The Place

Have you ever been somewhere that just made you feel as if you were standing somewhere great or amazing in some way?

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is said to be one of two of the holiest sites in Christianity. The church, referred to sometimes as the Church of the Resurrection, sits on the site of where Jesus was crucified.

The location of the church that dates back to the second century AD, you will find five representations of the final passage of Jesus. However, after the crucifixion the building did not start out as a church. It started out as a temple dedicated to the goddess Venus built by a Roman Emperor named Publius Aelius Hadrian.

The Roman Emperor built the temple dedicated to Venus to cover up the cave in which Jesus had been placed in and later arose from. It wasn’t until year 325 that Constantine the Great ordered a church be built in place of the ungodly temple. The church construction was finished in year 335.

Step inside for Sales 101

The mid afternoon slack, but if someone steps inside... it's on!

He has your favorite Popsicle, tourist books and maps of Jerusalem in multiple languages. Soda galore and even free wifi to entice the customers to enter. A small sitting area inside has your traditional plastic chairs that fold under American weight and more.

During the slower times of the day the sales speech increases while the customer base decreases. In America, that is opposite as part time teens use the slower portions of the day to SnapChat, post Instagram selfies and more. Part time in Jerusalem? Ha... What's that?

Step right in and I guarantee you will be sold something. If not, you will be block in for conversation about marketplace, the Old City and the age of the structures. But, if you just make that one purchase of a drink or a map, you will be out the door a little quicker.

But when it is busy... It is busy. Basiclly, it's GO TIME!

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“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.”

— Sam Levenson

The face of the wise

Sometimes you see people in life who you somehow know, they have a better understanding on the world around you. They know the what's and the why's - but, you don't know why?

You can tell by the face, the way some hold in their statements to let you talk. You can tell by the way anger rolls away not even touching them.

“The art of being wise is the art of knowing that solutions don’t come from individuals, but rather experiences.”

— Shannon L. Alder

Off to the Races

Race horses are bred for one thing… to run. 

If you have ever been to the races, have you taken the time to watch the muscular horses make their way to and from their stalls? They fight their handler all the way in. They show their teeth, they pull away, they strut the opposite direction, and they sometimes rare back onto their hind feet. 

The Thoroughbred race horse resembles its historic Arabian descendants. It is a horse that is stout and quick to jump, run or escape the rider in some cases. 

The American Quarter horse is a popular breed in races as well. The smaller, muscular horses have sometimes been clocked at speeds of 55 miles per hour. The life expectancy is usually around 27 to 30-years of both Quarter horses and Thoroughbred’s, assuming no serious injuries end that life early. 

When I think of race horses, I think of that old school jazz infused big band style of music. I think of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Betty Grable. 

“Gal is like a racehorse, I play her to win
But if I should lose her, another may come in
Love can be like heaven, love can be a joke
But it's worth a gamble so, hey, I go for broke”
- Dean Martin, “Who’s Got the Action”

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

Revolutionary War Times

Some of those on the street suffer from Alzheimer’s, others from a long list of mental illnesses. Often, it is hard to tell what someone suffers from with only a brief encounter. 

As he stood in the rain he said that he was in the Revolutionary War and quietly spoke of war times. He then talked about being a slave and being allowed freedom because of good behavior. 

He lives on the streets of Nashville, TN and is 67 years old.