The Old Nashville Fairgrounds and the Nashville Speedway

In June of 1904, the Nashville Speedway was home to “horseless carriage” and motorcycle races. At the time, the track was made of dirt and would host harness horse racing on special occasions.

By September of 1904, a new racing series was introduced to Tennesseans that involved the modern marvel… cars. Some racing around the bend at speeds of 60-miles-per-hour.

Several years later in 1915, a few drivers from the Indianapolis 500 decided to head to Nashville to take a few runs around the small track. Growing in popularity, the races grew larger and larger audiences into the 30’s and 40’s. However, it wasn’t until 1958 that organizers decided to pave the track.

The old Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway held their first NASCAR Grand National Race of 200-laps in 1959. Music City continued to host a leg of the NASCAR Grand National / Winston Cup Series races up until 1984.

In the 2000’s, the track was renamed the Music City Motorplex. Today (2022), the track is known as the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and hosts a number of races to include the Bass Tire 100, the Camping World SRX Series and more.

He once drove big rigs for a living

Like a song on the radio, his words stick with you throughout the day. “Are you gonna put this picture in a watermelon patch; or a cornfield like a scarecrow,” he asked as the shutter clicked. “Cornfield,” I replied. I then asked, “Where are you from?” He got serious and calmly replied, “Well, I'm originally from my mother, but was born in Florida [ending his reply with a slight laugh].”

Frank said that he drove a tractor trailer truck for about 35-years, giving up drinking while in the midst of that career at age of 47. “Even when I did drink, I couldn't stand being around people who were drunk,” suggesting the drama was too much. Continuing he said, “I'm a maverick, do you know what that is? It's someone who's a loaner.” He marches to the beat of his own drum.

“A trailer full of condoms, that was the most interesting thing I ever hauled across country,” Frank said. He then added, “When I drove through the desert in California, I would try to outrun the trains – sometimes pushing the semi to 90 and 100 miles per hour – but never could, those trains run so fast out there.”

Frank, whose real name is Franklin, turned 78 this past April and he still rides his bike almost daily. He lives outside near the foot of Lookout Mountain, but he loves it. The outdoors are home to this U.S. Marine from a different time period of life, one where people were often kinder, yet tough as nails. I guarantee you this... he has never met a stranger and never will.

He was born in a different era during WWII on April 29, 1944. 17-Months later in September of 1945, WWII was over.

17-Days before Frank's 1-year birthday, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's final message was prepared on the morning of April 12, 1945. One of the statements in his address included, "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith." Roosevelt never gave his speech and died several hours later on the afternoon of April 12, 1945.

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My dream of singing

She was walking down the street with a small plastic bag. I asked, "Are you from here?" She told me that she moved here years ago at the age of 35. I asked why and she said, "I had a dream of becoming a country singer."

"What's in your bag," I asked? She looked towards the ground then over my shoulder as if she was waiting for someone..."Everything I own. I was living out of my car, but it was towed, and I don't have the money to get it back." 

"You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try." - Dolly Parton 

One year and two months after the December 25th bombing in Nashville

Just three days after the bombing in downtown Nashville, TN on December 25, 2020, FBI Special Agent in Charge Doug Korneski of the FBI Memphis Field Office released the results of forensic tests of human remains recovered from the blast site on 2nd Avenue. DNA examinations of tissue samples by both the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the FBI laboratory in Quantico, VA, were consistent to those of Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, of Antioch, TN.

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Above photos were captured on February 19, 2022 - One year and two months after the December 25, 2020 bombing on Second Avenue in downtown Nashville, TN.

Street Photography: The flavor in an unflavored life

Street Photography on a tourist filled Saturday in bustling downtown Nashville, Tennessee: I can't control what people say or do... but I can photograph it.

People make life interesting, regardless of what side of the aisle you find yourself on. Different backgrounds can add flavor to what could have been an unflavored day.

Joe Biden stated, “Part of being a public servant, I came to understand in 1978, was absorbing the anger of people who don't know where to turn.” in “Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics”

#Nashville,#downtownnashville,#broadway,#streetphotography, #Leica,#blackandwhite

The road to North Carolina - Street Photography

Street Photography in Nashville: While on a walk in downtown Nashville, my wife and I came across a man sitting on a small ledge outside the richly appointed Omni Luxury Hotel. The stark contrast was poignant and perhaps humbling for those who noticed him.

Sitting in front of the man was a shopping cart filled with his life.
With a stutter, he said his goal was to save enough money to make it to North Carolina.

#Nashville,#blackandwhite,#streetphotography,#leica