Standing Guard in Murfreesboro, TN

Standing Guard in front of the Murfreesboro Police Department: Since the FBI warned of police killing ‘purges,’ local citizens are becoming more concerned about the safety of men and women in blue.

As of Monday (7/11/16), a direct threat against law enforcement in Tennessee has not been made. But, that is not stopping an armed Tennessee Army National Guard Specialist from standing guard in front of the Murfreesboro Police Station for the next 24 to 48 hours.

Specialist Will Ray told me that after talking to a Murfreesboro Police Officer who told him about the so called purge, he and several friends decided to start “Operation Blue Streak.”

Specialist Ray stood in front of the Murfreesboro Police Headquarters Monday to protect and look out for the men and women in blue.

I asked him what he was armed with and he told me, “Well, I’m a medic with the field artillery unit, so um, pretty much I’m just in my regular fatigues, my load bearing vest with my medical gear, I’ve got my medical bag in the car and my Ruger .40 with me.”

The Tennessee National Guard was not as enthusiastic about the idea as Specialist Ray was on Monday. They ordered him to stand down when they found out about it.

The Guard released a statement that read, "He was not called up by the Governor. He was acting out of his own accord and his unit has been notified. He has also been notified that he cannot do this as a representative of the Tennessee National Guard. If he still chooses to do so out of uniform, then that is up to him." 

Alone on a bike

By looking at someone, it is hard if not impossible to know their story.

One time, this 40 year old man jumped on his inexpensive Huffy bicycle and decided to ride it from Rhea County, Tennessee to Sturgis Michigan. The ride took him a total of three weeks to complete. I asked, “Did you ride alone?” He looked to the right and swallowed, “I did.” I inquired more, “Was it ever lonely?” He smiled, “Not at all.”

As for food, he simply asked others for money along the way. Amazingly, he never went without, sleeping on the roadside in a tent each night and staying in a motel if and when he had the funds to do so. The trip cost him a little over $500, but keep in mind he left with nothing. Only a bike, a tent and a change of clothes.

But, why the ride?

He rode the mountain bike to Michigan to visit his daughter on her third birthday after he broke up with his daughter’s mom the year prior. The mom then moved to Sturgis with their daughter.

After he stayed in Michigan for a full week, it was time to say goodbye. He got to peddling and headed for Ohio, a state he had never seen. From there, he decided it was time for a break and took a Greyhound from Ohio to Manchester, Tennessee where he worked for a moving company for two years.

One day, he plans to hike the Appalachian Trail with his younger brother who is 35. In case you are not familiar with the trail, it is about 2,200 miles long and yes – he plans to walk all of it. Someday.

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin

A Black Lives Matter Rally

A Black Lives Matter rally was held on Saturday night in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The woman who organized the event told me something that for the first time, helped me to understand why they take offense when onlookers yell “All Lives Matter.” 

Kaymi Butler stated, “Right now everybody’s saying that all lives matter, and that is completely correct. But, you’re not gonna’ go to a breast cancer rally and say, What about skin cancer? You know why, because it’s disrespectful. So… When people are saying to us all lives matter we’re not ignorant to the fact that all lives matter, but right now black lives matter because our black people are getting killed. So that’s why we’re out here.”

I can walk, but I have neuropathy

“I can walk, but I have neuropathy and my feet hurt really bad,” she told me. I glanced down at her feet and noticed they were swollen to the point where you could barely see her toenails.

As we talked I watched people pass her by. She looked me in the eye and said, “People ignore me, they try not to make eye contact.” Despite the fact that most refused to even look at her, she made an effort to tell everyone to have a nice day.

When I asked where she was from she laughed and said, “In the past eight years, I have lived in California, North Carolina, (pause) Tennessee and now here… Florida.” As the heat from the Orlando sun beat down on her it was obvious that she left something behind in Tennessee from the way she said “Tennessee” while glancing down. Without me even asking she remarked, “My children are in Tennessee – I gave them up so that they would have a better life than I could provide.”

At age 45 she lives on the streets. Her home is the entryway to an auto repair shop whenever they are closed at night.

“What a weary time those years were -- to have the desire and the need to live but not the ability.” ― Charles Bukowski, poet (1920-1994)

Grey Street

"Oh look at how she listens
She says nothing of what she thinks
She just goes stumbling through her memories
Staring out on to Grey Street

She thinks, “Hey,
How did I come to this?
I dream myself a thousand times around the world,
But I can’t get out of this place”

There’s an emptiness inside her
And she’d do anything to fill it in
But all the colors mix together - to grey
And it breaks her heart"

-Dave Matthews, Grey Street

World is Beautiful, Crazy and Tragic

America is going from one tragedy to another, second after second. I don't think people know how to process everything.

This photo is from Orlando in the downtown area about one mile from the Pulse night club where the shooting took place around three weeks ago.

"The world is a crazy, beautiful, ugly complicated place, and it keeps moving on from crisis to strangeness to beauty to weirdness to tragedy." - David Remnick, American journalist

Just Waiting

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.

Superheroes in Disguise

Superheroes in disguise. They walk among us.

"Out the door
Just in time
Head down the 4-0-5
Gotta meet the new boss by 8 am
The phone rings in the car
The wife is working hard
She's running late tonight again
Well I know what I've been told
You gotta work to feed the soul
But I can't do this all on my own
No I'm
I'm no superman"

-Lazlo Bane

Alex at Disney

Alex, who is from New York, has only worked for Walt Disney World for two years. However, he remembers taking his kids to Disney in the 1990’s. 

"You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality." - Walt Disney (1901-1966)

Waiting on medication

He was sitting across the street from the hospital waiting for his medication to be filled in the pharmacy, he told me. “Do you need any help,” I asked? “No, no I don’t,” he replied. “How old are you,” I asked him. He looked down at his hands then across the street… “21.” 

Leave the property, now

They were quietly folding freshly cleaned towels in a vacant lot behind a large for sale sign in downtown Orlando, FL. Damion told me, “The police harass us something awful here – they told me that they would charge me with grand theft larceny because of the shopping carts. They treat us like we are stupid, I got the shopping carts from a dumpster.” I took a look at the rusted carts, it was more than obvious they had not been used by any store in years.

“I have PTSD,” he told me. I asked for more details and he said, “I was stationed in Italy and one of our own guys accidentally ran over me in a military truck – he hit a bump and I was the next bump. [sarcastic].”

“You may want to stick around, I’m sure the cops will be here just as they always are,” he told me with a slight chuckle. “We are nothing to them,” he sadly said.

Within 10-minutes of my conversation, five Orlando Police Officers rode up on their bikes surrounding the two. “We ordered you to move yesterday. You cannot be on this lot. This is private property,” one of the officers said in a deep tone. The property owner then showed up while taking photographs on his phone. The property owner would not make eye contact with the two homeless individuals and told the police he wants them gone, which is his right.

As an onlooker, I did not see the point in mandating the two leave. The property was totally vacant and was simply a concrete slab with two for sale signs that were put up in 2011.

"Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment." - Mahatma Gandhi (1869 – Assassinated in 1948, Civil Rights Leader)

You cannot obstruct the sidewalk

The homeless father and son were quietly minding their own business at the intersection of Orange and Pine Streets in downtown Orlando, FL. The father, sitting on an upside down milk crate and the son talking to several other homeless persons who were told to immediately leave a vacant lot that was for sale, were the next who were told to leave.

“You can’t obstruct a city sidewalk,” barked the officer. The elderly father stood to his feet without saying a word while his son came to his aid to explain they would be leaving Orlando in one week. The police officer continued to tell the duo they had to move on.

I had to inquire further and learned the father was waiting on his social security check to arrive and with that money, he aimed to buy a bus ticket so that they could venture back to their home state of Texas. The son told me, “People are nicer to us in Texas.”

“You can all go to hell; I will go to Texas” ― David Crocket (1786-1836)

196 Years Old and Homeless

I noticed she was sitting quietly under a bridge by herself next to a basket full of bags. I asked, “Where are you from?” I had to listen intently as she spoke very quietly, “I was born in New York, New York at General Hospital, but it’s not called General Hospital anymore.”

I asked where she currently lives in Orlando, Florida where I met her and she said, “I was living with my uncle who lives out there in um, a grave site in Odie land.” Later, she said that all of her “kin people are dead,” but she remembers them in Groveland, Florida which is near Orlando.

I asked if she has children and she replied, “I have a lot of kids, but they’re not what you call – uh, listed as mine.”

My next question was one you should never ask a woman, but I went for it... “How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?” She responded, “About a hundred and ninety six years old.”

“Old age is no place for sissies.” - Bette Davis (1908-1989)

Slayer on the Chest

The Slayer tattoo on his chest stood out to me, so I asked him about it. “Have you been to a lot of Slayer concerts,” I asked. “No, never been to one – I didn’t even know who they were until some woman told me about the band,” he responded as if he had never even heard their music. When I asked why he got the tattoo, he jumped back to telling me about the woman who told him about the band.

While talking to him he told me about his past apartments when he lived in Massachusetts, “I lost my last apartment in Massachusetts when I got my 4th DUI and went to jail.” He told me after spending some time behind bars, he decided to move to Florida. “I had an apartment here, but lost that one over a drug deal… It was only marijuana,” he said with a slight smile.

While conversation was something that seemed unnatural for him, he was a nice guy who expressed clearly that he is now homeless and has been for quite some time.

Even though he moved to Orlando to start over, he lacked the tools to clearly do so. He is back at the bottom.

It was all an accident, an explosion

“In 1994 I was on a construction site in Washington and I remember entering the room and something exploded… I inhaled insulation and whatever else was in that room,” he told me while pointing out scars, recent scabs and more. “It’s in my blood, they can’t get rid of it. That afternoon I rode the bus home from work and when I got home I started throwing up,” he continued to give me more details. "It causes these scabs," he pointed at his arm. 

“Are you homeless,” I asked him. “Yes, I am,” he replied with a look of disappointment.

He then pulled an old and weathered health magazine out from under his arm and started flipping through the folded pages. He pointed at several photos, “See, that one looks maybe jaundice (pointing at a man on page 24).” He then headed to the next page, “What’s wrong,” he said while looking down at the many photos on the faded pages. “I don’t know,” I replied.

Before I left he said to me, “Why would you want to tell about me, take my picture – who cares.”

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." -Leo Buscaglia (1924-1998)

A listening ear… that is all you have to offer if you have no means to help another financially. It really is that simple.   

Leo Buscaglia, PhD was known as Dr. Love. He was an American Author and motivational speaker. He also worked as a professor of Special Education at the University of Southern California. 

Homeless in Atlanta

It was a hot and humid day in downtown Atlanta. Dan, who is homeless, told me that he is aiming to make a move to Miami, Florida in the near future.

“I was stationed at Ft. Knox and later in Houston,” he told me while talking about his years in the United States Army. “I later ended up in Germany, but my troubles started in Tampa,” he said while concentrating. “What happened in Tampa,” I asked with curiosity. “Well, the people were racist to me, not all of them but some,” he said after taking a slight pause. “They wouldn’t let me back in the Army,” he cut the story short but went back to the idea of moving to Miami.

“Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country's cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause.”  - Abraham Lincoln

82nd Airborne Division

He was once in the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army. Today, he calls the streets of Atlanta, GA home.

“So, how did you get to Atlanta,” I asked. He grinned, “When I had a weekend pass I’d come to Atlanta because I loved it, after the Army I just stayed here.”

The 82nd was initially nicknamed “All American” because of the diversity of the states that the soldiers originally came from when it was first formed. Today the patch still highlights that, “AA.”  

Sergeant Alvin C. York, who once served in the 82nd Infantry Division, stated this after capturing 132 German Soldiers during World War I (in regards to keeping the German Prisoners of War safe):

“On the way back we were constantly under heavy shell fire and I had to double time them to get them through safely. There was nothing to be gained by having any more of them wounded or killed. They had surrendered to me, and it was up to me to look after them. And so I did.”

This is a bad area

His home was the entryway of a closed down Atlanta business. “People are mean… we have had other homeless right down the street try to rob us,” he told me. While looking down he suggested, “This is a bad area.”

He is originally from California, but most recently lived in Nashville before his move to Atlanta. He came back to find his girlfriend whom is now on heroin, according to him. However, he no longer sees her because of the drug use.

“The gas station across the street won’t let me go in there anymore because I’m homeless,” he said with a frown. “And I bought a coke there every day.”

American author Wally Lamb once stated, “Human behavior in the midst of hardship caught my attention very early on, and my first stories were all pictures, no words.” 

He said he was in the Airborne Division of the Army

He had a white napkin tied around his neck and as I approached he yelled words that I could not make out and then smiled asking for a lighter. A nearby woman who was smoking happened to have one that I borrowed and lit his cigarette with. He smiled and saluted me.

“Were you in the military,” I asked with curiosity. “Yes, the Airborne Division of the Army,” he told me. He then started naming off boxers from the 60’s and 70’s… “Do you know Sugar Ray, Joe Fraizer, The Kid (Kid Gavalian)…”

The subject then abruptly changed to Presidents. He got quiet and walked over to me holding his finger in front of his mouth while looking around to make sure no one was listening, “Richard Nixon – you know who that is,” He asked me. With a swift response from my mouth of “I do” he jumped around and yelled, but I could not make out his words. He then got quite again and I asked, “How old are you?” He pointed at a Hyatt hotel across the street and said, “Old enough to know not to go back there!” He then told me that he and his wife once lived in the Hyatt, but she left him. He got close again and asked if I knew who Jimmy Carter was as he held his fingers up crossing them in front of me. “Jimmy and her were close,” he said.

As I left he told me, “Don’t trust anybody, nobody.”

President Carter sometimes looked to humor in life. He once stated, “I have often wanted to drown my troubles, but I can't get my wife to go swimming.”