Grace is Gone

His skin was leathery and his hair thick. His eyes were like fog in the morning, covered in haze. His words were few.

I often wonder how many end up on the streets after a broken heart, perhaps because of something they did to their significant other while in a relationship? Once on the street, do they experience the social pains of being unlike those around them or made fun of by passing motorist?

Naomi Eisenberger of the University of Califiornia-Los Angeles wrote about the hurt in what she called social pain in a magazine titled "Current Directions in Psychological Science." She wrote, “Rejection is such a powerful experience for people." Her research found that brain activity in people with real physical pain was very similar to the brain images of someone who had experienced social rejection.

But why? “I think it’s probably there for a reason—to keep us connected to others,” she says.

“Neon shines through smoky eyes tonight
It’s 2 am - I’m drunk again it’s heavy on my mind
I could never love again so much as I love you
Where you end where I begin is like a river going through
Take my eyes take my heart I need them no more
If never again they fall upon the one I so adore”

-Dave Matthews Band, Grace is Gone

Once a Train Hopper

His friends call him “Bald Head” and that was how he introduced himself to me. He told me that he made his way to Nashville several years ago by way of a boxcar. He once jumped onto moving trains to get him from point A to point B.

After I offered him some new clothes he said to me, “I take my weekly shower tomorrow, so now I’ll have something clean to wear!” As he picked out a couple of shirts he said, “Let me hop in the back of your truck, I’ll show you where lots of homeless are.”

Once he got in the truck bed we started to drive towards the J.C. Napier Housing Complex and he told me to stop for a homeless man he saw walking past the Greyhound Bus Station. Mr. Bald Head told me he wanted to give the man a shirt, but warned the individual not to be greedy because there were others that he wanted to help. The man carefully picked out one shirt and then asked Bald Head if he had any change. Bald Head pulled out his only dollar and handed it to the man.

We later arrived at his chosen destination and were met by about 10 to 15 homeless gentleman in front of a closed down business on Lafayette Street. His friends were almost cheering for him when he got out of the truck and handed them new shirts and bags of toiletries.

The J.C. Napier Housing Complex and the area around Lafayette Street is somewhat forgotten by many. I won’t say forgotten by all as I know some groups help out the less fortunate in that area, but others avoid it due to the high and somewhat uncontrollable crime that has occurred in that area over the past 15 years.

A recent Nashville crime map shows that in the past seven days, a total of 50 thefts, robberies, assaults, burglaries, vandalism’s or arrests have occurred within a one mile radius of the J.C. Napier Housing Complex.  

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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Legends of Lake Nicaragua

On Lake Nicaragua, you will find small islands of huts adjacent to a small island with a mansion. It is quite interesting to venture into the polluted waters by boat. You will also find the remains of old buildings that were once high enough from the water’s edge when built, but were later flooded in storms. Fences still line the property that was once a habitat in some areas. On other islands, you will see monkeys jumping from tree to tree.

There have been many drownings in Lake Nicaragua and some believe that the lake is filled with spirits that pull swimmers to the bottom. Others talk about bull sharks that feast on swimmers. Of course, the bull sharks are real in the lake and not a fictitious legend.

Over the years, bull sharks from the ocean have made their way into the freshwater by swimming 120 miles up the Rio San Juan river from the Caribbean Sea. The sharks were first noticed in the mid 1500 chronicles of Spanish historian Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés.

In the past few years, Nicaragua has tightened security at their borders. The reason being, many are trying to make their way through the country in hopes of reaching the United States by way of Mexico. In doing so, there have been multiple attempts of persons making their way into the country by way of water travel from the ocean and into Lake Nicaragua. However, many of those immigrants from places like Africa and Haiti later drowned when their vessels capsized in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. In other words, they survived the warm Caribbean Sea, but died in the fresh water of Nicaragua. Some of the recent drownings that occurred in July of 2016 included eight men from Africa.

Create Yourself

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." -George Bernard Shaw, Irish Playwright (1856-1950)

Solitude in Nashville

A quiet place to sit in a big city of noise and music. Love Circle in Nashville, Tennessee. 

“Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it's not because they enjoy solitude. It's because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.” ― Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper

Can you hear the music?

I have seen a lot of people in pain and in the midst of suffering, but music seems to temporarily relieve their ailments in a way that can not be described.

Sometimes, I don't hear the music. But, they do. He hears the music and for that I am thankful.

"I say one good thing, one good thing
When it hits you feel no pain
One good thing about music
When it hits you feel no pain
So hit me with music
Hit me with music now"

-Bob Marley, Trenchtown Rock

My Mothers Cadillac

“This was my mother’s car, she bought it new in 1974,” he told me. He then went on to state, “When I drive it, I leave the hood partially open to keep the engine cool.” As we continued to talk about the Cadillac, he told me that he has had many offers on it, but refuses to sell it. 

Avoid like the Bubonic Plague?

His hair blew in the wind as he cussed at those who walked by. One woman flipped him off as she stumbled past him after what looked to be a day of drinking for her and a friend. Another woman nearly walked into the street to avoid close contact with him. It was as if they feared him like one would have feared the Bubonic Plague between the years of 1000 and 1352. During those years, 340 million people died of the plague (The Black Death). 

However, I knew him and knew that he was not going to harm anyone. I walked up to him while sitting down and quietly asked, “How are you today?” He smiled, “I’m good, how are you?” His attitude changed drastically as we talked and he calmed down as if everything was perfectly fine. 

“Have you seen your friend Kristin lately,” I asked him knowing that she talks to him whenever she is in town. “She was here a couple of weeks ago, but she moved away,” he told me. He then started talking about her and the pictures she took of him while under the bridge where he goes weekly for food and a warm meal thanks to the Nashville Bridge Ministry. 

Kristin is one of the many volunteers who have helped to make The Bridge Ministry a success in Nashville, TN. Those who volunteer meet under the Jefferson Street Bridge on Tuesday evenings. 

“We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.” - Mother Teresa

U.S. Air Force Veteran

He had on clothes that appeared to be old and quite soiled. “Could you use some new clothes,” I asked. “Oh yes sir, I sure could, yes sir,” he responded with happiness.

“I was in the Air Force,” he told me. He then started to talk about being stationed in Idaho while in the Air Force, which would have been near the beautiful Sawtooth National Forest. “I loved Idaho,” he told me.

When I met him, he expected and asked for nothing. A warm smile and a handshake is what he gave me before I handed him new clothing that included a freshly pressed button up shirt.

“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” ― Alexander Pope, English Poet, (1688-1744)

Prayer and fear

Her prayers were growing more intense as the seconds passed by. She was outside of a church under the shelter of a bus stop that lacked seats, she was on her knees.

She is homeless and was praying for help or perhaps a different life. 

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” -Meister Eckhart, German Theologian (1260-1328)

Nicaragua and Oppression

Nicaragua sits between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is a land filled with smiling faces mixed with oppression. This photo was shot in a busy market in Nicaragua. 

People

Street Photography

Random street photography

Random street photography... I always enjoy photographing people. Something about it is interesting. I sometimes feel as if I am part of a great big sociology project. You know, like I am on the outside of the world looking in and just watching how people function in society. Yes, I am a bit weird.

Michael Webb Pierce and his Flamboyant Six Shooter Car

1962 Pontiac Bonneville that once belonged to the late Webb Pierce. Don’t know who Mr. Pierce is?

Michael Webb Pierce was born in 1921. He was once one of the most popular honky tonk vocalists and guitarists of the 1950’s. His biggest hit was “In the Jailhouse Now.” The song charted for 37 weeks in 1955. It hit number 1 a total of 21 times.

Pierce paid $20,000 to Hollywood tailor Nudie Cohen to customize the car by adding leather interior fashioned after a cowboy saddle and ordained with guns and silver dollars. In fact, there are over 150 silver dollars on the interior of the car.

Pierce not only drove flamboyant cars, but also dressed flamboyant with hand crafted suits. He was also a one time member of the Grand Ole Opry.

As for Pierce, he died of cancer in 1991 and was later inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

Mother of Newborn Dies in Auto Accident

You don’t really realize how delicate life is until someone in your family tragically dies in a single heartbeat. Today, I talked to Rachel Hartman (pictured) who lost her cousin Lorrie Barrett Straughn in a Labor Day accident this week.

37 Year old Lorrie, who got married to Jarred Straughn just three years ago, leaves behind a newborn baby who was born on April 19th of this year. That child will never get to know her mother, which is one of the things that the Barrett and Straughn families are understandably having a hard time with.

This link (below) is to the 7-minute audio interview I did with Rachel, Lorrie’s cousin. At the bottom of the story are details of a GoFundMe account set up to help the family right now with funeral costs, medical bills and more.

http://wgnsradio.com/interview-with-family-of-lorrie-barrett-straughn-who-was-killed-in-a-labor-day-accident-cms-34871

I’m an artist

“I’m an artist,” he told me. I drove Mark to one of his friends’ home to get some shut eye. He said that he lives in the “Monkey Room” of the house.

“How long have you been doing artwork,” I asked him. Mark snickered and said, “Since mom said I was smearing doodoo on the wall!” We both laughed and I asked, “What kind of art do you do?” He smiled and said, “People’s faces, everything – doggies – I draw everything.”

As I drove I was holding a recorder up to his mouth to make sure I got his story correct and he said, “Damn, I’m glad you got me on that speaker thing right there because then you’ll know me - Once you see my artwork in the world you’ll say damn, I took him down the street.” He then started laughing as he asked if I’d stop at a gas station so that he could buy a 12-pack of beer.

During our drive I asked him, “Are you an alcoholic?” His response, “On that part right there, I can drink you under the table and still be straight, drink you right under the table.”

I asked, “What were your mom and dad like growing up?” He said, “I have no clue - Other brother is from one father, sister and brother are from a different father…” Mark continued, “I’ve been passed off to so many people.”

“Artists themselves are not confined, but their output is.” - Robert Smithson, artist (1938-1973)

Josh may need your kidney

At the age of 21 in 2009, Joshua Surovey was diagnosed with having a chronic kidney disease.

During what would normally be a simple biopsy to see what exactly his kidney was doing, things went wrong. He nearly died twice and had to receive 6 blood transfusions. Despite the mishap, the kidney problems were still there.

In 2012, Surovey started dialysis and worked hard to get healthy losing 160 pounds along the way. He was also told that he needed a kidney transplant, news that is often devastating.

Surovey said that the journey has been mentally exhausting. His first thought was, "Why me?" He said, "I was down on myself."

However, those feelings of depression soon changed even though the kidney is still needed today. It was as if after the initial shock, a fire was lit underneath Surovey and he had a new found passion to live. Surovey said, "God brought me through this man, honestly." He went on to state, "I'm looking forward to life, I'm living life!"

Lebanese-American artist Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) once stated, "Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." Some would suggest that Surovey is on track to stand strong in the near future, while others would agree he is already stronger than most.

While he is happy to be alive, 12 hours of dialysis every single night is quite cumbersome. He has to go through about three bags of fluid nightly. Surovey stated, “Every night, there’s no breaks.”

The fluids to undergo dialysis at home are shipped to Surovey. Two bags of fluids are in one box and the box weighs 35 pounds. Keep in mind, he uses three bags nightly. So, if the 28-year old heads out of town for 5 nights, he has to bring with him a little over 260 pounds of fluids to use in the dialysis machine. In other words, Surovey says that travel is “troublesome.”

Right now, Surovey is not married and does not have children, but that is one of his long term goals. “Everything that I’m doing I’m trying to better myself so I can be there for my family in the long run,” Surovey said. In further discussing the idea of starting his own family he said, “I don’t want to be in a situation where my health is going to decline and I can’t provide for them, so I’m trying to get myself to where I can have a good career at the end of this and start a family.”

Surovey confirmed that he is in need of a Type O donor and that the donor will be able to live a normal healthy life after donating.

The National Kidney Foundation reports that many people who need a transplant of a kidney fail to receive one due to a lack of donors. Right now there are over 101,000 Americans in need a kidney, but only 17,000 people receive one each year. Furthermore, 12 people die daily while waiting on a kidney to be donated.

After donating a kidney, the donor can easily live a normal, full life as if the donation never occurred. Reports also indicate that the donor’s medical bills are fully covered by the insurance of the kidney recipient. If something should go wrong for the donor in the future, their name is automatically placed at the top of the kidney donor list.

Once a kidney is located for Surovey, who currently lives in Clarksville, Tennessee, the procedure will be done at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. Vanderbilt has one of the oldest and most experienced kidney transplant programs in the United States, having performed over 4,000 transplants since its inception in 1962. According to the Vanderbilt Division of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation, “The Division was also the first transplant program in Tennessee to introduce the minimally invasive technique of laparoscopic donor nephrectomy for living donor kidney transplants, and now performs the largest number of living donor kidney transplants in the state.”

If you would like to learn how you can donate or to see if you are a match, CLICK HERE today. You can also call the Vanderbilt Kidney Transplant Center at 615-936-0695.

The 30 Mile Lawn Tractor Ride

Don served his country in Vietnam and in my book, he’s a hero. I couldn’t let this hero drive his new lawn tractor 30-miles alone.

On the way home from work Thursday, I saw Don driving his recently purchased lawnmower down the highway. Knowing he lives another county down (30-minutes away by car), I stopped to offer Don and his new mower a ride.

Don was armed with a can of beef stew and a cup of cold brewski when he helped me load the mower into the back of my truck. We then headed to Bedford County, TN.

Prior to picking Don and his MTD Yard Machine up on Highway 231 South, he told me that he had already been riding it for the last 2-hours, after a brief stop at his favorite bar. His goal was to ride it all the way back to his camper, in the Shelbyville area.

On the trek to Bedford County, he told me about working at MTD Yard Machines in the late 1970’s. Don said, “I worked on the line in Ohio and one day the painter failed to show up… They asked me to move to the paint line and the next thing I know, I was over painting.”

The MTD company began in 1932 and is actually family-owned company. 

New Singer Sewing Machines

According to the Webster Dictionary, a sewing machine is any of various foot-operated or electric machines for sewing or making stitches. 

What the dictionary fails to tell readers is that a simple sewing machine in the right hands can bring homeless women together and allow them to release their anxiety and burdens on creativity. 

Vanessa Newsome had the idea to start a sewing class at Greenhouse Ministries a while back, but she didn’t have enough machines. Vanessa told me, “While some women are sewing, other women are watching – they take turns.” 

After I interviewed her for a WGNS news story I made one phone call to my friend Penny Ray with Singer Sewing Machines. Within about an hour, Penny told me that she has gotten approval to give Greenhouse Ministries 20 brand new Singer Sewing machines. 

Today, I got to deliver those new machines and guess who was the very first person to dig into the first of 20 boxes? Vanessa Newsome, with tears in her eyes.

By the way, Penny at Singer also had a huge box of scissors, fabric and classroom books for Vanessa and the folks at Greenhouse.. 

Vanessa is seeing her dream of a large scale sewing class for homeless women to fellowship and learn creative new skills become more than a class of three machines. It is bigger than she ever imagined, because she had a vision.