She said that she moved to Tennessee to oversee the care of her brother who was hit by a car in Nashville, TN. She stayed with him at his apartment up until he was kicked out after a loss of income.
Today, he is in a wheelchair and she remains by her brothers’ side to care for him – both homeless.
“When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching -- they are your family. ” ― Jim Butcher, American author
“I’ve been coming here since I was a baby,” he told me while standing inside the back entrance to the Keenland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The track is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility that was first opened in 1936.
With a history that spans over 80 years, lots of residents in Kentucky have memories growing up around the track. “My daddy worked here for years with the horses,” he explained.
*(Sorry for the language, not mine, but his statement) I asked him, “Have you ever dreamed of racing them or raising a race horse?” He seemed irritated at my whimsical question as if only the chosen could raise such a thoroughbred, “Oh hell no – Shit no, Shit no! Those things - - That would cost over a million dollars… Seriously? WTF…” He then walked off and I could only grin at the thought of how much pride, excitement and honor has been placed on these race horses and track over the years.
“The racehorse, by virtue of his awesome physical gifts, freed the jockey from himself. When a horse and a jockey flew over the track together, there were moments in which the man's mind wedded itself to the animal's body to form something greater than the sum of both parts.” ― Laura Hillenbrand, Seabiscuit: An American Legend
Domestic Violence: While taking this photo she told me, "I remember hiding in the closet." Today, she is 13 years old.
“Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.”
― Dave Pelzer, A Child Called "It"
I think in life we often forget how fragile the world around us really is… How one negative word can change the trajectory of a life in a single breath. How one bad act against another can turn someone already suffering to the edge of their existence. I think we forget that everyone around us has some deep down dream they have yet to live, but want so badly to do so.
This man is 25 years old and lives on the streets of Birmingham, Alabama and he told me, “I have only been to Kentucky, Ohio and once Tennessee, but I didn’t get to see Tennessee we only passed through.”
I asked, “If you could do anything, what would you do?” He paused and thought for a second and then responded, “Really? Anything? If there was a job or a chance – I’d love to travel, I want to see the world - - I want to travel!”
He has never seen the ocean, but hopes to someday soon.
“You do not travel if you are afraid of the unknown, you travel for the unknown, that reveals you with yourself.” - Ella Maillart, photographer and writer (1903-1997)
Todd Willard writes music and lives on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee. He told me the song he is working on now is titled, “My Old Friend.”
Todd’s home is a park bench on Music Row, across the street from a recording studio where he recorded his song, thanks to the help of a friend in the business.
“They hit me over the head and I don’t remember much else,” he told me when describing a recent attack that he was the victim of.
He pulled his hair back after removing his cap, “See right here, that is where they busted my head open – I was lucky to live through it,” he told me while describing what occurred.
They never caught the person or persons who jumped Todd, but he survived and I bet a new song is in there somewhere.
“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.” ― Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Poems of Arthur O'Shaughnessy
He told me that he was originally from Chicago, but came to Nashville for a job and never had the means to leave after losing the employment. His long stay started over ten years ago.
“Nashville’s a rough place,” he told me while describing a robbery that occurred in downtown Nashville. “They jumped me,” he said with an irritating look on his face.
As we talked more he pointed to his empty eye socket, “I lost my eye last year. It started out as an infection and when I went to the hospital they gave me eye drops and then sent me on my way. It turned out to be a staph infection and by the time I returned to the hospital a second time, the pain was unbearable. So, I lost my eye.”
His goal is to someday return to Chicago to be with his son and grandchild. “My son looks and talks just like me,” he said with a laugh. “He’s a carbon copy of me,” he suggested.
The sun beats down on his leathery face as he keeps his hands in his pockets to keep his jeans in place while he walks slightly hunched. It is clear to see that he walks with pain in every step as if the soles of his feet are raw. His hair is gray and wiry and when he talks he keeps one eye slightly clinched.
His meals sometimes come from trashcans in downtown Nashville on a Friday night. Tourist are quick to throw away a half-eaten sandwich, which becomes his dinner at times.
“The government passed that law so they card ya’ up until you're 105 years old now,” he told me. I laughed and responded, “Well, you don’t look anywhere close to 105.” He shook his head and said, “But, I can’t buy a drink cause I don’t have ID.”
“My life was a wandering; I never had a homeland. It was a matter of being constantly tossed about, without rest; nowhere and never did I find a home.” - Jan Amos Komenský, a Czech philosopher (1592-6170)