Once a Train Hopper

His friends call him “Bald Head” and that was how he introduced himself to me. He told me that he made his way to Nashville several years ago by way of a boxcar. He once jumped onto moving trains to get him from point A to point B.

After I offered him some new clothes he said to me, “I take my weekly shower tomorrow, so now I’ll have something clean to wear!” As he picked out a couple of shirts he said, “Let me hop in the back of your truck, I’ll show you where lots of homeless are.”

Once he got in the truck bed we started to drive towards the J.C. Napier Housing Complex and he told me to stop for a homeless man he saw walking past the Greyhound Bus Station. Mr. Bald Head told me he wanted to give the man a shirt, but warned the individual not to be greedy because there were others that he wanted to help. The man carefully picked out one shirt and then asked Bald Head if he had any change. Bald Head pulled out his only dollar and handed it to the man.

We later arrived at his chosen destination and were met by about 10 to 15 homeless gentleman in front of a closed down business on Lafayette Street. His friends were almost cheering for him when he got out of the truck and handed them new shirts and bags of toiletries.

The J.C. Napier Housing Complex and the area around Lafayette Street is somewhat forgotten by many. I won’t say forgotten by all as I know some groups help out the less fortunate in that area, but others avoid it due to the high and somewhat uncontrollable crime that has occurred in that area over the past 15 years.

A recent Nashville crime map shows that in the past seven days, a total of 50 thefts, robberies, assaults, burglaries, vandalism’s or arrests have occurred within a one mile radius of the J.C. Napier Housing Complex.  

Create Yourself

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." -George Bernard Shaw, Irish Playwright (1856-1950)

Solitude in Nashville

A quiet place to sit in a big city of noise and music. Love Circle in Nashville, Tennessee. 

“Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it's not because they enjoy solitude. It's because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.” ― Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper

Can you hear the music?

I have seen a lot of people in pain and in the midst of suffering, but music seems to temporarily relieve their ailments in a way that can not be described.

Sometimes, I don't hear the music. But, they do. He hears the music and for that I am thankful.

"I say one good thing, one good thing
When it hits you feel no pain
One good thing about music
When it hits you feel no pain
So hit me with music
Hit me with music now"

-Bob Marley, Trenchtown Rock

My Mothers Cadillac

“This was my mother’s car, she bought it new in 1974,” he told me. He then went on to state, “When I drive it, I leave the hood partially open to keep the engine cool.” As we continued to talk about the Cadillac, he told me that he has had many offers on it, but refuses to sell it. 

Avoid like the Bubonic Plague?

His hair blew in the wind as he cussed at those who walked by. One woman flipped him off as she stumbled past him after what looked to be a day of drinking for her and a friend. Another woman nearly walked into the street to avoid close contact with him. It was as if they feared him like one would have feared the Bubonic Plague between the years of 1000 and 1352. During those years, 340 million people died of the plague (The Black Death). 

However, I knew him and knew that he was not going to harm anyone. I walked up to him while sitting down and quietly asked, “How are you today?” He smiled, “I’m good, how are you?” His attitude changed drastically as we talked and he calmed down as if everything was perfectly fine. 

“Have you seen your friend Kristin lately,” I asked him knowing that she talks to him whenever she is in town. “She was here a couple of weeks ago, but she moved away,” he told me. He then started talking about her and the pictures she took of him while under the bridge where he goes weekly for food and a warm meal thanks to the Nashville Bridge Ministry. 

Kristin is one of the many volunteers who have helped to make The Bridge Ministry a success in Nashville, TN. Those who volunteer meet under the Jefferson Street Bridge on Tuesday evenings. 

“We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.” - Mother Teresa

U.S. Air Force Veteran

He had on clothes that appeared to be old and quite soiled. “Could you use some new clothes,” I asked. “Oh yes sir, I sure could, yes sir,” he responded with happiness.

“I was in the Air Force,” he told me. He then started to talk about being stationed in Idaho while in the Air Force, which would have been near the beautiful Sawtooth National Forest. “I loved Idaho,” he told me.

When I met him, he expected and asked for nothing. A warm smile and a handshake is what he gave me before I handed him new clothing that included a freshly pressed button up shirt.

“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” ― Alexander Pope, English Poet, (1688-1744)

Prayer and fear

Her prayers were growing more intense as the seconds passed by. She was outside of a church under the shelter of a bus stop that lacked seats, she was on her knees.

She is homeless and was praying for help or perhaps a different life. 

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” -Meister Eckhart, German Theologian (1260-1328)

Nicaragua and Oppression

Nicaragua sits between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is a land filled with smiling faces mixed with oppression. This photo was shot in a busy market in Nicaragua. 

People

Street Photography

Random street photography

Random street photography... I always enjoy photographing people. Something about it is interesting. I sometimes feel as if I am part of a great big sociology project. You know, like I am on the outside of the world looking in and just watching how people function in society. Yes, I am a bit weird.

Mother of Newborn Dies in Auto Accident

You don’t really realize how delicate life is until someone in your family tragically dies in a single heartbeat. Today, I talked to Rachel Hartman (pictured) who lost her cousin Lorrie Barrett Straughn in a Labor Day accident this week.

37 Year old Lorrie, who got married to Jarred Straughn just three years ago, leaves behind a newborn baby who was born on April 19th of this year. That child will never get to know her mother, which is one of the things that the Barrett and Straughn families are understandably having a hard time with.

This link (below) is to the 7-minute audio interview I did with Rachel, Lorrie’s cousin. At the bottom of the story are details of a GoFundMe account set up to help the family right now with funeral costs, medical bills and more.

http://wgnsradio.com/interview-with-family-of-lorrie-barrett-straughn-who-was-killed-in-a-labor-day-accident-cms-34871

I’m an artist

“I’m an artist,” he told me. I drove Mark to one of his friends’ home to get some shut eye. He said that he lives in the “Monkey Room” of the house.

“How long have you been doing artwork,” I asked him. Mark snickered and said, “Since mom said I was smearing doodoo on the wall!” We both laughed and I asked, “What kind of art do you do?” He smiled and said, “People’s faces, everything – doggies – I draw everything.”

As I drove I was holding a recorder up to his mouth to make sure I got his story correct and he said, “Damn, I’m glad you got me on that speaker thing right there because then you’ll know me - Once you see my artwork in the world you’ll say damn, I took him down the street.” He then started laughing as he asked if I’d stop at a gas station so that he could buy a 12-pack of beer.

During our drive I asked him, “Are you an alcoholic?” His response, “On that part right there, I can drink you under the table and still be straight, drink you right under the table.”

I asked, “What were your mom and dad like growing up?” He said, “I have no clue - Other brother is from one father, sister and brother are from a different father…” Mark continued, “I’ve been passed off to so many people.”

“Artists themselves are not confined, but their output is.” - Robert Smithson, artist (1938-1973)

Josh may need your kidney

At the age of 21 in 2009, Joshua Surovey was diagnosed with having a chronic kidney disease.

During what would normally be a simple biopsy to see what exactly his kidney was doing, things went wrong. He nearly died twice and had to receive 6 blood transfusions. Despite the mishap, the kidney problems were still there.

In 2012, Surovey started dialysis and worked hard to get healthy losing 160 pounds along the way. He was also told that he needed a kidney transplant, news that is often devastating.

Surovey said that the journey has been mentally exhausting. His first thought was, "Why me?" He said, "I was down on myself."

However, those feelings of depression soon changed even though the kidney is still needed today. It was as if after the initial shock, a fire was lit underneath Surovey and he had a new found passion to live. Surovey said, "God brought me through this man, honestly." He went on to state, "I'm looking forward to life, I'm living life!"

Lebanese-American artist Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) once stated, "Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." Some would suggest that Surovey is on track to stand strong in the near future, while others would agree he is already stronger than most.

While he is happy to be alive, 12 hours of dialysis every single night is quite cumbersome. He has to go through about three bags of fluid nightly. Surovey stated, “Every night, there’s no breaks.”

The fluids to undergo dialysis at home are shipped to Surovey. Two bags of fluids are in one box and the box weighs 35 pounds. Keep in mind, he uses three bags nightly. So, if the 28-year old heads out of town for 5 nights, he has to bring with him a little over 260 pounds of fluids to use in the dialysis machine. In other words, Surovey says that travel is “troublesome.”

Right now, Surovey is not married and does not have children, but that is one of his long term goals. “Everything that I’m doing I’m trying to better myself so I can be there for my family in the long run,” Surovey said. In further discussing the idea of starting his own family he said, “I don’t want to be in a situation where my health is going to decline and I can’t provide for them, so I’m trying to get myself to where I can have a good career at the end of this and start a family.”

Surovey confirmed that he is in need of a Type O donor and that the donor will be able to live a normal healthy life after donating.

The National Kidney Foundation reports that many people who need a transplant of a kidney fail to receive one due to a lack of donors. Right now there are over 101,000 Americans in need a kidney, but only 17,000 people receive one each year. Furthermore, 12 people die daily while waiting on a kidney to be donated.

After donating a kidney, the donor can easily live a normal, full life as if the donation never occurred. Reports also indicate that the donor’s medical bills are fully covered by the insurance of the kidney recipient. If something should go wrong for the donor in the future, their name is automatically placed at the top of the kidney donor list.

Once a kidney is located for Surovey, who currently lives in Clarksville, Tennessee, the procedure will be done at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. Vanderbilt has one of the oldest and most experienced kidney transplant programs in the United States, having performed over 4,000 transplants since its inception in 1962. According to the Vanderbilt Division of Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation, “The Division was also the first transplant program in Tennessee to introduce the minimally invasive technique of laparoscopic donor nephrectomy for living donor kidney transplants, and now performs the largest number of living donor kidney transplants in the state.”

If you would like to learn how you can donate or to see if you are a match, CLICK HERE today. You can also call the Vanderbilt Kidney Transplant Center at 615-936-0695.

The 30 Mile Lawn Tractor Ride

Don served his country in Vietnam and in my book, he’s a hero. I couldn’t let this hero drive his new lawn tractor 30-miles alone.

On the way home from work Thursday, I saw Don driving his recently purchased lawnmower down the highway. Knowing he lives another county down (30-minutes away by car), I stopped to offer Don and his new mower a ride.

Don was armed with a can of beef stew and a cup of cold brewski when he helped me load the mower into the back of my truck. We then headed to Bedford County, TN.

Prior to picking Don and his MTD Yard Machine up on Highway 231 South, he told me that he had already been riding it for the last 2-hours, after a brief stop at his favorite bar. His goal was to ride it all the way back to his camper, in the Shelbyville area.

On the trek to Bedford County, he told me about working at MTD Yard Machines in the late 1970’s. Don said, “I worked on the line in Ohio and one day the painter failed to show up… They asked me to move to the paint line and the next thing I know, I was over painting.”

The MTD company began in 1932 and is actually family-owned company. 

New Singer Sewing Machines

According to the Webster Dictionary, a sewing machine is any of various foot-operated or electric machines for sewing or making stitches. 

What the dictionary fails to tell readers is that a simple sewing machine in the right hands can bring homeless women together and allow them to release their anxiety and burdens on creativity. 

Vanessa Newsome had the idea to start a sewing class at Greenhouse Ministries a while back, but she didn’t have enough machines. Vanessa told me, “While some women are sewing, other women are watching – they take turns.” 

After I interviewed her for a WGNS news story I made one phone call to my friend Penny Ray with Singer Sewing Machines. Within about an hour, Penny told me that she has gotten approval to give Greenhouse Ministries 20 brand new Singer Sewing machines. 

Today, I got to deliver those new machines and guess who was the very first person to dig into the first of 20 boxes? Vanessa Newsome, with tears in her eyes.

By the way, Penny at Singer also had a huge box of scissors, fabric and classroom books for Vanessa and the folks at Greenhouse.. 

Vanessa is seeing her dream of a large scale sewing class for homeless women to fellowship and learn creative new skills become more than a class of three machines. It is bigger than she ever imagined, because she had a vision.

The Value of the Human Touch

Love among those who are homeless is just as real as love among everyone else in this fast paced world. While it sounds somewhat ignorant to make such a statement, I think people often look at those standing on the corner and assume they are incapable of forming a loving relationship.

Two things can be said of this photo that involves two homeless individuals embracing one another outside of a local soup kitchen. One, they are in love and two, while they may not fully understand it, their natural human touch keeps them going.

Psychologist in France once researched the positive side effects of the simple, non-sexual human touch. The results were awakening.

The research found that the more humans touched each other, from a pat on the back to shaking a hand, the less violent they were towards one another. The basic touch built trust. The human touch in communities that worked with one another, had more positive economic gains, decreased disease and stronger immune systems.

Daniel Keltner, the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center and professor of psychology at University of California, Berkeley says, "In recent years, a wave of studies has documented some incredible emotional and physical health benefits that come from touch. This research is suggesting that touch is truly fundamental to human communication, bonding, and health." 

God Forbid You Ever Had to Walk a Mile in his Shoes

Homeless, but smiling and always a positive conversation. 

“God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to sing the blues
Then you really might know what it's like” – Everlast, What It’s Like

Life can be full of downs, not ups

Life can be full of twists and turns, ups and downs. Sometimes, it seems as if many of us experience more downs than ups.

Jill told me, “I became a drug addict at 14, a meth addict. I got clean when I was 21.” She then jumped to the subject of her mother and talked about how the two of them were best friends while she was clean and sober. The mood then turned somber, “I moved to the state of Washington and my mom got breast cancer – got really sick and then she died about three and a half years ago. And then my life became (pause)… hard.”

The death of Jill’s mother was terribly painful for her as they had built a great relationship while she was clean and off the street. She talked to me about how she turned to alcohol to cope with the loss of her mother.

She continued to talk about the aftermath, “I became an alcoholic and then I got clean. I went into a clean and sober house – I lived there for two years and then things didn’t work out there - I got kicked out. I ended up with some men who sexually abused me and because I told, they put my life on the line so I came out to Tennessee to start a new life with my brother and his family, unfortunately he passed away about a week ago (8/10/16).”

I read her brothers obituary on Friday (8/19/16). His name was Wade and he died at the young age of 49. The obituary from Woodfin Chapel in Smyrna, TN stated, “He was a devoted family man who never met a stranger. Friendly and outgoing, he was liked by all who knew him.” This is her second brother to pass away at an early age. Not to mention the fact that her sister has breast cancer and she is battling the after math of chemo at this time in Washington State.

For so many it is one tragedy after another as they struggle through this thing called life. Jill is in her early thirties, so life can still turn around for her and be great, but there will be a mountain to climb. 

The next plan for Jill is to find a way to get back to Washington State and enroll in a yearlong program to help her continue to stay sober and clean. The program will also address her adult sexual assault and help with childhood sexual drama as well.

While living in a shelter in Murfreesboro, she has tried her hardest to hold down a job. One of those jobs was in Smyrna, but the costs of taxi money quickly lead to her losing the employment. In other words, she was working for enough money to simply afford transportation to and from work. She was then hired as a painter, but quickly fired when the head painter realized she did not have her own brushes or rollers.

Today, she is out of work and continuing to live in an overcrowded shelter. However, she still has that goal of making it back to Washington State where her sister lives and where a yearlong program awaits her arrival. But, the wait will continue as she is finding it impossible to make money, live and save enough for a single bus or plane ticket.

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths.” - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, a Swiss-American psychiatrist (1926-2004)

The struggle continues.

Hit by a car

51 Year old Kimberly Custer was struck by a motorist on the Murfreesboro square Saturday night. The accident occurred as Custer was walking across the street near Marina’s Restaurant.

Custer, who is deaf, could not hear the oncoming vehicle. Evidently, she did not see the car as it neared her.

The local woman who was described as being homeless, was taken by ambulance to St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro. Her leg was broken in about three places, but no life threatening injuries occurred.

Custer was released from the hospital around 10:30, Saturday night (8/13/16).