Underdog in the Supercar Fight

ABOVE: 2013 Lamborghini LP 550-2. The "2" is slightly more obscure than other Gallardo's because it is only rear wheel drive as opposed to all wheel drive. Perhaps this makes it slightly more exciting for automobile enthusiasts? My guess would be a solid yes.

He was born into the world to a family of grape farmers in 1916. Seeing the need for a better tractor, he started his own manufacturing company in 1948.

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As an Italian who appreciated the artistic body of a fine automobile, Ferruccio Lamborghini had the income with tractor production in his pocket to buy a Ferrari. So, the man who grew up with little soon bought a few Ferrari's.

In 1963, tired of dealing with the mechanical maintenance of Ferrari, tired of poor customer service, Mr. Lamborghini decided to build his own super car.

Automobili Lamborghini officially born. Possibly, the true underdog in the supercar fight.

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Magic...

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.”

— Roald Dahl

The simple things

He goes by the nickname of John John and lives in the small town of Shelbyville, TN. He was standing near the gas pumps when he approached me, “Sir, could you buy me a Coca-Cola?” I smiled and said, “Sure.” Then, “Could you buy me something to eat?” I laughed and responded, “Sure, pick out something here.”

The gas station clerk looked at the man and said, “John John, we are out of your favorite popcorn.” She told me, “He likes the cheddar popcorn, but we run out quick because he buys all of them when we get them in.” Apparently, the small filling station only gets five of the cheddar popcorn’s in as John John seems to be the only customer for them.

While paying, “Sir, could you take me to Burger King and get me a burger?” I chuckled, “How about this candy bar and chips?” He quietly said, “Okay, that is good.”

He then walked away into the darkness. He lives in a small trailer park in Shelbyville and hangs out at the filling station when not at work.

"What's fulfilling is being happy and being able to help other people. The simple things." - James Arthur, British singer-songwriter

“What’s fulfilling is being happy and being able to help other people. The simple things.”

— James Arthur, British singer-songwriter

A fire took it away

I met with David Lane today.

Lane, his wife and four children lost everything they owned in a house fire that occurred on Peachtree Street in Murfreesboro, TN on November 30, 2017.

Lane told me that the home was the only house his children have ever known, which made the fire so much harder. The home held their memories inside the walls along with photographs, clothing and more.

To make matters harder on the family, they did not have renters insurance to cover their losses. However, thanks to a teacher at Mitchell Neilson School who teaches one the Lane children, word that the family of six needed help fast.

Mr. Lane said that the community came together and helped them in a major way. In fact, he said that despite the loss this past Christmas was the best Christmas the family has ever had.

“I will be stronger than my sadness.”  ― Jasmine Warga, My Heart and Other Black Holes

Remember - No Sidelines

No Sidelines: If I were to put his speech into written word, it would illegible.

Perhaps it was a stroke that led to his way of communicating, but the cause is not important. However, it is important that he has not given up... ever.

What is motivational about this man is that he refuses to sit on the sidelines for the remainder of his life. He pushes a shopping cart, struggling to walk up hills while collecting cans to sell as scrap metal.

"You know I'm back like I never left
Another sprint, another step
Another day, another breath
Been chasing dreams,
but I never slept
I'm feeling glorious"

- Glorious by Macklemore

---

The relax after the ride

“A man went looking for America and couldn’t find it anywhere” - Easy Rider

Fears of the homeless are real

Ricky suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, which is tough on someone who lives in the woods. However, he is very open about the condition which allows others around him to better understand the issues he may face.

At times, his mind might not agree with reality, which is common in the world of mental illness diagnoses.

One of his strongest fears is that of people trying to hurt him. Of course, we all have that fear from time to time, but our fear depends on the environment. Ricky could be in any environment and have that fear, which is why he keeps the location of his camp secret. He also has his camp set for traps to warn him of unwanted visitors.

He has many ways of coping with the illness that are quite ingenious. He does a lot of reading for not only relaxation, but to learn about his paranoia and to educate himself on a number of topics - including news.

One fear that continues to plague his thoughts involves someone coming into his camp destined to kill him and maybe other homeless living in the vicinity.  He described the thought as a serial killer targeting homeless camps.

Up until today I never thought about serial killers targeting homeless areas. In fact, it is something that I have not really heard of. I don’t know if such stories were not covered by the national media or if those things didn’t really happen and Ricky simply created the fear in his head.

Upon researching it, apparently it is a bonafide issue which means real fears for some of our homeless community that reads, researches or looks into crimes against homeless as a means to better protect themselves.

It Really Happens: 

In March of 2017, police in Las Vegas used a mannequin dressed as a homeless person as a decoy to lure one killer into their sites. They placed the dummy on the streets in an area where two sleeping homeless men had previously been killed with the notion that the killer would strike again. As luck would have it, Shane Schindler was caught on camera trying to “kill” the decoy. However, he has not been found guilty of killing the two sleeping homeless men as of yet.

A gang that said they were on a "Street cleaning crusade" killed 15 homeless in Moscow, according to reports in June of 2017. One victim was stabbed 171 times while others were struck with hammers.  

In 2016, a suspected serial killer was arrested in California after savagely attacking five homeless during five separate events. If police didn’t hear the screams coming from under a San Diego overpass in July of 2016, then Jon David Guerrero could still be killing. Luckily, officers caught Guerrero in the act and he was apprehended. The California native was accused of burning two victims alive and stabbing others.

In 2014, a man by the name of Aeman Presley was accused of killing two homeless men in Atlanta, GA as they slept. He was also accused of killing a third homeless man near Atlanta and a woman who was a hair stylist, but not homeless. While in a Fulton County, Georgia courtroom on January 20, 2017, the now convicted killer said he thought he was “Helping” at least one homeless man by killing him.

A former U.S. Marine stabbed a woman, her son and four homeless men to death to do the community a "Service," according to Orange County court documents from 2012. Itzcoatl “Izzy” Ocampo reportedly stabbed some of the victims up to 60 times. Ocampo killed himself one year later in jail while awaiting to be transferred to a prison.

The above are just a few of the homeless murders that have occurred in recent years. Sad, but true.

“The more you love, the more love you have to give. It's the only feeling we have which is infinite...” ― Christina Westover

Cheryl the Survivor

There is something to be said about routine. It is often a good thing because it equals sustainability. However, routine is more of a chore when it comes to the same dreadful morning after morning. Add mental illness into the mix and it makes life even harder to face each day. 

Hear what Cheryl had to say below (1 MIN and 30 SEC):

Imagine being a woman and waking up each day in a tent. Imagine not having the ability to put on make-up  or perhaps take that relaxing nightly shower to wind down. You can’t do it. 

The only way you will be taking a shower while camping is if you are inside a state park or staying in a fancy roadside KOA campground. Of course, both places have limits on how long you can stay and both are costly for someone with nothing.

For most homeless in Murfreesboro, a shower is taken weekly at The Journey Home on West Castle Street or perhaps the Pilot Truck Stop.

If you have ever seen homeless men or women at the Pilot Truck Stop or maybe The Flying J, they are not lingering in the parking lot to prostitute themselves, which is what many believe. While that may be the case in some areas, it is mostly a thing of the past as truck stop management attempt to self-police such behavior. So, there is not a reason to hurry the children back to the car.

The homeless are often at truck stops to receive the goodwill of truck drivers who are passing through cities. Many truck stops offer semi drivers a “FREE” shower token for every 1,000 gallons of fuel purchased. Those drivers often give those sower tokens to those in need, which helps in a major way.

Pictured is Cheryl who moved to Murfreesboro when she was about 2 or 3. Yes, like many in our area she is a transplant. Her parents moved her to teach, which both did. One parent taught at Middle Tennessee Christian School and the other at Riverdale. After the death of her mom and the aging of her father Cathy’s mental state became more deteriorated which meant her elderly father was not able to properly control some of her behaviors, all according to Cheryl.

Cheryl has the same routine daily, but she is not close to a shower. So, she routinely gets up dirty and goes to bed dirty. It is not exactly adventurous and it is tough on a woman or a man for that matter.

As for fear, she worries about her safety the most. She worries about being killed more than being dirty. She told me that she has been raped about 6 times. She also talked about how she has been beat up while living on the street.

“The rewards of the wild and the rewards of the survivor go to those who can dig deep, and, ultimately, to the guy who can stay alive.” - Bear Grylls

Street music with rockabilly style

Two of the four rockabilly Outlaw Rituals in Chattanooga, TN.

“The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.” ― -Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, widely recognized as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music (1856-1791)

The wall around him

The wall around him: “I’m tired of all the ones who beg for money, I never ask for anything,” he said while talking about the old neighborhood where he grew up as a child. He continued, “They litter everywhere and trash it up – Not me, I collect cans [pointing at a bag of cans hanging from his bike handlebars].”

The 51 year old has lived in Chattanooga his entire life. “My mom was lenient,” he said with a smile. He then made the statement, “My dad… my dad was hard on me.” I asked if his father ever hit him or raised his hand to which he responded, “Some kids need that.”

And there he sits alone with his salad that a kind passerby gave him. If you stop to talk, he quietly screams in his head for more human interaction, but his wall is too high at times to see the outside world.

"Hey you, standing in the road
always doing what you're told,
Can you help me?
Hey you, out there beyond the wall,
Breaking bottles in the hall,
Can you help me?
Hey you, don't tell me there's no hope at all
Together we stand, divided we fall."

-Pink Floyd on The Wall album from 1979, Hey You

Removing the past

ABOVE: Click to enlarge photos

Lee, who is homeless, once had a large tattoo on his forearm that read, “Member – KKK.” However, that is now covered by a cross representing Jesus and a rose representing Lee’s mother who passed away about 8 years ago.

What is even more intriguing about the KKK tattoo being covered up by a cross is that the tattoo artist is black. Dewayne, who owns Beast Mode Ink in Murfreesboro, TN said he would be proud to cover up such a tattoo for Lee. In fact, the two hit it off great. It was likely a site that would not have been seen just a few years back.

“I can’t live like this anymore,” he said while looking at the rose. He then talked about how the rose would remind him that his mother wanted him to lead a better life and the cross would re-enforce that in a major way. He went on to say, “I made my mind up being homeless, that I’ve got to change, my mother don’t want me living like this and I decided to get this hatred off of me and live for God.”

Lee said that prior to the cross being tattooed onto his arm today, “My body had hate on it.”

Lee elaborated, “The old tattoo that I had on there was hatred and this tattoo that I’ve got on here is love for my mother and the man upstairs – that’s what I wanted right there.”

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

He lost his leg in a shark attack... not really

He was quietly sitting on the ground beneath the shadow of a closed business in Chattanooga, TN. Looking down, he refused to make eye contact with those passing by on a busy, but humid Saturday. The heat index was over 100 degrees. He wasn’t asking for money or help of any kind, just sitting in thought.

His name is William, “But my close friends call me peg leg,” he said with a laugh while holding up the prosthetic leg sitting by his right. He then said, “I was born with a clubfoot and they went ahead and removed it in 1966.” The foot was malformed from the start, so it was removed at birth.

“I usually have a good story for people when they ask what happened to my leg,” he told me with a smile. “Someday's I lost it in a shark attack, other times it was a ski boat accident,” he explained.

Today William is 51 years old. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, but later moved to Memphis where he lived a few years before heading to Chattanooga.

“I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's only me, and I walk alone
I walk this empty street
On the boulevard of broken dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one, and I walk alone”
-Green Day, “I Walk Alone”

This Nashville man had a paralyzing stroke in 2015, but is walking today

Terrence Heeney had a paralyzing stroke exactly three years ago in July of 2015 and thought he would never walk again or be able to properly sort his words. However, he has fought the negative thoughts and battled through rehabilitation and is now walking and talking as he did before.

Heeney is a man after my own heart. He has traveled all over the world visiting just about every country you can name while working for Ingram Content Group / Ingram International. “I’ve seen most of the world, it is really beautiful,” he told me with a smile.

Mr. Heeney told me, “I will not get depressed – no matter how this turns out, I will not allow myself to get depressed.” He went on to say, “When I wake up I say – The potential for another day.”

Doctors told him while in the hospital that he would need to re-learn all the basics like walking, chewing food, swallowing food, etc. After being released from the medical center, he underwent six solid months of rehabilitation at the Life Care Center of Hickory Woods on Murfreesboro Road. He eventually gained the strength to once again live and he decided to give back to those who helped him while encouraging others that the road to recovery does indeed get easier.

Today, Heeney visits the rehab center on a regular basis to share his story of hope with others. He smiled and told me about a 55 year old patient who recently had an intensive surgery to his lower legs. Heeney talked about how the man was not recovering at the speed he had aimed for and was in a lot of pain. I asked Heeney what he said to the man to ease his anxiety and he laughed a little while stating, “I said, you know, you’re a young man and this is only a piece of your life, not your whole life, so knock it off.” With a chuckle Heeney told me that the next day he visited the rehab center and the man’s wife told him that she now has a brand new husband. The 55-year old man walked out of the facility on his own a month later.

Heeney continues to help others with a new outlook on life. One of the many things that he enjoys includes teaching. “I teach English three times a week to elderly seniors who are from war-torn countries and I help them get their citizenship – so I step outside myself,” he stated.

In closing I asked the simple question, “What would you tell someone who maybe having a hard time or who is going through a struggle right now?” Again I saw his face light up, “You’ve got to train your mind to be positive and not allow yourself to get depressed. If you do, set the clock on your stove for 10 minutes and when that buzzer goes off – it’s over, stop thinking about yourself.” He also told me that after his time at the rehab center was over and he returned home, he knew the road to recovery was not yet over. So, he would deliberately buy only a small amount of groceries so that he would be forced to make a return trip to the store up to three times per week – in other words he forced himself to get out of the house.

“You know, you’re a young man and this is only a piece of your life, not your whole life, so knock it off.” - Terrence Heeney of Nashville, TN

Shadow People

Shadow people, the ones that most of us turn the other way when we see out of fear of being asked for money, a favor or perhaps a ride… They are everywhere.

What would happen if you turned towards them instead of away? Maybe you could brighten their day? You could take them some lunch? You could listen to them tell you about their troubles for five minutes.

In this photo, a 38 year old man who lives with a family member in Middle Tennessee. 

“What men call the shadow of the body is not the shadow of the body, but is the body of the soul.” ― Oscar Wilde, A House of Pomegranates

It's a family business

He is holding up a silver chain explaining the difference of his jewelry verses the jewelry many tourist buy on the streets. “This is real, see the weight difference,” he said as he weighed the chain offered in his store and then weighed a chain that is sold on the street.  

Visiting the small shops is always a pleasure in cities throughout Mexico as you can see the definition of family. In this case, he works with both his mother and father at the family run business. His daughter watched TV as he waited on customers in the store. This is true for many of the businesses there.

Jesus Freaks

“I was ordained a minister the year after I graduated from high school by the Church of God Jesus Freaks,” he told me. “That was in 1971,” he said with a smile.

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