Bonnaroo, it is too much for some

He was asleep in the middle of the heavily occupied store front area of Bonnaroo. It was an area that was reminiscent of a third world marketplace, yet more organized and perhaps a little cleaner. But, the vendors were everywhere and many were demonstrating their goods outside of their tents.

He quietly slept as if he were passed out, his hands clinching his face. Some passerby’s stopped to stare at his chest to see if he was still breathing. I stood over him as he slowly opened one eye, “Hey man, are you okay or do you need some help?” Dazed, he slowly sat up with my son standing behind me. “No, I was uh… I’m fine – I’m okay – sleeping,” he responded.  

For some, the 24 hours of parties, live music and bizarre behavior is overwhelming. For others, it’s just the alcohol and / or drugs.

Bonnaroo: Some of the music distances you from the noise

Like a maze, music allows some to become lost no matter the outside distractions. Some can tune out the world around them as they simply listen.

“Music is a language that doesn’t speak in particular words. It speaks in emotions, and if it’s in the bones, it’s in the bones.” ― Keith Richards, Rolling Stones

Bonnaroo: The romantic meal

Bonnaroo 2017: Hundreds of people busily walked past them in the midnight hours, but they never saw one. With a small flashlight and the light of a cellphone, the two quietly enjoyed a romantic meal a minute past midnight. In the background, the sounds of Red Hot Chili Peppers fell over them.

“Every great love starts with a great story...” ― Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

Bonnaroo: What is age?

All ages having fun in the "Silent Disco" at Bonnaroo. 

For those who have never been, it is a massive dance area under a tent with no audible music from the outside. You must wear your headphones or the headphones they provide for you. If you wear their headphones you hear the DJ (he can be seen in the background).

"Youth can not know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Bonnaroo: Music, art and light

Music, art and light – all forms of energy that give you distinct feelings of freedom in a way that just words fail to give.

When I photograph at night I don't use a flash because of a fear that it would distort the light that I see. The reds at a concert, the light strings that someone swings around, the glow sticks tied to a persons body to show that he or she is in the moment, etc. 

Bono of the group U2 was performing and those in attendance were in their own worlds taking on the feel that the music was introducing into their bodies. Some people were uniting together with smiles, some were crying while others were dancing with light.

During an interview that took place over 18 years ago, Bono told a reporter, “Music can change the world because it can change people.” 

Bonnaroo and the reactions of music that sews us together

Bonnaroo at 2:00 Saturday morning (June 10, 2017).

It is always interesting to watch people and their reactions more so then what they are seeing to cause the reaction. To me, that is where the attention should be as it once was in magazines like LIFE, which we no longer have.

Why? Because Life is what we want to see and peoples reactions, be it happy or sad, that is where you get an understanding of what is real or how someone or a group of people feel.

If I focused on the entertainer it would simply be someone singing on a stage by himself or herself - no real expression of the moment can be seen in the entertainers face as it is often just another show.

Henry David Thoreau once wrote a profound statement that could easily describe Woodstock in 1969, our military forces when an entertainer visits a camp in Afghanistan or Bonnaroo in 2017. Thoreau wrote,  “When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest times, and to the latest.” At concert venues far and wide, music is what peacefully brings people of all backgrounds, colors or nationalities together. 

Bonnaroo 2017: "Hey! Take our picture!"

I guess what I enjoy about Bonnaroo more than the entertainers is the excitement in the air. The trusting of everyone. The total strangers greeting other strangers. 

This couple, and I have no idea if they knew one another prior to the concerts, said to me, "Hey, take our picture!!" With the click of a shutter the moment was frozen in time with a massive techno concert in the background. 

Russ the Rapper at Bonnaroo 2017

Bonnaroo is such an interesting place to visit. 

While so many photographers were fixed on the entertainers, I was more curious as to the fans reacting to the entertainers at 2 in the morning. 

I shot this photo while looking into the crowd from the photo pit area as "Russ" the rapper came out. The 24 year old from New Jersey had the crowds attention. 

Russ gained his popularity thanks to the Soundcloud page where he was played more than 40 million times. 

Mr. Russ the rapper below...

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Kaleidoscope Addiction at Bonnaroo 2017

Outside the main entrance into the concert area of Bonnaroo 2017 sit two life sized kaleidoscopes. For those who enjoyed a little too much pleasure earlier in the day, your eyes can easily become glued to the multiple colors.

At 3AM on Saturday, he became glued.

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Local Media is Important

LOCAL media has a lot of responsibility and that is not taken lightly.

I have noticed a growing trend in Middle Tennessee and far beyond. Quite often after a story is reported, published or broadcast, family members of the person arrested and named in an article, etc., will call the local media outlet demanding the story be removed.

Family will often state, "This story will cause too much harm to his/ her children, or mother or father, I insist you remove it - he/she is addicted to (name your drug)."

The fact is that he/she who committed the crime is the one causing damage to the family, not the media. The addiction is shaping their life in a horrible way. The crime is the aftermath of the addiction. The media has a job of making that addiction / crime known so others listening, watching or reading don't continue their narrow road and instead get help.

It could easily be argued that the majority of those arrested for serious crimes that are reported in the media have an addiction or a troubling and sad past. They need help, obviously.

Other times local media will receive a call or email suggesting that the family member arrested has a severe mental illness. While that maybe true, so do the majority of those arrested. The United States Department of Justice reports, “64 percent of local jail inmates, 56 percent of state prisoners and 45 percent of federal prisoners have symptoms of serious mental illnesses.” Again, a problem that needs to be reported so that change can happen.

If stories of such are NOT reported, then how will the public know of the issues we as a society need to work on?

For example, if someone is charged with DUI number 6, it should be reported by local media. If it is not reported, how would you realize that we have a problem with the way alcohol cases are treated by the laws we currently have in place? If it were not reported, how would you be reminded that many people in our society have extreme addiction and help is again needed.

Another example, when synthetic drugs were sold in gas stations as bath salts and persons on bath salts were arrested after getting high and randomly attacking and literally eating people, it was reported in local media. If things like that were not reported, then laws would not have been enacted to end the sale of bath salts in gas stations. Rehabilitation centers would not have known about some of the current drugs being used as swiftly had they not been reported in the local media first.

Local news is powerful and potentially life changing for the good, if used properly. It allows the residents of the community to help others like national media cannot do. It allows for big issues to be made known, laws to be changed and programs be developed to help the community as a whole as the result of the arrest of only a few.

One more thing... It allows those who are arrested for serious crimes to publicly choose to make a change for the good or to continue on their current road of destruction. Being publicly known means that the complaining family can fully address their loved one instead of hushing a hard conversation. Perhaps the problems have been kept behind closed doors for years and now it is out in the open. The story may create more pain in the present, but perhaps real recovery in the future - if properly addressed. It will also allow his/her children to know the true dangers of the addicted which means family can come along and fully support the children before that child makes life altering decisions for the negative.

As for how criminal names or stories are handled on social media with no heart whatsover, that is a problem of those commenting. Social media can be harsh because of people commenting without thinking.

I believe we should all take a step back before we comment and remember that we are about to comment on a real person who may have a very sad past of physical abuse, sexual abuse or an addiction. The person arrested could have a mental illness that has gone undiagnosed for years and years. Life is real and sometimes really hard.

I'll step down from my soap box now.

I took this photo in Nashville in 2015, I found it interesting how so many people are anxious to photograph what they believe to be newsworthy and comment about it on social media so quickly.

Psalms 96

She is a domestic violence survivor in Middle Tennessee and she is holding her Bible open to one of her favorite verses, Psalms 96:

1 Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

4 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.

9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.

11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it.

12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

13 Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Domestic Violence: My hands write

“I used to wake up some days and wished I’d have stayed asleep, because I went to bed on top of the world - Today, the world is on top of me,” she wrote after telling me that she has a story to tell. “I want to write a book,” she explained. She then said, “People wouldn’t believe what I have been through.”

She is quiet, yet strong. She is a domestic violence survivor who lives in Middle Tennessee.

The young lady, probably in her mid-twenties, then wrote, “These hands and I are headed for GREATNESS and touching everything I was told I would never see.”

Domestic violence is very real.

Domestic Violence

His hands helped to defend domestic violence. Today, he writes music and learns from the past.

Domestic Violence has a massive impact on society, all of which is negative. Did you realize, “Most cases of domestic violence are never reported to the police.” Source: Frieze, I.H., Browne, A. (1989) Violence in Marriage.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day, a time to remember our fallen veterans.

Photo of headstone for US Army Vietnam Veteran James Albert Thornburg of Tennessee.  He served under the 1st Infantry Division, Battalion 8 in the 6/15th Artillery Company, Deadly Alpha from April of 1967 until April of 1968.

Thornburg received the National Defense Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Bronze Star with V Device and Two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Unit Citation, and the Presidential Citation.

He died at age 56 in year 2002. 

MUSA

Slowly we sunk into the depth of the deep aqua colored sea descending about 28 feet for the first sculpture which appeared to be an explosive mind ready to detonate. As I swam north towards Isla Mujeres I came upon what looked to be a group of people frozen in time.

I noticed a small child sitting on an overturned bucket, a woman with her arms above her head as if she had just ran a race and was tired, unable to catch her breath. As I swam closer and deeper towards the silent crowd I witnessed what appeared to be a young man looking upwards in pain.

My scuba tank supplied my air and as I exhaled it almost gave life to some of the statues as bubbles of oxygen swarmed around the heads of the sculptures before me.

English sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor constructed over 500 life sized statues that were lowered into the Caribbean to demonstrate the interaction between art and environment. Each statue is attached to the seabed with material that promotes coral life allowing for the underworld of the sea to inhabit every square inch.

The exhibit is between the coast of Cancun and Isla Mujeres in Mexico. 

The exhibit is called MUSA or Museo Subacuático de Arte. It was founded by Roberto Díaz Abraham, former President of the Cancun Nautical Association and Jaime González Cano, Director of the National Marine Park.

He Humiliated Me

Domestic Violence in Tennessee... She wrote:

"He raped me, he beat the crap out of me, he humiliated me, he stripped me of my identity, and many times left me crying on the floor.

I have been to jail on Easter, it marks 1 year Sunday, I went and they let him go. I called them and they took me.

But, through it all I always screamed and begged God to help me get away. And he kept his promise!

I am free and none of it matters anymore! He is the last dark secret in my closet and I am physically, emotionally, and spiritually set free because of God whispering to me, You Got This!

That is my story."

Domestic Violence: Like a tree, we grow

Like trees, we continue to grow despite the struggles we face in life. The same is true for those who are victims of domestic violence. Once the violence is in your past, you can continue growing in a positive way.

This is a photo that captures the hands of an anonymous domestic violence survivor in Middle Tennessee.

Former Social Worker Alice Walker once wrote, "In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful."

Walker, who worked as a social worker in the 1960's, took part in the Civil Rights movement in Mississippi. She also won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for her 1982 novel entitled, "The Color Purple."

Domestic Violence: Our Hands

Her past Domestic Violence... She wrote:

“Hands are so important. You see, they can teach us love and compassion or total fear.

I have used my hands to care for the sick and elderly for 28 years in nursing as a tech. I know what kindness looks like when you care for someone.

What I did not realize was for 13 years I had not shown myself kindness. I did finally one day no longer desire to live in abuse and I remember using my hands to pack my kids clothes and toys, turn off location devices and drive to a shelter. This was new and I deserved peace away from the abuse.

Abuse is not love nor is tolerance to abuse. Please love yourself by no longer allowing abuse in your life or others’ lives.”

Domestic Violence: Hands

Her hands, which have always been used to serve others, were busily making spaghetti. However, those same hands have been used in an attempt to block punches from her former husband. Those hands were used to open a prescription pill bottle in an attempt to end the suffering during an eight hour ordeal that started on a drive home.

After she downed the prescription pills in an effort to numb or end the physical pain, her husband yelled that if she died while he was hitting her, no one would find her body.

Looking back to December of 2016, the same man traded his wife for crack cocaine. He then got angry at her for his actions, which was when a beating that lasted for eight hours occurred.

During those eight hours she was punched in the face and chunks of her hair were pulled out. The incident started on the roadway leaving the man’s home where her husband pawned her off. She was beat on the side of the road until a truck driver stopped to offer the couple a ride as they were out of gas. The truck driver failed to realize that the husband was doing the beating.

She wrote, “A truck driver picked us up to get gas and he told the truck driver he picked me up because I got beat up, our 4 year old witnessed most of what happened. At one point he cried and his dad told him he better shut up or he will do the same to him. We finally got home and he knocked me around the bathroom. I was lying on the floor and he kicked me in my face. I tried killing myself by downing some pills. The last thing I remember before passing out was him choking me.”

She closed with, “Now I know that if you get hit once, get out.”

He is now a registered sex offender after being abused

A sex offender by the name of James who lives in Middle Tennessee will soon find himself behind bars after violating his probation. He told us that he will likely spend the next six years in a small cell because of his actions.

James, whose last name I agreed not to use, said that more needs to be done in rehabilitating offenders. He further suggested that more needs to be done for those who are victims of sex abuse and treatment should be readily available.

The man whom I spoke to said that he was sexually abused by at least three adults as a child and the abuse was long term. As he grew older he never told anyone about the abuse and he levitated towards pornography.

Many victims of sexual abuse turn to drugs, alcohol, sex addiction or pornography as opposed to seeking help, so his addiction was not uncommon. That addiction later turned more dark as he started to have a fascination with child pornography. With his addiction in mind he went to his church for help...  However, the church basically shewed James away which grew his appetite for pornography.

After a separation from his wife and a lack of anyone to turn to, his addiction turned into real children, which was his next step. Luckily, he was arrested before real children came face to face with his pain.

Today James wants to be a voice for the abused and the accused so that others can get proper help before it is too late. 

While sitting in the California San Quentin State Prison he wrote:

Dear Lord,

How have I been so blind for so long? How did I ever think… ever conceive… that I understood your Grace?

I thought it a flickering candle, but have found it as strong and blinding as the sun.

I looked at it as an ember, a glowing coal of warmth. Instead, I’ve felt its inferno, roaring, raging, consuming me.

When I have said that your Grace is sufficient for me, I mistook it to be sufficient like a crust of bread thrown to a starving man. Enough to live on, but no more.

Instead, I find it as sufficient as the oceans are to fill a cup. The deserts to give a grain of sand or the forest to supply a single leaf.

For yours is an extravagant sufficiency.

Forgive me, Lord, for the sin of pride of thinking that your Grace could be understood. I could no sooner capture sunlight in my hands or the winds within my arms. I am so grateful that I do not have to rationalize your Grace to receive it, or comprehend it to be covered by it.

Thank you, Lord, for showing me just how little that I really understand. I can’t wait to spend my lifetime discovering how much I didn’t know.

Amen.

To hear the audio interview with James, click this LINK.