Tennessee: Perhaps one of the most beautiful states to distance yourself from society during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The photos were captured in Barfield Park, which is a city operated park located in Murfreesboro, TN.
The park is only 430 acres in size, but the massive rock formations are breathtaking.
Route 66 was once the main artery through the desert lands of the west leading to the metropolis of Chicago.
The route was dotted with only a handful of mom and pop gas stations along the way. Some still standing while others fall in decay and are now abandoned.
"Because the greatest part of a road trip isn’t arriving at your destination. It’s all the wild stuff that happens along the way.” — Emma Chase
Rocks are a symbolism of strength and the unmovable.
These rocks, some granite, are painted by the troops that receive specialized training in the desert at Fort Irwin in California. Each rock is hand painted by units that come in and exit by the hundreds and sometimes thousands.
The training that takes place at Fort Irwin prepares soldiers for the battlefield in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and other desert land countries. There is even a large city built within the 7 square miles of Fort Irwin that resembles cities in the Middle East.
Rocks seen in these photos are at the Entrance of the Fort Irwin National Training Center, which is also known as a census-designated place in the Mojave Desert. A “Census Designated Place” is defined by the United States Census Bureau as a rural area that does not have legal status and may not correspond with the local understanding of the community in the same area.
Fort Irwin is not a new base and has a 15,000 year history filled with Native Americans. During the gold rush, the land was under an encampment of Captain John C. Freemont, the first member of the U.S. Army to utilize the land. The camp was a stopping point for pioneers crossing the Mojave Desert and allowed those passing through to stop for water and rest.
By 1855 the land was part of the route that freight wagons took from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, Utah. The Army patrolled the Fort Irwin area in the 1800's to ensure that raids and horse theft was not an issue, which it was in outlying areas.
The discovery of borax on the lands led to mining and some development.
In 1940, President Roosevelt established a 1,000 square mile “Mojave Anti Aircraft Range” in the area. In 1942, the desert land was officially named Fort Irwin in honor of Major General LeRoy Irwin, commander of the 57th Field Artillery Brigade during World War I.
In some areas of Cuba, it is a slower pace of life. Instead of cars roaring down narrow streets, you often see taxis with pedals instead of engines. Conversation instead of cellphones. Smiles instead of glares.
“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." ― Henry David Thoreau
Simply look and you too will be amazed at life.
“Look deeper and you can find some stuff which will amaze you!” ― Deyth Banger
The Grand Canyon 2018
Alaska... “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity” ― John Muir, Our National Parks
Why do we judge what we see? Take this photo as an example… I snapped this several years ago in downtown Nashville. It was a Saturday night and this man was going from person to person asking for a mere fifty cents. Did anyone offer him the two quarters he wanted? The answer would be no. But, because I am slightly curious about everyone, I not only moved towards him while others moved away, I gave him fifty cents.
When we see people that we don’t know we intertwine their appearance with our own circumstances, our own past, our hurts and faults. After we take a look at that person, our perception becomes our reality, thanks to our minds creativity.
There was a lawyer who represented the United States in the infamous Iran hostage situation during the 1980’s whom I have always thought of as an interesting, powerful and extremely smart individual. If you saw him, you would assume he was an ambulance chaser.
Herb Cohen wears cheap brown or dark brown suits. His hair looks as if he gets it cut at the least expensive barber shop in the mall. His jokes are bad and he has a thick New Yorker accent. But, he is smart and he knows that his outward appearance is deceiving, which he likes.
Cohen is the prime negotiator who helped to get 52 American hostages out of Iran and to safety. For those who are curious about history, the hostage crisis arose during the Jimmy Carter administration and ended with the Ronald Regan administration, thanks to Cohen.
So what makes Cohen so different? I think for one it is his understanding of people and how he aims to treat everyone nice. He listens, he respects the opinion of others and he keeps his demeanor calm. He actually calls his demeanor “Calculated incompetence.” Sounds pretty simple actually.
Cohen has it figured out, not judging is not only good for everyday life, but also in business.
“You and I do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.” ― Herb Cohen
Homeless in Nashville: He told me, “I was in Vietnam… I’m use to the jungle, that’s why I live here.” He said, "I joined the military when I was 17, my parents had to sign off on it."
“Our purpose in Vietnam is to prevent the success of aggression. It is not conquest, it is not empire, it is not foreign bases, it is not domination. It is, simply put, just to prevent the forceful conquest of South Vietnam by North Vietnam.” - Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973), 36th president of the United States
“Dogs don’t rationalize. They don’t hold anything against a person. They don’t see the outside of a human but the inside of a human.” — Cesar Millan (dog trainer)
She is one of nearly 11,400 residents in Yazoo, Mississippi, between the Yazoo River and the Mississippi River.
She has been a widow since her husband died shortly after his return from Vietnam. However, she was quick to tell me that he took very good care of her.
When asked if she would like to move, the answer was, “If I could move to D.C. where my kids are.” Like many children in the Delta region, once they are old enough to move on, they quickly do in search of better jobs as employment is scarce in the Delta. She told me that if she had the money, she would make the move to Washington D.C., but she doesn’t, so she will stay put.
He is a former Sheriff’s Deputy in Tunica County, Mississippi and he is now retired. He carries a small handgun in his left pocket at all times, as crime is quite high on the Delta. Health problems like diabetes keeps him home many days, but he has a love for his garden and his small dog.
He lives alone with his Chihuahua, but finds joy in his garden that sits in the front yard of his camper. He has grown everything from okra to watermelons. He said with a smile from ear to ear, “I have grown everything from sweet corn, green beans, whole beans, you name it and I have pretty well grown it.”
He recently grew several 100 pound watermelons that he took to a local school in Tunica County. He said, “I had some special seed that grew some extremely large watermelons and I donated a couple of them to the local private school over here (Pointing South) and after football practice one day they enjoyed some big watermelons.”
The Mississippi Delta: “I’m from Memphis,” he told me with a slow country slur. He moved to the Delta of Mississippi for a slower pace of life and less crime than the big city.
We are all human beings working on our hurts, sins and life together despite of our current living arraignments. Some of us live in the Delta while others live in large cities at a faster pace. But underneath our hats, many of us have similar past.
“Practiced on our sins
Never gonna let me win, uh huh
Under everything
Just another human being, uh huh"
"Yeah, I don't want to hurt
There's so much in this world
To make me bleed”
-Eddie Vedder, Just Breath
His friends call him “Bald Head” and that was how he introduced himself to me. He told me that he made his way to Nashville several years ago by way of a boxcar. He once jumped onto moving trains to get him from point A to point B.
After I offered him some new clothes he said to me, “I take my weekly shower tomorrow, so now I’ll have something clean to wear!” As he picked out a couple of shirts he said, “Let me hop in the back of your truck, I’ll show you where lots of homeless are.”
Once he got in the truck bed we started to drive towards the J.C. Napier Housing Complex and he told me to stop for a homeless man he saw walking past the Greyhound Bus Station. Mr. Bald Head told me he wanted to give the man a shirt, but warned the individual not to be greedy because there were others that he wanted to help. The man carefully picked out one shirt and then asked Bald Head if he had any change. Bald Head pulled out his only dollar and handed it to the man.
We later arrived at his chosen destination and were met by about 10 to 15 homeless gentleman in front of a closed down business on Lafayette Street. His friends were almost cheering for him when he got out of the truck and handed them new shirts and bags of toiletries.
The J.C. Napier Housing Complex and the area around Lafayette Street is somewhat forgotten by many. I won’t say forgotten by all as I know some groups help out the less fortunate in that area, but others avoid it due to the high and somewhat uncontrollable crime that has occurred in that area over the past 15 years.
A recent Nashville crime map shows that in the past seven days, a total of 50 thefts, robberies, assaults, burglaries, vandalism’s or arrests have occurred within a one mile radius of the J.C. Napier Housing Complex.
A quiet place to sit in a big city of noise and music. Love Circle in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it's not because they enjoy solitude. It's because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.” ― Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper
“I’m an artist,” he told me. I drove Mark to one of his friends’ home to get some shut eye. He said that he lives in the “Monkey Room” of the house.
“How long have you been doing artwork,” I asked him. Mark snickered and said, “Since mom said I was smearing doodoo on the wall!” We both laughed and I asked, “What kind of art do you do?” He smiled and said, “People’s faces, everything – doggies – I draw everything.”
As I drove I was holding a recorder up to his mouth to make sure I got his story correct and he said, “Damn, I’m glad you got me on that speaker thing right there because then you’ll know me - Once you see my artwork in the world you’ll say damn, I took him down the street.” He then started laughing as he asked if I’d stop at a gas station so that he could buy a 12-pack of beer.
During our drive I asked him, “Are you an alcoholic?” His response, “On that part right there, I can drink you under the table and still be straight, drink you right under the table.”
I asked, “What were your mom and dad like growing up?” He said, “I have no clue - Other brother is from one father, sister and brother are from a different father…” Mark continued, “I’ve been passed off to so many people.”
“Artists themselves are not confined, but their output is.” - Robert Smithson, artist (1938-1973)
Life can be full of twists and turns, ups and downs. Sometimes, it seems as if many of us experience more downs than ups.
Jill told me, “I became a drug addict at 14, a meth addict. I got clean when I was 21.” She then jumped to the subject of her mother and talked about how the two of them were best friends while she was clean and sober. The mood then turned somber, “I moved to the state of Washington and my mom got breast cancer – got really sick and then she died about three and a half years ago. And then my life became (pause)… hard.”
The death of Jill’s mother was terribly painful for her as they had built a great relationship while she was clean and off the street. She talked to me about how she turned to alcohol to cope with the loss of her mother.
She continued to talk about the aftermath, “I became an alcoholic and then I got clean. I went into a clean and sober house – I lived there for two years and then things didn’t work out there - I got kicked out. I ended up with some men who sexually abused me and because I told, they put my life on the line so I came out to Tennessee to start a new life with my brother and his family, unfortunately he passed away about a week ago (8/10/16).”
I read her brothers obituary on Friday (8/19/16). His name was Wade and he died at the young age of 49. The obituary from Woodfin Chapel in Smyrna, TN stated, “He was a devoted family man who never met a stranger. Friendly and outgoing, he was liked by all who knew him.” This is her second brother to pass away at an early age. Not to mention the fact that her sister has breast cancer and she is battling the after math of chemo at this time in Washington State.
For so many it is one tragedy after another as they struggle through this thing called life. Jill is in her early thirties, so life can still turn around for her and be great, but there will be a mountain to climb.
The next plan for Jill is to find a way to get back to Washington State and enroll in a yearlong program to help her continue to stay sober and clean. The program will also address her adult sexual assault and help with childhood sexual drama as well.
While living in a shelter in Murfreesboro, she has tried her hardest to hold down a job. One of those jobs was in Smyrna, but the costs of taxi money quickly lead to her losing the employment. In other words, she was working for enough money to simply afford transportation to and from work. She was then hired as a painter, but quickly fired when the head painter realized she did not have her own brushes or rollers.
Today, she is out of work and continuing to live in an overcrowded shelter. However, she still has that goal of making it back to Washington State where her sister lives and where a yearlong program awaits her arrival. But, the wait will continue as she is finding it impossible to make money, live and save enough for a single bus or plane ticket.
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths.” - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, a Swiss-American psychiatrist (1926-2004)
The struggle continues.
51 Year old Kimberly Custer was struck by a motorist on the Murfreesboro square Saturday night. The accident occurred as Custer was walking across the street near Marina’s Restaurant.
Custer, who is deaf, could not hear the oncoming vehicle. Evidently, she did not see the car as it neared her.
The local woman who was described as being homeless, was taken by ambulance to St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro. Her leg was broken in about three places, but no life threatening injuries occurred.
Custer was released from the hospital around 10:30, Saturday night (8/13/16).
After he got out of jail the first thing he wanted to do was to hold his cat that he had not seen during the time he was behind bars.
As I sat in his dimly lit motel room with stained sheets on the bed, I watched him play with the young kitten. The world around him was silent. The cat was the one thing in his life that fully accepted him. Despite his drinking, cursing or even anger… the cat was the one constant that never judged anything that he has ever done.
I have used this quote before, but I like it:
“Judge tenderly, if you must. There is usually a side you have not heard, a story you know nothing about, and a battle waged that you are not having to fight.” ― Traci Lea LaRussa
It’s easier to understand where someone is in life, once you know a few more details about their past.
I shot this at Hippie Hill yesterday. This is Dwight, super nice fella. I went out there with the Beesley Animal Clinic to give free vaccinations for dogs and cats on the hill. The folks really appreciated it. I don't think Dwight's cat was too find of it though, judging by the claws.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect." ~ Mark Twain
Waiting on a bus… The two traveled from Puerto Rico to Florida together.
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” - Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo was known as Saint Augustine. He was a Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy.
Interesting side note, part of Saint Augustine is actually in St Augustine, Florida. The Cathedral Basilica of St Augustine has a small relic of the 5th century bishop stored in an ornamental clear vase made of glass and precious metals. A relic is a part of a holy person's body, usually part of the bone, kept for the purpose of reverence.
