Without legs, but not without dignity

Perhaps you have seen Thomas Bauguess outside between Walmart and the Stones River Mall in Murfreesboro, TN. He sits on a small bucket with two prosthetic legs.

Thomas who is homeless, says that he lost his legs in Iraq while working as a contractor for the government and because he was not actually in the military, he does not receive help from the VA. Instead, he receives a basic disability check. However, the check is not enough to receive approval for an apartment or trailer.

Some have made fun of Thomas suggesting that he goes home each night to a well-lit house.

One person even made a video of him waking up in the morning. That video was then placed on Facebook where multiple persons made comments that hurt both Thomas and his wife.

Thomas owns two trucks that were given to him after his aunt passed away. While the trucks maybe a distraction for those passing by, Thomas calls them a blessing because he is able to sleep in them to stay warm. 

Right now, Thomas and his wife simply need a rental home or apartment. That being said, if someone is willing to rent to them he says that he will not have any problem making the monthly payment and he will be an excellent tenant.

Vietnam Veteran Served in the US Navy

Today I met Vietnam Veteran Ralph J. Gervasio, Jr. He was drafted into the military many years ago and talked to me about the carnage he witnessed when his ship was hit with friendly fire while simultaneously being attacked by Vietnamese gunfire. Gervasio served in the U.S. Navy.

The carnage witnessed by Gervasio was grim as he tried to resuscitate a shipmate whom had already died. He talked about how some personnel on the ship were missing limbs, fingers and more.

The following day he was asked to retrieve something out of the ships freezer… next to the food was the body of the man he tried to save the day prior.

When he was released from the military in the early 1970’s, he had to wear his civilian clothes on the flight home. The military command he was with actually told him to do so because too many reports of returning war time veterans being spit on or attacked prompted the civilian clothes order.

He never admitted to serving in Vietnam until the 1980’s out of fear of not being hired or being fired from his civilian job because he was a U.S. Veteran. Times were much different in the 70’s and 80’s for those who served out country.

Gervasio told me that you never get over things seen in Vietnam.

Despite the hard times, he now volunteers to help younger veterans returning from war zones.

Hear the entire interview by Scott Walker (19 Min):

Urban Decay: The death of an amusement park

It was like walking through a bad movie set in California… At the same time, it felt as if someone was watching my every step.

I was at Guntown Mountain Amusement Park in Cave City, Kentucky. The park opened in 1969 and closed down a number of years ago. It was later purchased by a Louisville, KY businessman who had big dreams in 2015. Will Russell renamed the park “Funtown Mountain” and reopened it with the idea of a multi-million dollar renovation plan set for the near future.

While the park was once again opened in 2015, the renovation plan was never executed.

The Courier Journal newspaper reported that Mr. Russell saw his plans threatened after a severe manic episode related to bipolar disorder. Later that year, the Cave City Police Department shut down Funtown after vandalism and looting were reported on the property. The article suggested that Will Russell somehow instigated the crime, but failed to report as to why that accusation was made.

The newly named Funtown was quickly closed for good when bank payments could not be made on loans to keep the park active. It was later sold at Auction in April of 2016 for less than $300,000. The new owner had grand plans of turning the property into a resort complete with zip lines, cabins and an indoor water park. Those grandiose plans have yet to materialize and the park sits like the movie set of an old Friday the 13th movie.

“We're all lonely for something we don't know we're lonely for. How else to explain the curious feeling that goes around feeling like missing somebody we've never even met?” 
― David Foster Wallace, American Writer (1962-2008)

Nothing to Worry About

His nickname is Alabama and he currently lives under a bridge. But, he does not get overly worried about being homeless.

“Is that a tattoo,” I asked while pointing at the name “Jesus” on his arm. He responded, “I wished it were a permanent tattoo because I love Jesus now and forever and I strive to be a real Christian.” He followed that up by saying, “Generally speaking I’m a C-minus Christian at best, but a lot of my days I start out an A plus Christian, but I make mistakes I’m human.”

“If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn't ask me, I'd still have to say it.” - George Burns , American comedian (1896-1996)

Bonnaroo: Chilling

Despite massive crowds of 65,000... Some knew the ultimate definition of "Chilling" among the masses.

Bonnaroo: Music, art and light

Music, art and light – all forms of energy that give you distinct feelings of freedom in a way that just words fail to give.

When I photograph at night I don't use a flash because of a fear that it would distort the light that I see. The reds at a concert, the light strings that someone swings around, the glow sticks tied to a persons body to show that he or she is in the moment, etc. 

Bono of the group U2 was performing and those in attendance were in their own worlds taking on the feel that the music was introducing into their bodies. Some people were uniting together with smiles, some were crying while others were dancing with light.

During an interview that took place over 18 years ago, Bono told a reporter, “Music can change the world because it can change people.” 

Bonnaroo 2017: "Hey! Take our picture!"

I guess what I enjoy about Bonnaroo more than the entertainers is the excitement in the air. The trusting of everyone. The total strangers greeting other strangers. 

This couple, and I have no idea if they knew one another prior to the concerts, said to me, "Hey, take our picture!!" With the click of a shutter the moment was frozen in time with a massive techno concert in the background. 

He has been to the Holy Lands

Lorenzo Parks has been homeless in Birmingham, Alabama since age 11. Today, he is 54 years old.

He told me that he was not homeless due to breaking bridges or causing problems, but instead because of two questions he asked. One question was to his mother when he was a small child and the second was to God.

“She [mom] used to bring me downtown to go shopping, this day was cold – ice - ice cold, never will forget it,” he explained to me. “I looked over there by this building and there was a group of people laying down with covers on them. I stopped and said mom, can I ask you a question?” He went on to explain the question to his mother, “What are these people laying down with the covers on them?” His mom then said, “These are the folks we call homeless.”

It was not long after that question was asked that his mother passed away in his arms. He later went by the same building as a child and without a parent to watch over him and he noticed that people were still there, still homeless. “I then looked up at the sky and asked what these people go through everyday,” he said to me.

Those were the two questions. One to his mother about the homeless before she passed away and the second to God asking what the homeless go through. Mr. Parks believes those two questions led him to be homeless.

Despite his homelessness, he told me he never asks people for money, never holds a sign, he simply lives. “I have even been to the Holy lands, I went with a church,” he told me with a smile.

His life while homeless has not necessarily been bad and he has perhaps lived more than some of us have.

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” ― Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright (1854-1900)

Alabama is surrounded by oceans

Mental illness is far bigger than most of us could ever imagine. Thoughts or ideas get locked inside of the brain of the person suffering and they become concrete as to what that person believes to be fact.

“They tried to expand Alabama, but it fell apart,” he told me in a convincing voice. I asked, “Is there anything outside of this area [Birmingham, Alabama].” He then replied, “I don’t think so.” He then suggested that all of the other states are gone and we, where we were sitting, are surrounded by ocean. “If you walk that way [pointing] you’re hitting the ocean and if you walk that way [pointing] you’re hitting the ocean,” he explained.

He fully believed that Alabama was an island surrounded by the ocean and all of the other United States were gone, crumbled away. It went as far as him telling me that if I got on top of a nearby building I would only see ocean for miles.

“People assume you aren’t sick
unless they see the sickness on your skin
like scars forming a map of all the ways you’re hurting.”

― Emm Roy, The First Step

7 Brothers and Sisters

Mr. Bobby was once use to being around other people… a lot of people in fact.

He grew up in a home that included 7 siblings. He once lived with his mother in the LaVergne area. After she passed away, he continued to live in the home until it was sold.

Today, he lives in a small and sometimes cold motel room by himself located in Murfreesboro. He told me, “Three of my brothers and sisters died, so now there are only five of us.”

Mr. Bobby has lived his entire life within the 614 square miles of Rutherford County, Tennessee.

“This is how I feel right now
Obsolete manuscript
No one reads and no one needs
Pages lost, incomplete
No one knows what it means”

-Regina Spektor, Obsolete

Better myself

As he smoked his cigarette while sitting next to his tent he said, “A group came by here the other day and started handing out meals, I noticed I was first in line and realized that I need to be better – I don’t need to be the first.” He then talked about how so many others are in need.

When several men from the Nashville Indian Christian Fellowship offered to pray for him he responded quietly, “I don’t want to take your time, pray for the others here – I take too much.” The men smiled as they placed their hands on his shoulders and started to pray for him.

He said, “I have to work on myself.”

Third world living in Nashville, TN

It was 2:00 on a Saturday afternoon in Nashville, Tennessee, but I felt as if I had been transplanted into a third world country, perhaps one that I have posted photos of in the past. The difference, I was in America and more notably, my backyard to some extent:

He stayed in bed, too sick and uncomfortable to get up and talked about how he came to Nashville 32 years ago for his education.

"I have a hernia, two in fact," he said calmly while patting on his abdomen. He spoke clearly as if he was well educated, but noted that life slowly fell apart for him with the combination of drugs, relationships and alcohol.

The small hut he was sleeping in belonged to a friend who was asleep in the next room. "He's asleep in the other room, he let me sleep here," he stated.

My friends from the Nashville Indian Christian Fellowship fed him. He enjoyed the meal as he appeared to have not eaten in at least a day or longer.

The hut was made of discarded pallets, siding from a box truck, old gas station signs, carpet and tarps. No electricity or running water, just makeshift shelter.

The structure sat along a river in what looked to be a floodplain in an area heavily populated by Somalians and Hispanics, neither speaking the same language, but living in peace in nearby camps separated by a creek flowing into the same river.

Heroin

He was sitting on a discarded Pepsi crate behind a gas station in downtown Nashville smoking a Pall Mall Cigarette and drinking a Bud Ice tall boy.

“I was clean for 22 months,” he told me while looking to the side as if he were afraid he would disappoint me. “I lost it though, lost my job and lost my truck that I worked for,” he said after telling me that he was addicted to heroin. As for a place to live, he lost that too because he was living with his sponsor who couldn’t risk his sobriety.

He told me that he overdosed on heroin one month ago and literally died. He was later revived after being transported to the hospital and given a second chance at this thing we call life.

Former CBS Reporter Dan Rather once did heroin for a story. He later stated, “I had someone at the Houston police station shoot me with heroin so I could do a story about it. The experience was a special kind of hell. I came out understanding full well how one could be addicted to 'smack,' and quickly.” 

Hippie Sleep in Tennessee

I love the way that sunlight falls between the trees at places like Hippie Hill in Tennessee. The freedom to nap through the afternoon is equally beautiful.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." -Abraham Lincoln