The small store was in what Americans would call a strip mall. However, it was nothing like a regular strip mall and instead was a long 12 foot wide by 60 foot metal building, gravel parking lot filled with customers and vendors, each selling their local produce.
Read MoreThe Famous Cuban Cigar
And there we were... at the sacred tobacco farm where the famous and sometimes infamous Cuban tobacco was grown, dried, hand cut and later rolled into cigars that some call, “Sweeter than candy.”
Read More"My Aunt Worked for Elvis"
52 Year old Dyran sat back as if to better focus on the past... “I remember pulling up to Graceland at about age 20, the staff was at the front door and pointed to the side where parking was located,” he told me.
Read MorePregnant and living on a Sidewalk
As the sun was setting over Knoxville, she prepared for the night. Her home is the sidewalk. But, it's not just her... she is 5.5 months pregnant. In just a few months her child will be born.
Read MoreThe sad reality of alcohol
One of the most famous quotes is quite true: "First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you." — F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Read MoreDisability in Cuba
He was confined to a wheelchair with only one leg while the other was swollen in the heat and humidity of Cuban air.
Read MoreThe People of Cuba
Cubans are smart, very smart. According to "The Fact Life," Cuba has one of the highest literacy rates in the world at 99.8%.
Read MoreThe Alleys and Side Streets of Cuba
Cuba has around 37,800 miles of roads. Of that number, close to 20,000 miles are unpaved. That said, some downtown streets may have been paved 40 years ago and not touched since. So, what maybe a paved route, could easily feel and look unpaved.
Read MoreLife on the Street
Dave Walker lives in his van in Murfreesboro, TN near Nashville. In this 10 minute he talks about some of the things he has seen or heard in the past 8 months.
Read MoreThe Cars of Cuba
The late Fidel Castro banned imports of vehicles in 1959. Cuba doesn't have an auto manufacturer, so the cars that were imported in the 50's were there to stay. The communist leader also banned the import of car parts, according to the "Independent UK Newspaper."
Read MoreWhat Cuba Could Be
The sun falling on downtown Havana showed the true Cuban dream of success had washed away into the Caribbean years ago. An area that was alive with music, families and more in the 1940's and 50's is decaying as if it was struck by a curse in 2000's.
Read MoreYou are confined to your state - No leaving
Taxi drivers in Cuba are the most open when they talk about the dream of travel. Why? Because they meet travelers from around the world daily.
Read MoreBlue Skies and the Colors of Cuba
Every once in a while I came across that picture perfect setting that highlighted what Havana, Cuba once looked like in the 1940's.
Read MoreA tune for the plants with a touch of aqua
Hours passed as he sat on the curb of a Cuban hotel in downtown Havana strumming his ukulele. As the hours went by he would get up and pour some of his water bottle on the plants directly behind him, one by one.
Read MoreThe Streets of Cuba
You hear songs talking about Havana and you may watch old movies make mention of the romantic capital of Cuba - so you would think it is just that... beautiful.
Read MoreJust sitting around smoking weed
On the streets in Canada he was smoking his weed, but then again... he knows what he is doing because as you can see his sign shows that he is a doctor.
His hat read, “Police Box.” The Police Box is a public callbox to call police or for members of the police department to use to contact their headquarters. They were used between the late 1890's up until the 1920's in both America and in the UK. It was also used as a miniature police office for officers to fill out reports in.
In case you are curious, Canada was the second nation in the world to legalize marijuana. It became legal under "The Cannabis Act."
Broke Back, but Sober... Laughter Wins
His Starbucks Coffee had the name Patricia on it, his leftover food on his chair to the left of his foot was handed to him by a passerby, he broke his back.... but, he had humor and sobriety on his side.
Jason, who is on the streets of Seattle, Washington, knows that laughter helps him and others make it through the ups and downs in life.
A 2017 article in Forbes Magazine by David DiSalvo highlighted the pros to laughing and feeling good noting:
Laughter is an endorphin releaser
Laughter forms social bonds
Laughter fosters brain connectivity
Women typically laugh 126% more than men
Men usually instigate laughter
Laughter activates the release of the neurotransmitter serotonin
Laughter helps your heart... it has an anti-inflammatory
Aspire and Inspire
He is blind, but stands singing while skillfully playing his guitar at Pikes Place Market in Seattle. He is known as Strumming Blind Chad.
Success is not about money, it is about inspiring and aspiring to reach your goals, your potential. Perhaps that means learning to play a guitar when you are blind, learning to stand before others and sing... or in Chad's case, both.
Help for the widowed and disabled
Today I got a phone call from Fox 17 asking to meet at Select Inn to visit with Kathy, who was told she has to be out of the hotel by Tuesday morning at 11 after they extended her stay from the original ouster date of Friday. Keep in mind, it is not about rent being paid as it is always paid. It is instead about cleanliness.
After interviewing Kathy, who talked about her urgent need of getting into the government assisted Westbrook Towers or else she will be on the street Tuesday, Matt Alvarez (Fox 17) spoke to the manager. After that talk, things changed.
You may recall, Kathy is the woman with Cerebral Palsy who lost her husband about 6 months ago. The two once lived in the hotel together.
In closing, Kathy will be allowed to stay at the Select Inn, enjoy their free breakfast for nightly guest as long as someone can volunteer to help with the following, perhaps a church small group project for the next 6 to 9 months?
1. Help with bathing (wheelchair bound)
2. Help cleaning her room
3. Paying for / delivering a small amount of groceries
Photo: Kathy listens intensely as the manager of the hotel on South Church Street talks to Fox 17.
Can you stomach the past?
I always find it so intriguing how others have all the answers on what to do, right from wrong, how you should feel vs. how you really feel, etc. I wonder how so many people know so much about others?
He was standing quietly against a wall of windows, barely audible as he asked those who smirked past him, “Do you have any change?” I failed to see even one person stop to simply ask why he needed the money.
If anyone did ask, they would learn the elderly gentleman has a place to stay, but his entire social security check went to the monthly cost. He had no money to eat. It was that simple... money to eat.
If you asked a passerby one might state, “That's what his food stamp or EBT card is for.” Then, the senior citizen might reply, “But, $15 is not enough to eat more than four meals on - if I shop for the most valuable deals.” Of course, that is only if he has a card.
It is to easy to assume you have the answers to the problems, the life obstacles, the aliments or the cures for another until you live their life both the past and the present. But, make sure you are able to stomach their past.