interesting quote about his fellow man...

"I am at peace with God. My conflict is with Man." -Charlie Chaplin

Photo shoot with the General Lee

For this little journey, I followed a man from Rockvale, Tennessee all the way to Georgia where we captured his General Lee / Dodge Charger in original filming locations of the Dukes of Hazard. The popular American television show was aired from 1979 to 1985. Re-runs soon followed for years. Most of the show was filmed in small communities all around Atlanta. 

Food Not Bombs

The group Food Not Bombs set up shop in a small Atlanta park on a sunny Sunday afternoon and served food to the homeless, the addicted and the less fortunate. It was a very positive event with smiling faces and live music for all to enjoy. 

According to the groups website, "Even though we provide meals and groceries to thousands of people we are not a charity. Food Not Bombs is trying to inspire the public to participate in changing society and focus our resources on solving problems like hunger, homelessness and poverty while seeking an end to war and the destruction of the environment."

Empty Places: Got Milk?

I was honored to tour the old Flagship Atlanta Dairy, LLC in Georgia, thanks to the generosity of a local government worker at the property that is now used as a parking lot for Government of Atlanta vehicles. 

In these photos, I decided to make the exterior shots in black and white and the interior ones in color. Why, you ask? Who knows?

I do not know why the Flagship Atlanta Dairy, LLC closed, but I have to admit that I found data from the federal government quite interesting. Evidently, the company had a Food Service Contract with the Department of Defense. 

In 2005, the dairy had a contract with the Department of Defense that added up to $98,037. By 2008, that number grew to $2.28 million. In 2009, the contracted amount dropped significantly to a mere $3,225.

Empty Places: An abandoned school in Georgia

I was able to walk through and photograph the John B. Gordon Grammar School with a man whom attended the school in the 1970’s. He had fond memories of every room, including the cafeteria, the auditorium / gym and of course the principal’s office. He pointed to the stage with a smile and said, “My very first school play was right there.”

The school opened in East Atlanta, GA in 1909. As you look through these photos, you will be able to see some of the vibrant colors of years past as lead based paint flakes and falls to the now dirt floor. You will also see that some years, the colors were dark or bland. Other years boast pastel greens and yellows.

The school was shut down in 1995 and later purchased by a development group with plans to turn the structure into loft apartments. That never happened and in 2009, the property was foreclosed on.

In April of 2014, the building caught fire. Today, it is a total loss and will likely be torn down in the near future to make way for development. When that will occur is still up in the air.

These photos were captured in June of 2014. 

Empty Places: Welcome to the Prison Farm

The Prison Farm is just as creepy as it sounds. This structure, once owned by the Federal Government, opened in 1920 as an experiment for alternative punishment for prisoners. The inmate population of 100-beds (which later grew to 700-beds) knew their home as one of the first sanctioned "Prison Farm's" in early American history. Guards oversaw about 1,200 acres in the area of Atlanta, GA. 

The prisoners that lived on the farm were trusted individuals from a variety of backgrounds. The population was hand picked by the warden and each inmate worked hard to raise not only crops, but also animals. 

The prison, while successful, was expensive to properly oversee the inmates. The prison eventually closed in 1983. 

The prison, which is a very significant part of history, now sits abandoned. Fires, vandals, drug addicts and the like have been unable to destroy the massive structure, which is falling apart all by its lonesome due to nature. 

Can't go hungry

"We come here every Sunday. Churches bring a feast. If you go hungry in downtown Atlanta, you're an idiot, I'm sorry, something is wrong with you. We have food on every corner." That... is what he told me. I looked around and saw ten to fifteen homeless waiting for the good church to show up with food.