The faces on the streets of Las Vegas... some young, some old, some desperate, some excited.
Love Vegas or hate Vegas... you can see the painful side of it by simply walking out of your hotel.
“I only ever play Vegas one night at a time. It’s a hideous, gaudy place; it may not be the end of the world per se, but you can certainly see it from there.”
Horseshoe Bend... Silence.
“A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.”
Above Photo: Hear the story of Maria Steinhauer and how she is fortunate to have survived a hit and run accident involving the same suspect in a Murfreesboro case where a man allegedly tried the gouge the eyes of a male nurse out: You can read more about the story below.
The 36 year old Memphis, Tennessee man arrested in Murfreesboro after allegedly trying to gouge the eyes of a nurse out at Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital is also facing charges elsewhere.
The suspect is said to have entered the local hospital heading into the trauma unit. The nurse tried to stop him, which is when the scuffle began.
It evidently took multiple staff members to pull Santhanou Xayadeth off of a male nurse at Saint Thomas when he reportedly punched, bit and choked the victim until he was unconscious. Witnesses say that before he was finally pulled off the nurse, he reportedly tried to gouge the nurses eyes out with his thumbs.
While the victim survived the attack, he had to be admitted as a patient to the hospital that he works in after regaining consciousness.
Prior to the situation unfolding in Murfreesboro, the same suspect allegedly caused a roll-over accident on I-65 in Franklin, Tennessee the night prior (1/15/18).
Accident victim Maria Steinhauer talks about the crash that she survived...
When her car came to a rest on the roof, Steinhauer found herself hanging upside down. Several bystanders stopped to help.
The accident caused a small fracture in her lower back and doctors told her she was lucky to be alive.
The vehicle that Xayadeth was allegedly driving when the hit and run accident occurred was later located in Marshall County, Tennessee. The following evening he was arrested at Saint Thomas Rutherford in Murfreesboro after trying to make his way into the trauma unit for unknown reasons.
In Murfreesboro, Xayadeth faces a charge of “Aggravated Assault.” He is scheduled to appear in court on February 27, 2018 at 8 AM.
Franklin Police obtained warrants, charging Xayadeth with Reckless Endangerment, Leaving the Scene of a Crash, Failure to Report a Crash, and Driving on a Suspended License – 2nd Offense. Franklin authorities also report that the suspect is a convicted felon with a violent past.
More Information:
Xayadeth, who is a native of Laos, told police he works at a nail salon on Poplar Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee. The subject also told police that while he last lived In Memphis, TN he is actually homeless.
Silence. Complete silence. Not a passing car nor plane and not even a breeze.
“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.”
In 1999 he was 36 years old, which is when he decided to make a cross country trip from Chicago towards the West Coast. Evidently, he had jobs lined up in the construction trade. But, when he arrived in Las Vegas the jobs had been taken over by others.
The massive blow took an emotional toll. He now works a mix of day labor jobs and collects cans to recycle. He has lived on the streets of Vegas since 1999.
“In Las Vegas, nothing ends very well.”
He is originally from Los Angeles, California, but a number of years ago decided to make the move to Las Vegas because rent is cheaper. After arriving, he was unable to find work as an artist and soon lost his eye right eye.
“How did you lose the vision in your eye,” I asked him. With a breath of cool morning air he said, “I had a microscopic infection in it and before I knew it, I couldn’t see.”
We then talked about his artwork and how it is much harder for him to draw now as opposed to before due to the blindness.
I pointed at his shopping cart, “Is everything you own right there?” He looked towards the ground with a frown, “That’s it… that’s everything.”
The 59 year old wants to get an apartment as soon as possible. Until that day happens, he will live on the streets of Vegas.
"Vegas means comedy, tragedy, happiness and sadness all at the same time." - Artie Lange, American comedian
This photo is the most recent in the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center “Hand Project.” The goal is to show the wicked face of domestic violence without actually showing the face of those who suffered.
This woman, who is 53 today, talked about her ex and the violence and torment he caused in a way that would make one vomit. At one point, he broke her ankle so that she could not run from him. When her left ankle finally healed, he broke her right ankle.
To hear a short clip of her story, listen to the audio below:
“In situations of captivity the perpetrator becomes the most powerful person in the life of the victim, and the psychology of the victim is shaped by the actions and beliefs of the perpetrator.”
Everything looks a little more faded in the winter. The sun appears a little whiter as opposed to yellow or orange. Leaves from trees are almost a shade of gray painted with touches of brown.
Some think only third world countries live in total filth on mounds of trash… but. that would be a mistake to believe such. In fact, most third world countries are far cleaner than this homeless camp located in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Clean up your camp or leave,” the government authorities say without understanding. Who would not give such orders after seeing such a mess? Living in such scattered throw-outs does not make sense. Of course it fails to meet any logical explanation – only because there is not one.
Those with non-imaginable mental illnesses find themselves unable to muster the energy, the know how to search for a place to dump trash, so some live among the debris, the clutter and even the human waste.
"That is what madness is, isn’t it? All the wheels fly off the bus and things don’t make sense any more. Or rather, they do, but it’s not a kind of sense anyone else can understand."
—Audrey Niffenegger, Columbia College, writer
From the outside looking in: It is probably a $350,000 slice of land they live on. Too small for a high rise, but perfect for a small home a townhouse. It is walking distance to the finer dining experiences, baseball and football games.
They live in downtown Nashville, but lack running water, electricity and plumbing. It is a neat and tidy place with a third world setting.
The men who call this their home are kind, gracious towards guest and outgoing.
"The only thing you sometimes have control over is perspective. You don't have control over your situation. But you have a choice about how you view it." -Chris Pine, Hollywood Actor
She said that she moved to Tennessee to oversee the care of her brother who was hit by a car in Nashville, TN. She stayed with him at his apartment up until he was kicked out after a loss of income.
Today, he is in a wheelchair and she remains by her brothers’ side to care for him – both homeless.
“When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching -- they are your family. ” ― Jim Butcher, American author
If sadness were a contagious disease, I would have caught it from Michael Martin.
He was asleep in a downtown Nashville McDonalds when I woke him up to ask if he needed a sleeping bag or tent. He cried as he told me that he has horrible anxiety and that his medication was stolen. He then said that the person he was sharing a campsite with stole all that he had.
Leo F. Buscaglia, a former professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Southern California once stated, “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
I listened as he poured out words he had been holding back. Some of the sentences thrown together by the soon to be 40 year old were that he misses his mother whom he once lived with. Evidently, she sold her home and is now living with a family member.
After handing him a tent and a sleeping bag, Michael shook my hand about three times. He was able to release the words that he thought no one heard.
I have noticed it sometimes rubs people the wrong way when I say that it is not our job to judge the stories we may hear from others. It is not for us to decide their twisted reality for that is how they may have interpreted their past – despite what other family members or friends witnessed. It is not for us to decide if the truth is behind their lies or if their lies lead to their truth.
American novelist Ernest Hemingway said, “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”
If you feel the urge to help someone, all you have to do is listen and not speak a word. Simply listen and it can change a life. If you decide to argue what they tell you – it will get you nowhere.
Bone Chilling Cold: “You have to know how to survive in this weather,” he told me. I asked, “What do you need besides a sleeping bag?” He looked down and then responded, “I recently got out of prison and they took my ID, Social Security Card – things get lost in there – but I need those things.”
It was freezing and it took all I had to stand before him as he spoke while gloveless with my hands on my camera.
The temperature outside was 16 degrees with a wind chill of 3 degrees that afternoon. By nightfall, the temperature had fallen to 12 degrees and expected to hit 7 degrees by morning with a morning wind chill of -1 degree by 6AM in Nashville, TN.
The lowest temperature in recorded history for Nashville occurred on January 21, 1985. It was -17 degrees. Looking back to January 12, 1918, the daily high was at 2 degrees.
“Nothing burns like the cold. But only for a while. Then it gets inside you and starts to fill you up, and after a while you don't have the strength to fight it.” ― George R.R. Martin
I met with David Lane today.
Lane, his wife and four children lost everything they owned in a house fire that occurred on Peachtree Street in Murfreesboro, TN on November 30, 2017.
Lane told me that the home was the only house his children have ever known, which made the fire so much harder. The home held their memories inside the walls along with photographs, clothing and more.
To make matters harder on the family, they did not have renters insurance to cover their losses. However, thanks to a teacher at Mitchell Neilson School who teaches one the Lane children, word that the family of six needed help fast.
Mr. Lane said that the community came together and helped them in a major way. In fact, he said that despite the loss this past Christmas was the best Christmas the family has ever had.
“I will be stronger than my sadness.” ― Jasmine Warga, My Heart and Other Black Holes
Imagine traveling the country in a bus that has a Volkswagen van for a topper… Imagine traveling the country with the idea of bringing art to everyone… That is what one family of four is doing.
Heather Platen told me that her family has been all over the country on the bus. Keep in mind, this is not your average bus. The lower half is a 1953 Chevrolet bus purchased in South Dakota. The 1969 VW van was purchased and added to the top in New Mexico. They have also been to places like Vermont, Baltimore and New York City, just to name a few stops.
I ran into the family of four when they decided to make a pit stop in the small community of Beechgrove, Tennessee. On board is Heather, her husband LeRoy Herr and their daughters ages one and five. Together, they take their artwork into communities far and wide.
The bus is self-sustainable and Heather commented that they went off the grid to be in total control of their life. “We were able to provide everything that we needed and more by reducing our need for income,” Heather told me. She went on to state, “By living a more simple life we were able to access that ‘extra’ that we wanted to provide for our kids.”
LeRoy said that he likes for the bus to be a conversation starter that leads to important topics like self-sustainability, monetary slavery and more. Meanwhile, Heather talks being creative with art. More photos below.
Listen to the complete interview below...
No Sidelines: If I were to put his speech into written word, it would illegible.
Perhaps it was a stroke that led to his way of communicating, but the cause is not important. However, it is important that he has not given up... ever.
What is motivational about this man is that he refuses to sit on the sidelines for the remainder of his life. He pushes a shopping cart, struggling to walk up hills while collecting cans to sell as scrap metal.
"You know I'm back like I never left
Another sprint, another step
Another day, another breath
Been chasing dreams,
but I never slept
I'm feeling glorious"
- Glorious by Macklemore
Be yourself, regardless of who others believe you should be.
Perhaps you're a dreamer? So dream.
Maybe you are a doer? Go and do.
Are you a fixer? Start fixing.
Be yourself.
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." —Dr. Seuss
I took this photo in 2014 and it remains one of my favorites.
The look in his eyes is of a faraway place that I cannot relate. His appearance is scattered as are his thoughts.
He stood outside of a downtown Nashville skyscraper at midnight and he told me that we were standing in a desert.
His sandy blonde hair floated in the breeze as he went on to tell me about his spaceship and then pointed to the window of a nearby business. Inside was a computer that had a screen saver of a commercial jet on it. He said that was his spaceship.
“This is a man in need. His fear is naked and obvious, but he's lost. . . Somewhere in his darkness. His eyes wide and bleak and tortured.” ― E.L. James
While mom is not always there… when she is you know it. Her sons see past her homeless appearance and go straight to her heart. Thank you to those who helped make this happen, this mother and her two boys are together at Christmas.
She joked with them on the food that was donated, “What are you guys going to eat over the next five days – this is all mine.” The kids would laugh, “Nu-uhh mom – those are my Christmas Cakes (Little Debbie Christmas Trees).” The mom would then start laughing with a smile that could light the moon followed by the boys laughter.
Again, thank you to everyone who helped to put this homeless mother in a local hotel to be with her two boys. A huge thank you to Mrs. Carol Cooper Schroer's class at Siegel Elementary and Andrea Hyde Nelson and her small group for all the gifts, food and gift cards. Needless to say, this mom pictured and her boys are set for the next week for sure!
The kids, ages 10 and 11, are some of the smartest, funniest, playful boys I have ever met. They are polite and outgoing. They live in The Good Shepard’s Home, which is a great place.
"A simplified Christmas isn't about circumstances as much as it is about focus." - Ann Voskamp, author of the New York Times Bestseller, One Thousand Gifts: "A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are"
He was born blind in his left eye, he suffered a major car wreck while a teenager, his mother and father left him when he was a kid and he was addicted to cocaine… but is now clean and working to change the course of his life.
David Potter was born in Murfreesboro, TN and grew up in neighboring Woodbury. He spent his younger days chasing cocaine, but has been clean for 10 years now. However, a sketchy past with felonies on his record keep him from obtaining a decent job to support both he and his girlfriend. Together, the two live together in the woods.
Potter suggested that a lack of both a mother and a father growing up likely helped to contribute to his problems. The 42 year old said that he was raised by his grandmother who did the best that she could.
Below is a short 4 min interview with Potter that was recorded in his camp.
“The greatest minds are like film, they take the negatives and develop themselves in darkness...” ― Brandi L. Bates, Remains To Be Seen
JoAnne Skidmore lives in Murfreesboro, Tennessee but that could have changed when she was only 9 years old.
Skidmore, who was born in Bangkok, ran the risk of being flown to Saudi Arabia at age 9 for a pre-arranged marriage. Of course, that would have changed the entire trajectory of her life.
In the interview below, Skidmore talks about the idea of a pre-arranged marriage as a form of human trafficking. She suggested that her step father in Florida would have likely benefited financially had the marriage occurred.
Below is a 13 min interview with Skidmore:
