59 and Sober on the Streets of Music City

One man, alone from Michigan living in the woods with nine others who were at first strangers and now are friends is battling sobriety.

He is 59 and has been sober for a total of nine months thus far. He said at first, he was shaking all the time, but that has since passed. Now, he is starting to feel what normal is supposed to feel like.

He came to Nashville after growing tired of his family, he told me while outside at a busy intersection. “They drank all the time and always argued,” he said. Alcohol can often lead to heightened arguments that are needless while sober.

“That's all drugs and alcohol do, they cut off your emotions in the end.” - Ringo Starr

Life on the street

Life for a foreign man in a foreign country can be confusing to navigate. Homeless in Tennessee. 

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" - On the Statue of Liberty

Honduras man burned in America

He is originally from Honduras, but several years ago he made the journey to America to live in complete freedom and expectant safety. His plans did not 100% materialize.

The Central American country has been known to hold some of the most violent gangs in the world and many citizens live in fear. Gangs like MS13 and Barrio 18 run free in the country and control much of the larger cities. Drug cartels are often responsible for a large number of deaths in Honduras. The murder rate in Honduras is one of the highest in the world with the city of San Pedro Sula seeing 111 murders per every 100,000 residents yearly.

This man that I photographed came to America to be safer. He decided to make his journey to Nashville, TN where he lives in a wooded campsite today with about ten other friends that he met here.

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However, Nashville has not been any safer for him. Several men of Mexican descent decided to let him know how they feel about him being in their area by dousing him with flammable liquids and then lighting him on fire. He told me in broken English that the Mexicans were racist towards him because he is from Honduras.

While the attack happened a while back, he still wears the hospital bracelet as a reminder to himself that he needs to be careful.

Self Tattoo

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He had a tattoo needle and a bottle of tattoo ink that he used to give himself a tattoo on the inside of his finger. He wrote out the word “Emmanuel” with an ink pen first and then point by point, dot by dot he tattooed it, filling in each letter with needle and ink.

The word Emmanuel simply means, "God With Us." 

As the train rolled by at what looked to be about 60 miles per hour within 8 feet of him, he continued to tattoo never looking up. It was as if the train did not exist and he was in his own element.

As he tattooed himself, I heard a homeless man under the bridge singing at the top of his lungs…

“I want a new drug
One that won't go away
One that won't keep me up all night
One that won't make me sleep all day” – Huey Lewis and the News

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Time for a meal

He quietly sits under a bridge next to a fire made of discarded pallets, fixing a vegetarian meal of cooked broccoli, onions and tomatoes that he will place inside a cooked bell pepper. He will then eat the skillet made dish as a CSX train roars by about 25 feet away.

When asked if he was able to stay warm the previous night that saw temperatures dip into the teens he responded, “I was pretty warm, but my feet were cold all night.”

“All it takes is a second and your whole life can get turned upside down.” 
― Jodi Picoult, Salem Falls

Gabriel the Sax

It was midnight in Nashville and the side roads flowing into the popular downtown area were quiet. Ayo, who lives in his car when not working security, played his saxophone that he named Gabriel in the middle of the road. The tune of “Silent Night” echoed off the walls of closed businesses in a semi industrial area.

Ayo, who is from Alabama, moved to Nashville in search of better paying jobs to support his family. He found a better paying job, but is now chasing the dream of music when he is not getting paid hourly.  

"Music is moonlight in the gloomy night of life." Jean Paul a German Romantic writer (1763-1825)

Struggles on the streets of Nashville

He had tears coming down his face while sitting outside in the bitter cold December wind, not because he was sad, but because his eyes were swollen with an infection.

“Do you have a prescription for your eyes,” I asked. “I do, but I don’t have it with me and I don’t know where it is because I can’t afford to fill it,” he said.

I looked down at his feet and he had one shoe on and a brace around the other foot that was adorned with a red hospital sock. “What happened,” I curiously asked. “I shattered my foot,” he said looking down.

He is from Nashville and has been homeless on and off for the past 7 years.

On most days you will find him at the entrance of a Chinese Buffet restaurant selling newspapers on Murfreesboro Road.

Comedian Richard Pryor (1940-2005) who sometimes had great success, also had massive struggles in life. I would guess that he knew struggles well as he was often teetering between fame and hard times.

Pryor once stated, "I believe the ability to think is blessed. If you can think about a situation, you can deal with it. The big struggle is to keep your head clear enough to think"

Joe Moved to Nashville

Joe moved to Nashville for work with his wife. They once lived in Murray, Kentucky. After the loss of a job and the break-up of his marriage, Joe is homeless.

“People think we make tons of money out here holding a sign, that’s not true – we don’t,” he told me. “I gotta go to the bathroom, but they won’t let me use their bathroom because I’m homeless,” Joe said while pointing at McDonalds.

While he may not be a paying customer of the Nolensville Pike restaurant, customers buy him meals from time to time. When I met him, he had just finished eating a Big Mac that a customer bought for him. He was telling me how good it was. 

U.S. Navy Veteran

He served our country in the United States Navy while stationed on the USS Alamo. The old ship was launched into service in 1956 and has traveled to Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines, just to name a few stops.

After getting out of the Navy, he returned to his hometown of California where he picked up his love for singing. His musical career took him to Las Vegas where he performed with bands on a regular basis.

Following that dream of music, he made the trek from the West to the South landing in the Music City (Nashville). Over the years he has sang at bars and musical venues throughout the country.

While he has traveled the world as a sailor and traveled the U.S. as a singer one thing has been a constant battle... Diabetes. That battle continues with the recent amputation of both his right and left legs.

He is not homeless, but calls a motel room near the heart of Nashville home.

Pouring rain on her birthday

Rain or shine she stands outside on a busy street corner seeking funds to pay for food and sometimes a motel room. But, today her sign is different. Her sign today noted that it is her birthday.

Living in a tent

His home is a tent layered in tarps. Inside, a small battery operated radio so that he can listen to sports broadcasts.

His campsite is in a small wooded area within eyesight of a government building that serves the less fortunate in the community. 

"It's the terror of knowing
What the world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming - Let me out"

-Queen and David Bowie

Should not be on the street

She stands about 5 feet tall and is layered in clothing with her best on the outside. She is one of the many seniors in Nashville, Tennessee who should not have to be on the streets.

Because she is diabetic, she has a hard time walking as her feet and legs are often swollen in pain. Today, I found her sitting alone in the rain at a Metro bus stop.

In the past, I have run into her throughout the city arguing with herself about how people hurt her or steal from her.

“Love, care and treasure the elderly people in the society.” 
― Lailah Gifty Akita, Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind

Moved to Nashville

He is currently living on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee in search of work. 

Sheila will turn 55 on Christmas Eve

My friend Joel Vernon and I handed Ms. Sheila a new sleeping bag in downtown Nashville and her response was nothing less than joyful. She held the bag in front of her and said, “A new sleeping bag for me? I got a new sleeping bag? This is for me?!?!”

She spoke as if she had to really concentrate on the words that came from her mouth. She spoke as if she had a disability from the past that tied her to the streets. However, she spoke with a happiness that can't be put into words. 

After talking more with Sheila, she said that her birthday falls on Christmas Eve and she will turn 55 this year. I asked what she would like for her birthday or for Christmas and she said, “Some money so I can get a new outfit.” She smiled and pointed at her throw, “I got this for $4!” As she pointed, I could hear the sound of bells. Tied around her wrist were Christmas Jingle Bells that she told me she bought at the nearby Dollar General Store.

Perhaps instead of money, someone would like to stop by and give her a new outfit. I am not certain of her size, but I am positive she will tell you.

She sits at the intersection of Dederick Street and 5th Avenue North on the edge of the St. Mary’s Catholic Church parking lot. She said that she plans to be there on Christmas Eve too.

"Seven out of 10 Americans are one paycheck away from being homeless." - Pras Michel, record producer, songwriter and actor

Travel by Train

He was sitting in the Sunday drizzle on a street side bench in Nashville.

He said to me, “My friend hopped trains and he taught me how to do it… One time I rode a train from Florida to California.” He smiled and talked about how the trip was a once in a lifetime experience.

Looking up towards the sky as if he were remembering the later leg of his journey from Los Angeles to Tennessee he said, “When I got to Nashville, I almost hit a phone poll while jumping off - I will never ride again.”

Today he is homeless, but has a new sleeping bag to stay warm thanks to the donations received to purchase bags.

“Nobody has a perfect past, but everyone has a clear future. It is up to us to take control and become pioneers of tomorrow. Its never too late to jump off your train and head down a different track.” – Kemmy Nola, blogger in the United Kingdom

Lonely in the Big City

So many standing before us are filled with loneliness even though they stand on busy streets surrounded by people pretending not to see them...

"Hey you, out there on the road
Always doing what you're told
Can you help me?
Hey you, out there beyond the wall
Breaking bottles in the hall
Can you help me?
Hey you, don't tell me there's no hope at all
Together we stand, divided we fall"

- Pink Floyd, Written by Roger Waters

Pink Hair and Positive Goals

You can never judge a book by its cover or a man with pink hair and horns tattooed to his forehead for that matter, until you learn where he has been and the goals in life he has ahead of him.

Meet Robert who is currently homeless in Tennessee:

“I was born in Springfield, Tennessee,” he told me as we started to talk. Robert has been clean from Heroin and Meth since November 2, 2016.

I asked how expensive of a habit drugs were and he replied, “Meth is about $10 for a tenth of a gram – so $100 a gram - and Heroin, you’re looking at about $25 for a tenth.”

He then talked about the amount of heroin he used, “I spent about $60 to $80 a day on it and that won’t even keep me high all day.” You can shoot both heroin and meth into your veins with a needle or snort the drugs.

I asked if people on the street use dirty needles when shooting heroin or meth and he said, “I’ve seen it happen – them just rinse it out with water or even peroxide… Peroxide is not going to clean any disease out of a needle.”

Regardless of his past, he has big dreams of helping others in front of him… “I eventually want to go back to school,” he told me. “I want to be a social worker to help kids – like do a mobile crisis for children,” Robert explained. Helping children before their problems get too big to handle, is what he wants to do. Robert said that he has attempted suicide at least six times and stated, “I want to help children before they get to where I’ve been.”

He has a few tattoos that he no longer wants. One of those tattoos are the horns on either side of his forehead. “I got those this last year in the Coffee County Jail,” he said with a laugh. Someday, he would like to remove those along with the ink on his right and left fingers that read, “ZOOM ZOOM.” He got the nickname of ZOOM ZOOM from other drug users he called friends. “I got it whenever I was using meth a lot – I plan on getting this covered up one day,” he said with a smile.

A tattoo that he wants to get that will be a constant reminder of the need to stay sober is the date of 11-02-2016. “I’m gonna’ put it on my left wrist because I am left handed and every time I do something I’ll look down and be able to see it. I use to shoot up left handed.”

“How would your life be different if…You stopped making negative judgmental assumptions about people you encounter? Let today be the day…You look for the good in everyone you meet and respect their journey.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

On a side note, I took the photo in front of a police car after he told me he has been in about half of the Murfreesboro Police cars in our city. :)

Anime hits Tennessee

Anime is a style of Japanese film and TV animation that is mainly aimed at adults. It was created in the 1980’s and is short for “Animeshon.” In English, that would be “Animation.”

An Anime convention is in Murfreesboro today and I thought it would be interesting to capture a few shots. This is one of the many characters I saw. Different.

Many of the characters in Japanese animation are quite flamboyant and strange. It is often described as being visually striking, which is one reason it stands out and has so many artistic followers today. 

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A bachelors degree in Women's Studies, but homeless

He has his bachelors degree in Women's Studies. Which sounds odd until you dive into the reason why.

He got his degree in Women's Studies after watching his mother suffer from drug addiction his entire life. His mother was sexually abused, which is likely what led to her addiction. He wanted to focus his life on helping battered, addicted or sexually abused women.

He is currently homeless, but has traveled to 49 of the 50 states. He is in his early twenties, but has yet to fully decide where he wants to start his "Real" life.

Living through cancer without treatment

She was diagnosed with cancer several years ago, but lacked the funds or the stable environment to seek treatment. She told me that she was given a grave diagnosis with about 12 months of life in front of her.

While still homeless, four years later she is alive and able to walk wherever her feet will take her.

"You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have” – Cayla Mills, a cancer survivor who sought treatment