Leaving the Past

People leave places and memories for so many reasons, some still owning the old and afraid to fully let go of it. Others leave and never need or want to look back.

American sociologist and Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley Robert N. Bellah stated, “Leaving home in a sense involves a kind of second birth in which we give birth to ourselves."

When you leave something or someone / they leave you and you held tightly to it for decades, you never fully leave and it is always hidden in your grasp... You just quit voicing the memory and that is okay to have that history - just don't live there.

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Photo: Abandoned 55 miles from Nashville in the countryside of Bedford County, TN

Be Careful What You See in the Past

There is no turning back at certain points of life, other than to remember the past as opposed to living the past.

Behavioral Scientist Dr. Steve Maraboli has studied life and talks about the difficulties that are presented to each of us, "Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient."

The author also wrote in his book "Life, the Truth, and Being Free," “Sometimes life knocks you on your ass... get up, get up, get up!!! Happiness is not the absence of problems, it's the ability to deal with them.”

Today, don't look back with regret and what-if's, but instead look forward with what you learned from the past.

Urban Decay in Florida

Empty, abandoned, deserted or vacant are all similar in so many ways... They are all alone or without any.

Jon Krakauer, author of "Into the Wild" wrote about the detriment of loneliness based on the last days of life for a man named Christopher McCandless who ceased all communication with friends in 1990 after college graduation.

McCandless went on an Alaskan journey where he lived on his own, alone. He lived for 112 days in an abandoned bus before dying.

“Happiness is only real when shared." - Christopher McCandless

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To feel that way or to be in that place is to be without the help of others. It is a humbling experience that some pick while others are forced to receive due to the circumstances of life.
However you arrived at the empty place, you should not make an effort at staying at that location as it will only equal more loneliness.

An article in Psychology Today suggested that being lonely can equal real physical pain. The article stated:

“In one experiment, the use of Tylenol lessened the aches of loneliness. With a dose of acetaminophen, scans of lonely individuals showed reduced activity in pain-processing areas of the brain. In addition, loneliness heightens the fight-or-flight response—a physiological reaction when a person faces harm or danger. This heightened response can make a person irritable, even angry. The sense of threat may feed a detrimental cycle of isolation and disconnection.”

Photo: Abandoned motel on the back roads to Florida.

Fly Away Rocky

Some of you may recall Rocky. She once lived in a closed down and decaying motel in Nashville. No running water, no electricity... only the shell of a motel with mattresses and headboards fixed to the wall.

After moving back to her home state, reuniting with her daughter and getting sober... she found that her life was against the ticking clock.

In her last remaining days she was cared for by her daughter and her ex-husband.

Rocky passed away this past Friday shortly after midnight. She died with her daughter holding one hand and her ex holding the other.

Despite that title of "ex," he wanted so badly to see her feel good, to see her laughing with their daughter - - and he did.

"We must be conscious of this; one day, the life we have, will be gone." -Lailah Gifty Akita

R.I.P. Rocky 3/2/2018

Quiet for a minute

Sometimes nothing is best:

I once heard pastor Rick Warren talk about the gift of silence shortly after his son committed suicide. He talked about how hard it was to cope with the pain and loss.

Warren said that some people showed up telling him how sorry they were and how they remembered his son. Others talked about the pain that he and his wife were experiencing, but they didn't need to as the Warrens were in the the grasp of that pain and they knew it well.

The friends who did not speak other than to say they were there - were the most meaningful as no words can fill the void and those friends knew that. The gift of silence in powerful. Warren stated, "The deeper the pain, the fewer words needed."

“But to me nothing, the negative, the empty, is exceedingly powerful.”

— Alan Watts, British philosopher, writer (1915-1973)

Photo captured today... somewhere in the Nashville area.

The "Then" and the "Now" along with the "Future"

A lot of people have seen and talked about the massive mural on an abandoned concrete silo in Nashville, but few take the time to properly jump the fence around it. The mural is in an area that is called “The Nations.”

Let me back up a little… Many people see it, but do they see the side of it that includes two curious children with one reaching for the sky? Do people know why a man is painted on the front or why kids are painted on the side?

Australian artist Guido Van Helten is known around the globe for painting massive portraits that eerily look real. One of his famous pieces is located in an industrial area of Nashville near the old and shut down Tennessee Prison.

On the front of the Nashville silo is 91 year old Lee Estes who is often referred to as LD. He grew up in the area around the massive silo. Mr. Estes is the kind of guy who volunteers to help others, is always walking the block to see what’s going on and more. But, why was he picked and why are two kids on the side of silo?

Mr. Estes represents the neighborhood, or so to speak. He represents the old, the original and the start of the area. Another question would be, “Why are kids on the side?” Simple, Van Helten painted two boys that live in the area to represent the new, the change, the growth of the area known as The Nations.

In case you’re curious, the area around the old prison and the silo is changing in leaps and bounds. Most would agree it is changing for the good. Old homes are being rebuilt while some are being completely replaced. Shut down factories and warehouses are being turned into new businesses. Buildings that were once industrial and now falling apart are being torn down while new condos are going up.

As for artwork, The Nations neighborhood has artwork everywhere. It is well worth the drive to explore. It kinda’ represents the change that we are seeing throughout Middle Tennessee. That change includes an appreciation for art that makes our world look a little nicer.

“Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun. ”

— Pablo Picasso

The big red chair

The things you find where you don't expect to find them.

“The things one seeks are not the things one finds.” ― Marty Rubin, publisher of only one book in 1987... The Boiled Frog Syndrome

Art on the empty

A boy and a girl facing one another on an otherwise desolate wall outside of a closed down factory in Asheville, North Carolina.

The mural by Ian Brownlee is one of many painted on buildings in North Carolina. Ian’s words, “Don’t Stop Believing.”

Paintings on walls that guard the emptiness inside only go to make the emptiness more meaningful. Otherwise, the building would collapse in ugliness. Now, it can be overtaken by mother nature with a little dignity.

“We become aware of the void as we fill it.” ― Antonio Porchia, Poet (1885-1968)

A real key to get inside the room

Walking into old and decaying motels is like stepping back into history. The doors that connect the adjoining rooms are narrow, which today would not be allowed. The walls were paper thin and you could likely hear even the faintest whisper from the neighboring television set, that had rabbit ears on the top.

Yet, there is something romantic about the simplicity of old structures. The bright colors that once adorned the walls. The idea of random people stopping along the highway for a good nights rest for $19 or less. The doors used a real key as opposed to a plastic card.

A roadside motel in ruins

What's left of an old roadside motel in North Carolina...

"There is something uniquely American about the motel: It speaks to the transient nature of America itself, one enabled and encouraged by our roads and highways."

- Hanya Yanagihara, American novelist and travel writer

What is an open door?

An open door is not always an invitation to where you want to be.

“There are so many doors to open. I am impatient to begin." --Charlie Gordan” ― Daniel Keyes, Flowers for Algernon (1959)

I shot this photo in a quiet area of North Carolina on the outskirts of the Pisgah National Forest. This photo is inside an old and deserted motel that sits on the edge of a creek. The motel is slowing caving in and mother nature is winning the battle.

Looking Back: The shut down of the Tennessee State Prison

The old and now deserted Tennessee Prison opened in Nashville during the year of 1898. It later closed down in 1992. But, do you know why it shut down?

The prison shut down due to a class action lawsuit filed in 1983. The Federal Courts issued a permanent injunction that prohibited the state from ever putting another inmate into the old Tennessee State Prison.

The Grubbs V. Bradley case led to the determination that the conditions of living behind the walls was unfit for human habitation. Some prisoners had as little as 19-square feet in their prison cells.

Scotty Grubb and four additional inmates filed a suit on behalf of themselves and others being held in the prison in 1983. The suit alleged rampant violence, improper medical care, poor sanitation and overcrowding. Violence, according to court documents, included rape, robbery, stabbings, inmate vs. guard violence, guard vs. inmate violence and murder.

In the medical hospital on site, prisoners who were trustees were said to be involved in the direct delivery of health care. The inmates, who were completely exempt of certifications, licensure or training in the health care industry, assisted in examinations, surgeries, cleaning medical equipment, reviewing inmate medical records and more.

As a result of the court findings, the old Tennessee Prison eventually shut down.

Tennessee Department of Correction opened a the new Riverbend Maximum Security Institution at Nashville in 1989.

Source:

Grubbs v. Bradley, 552 F. Supp. 1052 (M.D. Tenn. 1982)

A Ghostly Nashville Sounds Stadium

Nashville Sounds, Greer Stadium: The Herschel Greer Stadium was built in 1978 for the Nashville Sounds. Many who grew up in and around Middle Tennessee have fond memories of games at the Nashville stadium. Hot dogs, cold beer and mustard covered pretzels are likely included in some of your memories.

The Nashville Sounds became a part of Nashville when Larry Schmittou decided he wanted to bring baseball back to Davidson County. In the 1970’s, Schmittou inked a deal with the City of Nashville for the plot of land below Fort Negley. The fort was a forgotten part of the American Civil War and had not been developed into a tourist stop until 2004, years after the construction of the baseball stadium.

Schmittou was born into baseball and even named after “Larry” Gilbert, manager of the Nashville Vols Minor League Baseball Team (1938-1948).

The Nashville native began his coaching career as a junior at Cohn High School, coaching for a youth baseball team of children who were 12 and under. After graduating from Peabody College (later merged with Vanderbilt), he became a teacher for the Nashville Public Schools and eventually moved on to become the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team from 1968 to 1978.

Schmittou was also an entrepreneur. In the late 1970’s, he owned several minor league baseball teams, but the Music City was always in his heart as the Nashville Sounds was his very first minor league team.

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As for the name of the Greer Stadium, it also has to do with Tennessee baseball history. The stadium was named after Herschel Lynn Greer, a Nashville businessman and the very first president of the Nashville Vols baseball team. Greer died in 1976, so the naming of the stadium came after his death.

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In 2014 the stadium closed down as the Sounds moved to their newly built First Tennessee Park. The new park is built on the Sulphur Dell site, which was the original location of the Nashville Vols baseball team.

By the way, the original name of the Sulphur Dell ballpark was the Sulphur Springs Ball Park, named after a Sulphur spring near the site. The word “Spring” was eventually dropped and changed to “Dell” by a Nashville sportswriter, suggesting that “Dell” rhymed with more stuff in his unique sports stories.

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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

Urban Decay Somewhere in Florida

They quietly sit empty in Florida on a small and shallow lake. Urban decay somewhere in Florida. 

"Without publicity there can be no public support, and without public support every nation must decay." - Benjamin Disraeli

It was once one of the largest Army and German P.O.W. Bases in the South

Prior to World War II, a large military base formed in Union County Kentucky. The United States Government came in and gave farmers below what would be considered fair market value at the time for their land. The flat acreage where you could see as far as 16-miles proved to be the perfect training grounds troops to learn war weaponry of guns and tanks. The rural area is a little over an hour away from Clarksville near the Indiana state line.

Camp Breckinridge in Union County was the headquarters of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division in the 1930’s and 1940’s.

As World War II broke out in 1937, the U.S. Army quickly realized they needed a place to house German Prisoners of War. The base in Union County became the official P.O.W. prison camp housing 3,000 Germans.

The base population stood at about 45 thousand residents prior and during WWII and later the Korean War. The large base was also home to basic training for new Army recruits in the 30’s and 40’s.

Today, the population in Union County, Kentucky is about 15,000 residents. Of course, that is a drastic drop compared to the 45,000 military residents and 3,000 inmates that called Union County home between 1930 and 1950.

Most of the old World War II era barracks that were left standing were sold to investors in the 1970’s as the land was divided, but the majority of the military classrooms, prison walls, prison cells, cafeteria’s and stores on the massive base were torn down when the government shut the base down. Investors later hired contractors to perform low cost renovations on the interior of the 1930 era barracks dividing them into duplexes so that they could be rented out to residents of low income brackets.

As we drove through what was once the base, every 50 to 100 feet you could see large smoke stacks protruding through heavily dense wooded areas that were to my right and left. I then stopped the truck and walked into the woods to further examine the stack's. I could still see the concrete foundations to old military buildings that probably went for miles. There were 50 or more stacks on the land in the area near the old barracks.

A railroad once ran between the military base and the Ohio River, which was only about 7 miles away. Supplies were shipped to the base on barges and by rail. 
On the banks of the river, we found a massive chain that may have once been used to tie off the barges while they unloaded. The large chain was about six inches in diameter.

As you look at these photos, imagine it a base that was once alive and vibrant.

A little creepy

This is an old deserted home I came across recently. It was a little creepy, lot's of dolls lying around in the rubble. 

While I realize this was once a home, I could not get the thought out of my mind about all the waste we have in our heads. I know that sounds weird, but I saw the comparison with this house. Years of debris like the doll I found with the head ripped off... I don't think I will be back to visit this place. 

"If you leave the smallest corner of your head vacant for a moment, other people's opinions will rush in from all quarters." - George Bernard Shaw

It was once Beautiful

Detroit has more than 10,000 abandoned homes and is labeled as having the highest crime rate in America. However, it was almost poetic seeing architecturally beautiful 19th century homes falling apart in fields all throughout Detroit. It was like walking through a graveyard of vast wealth that no one kept up with.

This home, probably 5,000 square feet in size, was missing the entire back wall.

"Art is never finished, only abandoned." - Leonardo da Vinci

Empty neighborhoods a mile long

A neighborhood street in the downtown area of Detroit. 

"Downtown Detroit has more vacant buildings over 10 storeys than any city in the world." - Meg White

Built in 1967

This small building was built in 1967. It sits behind a shuttered Detroit Fire Station that still has a 1980’s model fire truck sitting in the rear parking lot.

The building, once covered in graffiti, was pressure washed and nicknamed “Dzale’s House of Faith.” That was over 10-years ago and I have no clue as to who Dzale is or where he might be? I can say for sure, he was not in his house of faith.

Today, it sits empty.