Five people with three from Tennessee, one from New York and one from Colorado... One question asked: "What is the first thought into your head when you hear the words Racial Tension?”
“In the biological sense, race does not exist.”
When he was finally released from prison, he was a prisoner in his own body
When someone tells you they robbed 17 banks during their prime years… What’s your first thought? I guess mine was – Did you make a lot of money? My second thought… Sure, you can hop in my truck!
My friend Jerry and I were in Nashville when we met 64 year old Frank Webster. He talked about how he once robbed banks for a living while living in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. Of course, he only had to get caught once for him to receive a pay cut. Needless to say, getting caught also equals out of work.
Mr. Webster was all smiles and laughs. Hard to believe you could even smile after being in prison for so long and when you finally get released – you are literally an inmate trapped inside your own body.
Mr. Webster was known as inmate 00092428 when he spent the late 1980’s into the 2000’s locked up in West Tennessee. In 2014, he had a stroke while in prison.
After the stroke, Mr. Webster was transferred to the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility in Nashville. The specialized prison is for those with medical conditions, such as the aftermath of a stroke.
On December 29, 2017, just one day after his 64th birthday, he was released from prison. Finally, he was a free man. This would equal a wakeup call to a brand new world.
Nowhere to go he found himself on the streets of Nashville.
The right side of his body is about 75% paralyzed, so he scoots around on a wheelchair that was given to him. “I don’t have a doctor and I need help with stroke rehab,” he said with a thick mumble due to the stroke affecting his speech.
At night, Webster sleeps at the Nashville Rescue Mission. During the day, he watches cars go by while sitting quietly in his chair.
He pointed down the street suggesting there was a nonprofit he wanted to visit to get advice on where to go for help. It was obvious he could not make it in the wheelchair to 4th Avenue in downtown Nashville. So with a lift into the truck, thanks to Jerry Craddock, we headed towards his destination.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. ”
Audrey fighting back tears as she talks about her 22 years old daughter that she has not seen in a couple of years. She talked about how she misses her.
Rebuilding lives in Tennessee after job loss, pain pills and heroin
Imagine losing everything, battling an addiction and eventually living in the woods. That is basically what happened to Audrey and Steven. The loss of a job followed by pain pills which lead to heroin are just some of the details.
Hear their story below (5MIN and 37SEC):
Steven walking back to the camp via the railroad tracks coming from town.
“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. ”
Above are photos from inside their campsite.
Killing Time
I saw this man sitting on a bench as the day passed by. For some reason, the song "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" came to mind.
"Look like nothing's gonna change
Everything still remains the same
I can't do what ten people tell me to do
So I guess I'll remain the same, yes"
"Sittin' here resting my bones
And this loneliness won't leave me alone
It's two thousand miles I roamed
Just to make this dock my home"
-Otis Redding - "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay"
The song topped the charts in the United States and in the UK, but Redding would never realize the popularity of it.
“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” was written by Otis Redding and Booker T. & the M.G.'s. guitarist Steve Cropper. Redding wrote a portion of the song while sitting on a house boat the he is rumored to have rented in Sausalito, California.
This was said to be the last hit song that Otis Redding recorded just two days before he died in a plane crash in 1967. The song was not released until 1968.
The charter plane that crashed while carrying the famous soul singer occurred over Madison Wisconsin. In addition to Redding dying in the crash, so were six others. Redding was only 26 when killed. If he were still alive today, the Dawson, Georgia native would have been 76 years old.
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.”
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. ”
Helping Kimberly
30 Year old Kimberly Lee and her family are about to lose their apartment in Murfreesboro, TN. Needless to say, she is having a tough time.
In September of 2017 she learned that she has cervical cancer. Doctors told her that she needed to be on medication and have surgery, but to date neither of the two have occurred. Kimberly explained, “It’s so expensive to get help, so I’m not dealing with it.”
She has insurance, but the co-pay is too high for her to make ends meet and pay for the treatment she needs. I asked, “Can you tell it is getting worst,” talking about the cancer. She said, “I can, because when I lay in bed at night – when I lay down – it gets worse and I cramp… everything’s just changing in my body (tears).”
She talked of her childhood and said that she was born into this world as an alcoholic with fetal alcohol syndrome. At age 14 Kimberly and her six siblings were placed into the Tennessee Foster Care system. By 15, she turned to alcohol and eventually aged out of the system only to learn how to live life on her own at 18.
Life was not easy and by 24 she was pregnant with her first child. The following years grew harder and she told me the father of her children abused her . One time was described as a living hell… “He held me down in the garage during the winter and I was naked as he poured cold water on me.” She said there were worse things that she went through as well while swallowing tears.
Twice she went through rehabilitation for addiction, but she failed to address childhood trauma and abuse as an adult. Her past likely has a direct link to her stress, depression and anxiety today.
Most recently, that anxiety got the best of her. Explaining, Kimberly stated, “I actually just got out of the hospital three days ago from having a bunch of mental breakdowns and I went and turned myself in to TrustPoint down here and I stayed for a whole week.”
Her husband is working extremely hard each day at Nissan to make ends meet, but past medical bills, rehab, apartment rent, utilities and now a repossessed car have taken quite the toll on them. Kimberly said her husband is now paying to get rides into work each day because they lost their car. To add stress to them, an apartment eviction may leave them on the streets while searching for a new place to rent. They have to be out on Sunday (2/4/18).
Currently, her children are staying with a relative in Nashville. Remember, she does not have parents to call on for help like most of us do as she was placed into the foster care system by age 14. Her stepson in high school remains in school locally as the younger children are too young for school and are 6 or under.
I asked what people can do to help and she said, “You know what, I don’t know – I don’t have an answer for that because I don’t really get help… I don’t get help from nobody.”
Listen to the interview below:
Helping Kimberly and her family:
I had a few ideas of what could be done so I contacted a friend of mine who is a local pastor. He called some friends and now they have the money to make a deposit on a new apartment – if they can get approved for an apartment. I asked if I could name the folks who helped and with a laugh my friend responded, “Sure, tell them a bunch of folks that love Jesus and love how to believe wide open helped!”
I then turned to another friend to get help for treating her cancer, which she shared medical records with me to verify the damage that was found about 5 months ago. The friend I shared that information with just happens to have the exact same OBGYN. But, we don’t have an answer yet on IF medical help is available for her – However I hope to have information on that soon.
Counseling is something else that is needed, which I think I already have someone to call on who will be more than happy to help in a major way.
What can you offer?
- Confirmed help with cervical cancer – Keep in mind she has insurance through Blue Cross, but no money for co-pay. So, do you know of a medical group willing to help?
- Gift cards for grocery visits or restaurants would be positive.
Hands of the Violent Man
This photo is the most recent in the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center “Hand Project.” The goal is to show the wicked face of domestic violence without actually showing the face of those who suffered.
This woman, who is 53 today, talked about her ex and the violence and torment he caused in a way that would make one vomit. At one point, he broke her ankle so that she could not run from him. When her left ankle finally healed, he broke her right ankle.
To hear a short clip of her story, listen to the audio below:
“In situations of captivity the perpetrator becomes the most powerful person in the life of the victim, and the psychology of the victim is shaped by the actions and beliefs of the perpetrator.”
Schizophrenia and utter chaos
Everything looks a little more faded in the winter. The sun appears a little whiter as opposed to yellow or orange. Leaves from trees are almost a shade of gray painted with touches of brown.
Some think only third world countries live in total filth on mounds of trash… but. that would be a mistake to believe such. In fact, most third world countries are far cleaner than this homeless camp located in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Clean up your camp or leave,” the government authorities say without understanding. Who would not give such orders after seeing such a mess? Living in such scattered throw-outs does not make sense. Of course it fails to meet any logical explanation – only because there is not one.
Those with non-imaginable mental illnesses find themselves unable to muster the energy, the know how to search for a place to dump trash, so some live among the debris, the clutter and even the human waste.
"That is what madness is, isn’t it? All the wheels fly off the bus and things don’t make sense any more. Or rather, they do, but it’s not a kind of sense anyone else can understand."
—Audrey Niffenegger, Columbia College, writer
From the outside looking in
From the outside looking in: It is probably a $350,000 slice of land they live on. Too small for a high rise, but perfect for a small home a townhouse. It is walking distance to the finer dining experiences, baseball and football games.
They live in downtown Nashville, but lack running water, electricity and plumbing. It is a neat and tidy place with a third world setting.
The men who call this their home are kind, gracious towards guest and outgoing.
"The only thing you sometimes have control over is perspective. You don't have control over your situation. But you have a choice about how you view it." -Chris Pine, Hollywood Actor
Last Standing... His sister
She said that she moved to Tennessee to oversee the care of her brother who was hit by a car in Nashville, TN. She stayed with him at his apartment up until he was kicked out after a loss of income.
Today, he is in a wheelchair and she remains by her brothers’ side to care for him – both homeless.
“When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching -- they are your family. ” ― Jim Butcher, American author
If sadness were a contagious disease
If sadness were a contagious disease, I would have caught it from Michael Martin.
He was asleep in a downtown Nashville McDonalds when I woke him up to ask if he needed a sleeping bag or tent. He cried as he told me that he has horrible anxiety and that his medication was stolen. He then said that the person he was sharing a campsite with stole all that he had.
Leo F. Buscaglia, a former professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Southern California once stated, “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.”
I listened as he poured out words he had been holding back. Some of the sentences thrown together by the soon to be 40 year old were that he misses his mother whom he once lived with. Evidently, she sold her home and is now living with a family member.
After handing him a tent and a sleeping bag, Michael shook my hand about three times. He was able to release the words that he thought no one heard.
I have noticed it sometimes rubs people the wrong way when I say that it is not our job to judge the stories we may hear from others. It is not for us to decide their twisted reality for that is how they may have interpreted their past – despite what other family members or friends witnessed. It is not for us to decide if the truth is behind their lies or if their lies lead to their truth.
American novelist Ernest Hemingway said, “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”
If you feel the urge to help someone, all you have to do is listen and not speak a word. Simply listen and it can change a life. If you decide to argue what they tell you – it will get you nowhere.
Just be yourself today
Be yourself, regardless of who others believe you should be.
Perhaps you're a dreamer? So dream.
Maybe you are a doer? Go and do.
Are you a fixer? Start fixing.
Be yourself.
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." —Dr. Seuss
The Escape
I took this photo in 2014 and it remains one of my favorites.
The look in his eyes is of a faraway place that I cannot relate. His appearance is scattered as are his thoughts.
He stood outside of a downtown Nashville skyscraper at midnight and he told me that we were standing in a desert.
His sandy blonde hair floated in the breeze as he went on to tell me about his spaceship and then pointed to the window of a nearby business. Inside was a computer that had a screen saver of a commercial jet on it. He said that was his spaceship.
“This is a man in need. His fear is naked and obvious, but he's lost. . . Somewhere in his darkness. His eyes wide and bleak and tortured.” ― E.L. James
The violent memories we hold onto
The descriptions of the Vietnam War from a homeless man sitting on a park bench will give you nightmares, yet what he described is what he saw in the thick of it at age 21.
“I had to kill women and children because the North Vietnamese women were armed fighters and their babies were strapped to their front…” As he talked you could see that pictures as vivid as yesterday were running through his mind.
“They skinned men alive if they caught em’ – can you imagine what that would feel like,” he asked while talking about the pain that was endured by U.S. Troops. As he continued I could imagine the torture and how so many lost their lives while in Vietnam. He went on to describe more of what he saw, “Sometimes, they’d nail em’ to an upside down cross in the woods for other troops to find, alive.”
No one encouraged him to speak of the horrific things he saw or to stir those memories, he wanted to get it out of his mouth and probably his head. Sometimes, it is important to allow those with tragedy in their past to let it out. Sometimes, it is important to remain silent and to remember your words may mean little if anything.
In Vietnam:
Communist Hồ Chí Minh was once quoted as saying, “You will kill ten of us, we will kill one of you, but in the end, you will tire of it first.”
Hồ Chí Minh was not always his name. He was born as Nguyễn Sinh Cung, but later decided to go with a name that had meaning, Hồ Chí Minh, which means "He Who has been enlightened," became his title in 1941.
He was a Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader and later the President (1945–69) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). He also helped to form the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.
One execution for every one hundred and sixty residents was the way Hồ Chí Minh moved to reform North Vietnam in the 1950’s. He called it land reform and rent reduction. However, it was the simple slaughter of innocent people. This… this is who U.S. Troops were up against in the Vietnam War.
Who is your Superman?
Who is your Superman? For this young man, I would venture to guess his grandfather who will always be there for him.
"I can't unfeel your pain
I can't undo what's done
I can't stand back the rain
But if I could I would
My love, my arms are open"
"So when you feel like you can't
take another round of being broken
My arms are open
And when you're losing faith
and every door around you keeps on closing
My arms are open"
-ARMS OPEN by THE SCRIPT
Send Isaiah Davis birthday cards today
Let's all send Isaiah a birthday card for his third birthday on October 22, 2017-address below
(Scroll Down for Interview) Two year old Isaiah Davis will celebrate his third birthday at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville on Sunday, October 22, 2017 and not at his Christiana home. Isaiah was recently diagnosed with Leukemia.
Isaiah’s mother Jessica stays by his side 24/7 as he goes through his treatments. However, it is sometimes hard for Jessica to muster up the energy to hold her son’s hand as she too is struggling.
Of course, any mother watching their child go through Leukemia treatment would suffer emotionally, but for Jessica it is completely draining.
Both mom and Isaiah have similar feeding tubes and both find themselves sleeping most of the day away due to a lack of energy because of their medical circumstances.
While Isaiah has Leukemia, Jessica has Cystic Fibrosis. She was diagnosed with the disease at age twelve and she too went through extensive treatments at Vanderbilt. Today, Jessica is in need of a double lung transplant, but that is the last thing on her mind. Instead, she is focusing her energy on making sure that Isiah has a room filled with birthday cards. The soon to be three year old loves to look up at his wall as he falls asleep and see all of the brightly colored cards that arrive in the mail from time to time.
Jessica is asking people both locally and around the world, to send Isaiah a birthday card… if you are able to.
Birthday Card Address for Isaiah Davis s:
Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital
6th Floor Isaiah Davis
2200 Children's Way
Nashville, TN 37232
Below you can hear a brief interview with Jessica and her son:
More ways to help:
Street Photography
No flash, no special production. Just me and a camera at night in Nashville, TN.
When doing street photography I may look odd or like some type of weirdo - but, if people only knew what I was seeing in that small glass behind my camera... the beauty, the romance, the life, the time standing still, the passing people or cars, the businesses - I think they would understand.
No, it is not just the person in the photo, it is the entire surrounding that makes the picture in street photography. It is everything.
“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” – Elliott Erwitt, Street Photographer
What are you looking for?
Some people who seem lost, also seem to be in amazement by so little and so much...
“You'll never find a rainbow if you're looking down” ― Charlie Chaplin
The Drifter
He was sitting on his bike outside of a bar in downtown Nashville. "LOVE" and "HATE" tattooed to his fingers... He looked like the type who drifted into town with the thought of one night, but likely turned into two and later three.
By ten that evening, he was laying down on his ride with his feet hanging over the rear tire – his head on his handlebars. It was as if he owned the street and if he was told to move on, with a spit he’d say no and sit tight.
The type most would not approach in fear of not being able to walk away, he sat alone as the traffic around him blurred past.
"Got no strings to tie me down
Got no cause to hang around
What difference does it make which way I go
Got an empty feelin' down inside
Still I need to stay alive
Who can tell what waits beyond this road
I'm a drifter, lonesome drifter"
- Johnny Cash, “I'm A Drifter” (Version 2)