He could have talked for hours, never asking me for a penny. It was as if his sign was a disguise for friendship or connection. I simply tuned in at the right time.
One of the things he talked about was his injured leg. He told me that he got bit by a spider and the aftermath landed him in the hospital.
Today, the spider bite is healing. However, he still has trouble walking for long distances as the pain radiates from the outside of his skin inward and down to his foot.
Welcome to Vegas
JANUARY 2018: The dark night made the neon lights appear brighter as the prostitutes, the alcoholics and tourists slowly mixed with one another like a Sunday crowd mixing in church never staring too long.
Read MoreAge in the aging
Age is an interesting thing. America is getting older and for a first time by year 2030, all Baby Boomers will be older than age 65. In other words, one in ever five residents in the United States will be of retirement age.
Read MoreA beautiful disaster
In the West Coast area, much like New York on the East, thousands of homeless live in the underground tunnels of the city they call home. The tunnels were made to transport flood waters away from the population to prevent death and destruction. However, the same tunnels used to prevent death can also cause death.
Read MoreThe strangers
His shoes appeared to have seen their final days as he stood partially in the street due to a lack of sidewalk while pausing to look back. Other pedestrians busy in conversation hurried past as if he was not there.
Read MoreISRAEL 2018: The Druze
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.
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