He is homeless and a U.S. Veteran. For many, life once home equals chaos.
"Soldiers, when committed to a task, can't compromise. It's unrelenting devotion to the standards of duty and courage, absolute loyalty to others, not letting the task go until it's been done."- John Keegan
Sadness is something that others may be able to see in someone’s face, but what is behind the eyes only the sufferer knows. However, sadness and depression are quite different.
For example: “Shorty,” who is pictured, was likely sad when he and his girlfriend had a falling out. However, he may or may not have been depressed at the time, but sadness was definitely an emotion he felt. The good news is that sadness passes fairly quickly while depression can stick around for months or even years.
So many of those who live on the street experience deep and often dark depression. While it may start out as something mild in their younger years, it lingers into age and grows deeper into severe depression.
People often confuse mild depression with severe depression, only because they have not experienced such agony themselves. Others suggest that those who are sad simply pull themselves up by their bootstraps, which can’t be done if severe depression is involved. Those who make such suggestions fail to understand or even try to understand the underlying darkness.
Sadness can trigger depression and your chances are also higher if you have family members who have fought depression in the past. Severe illnesses can also lead to depression. Other items that can lead to depression in adult life include being abused as a child (any nature of abuse). In fact, child abuse greatly increases the chances of becoming depressed as an adult.
To help cure depression, doctors often encourage a healthier lifestyle along with medication. But, if you are homeless it is hard to eat right and hit the gym. It is also hard to afford a doctor’s visit, much less pay for medication. But, studies show that medication is important.
The brain is extremely complex, as most realize. Some areas of the brain regulate mood while other areas focus on daily tasks like extending your arm to turn off the alarm clock.
According to a Harvard Health article from 2009, “Areas that play a significant role in depression are the amygdala, the thalamus, and the hippocampus.” A recent study demonstrated how the hippocampus is 9% to 13% smaller in those who are depressed or who have dealt with bouts of depression.
To increase positive moods and decrease depression, the production of new neurons are needed. Doctors will prescribe antidepressants to help boost the number of neurotransmitters, but the medication takes four to six weeks to start working. The extended period of time between the depression and a good mood have to do with neurons growing and forming new connections.
Antidepressants promote the growth of nerve cells in the hippocampus. It takes weeks for that growth to occur, which explains why it takes so long for antidepressants to work. This growth process is called neurogenesis, meaning neuron growth or formation.
As for Shorty… he told me that he came to Tennessee because of a girl. He later said that he went to jail for 7 months because of that same girl. "I caught her with another man," he told me. The woman is now in California.
“Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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
Taking a rest after a days work in Mexico City where minimum wage is about $4.25 per day (U.S.$).
Preparing fish during the morning hours to be sold at lunch at a small restaurant in Mexico City. Notice, it is being prepared on the cafe table where customers will later be eating.
Did you realize that over 75% of the population in Mexico City eats from food stands that are set up throughout the city at least once per week?
Everything from cow head, sheep, pork, steak to chicken and seafood are served on the street.
This is a photo of a man preparing a meal as he gets ready for the lunch crowd.
"I've seen zero evidence of any nation on Earth other than Mexico even remotely having the slightest clue what Mexican food is about or even come close to reproducing it. It is perhaps the most misunderstood country and cuisine on Earth." - Anthony Bourdain
I shot this photo in a Mexico City Catholic Church on a Sunday afternoon.
Roman Catholicism was first introduced in Mexico during the period of the Spanish conquest that started in 1519. The Catholic Church had a powerful say in the governence of Mexico up until the end of the Mexican Revolution.
It was not until the end of the Mexican Revolution that the Catholic Church's role in Mexico was restricted constitutionally.
Over 101 million people in Mexico are said to be Catholic today. Mexico has the second largest Catholic population in the world, just under Brazil which is number one.
He was attempting to start his small VW. After about the 4th crank, she started.
The first Volkswagen Beetle was introduced to Mexico in 1954. The car obviously caught on and by 1967, it was being produced in Puebla, Mexico. In 1968, the 100,000th Beetle rolled off the assembly line in Mexico.
In 2004, Mexico was still producing the VW Beetle and while the engine was different, the car itself looked nearly identical to the 1954 model.
By 2006, the VW Beetle was highly utilized by taxi companies. In Mexico City where this photo was taken, there were 50,000 Beetles on the streets that were painted green and used as taxis. In 2017, there are only about 3,500 Beetle taxis still taking passengers from point A to point B.
In all, 21 million Volkswagen Beetles were manufactured in Mexico, all looking much like the first one from 1954.
The song by Craig Morgan came to mind after the writer of the song woke the sleeping man:
“I was afraid that he was dead
I gave him a gentle shake
When he opened up his eyes
I said, "Old man are you ok?"
“He said, "I just climbed out of a cottonwood tree"
I was runin' from some honey bees
Drip dryin' in the summer breeze
After jumpin' into Calico creek
I was walkin' down an old dirt road
Past a field of hay that had just been mowed
Man I wish you'd just left me alone
Cause I was almost home”
-Craig Morgan, Almost Home
Photograph captured in the Tepito market on a side street in Mexico City. Tepito is an area known for crime and and area largely governed by gangs. It is an area filled with kidnappings, shootings and robberies. However, this man was sleeping peacefully.
She was selling candy in order to help feed her children. 1 Peso for one pack of Chiclets gum. I bought 20 packs (all she had), but they tasted as if they had been sitting around for about two years - so my son and I left them in the hotel room for the maid.
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." — Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist
In a Mexico City open air hipster café sits a hipster.
“Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20’s and 30’s that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter.” - Urban Dictionary
Tucked away on the doorsteps to a closed office building in Mexico City he is at a place that he considers to be home. The building is vacant, other than his watchful eye next to the large glass doors that have not been opened in years.
"Being homeless is like living in a post-apocalyptic world. You're on the outskirts of society.
- Frank Dillane, English actor
Quietly sitting and looking upwards as pedestrians passed him by on a sunny Saturday afternoon in bustling Mexico City he had a yogurt, an apple, a piece of candy and a baked good in front of him. As people neared, he would extend his hat in an effort to seek a few pesos.
The poverty rate has been on a steep increase since 2006 in Mexico. Today, 42.9% of Mexicans live below the national poverty line. For a comparison, America has a poverty rate of 14.5% and that number has actually been on the decline.
“Underneath my outside face
There's a face that none can see.
A little less smiley,
A little less sure,
But a whole lot more like me.”
― Shel Silverstein, Every Thing on It
Three friends, two religions... sitting on the edge of a 300-foot high pyramid made by residents from a different religion in 250 B.C.
The Aztecs called the ancient architectural marvel the 'Birthplace of the Gods.' The Aztecs were intrigued by the structures that they found just as they still sit today.
The pyramids are known as the Teotihuacán Pyramids. They sit about 30-miles outside of Mexico City.
There is a lot of dislike for U.S. President Trump in Mexico. I did not fully understand the reasoning until a visit to Mexico City. I now understand more about the situation. Keep in mind, I fully believe to become an American resident, you need to go through all legal avenues. However, my visit did allow me to get a better grasp on why so many struggling families in Mexico want to make that journey to the United States.
The manufacturing industry in Mexico is very alive with America being one of the largest importers of Mexican made goods. With extra taxes on the imports as proposed, it will potentially drive Mexican families into deeper despair in an already impoverished area. But, is this an American problem or a Mexico issue?
Currently, about 40% of the residents in Mexico live in complete poverty earning between $4 and $8 per day. Furthermore, 5.1 million residents in Mexico live off of $2 or less per day in income.
The schools in Mexico are not doing well, which means children lack a good education. 48 Percent of state schools have no access to sewage while 31 percent have no drinking water. Another 11% of schools operate without any electricity.
Despite the sound of things, Mexico is actually the 15th richest country in the world. While this may sound a little hard to believe after reading through my statistical post, it is quite true.
That being said, is the problem with America adding taxes to imports or is the problem within the Mexican government and the manufactures failing to pay employees for their hard labor efforts?
In other words, if Mexico is to change their poverty rates, the focus should be on large employers taking a new approach to their employees and actually valuing their workers by increasing their pay.
What I learned is that Mexican manufacturing companies are taking full advantage of their employees by paying them $4 to $8 daily for 8 full hours of work. The heads of these companies are gathering wealth at a record pace by not helping the employees that make them wealthy.
Organ grinders and accordion players are scattered throughout Mexico City. They can often be found in front of restaurants and sometimes, even inside. In the slums and the rich areas alike, music fills the air.
Music and art are two things that Mexico City has a lot of. While the city is filthy throughout, it is also artistically rich. Graffiti can be found on every corner… some good and some simple gang markings.
The city has well over 100 art studios, galleries or museums.
The city also has an exact replica of the Empire State Building. Well, maybe not exact. While it looks the same, it is considerably shorter than the real deal. The building in Mexico City is 44 stories tall and the real building in New York is 102 stories tall.
Mexico City has the 5th largest homeless population in the world. In fact, 40% of the total population in Mexico is living in poverty. The number of those who are homeless in Mexico City rings in at about 30,000 people.
Because Mexico City is so densely populated, many of the inner city parks have been transformed into homeless campgrounds.
As for the highest homeless population in the world, Manila, Philippines takes that dishonor.
In Mexico City it is not uncommon to see people asking for money in the streets of Mexico City after they get off of work. Most people in Mexico don’t make enough money to support themselves, much less their family.
The minimum wage in Mexico was raised in 2016 to a daily amount of 73.04 Mexican pesos, which is equal to $4.25. Keep in mind, that is the per day minimum wage, not per hour.
Mexico City encompasses 573 square miles with a population of 21.2 million residents in their Metropolitan area. To put that into perspective, Rutherford County, Tennessee has a population of around 300,000 residents and covers 614 square miles. Mexico City is also the 6th largest city in the entire world. It was founded as Tenochtitlán in year 1325.
The lasting impacts of sex abuse on boys is devastating as they age. Especially because most will never admit to it and if they do, it will be when they hit age 40 or even 50.
Daniel who is homeless, but currently jailed for assault charges, has struggled his entire life. He was raped numerous times as a child by another man, but has yet to recover even though he is in his forties today.
He struggles with severe anger at times that seems to come out of nowhere, feelings of no self-worth, a lack of value and more.
Daniel tries to please others as his mind never fully developed after the trauma because his brain was literally re-wired. While that sounds intensely insane to say, it is all proven by medical science.
Children who undergo such traumas at an early age see later in life that their brain acts and reacts differently than those without a background of such trauma.
Just to name a few issues that attack in adulthood:
- Lack of flight or fight response
- Fibromyalgia
- Increased chances of Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Failure to properly rest your mind and body
- Increased allergies (immune system not as strong)
- Unexplained stomach pain
- Increased addiction (70% more likely)
- 70% as likely to commit or attempt suicide
- More than twice likely to have depression
- Increased risk for eating disorders
- Higher risk of general health concerns or problems
- Failed relationships
- Fear of social interaction
- Codependency
- Real life brain damage
- Child sexual abuse victims were almost twice as likely to be arrested for a violent offense as the general population (20.4% versus 10.7%)
- 30% more likely than their non-abused peers to have a serious medical condition such as diabetes, cancer, heart problems, stroke or hypertension.
Medical research has come a long way and the studies on such victims has revealed more than was thought possible.
Child sex abuse on males today as they age into their forties, like Daniel, is compared to some of the worst PTSD reported by military personnel in the midst of seeing the bloodiest battles unfold before their eyes. While it may sound far-fetched, ask a Daniel – there are many Daniel’s in the world.
“Denial forces victims to retreat in lifeless existence, dieing in the shadows of buried trauma and painful memories.” ― Trudy Metzger
Chris said that he spent 15 years in the State Penitentiary for a rape that occurred in Lewisburg, Tennessee in 1998. He went in 2 days before Christmas and got out two days before Christmas- exactly 15 years apart.
Like many, the 53 year old calls what was once a hotel, his apartment. That apartment that is his home is called the Casa Blanca.
In the 1950’s the apartment opened as a hotel known as the Holiday Inn. It was one of the first Holiday Inn hotels in America. The hotel turned apartment is on Murfreesboro Pike in Nashville and 90% of the residents today are felons with a good number being on the Sex Offender Registry. However, it is one of the few properties in Davidson County that takes in felons and allows them to live there.
The complex is under the management of a former probation officer by the name of Pauline Spalding. Needless to say, she runs a very tight ship with a gun on one hip and a Taser on the other.