372WN - West Nashville's Magazine: Vol III, Issue 2

Charlotte Avenue Icon Embraces

PRESERVATION ECONOMY page 6

Put a Little

LOVE in

Your Heart page 21

LIKE THIS COVER?

Win the original! page 12

February–March 2019 VOL. III, ISSUE 2

You’re invited to Nashville’s newest

Mardi Gras MARCH 2nd at

ONE HISTORIC EVENT SPACE benefitting

1 Cannery Row

ST. LUKE’S COMMUNITY HOUSE TICKETS ON SALE NOW visit www.stlch.org/MardiGras

Editor and Publisher MIRIAM DRENNAN

Creative Consultant EVELYN MARIE PARRISH

Historian YVONNE EAVES

Managing Editor JENNIFER GOODE STEVENS

Senior Contributor NAOMI GOLDSTONE

Contributors PENNY ANDERSON

CARLY BROWNING

CLARE FERNANDEZ

HANNAH HERNER

LESLIE HERMSDORFER

BRIGID MURPHY STEWART

EMILY TULLOH

ELLIOTT WENZLER

Art Direction and Design ELLEN PARKER BIBB

Photographers JEANNINE MANES JEFF WILSON

Promotions & Events SHERYL SPENCER ALAN WADDELL

Distribution DON GAYLORD

COVER

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler

by Jessica King-Bernard

Advertising Inquiries: 615.491.8909 or 372WestNashville@gmail.com. @372WN

@372Wn

@372wn

372WN is a print and digital magazine published every other month by Next Chapter Publishing, LLC. All content presented herein, unless otherwise noted, is the exclusive property of Next Chapter Publishing and cannot be used, reprinted, or posted without permission. 372WN is free for readers; excessive removal of the product or tampering with any of our distribution racks will be considered theft and/or vandalism and subject to prosecution.

CONTENTS VOL. III, ISSUE 2 | February–March 2019

MAIN FEATURE 6

Charlotte Avenue Icon Embraces Preservation Economy

CURRENT HAPPENINGS 12

Join the Krewe! St. Luke’s Introduces New Fundraiser

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SPECIAL SECTION: PUT A LITTLE LOVE IN YOUR HEART

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Singles’ Empowerment Day

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A Season, a Time and a Bride at 64

FEATURES 14 38

44 52

Jerry Douglas: Preservationist and Pioneer Nashville’s Southern Roots Run Deep: The Vanderbilt Agrarians New Adventure Park at JCC Connecting the Health Care Dots in West Nashville

IN EVERY ISSUE 20 58 60

372W . . . ?

372WestNosh 372Who kNew?

CORRECTIONS: In our December-January issue: We neglected to credit Connie Chornuk for the gorgeous photos in 372WestNosh, which featured Miel restaurant.

Intravenous Solutions owner Alan Davenport works with three surgery centers and office sites, he does not own them (as previously stated in the article).

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372WN.com | February–March 2019

WINTER SKIN ESSENTIALS Soothe dry, chapped skin with our best-selling lotions, butters, and balms made with healing ingredients and handcrafted by women survivors.

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@thistlefarms

Charlotte Avenue Icon

EMBRACES Preservation Economy Amid the construction of high-rise apartments and the demolition of many iconic buildings all over town, West Nashvillian Tamay Ozari is bringing a unique experience to Charlotte Avenue with L&L Marketplace— an indoor mall offering a variety of restaurants, shops and activities designed to attract individuals and families.

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rendering courtesy of Southeast Venture, used with permission.

by Clare FERNANDEZ

February–March 2019 | 372WN.com

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he marketplace is scheduled to open this spring in the longtime L&L Restaurant Equipment Co. building located at 3814 Charlotte Avenue, and Ozari has taken great care to preserve the building’s foundation and vintage charm.

“Every day is a new challenge,” Tamay said. “If it was easy, anyone would do it. Am I crazy? I might be crazy.”

Tamay hopes his “crazy” leap will result in the realization of a vision and a dream, one that keeps alive not just a building’s history, but also a piece of what makes Nashville special—what made Nashville special before it was an “It City.”

When Tamay purchased the building in 1996 to house his restaurant equipment supply business, the area looked very different than it does today: a lot of pigeons everywhere, but not much sign of human life.

Tamay had operated his business in downtown Nashville for 10 years before moving to Charlotte

Building a Dream

L&L Through the Years Built in 1929, the historic building operated as a manufacturer of ladies’ hosiery. Multiple factories came and went, and then the location sat empty for many years.

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Avenue. He’d bought it from husband and wife Louie and Louise, who’d started it in the 1960s. He liked the sound of L&L, and it stuck. In the mid-1990s, downtown Nashville was seeing a resurgence.

Downtown was getting progressively busier, and his customers had to pay to park. Those factors motivated him to move to Charlotte Avenue. Now, after 23 years there, he’s embarking on a new journey with his establishment.

photo credit: Jeff Wilson

Tamay originally moved to Nashville from Turkey to attend Belmont College. He has lived on the west side for 39 years and has considered this city his home sweet home since he arrived. While his restaurant supply business was a successful one, the industry became increasingly competitive, and many consumers turned to the internet for restaurant supply purchases.

Tamay Ozari, L&L Marketplace 372WN.com | February–March 2019

So he closed the business. He originally had planned to sell the building, but he learned that the interested buyers wanted to tear it down to put up more highrise apartments.

He had always harbored a dream to revamp the L&L space into an indoor marketplace, “a space for everyone.” And he decided to take a risk and make his dream come true. Since early 2017 this new endeavor has been his sole focus.

The marketplace will house at least two restaurants, a coffee shop, an event space, a food hall, and a hallway lined with stores for visitors to browse.

“I wanted to have quality and reasonable fashion and clothing, healthy eating, and reasonable prices,” Tamay said. He wanted a space that will be safe for children and families to hang around and spend the day.

photo credit: Kathy Thomas

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Committed to serving your family’s dental needs. ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS! February–March 2019 | 372WN.com

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rendering courtesy of Southeast Venture, used with permission.

At press time, L&L Marketplace has secured the following tenants:

photo credit: Kathy Thomas

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• Five Daughters Bakery (Hundred Layer Doughnuts on the West Side?

Yes, please.)

• Treehouse Macarons, a Southern Micropâtisserie • Il Forno Woodfired Pizza • Savory Spice, a small-batch specialty spice and seasonings retailer • CycleBar indoor cycling • Imago Dei women's apparel • Penne Pazze authentic Italian restaurant • Dr. Motley, a integrated clinical kinesiology practice • Lamar Advertising • Third Coast Clay • Daphne unique home goods • Masaya & Co. artisan goods • Happily Grey clothing and lifestyle • Living with Landyn home and lifestyle • Made in Tennessee locally made gifts • Land of the Living home decor

Vintage Charm, Modern Attractions

even an event space that will be available for everything from corporate meetings to evening weddings.

Above all else, this undertaking is about community for Tamay.

“I love this building,” he said. “It’s been here a hundred years, and I hope another hundred years of people will enjoy it.

“We want to create Southern hospitality in whatever we do.

With love.”

Visit landlmarketplace.com for information about the grand opening, confirmed tenants and to inquire about leasing opportunities.

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But first, he had to get plans ready and permits in place, which took longer than expected, and he is A West Nashville native, Clare Fernandez working to fill the space with a is an entrepreneur, arts advocate, writer, acvariety of local vendors. tress, and woman of many laughs. She has varied experience in nonprofit management The building is essentially a wareand community engagement. Clare enjoys house, and the end result will be reading, traveling, hiking, game nights, a big transformation from that origicooking, theatre, and all the coffee. She is a founder of Nashville Sudbury School. nal use. Costly updates to the roof, sewer and water systems, and electrical wiring were required to get the building up to code. The space is vast, FROM COLONIAL TO ANTEBELLUM, with floor-to-ceiling windows

VICTORIAN TO MID-CENTURY that provide streaming natural light and unobstructed views of the city.

“The way I designed it, FROM INDIAN TREATIES TO I didn’t want to take the COLONIAL CAPITAL, integrity out of the building,” FIRST BLACK REV WAR HERO TO Tamay said.

WASHINGTON-WILKES CONFEDERATE GOLD The floors, columns, ceilHISTORICAL MUSEUM ings and exterior windows are all original. Hanging in FROM TIFFANY WINDOWS TO the bathrooms will be frames "GIVE ME A MILLION REASONS" salvaged from the building’s GEORGIA interior windows with mirrors SPECIALTY SHOPS, MUSEUMS FROM THE 1770'S TO TODAY, DISCOVER set in each pane. During the EVERY STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE, A PAGE IN AND CULINARY TREATS renovation, a newspaper from EVERY CHAPTER OF AMERICA'S HISTORY, 1929 was found in the walls, AND CULTURAL INFLUENCES and it will be displayed to give ALL PRESERVED FOR YOU TO DISCOVER IN visitors a glimpse into the past of both the building and the city. Tamay even plans to hang the original, outdoor L&L sign in the space.

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AMERICAN HISTORY: CULTURE:

Washington

DOWNTOWN WASHINGTON

Engaging the Community Tamay hopes L&L Marketplace will be a destination for tourists and for the burgeoning population of locals.

He’s working to maximize the space’s engaging possibilities—a wine bar, several restaurants and food stands, coffee, home goods, boutique clothing and locally made food, décor and gifts. Plus yoga classes, pottery painting and dance classes for kids.

There is space suitable for art and fashion shows, and there’s

OPEN LATE FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE Every Friday our shops stay open until 7:00.

WashingtonWilkes.org or on Facebook at HistoricWashingtonWilkes

REVOLUTIONARY DAYS FEBRUARY 9TH

Title

WASHINGTONWILKES.ORG >EVENTS

Place text here

240TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VICTORY AT THE BATTLE OF KETTLE CREEK

ROBERT TOOMBS HOUSE MUSEUM

February–March 2019 | 372WN.com

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JOIN THE

St. Luke’s Introduces New Fundraiser

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by Penny ANDERSON and Carly BROWNING

ong-rooted in West Nashville with an exclusively 37209 clientele, St. Luke’s Community House expanded the majority of their geographic service barriers as recently as 2017. Almost all services are now open to any resident of Davidson County, giving St. Luke’s the opportunity to seek relationships outside of their traditional base. With their new special event, St. Luke’s decided to put the fun in fundraising.

The 105-year-old organization unveils Krewe du Luke, Nashville’s newest Mardi Gras party, on March 2nd, the last Saturday before Fat Tuesday. Replacing their traditional Bishop’s Barbeque, St. Luke’s Community House has rented out the ONE Historic Event Space at the Cannery to bring together over 300 people who want to party with a purpose.

The event is a clear distinction in how St. Luke’s makes friends and raises the money needed to deliver their mission. Mixing a little kitsch with a lot of perks, the Krewe du Luke will give attendees the chance to indulge in all the things Mardi Gras does so well: food, drinks, live music, dancing, masks, beads and the chance to blow off steam before Lent begins.

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Lent kicks off 40 days of solemnity, often encouraging people to give up indulgences or take on kindnesses. Mardi Gras is the last hurrah— and for many, the last drink—before the Lenten season begins. The idea of a St. Luke’s Mardi Gras, in many ways, just seems natural.

KREWE DU LUKE

The indulgences for the evening includes New Orleans standards like gumbo, etouffee, and red beans and rice, all courtesy of Flavor Catering. The dessert will be the traditional King Cakes with babies inside, shipped in directly

from Gambino’s in New Orleans.

Pennington’s Distillery is sponsoring the open bar, including their famous Pickers vodkas, Pennington’s rye whiskeys, Whisper Creek® creams, and a signature frozen cocktail to get the party started.

Interested in winning Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler, the painting featured on the cover of this issue of 372WN? It will be available to bid on at the event. Ticket prices start at $125 per person with Friend and Patron ticket levels at $175 and $250 respectively. For more details about ticket levels, perks, and to purchase tickets, visit www.stlch.org/mardigras. Space is limited, so it’s advisable to purchase early!

Founded in 1913 by a group of Episcopalian women and remained an affiliate of the Diocese for several decades, St. Luke’s is now independent, nonsectarian and remains a favorite among local churches and parishioners alike.

Some things, however, remain the same: It’s an agency with deep West Nashville ties, a strong Episcopal base and a commitment to helping children, seniors and families thrive. Join the Krewe du Luke and see what 105 years of hard work is all about!

ABOUT THE ARTIST Jessica King-Bernard is an abstract artist who currently lives in New Orleans. Born in Atlanta, she considers herself lucky to have lived in what she calls “the gems of the South”: Charleston, South Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and now, New Orleans.

From 2005 until 2008, Jessica, and her husband, Mike, lived on Park Avenue in the West Nashville neighborhood, Sylvan Park. She immediately fell in love with the city and refers to her time here as “a time of great adventure.” Running the trails of Percy Warner Park and the opportunity to spend time with friends and family keep Jessica and Mike visiting Nashville as often as possible.

As an artist, Jessica’s mediums of choice include acrylic paints, stabilo woodys, glitter, graphite and colored pencils. She paints on paper and canvas, describing her process as “an energetic exercise in following my intuition, with the intention to create a well-balanced and harmonious piece that conveys the emotion and energy present while creating it.”

Jessica’s work can be viewed on Instagram @jessicakingbernardart where she sells directly to her clients. She is represented by Ariodante Gallery in New Orleans, as well as Abode: an interior design boutique located in Metairie, Louisiana.

She welcomes commission inquires and is pleased to donate her work for the benefit of St. Luke’s Community House 2019 Mardi Gras Fundraiser.

February–March 2019 | 372WN.com

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J E R RY

DOUGLAS Preservationist & Pioneer

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The Dobro master discusses his mission to bring back bluegrass in its purest form and stepping out of his comfort zone to create music that transcends genres.

by Emily TULLOH photos by Patrick Sheehan

February–March 2019 | 372WN.com

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t’s a very timely thing that we’re doing right now,” says Jerry Douglas, who is calling from The Churchill room in The Mansion on O Street.

Douglas has just gotten off his bus, which has delivered him and his tour mates Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne, Brandi Carlile and Steve Earle to their unconventional lodgings in Washington, D.C. This is their second stop on the Lantern Tour, a series of concerts to support and advocate for migrant fami-

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lies seeking safety at the US border.

“This is all for the Women’s Refugee Commission, for the immigrants on the border—all of the money goes to them for lawyers and everything they need,” Douglas says.

Jerry Douglas is a West Nashvillian and the preeminent Dobro master, known around the world for his skill and innovation on the resonator guitar. While his roots are in bluegrass, he has stepped well outside that genre, imprinting nearly every kind of music with his

visionary touch. As the recipient of 14 Grammys, three CMA Musician of the Year awards and countless other recognitions, Douglas has proven himself a peerless Dobro pioneer whose singular sound has been sought out by artists like Ray Charles, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello and Garth Brooks. He’s been a member of Alison Krauss & Union Station since 1998, and he is

a musical co-director of the BBC’s Transatlantic Sessions.

His love affair with the Dobro began when he was growing up in Ohio, listening to the music of Flatt & Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys. The sound of the Dobro being played by Josh Graves, a trailblazer in his own right, captivated him. “It was a bluegrass instrument or used

in country music. That’s what I wanted it to be, and that’s how I learned to play—listening to that kind of music and using it for that purpose,” Douglas says. But he has proven throughout his career that its dynamic fluidity has no limits.

“It just depends on the influences of whoever is playing the Dobro as to what kind of music comes out of it,” he says. It “lends itself

to backing vocals,” he adds, which Douglas does with finesse and sensitivity with artists such as Alison Krauss. But when he plays alone, he creates a sound that is equally expressive in the absence of vocals. Whether he’s playing bluegrass or lending his singular sound to another genre, Douglas says, “I adapt to the situation and let the guitar be my conduit.”

“It just depends on the influences of whoever is playing the Dobro as to what kind of music comes out of it,” February–March 2019 | 372WN.com

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Douglas is passionate about preserving the bluegrass music he heard as a boy. He founded his band, The Earls of Leicester for the sole purpose of paying tribute to and honoring the legacy of Flatt & Scruggs. “The Flatt & Scruggs direction is just something I always wanted to do. It’s the first music that I learned, I love it so much and I just saw it disappearing—even on the bluegrass scene,” Douglas says. The Earls of Leicester create a hauntingly similar likeness to the Foggy Mountain Boys, who made their debut in 1948, with crisp white button-up shirts, black suits, Kentucky Colonel bow ties and sand-colored Western hats.

“People do Flatt & Scruggs songs, but they don’t stay true to the orchestration and the choreography. We use special microphones that pick up sounds and work from a distance,” he says. “It’s not a flat, in-your-face kind of a sound. It’s very three-dimensional.

You hear things behind other things, you hear things moving from left to right and backwards to forwards. We try to keep that because that’s the way they worked, with less microphones. We try to stay true to form.”

Even a virtuoso like Douglas admits that “the Flatt & Scruggs stuff is really hard to play.

It’s very physical; it’s not easy to do what they did. They were pushing the envelope when they were playing.” Douglas’ music is startlingly identical to that of his predecessors while simultaneously feeling fresh, bright and artfully nuanced. The band’s impressive lineup includes Douglas, Shawn Camp, Barry Bales, Johnny Warren, Charlie Cushman and Jeff White.

While The Earls of Leicester are committed to preserving bluegrass in its purest form, his band The Jerry Douglas Band stands in direct contrast and showcases Doug-

las as a musical pioneer. “With The Jerry Douglas Band, it’s just stretching those boundaries as far as they can be stretched,” Douglas says of the band’s innovative musical stylings. He founded the band as an exploration, an opportunity to answer his own question: “I’ve been thinking about having a horn section, I’ve been writing [music] that way for a long time, but didn’t really use horns, so I thought ‘well, what if I just went for it, what if I stepped into that territory?’” On their debut album, aptly titled What If, he pushes his own previously set limits with songs that are marked by improvisation, genre mixing and unprecedented instrumental mastery.

“Anything I do is going to have some root in bluegrass and acoustic music, but we’re really an electric band. There is a huge jazz influence on the music that I write for that band,” Douglas says.

The instrumental title track begins with the familiar sound of a lonely Dobro and then the not-so-familiar sound of horns chasing after it. It escalates into a rich ensemble as the instruments follow each other into the song, each one taking a turn rising above the rest. The result is rich, layered and emotional—the instruments sing to one another. “What If” is preceded by an up-tempo, bluegrass-infused cover of “Hey Joe,” confirming Douglas’ assertion that when you come to see them, “you’re going to hear a little bit of everything.”

The unique sound they achieve is a reflection of the band members’ diverse musical backgrounds.

“Jamel Mitchell, the saxophone player — his father wrote all of the horn charts for Al Green and all of the big R&B records. And my drummer [Doug Belote] is from New Orleans and has a Cajun and jazz background,” Douglas says. The result is a vibrant, seamless blend of jazz, bluegrass, blues, swing, rock and soul elements. “Everybody in the band went to school for music except me. Through playing on the road from around 16 years old . . . and listening to different kinds

“I adapt to the situation and let the guitar be my conduit.”

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being the creative voice behind some of Nashville’s favorite businesses and brands. She has lived in Hillwood since 2010.

LIVE MUSIC sun 9PM MON 8PM TUE 8PM WED 8PM WED 8PM THU 7:30pm THU 8PM FRI 9PM SAT 5PM

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and music is our common bond,” Douglas says. “It’s more than a musical life, it’s a pretty well-rounded and informative life.”

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ing what I can do,” he says.

Douglas’ path as a musician has been winding and devoid of boundaries; it’s one that he has pioneered with passion and an open mind.

“Music is a language that brings a lot of different people together with a lot of different outlooks on life,

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of music ...music has just been my life. So, I got my education that way,” he says. “But we’re all in the same ballpark when we start playing.”

While much of his life is lived on the road, Douglas has firm roots in Nashville. “Nashville is home to me, especially West Nashville. I feel a real bond with that side of town,” he says. He’s made his home here for nearly 32 years, raised four children here and saw them through school. Now they live close by with their children.

His connection to West Nashville runs deep, and he has no plans to leave. He loves to support locally owned family businesses from longstanding establishments on the Charlotte corridor like Las Palmas to the trendy new spots in The Nations. “Coco’s Italian—I love. And all of the new stuff in The Nations like Nicky’s and Tap Room,” he says. “And who doesn’t like Sperry’s, you know?”

Musically, Douglas isn’t short on plans or inspiration. “I’m gonna make a record soon that is sort of a duets record, but I want to write with people like Roseanne Cash and Jason Isbell. And Brandi Carlile is a person I’d like to write with.

And a whole bunch of different people,” he says. “I also want to get the Celtic side of it involved.”

One thing is clear—Jerry Douglas’ career is more dynamic than ever, and he has no plans to slow down: “I can’t do everything I want to do just because there aren’t enough hours in the day.”

This season alone he completed an exhaustive tour of the U.S. before heading to Italy for nine stops, and then back to the US for nearly two dozen more concerts.

“I’m heading into Celtic season.

Every year, toward the end of January, I go over to Scotland to this huge Celtic festival,” he adds. And from there, he embarks on a music cruise to Jamaica. “I’m open to it all of it. Time is the only thing dictat-

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372W. . . ?

Matt Fung-A-Fat and Nate Underwood Where is West Nashville?

West Nashville is anywhere west of downtown all the way down to Buffalo Wild Wings near I-40. –MATT West Nashville is Charlotte Pike and all the surrounding neighborhoods—Sylvan Heights, The Nations, Sylvan Park, White Bridge, Robertson, Charlotte Park, Hillwood, etc.—all the way down to Nashville West.

–NATE

What is West Nashville?

West Nashville is a community that’s focused on supporting itself. I think the people are very committed to one another and the neighborhoods that make up West Nashville.

–MATT

I love Nashville, and two things that make it distinct are the tourists and its neighborly vibe. It’s often described as a ‘big city, but a small town’; I think that’s because of the smaller communities that make up the city, and West Nashville has that community feeling. There’s a lot of potential here—the people, the development, the community, all of it.

–NATE

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Matt Fung-A-Fat and Nate Underwood, two of four managing partners at Harding House Brewing Company, located at 904 51st Avenue (The Phoenix Building).

WHERE is West Nashville?

WHAT is West Nashville?

Let us know at 372WestNashville@gmail.com and you might see yourself here in our next issue!

Love

Putina little Your Heart Each February, we set aside a section just for love and this year, quite frankly, we almost didn’t. Pain and loss in some form or other can really do a number on the heart. Lights seemed dimmer and the world seemed colder. We got older and grouchier, and we just didn’t think we had it in us to do this special section again. Each day brought new disappointments, it seemed, for ourselves, our families and friends, our communities, our world. Seemed a bit phony devote so many pages to something we weren’t feeling . . . would anyone notice if we skipped it this year?

That’s when we realized that everyone needs the reminder that love is still out there and arrives in many different forms; even if we kept the section short and sweet, it’s still a good message to put out there into our community, time and again.

The next two features are decidedly different, yet each demonstrates how cynicism and bitterness cannot exist where love resides. If you’re feeling slumpy and grumpy about love, take a moment to read two beautiful takes on it. Let these stories inspire, encourage and yield a hope that each of us can share as we love on others.

February–March 2019 | 372WN.com

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S ingles'

EMPOWERMENT

Day:

by

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Hannah HERNER

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Fun Ways to Fly Solo on Valentine’s Day

IT’S ALMOST VALENTINE’S DAY, AND YOU’RE SINGLE. You realize you’re not going to find someone to date by February 14, and you’re getting that lame, disappointed feeling. That feeling stems from nowhere important. It’s just a bonkers social construct that people are supposed to couple up—and stay that way—starting when they’ve not even hit puberty and ending when they die.

Do you deserve to have a significant other who loves you and shows you

that they do, specifically on Valentine’s Day? Yes, you do! But if you don’t have someone this particular year, don’t feel sorry for yourself. You have plenty of other worthwhile things to put your energy into.

Being OK with being single is like a muscle you have to strengthen, and Valentine’s Day is like a marathon.

It’s difficult, but you’re going to come out of it feeling accomplished and stronger. Heck, you don’t have to wait for Valentine’s Day. Start training now!

February–March 2019 | 372WN.com

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Volunteer your time.

There are people within a 10-mile radius of where you sit who need something more than you need a romantic dinner date. St. John’s United Methodist Church on Charlotte Avenue feeds the hungry every Thursday, and there are a number of other volunteer opportunities on HandsOnNashville.com.

Give to people who don’t get to be with the ones they love on Valentine’s Day. Write thank-you notes and put together care packages for your local emergency room doctors, police officers and firefighters. They have to work no matter the occasion. And don’t forget about your local florists, jewelry store owners and chocolatiers! This is one of the craziest days of the year for them!

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Make a playlist of single-person anthems.

Listen to them, loudly.

Here are five to get you started: “Ridin’ Solo” by Jason Derulo “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye (feat. Kimbra) “Stronger” by Britney Spears “Love Kills” by Robyn “Single Ladies” by Beyonce

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Watch a documentary.

Documentaries are great way to learn something new, and they are rarely going to include a love interest. They can have the added bonus of getting you riled up over actual social injustices, rather than just being bummed over being single.

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Deliver flowers.

Last year, I worked as a delivery driver at Bellevue Florist. I stayed so busy all day that I didn’t even have time to mope. Valentine’s Day is like the Super Bowl for florists, and it’s fun to be part of the excitement. If you don’t work a typical 9 to 5, see if your local florist could use an extra hand that day.

Predators game The Predators are scheduled to take on the Montreal Canadiens at home on February 14. Go get in the competitive spirit. Bonus: no chance of being on that terribly embarrassing kiss

Exercise Exercise releases endorphins, endorphins make you happy, and happy people don’t let the fact that they’re single on Valentine’s Day get them down. The Sevier Park Community Center has a dance fitness class every Thursday night at 7 p.m.

February–March 2019 | 372WN.com

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Call people you love .

Just because you might be without the romantic kind of love on this Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean you’re without love. Call your parents, your grandparents, your friends who live in other places— and remind them that you love them!

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See a comedy show.

Laughing releases endorphins, too!

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Learn something new.

Learning a new skill boosts confidence, and it’s important to be able to build confidence without relying on the attention of a love interest. Nashville Community Education, located at Cohn School, hosts a number of community education classes— art classes, language classes, cooking classes and beyond.

Check nashvillece.com for listings.

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Journal about it.

You’re probably not going to be single forever.

Capture how you’re feeling! What are the pros and cons of being single? Write to your past self, telling them how to deal with what’s to come.

Write to your future self, describing what you hope to have in a relationship one day.

Karaoke Perform a song that makes you feel powerful, and let people applaud you. Here are some suggestions:

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“That Don’t Impress Me Much” - Shania Twain “No Scrubs” - TLC “Love is a Battlefield” - Pat Benatar “Wannabe” - Spice Girls “Here I Go Again” - Whitesnake

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Think of the things that you would want your significant other to buy for you, and just buy them for yourself! You save money by being a single person—put it to good use.

Make a date with your other single friends.

Make a dinner reservation, dress up, share some champagne and dessert. You don’t have to wait for a romantic occasion to do these things. Even if your closest friends are all cuffed, this is an opportunity to bond with someone new! We singles need to stick together.

Valentine’s Day is what you make it. This year, show love to yourself, your friends, your family and even some deserving strangers.

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Hannah Herner is a freelance journalist, resident of Bellevue and recent graduate of The Ohio State University.

She is also an alternative music fan, tap dancer and a Jeni’s ice cream enthusiast.

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by Yvonne

EAVES

photos courtesy of Metro Archives

February–March 2019 | 372WN.com

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A Season, aTime, and a Bride at 64 by

Naomi GOLDSTONE

photos provided by Virgie and Joel Wright.

TO EVERY THING THERE IS A SEASON, AND A TIME TO EVERY PURPOSE UNDER THE HEAVEN . . .

A TIME TO PLANT, AND A TIME TO PLUCK UP THAT WHICH IS PLANTED . . .

HE HATH MADE EVERY THING BEAUTIFUL IN HIS TIME. –FROM ECCLESIASTES 3

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“I just figured I’d be an old maid.”

That’s what Virgie Tomes Wright said to Joel Wright, the man who would become her husband, when he asked her why she had never gotten married.

Born at General Hospital in 1942, Virgie has always lived in West Nashville. She first attended Richland Elementary on Charlotte Avenue, and when she was in the third grade, her father bought a house at 4805 Michigan Avenue. in The Nations. Virgie then went to Cockrill Elementary and Cohn High School, where she graduated in May 1961. After high school, Virgie worked for the State of Tennessee for 34 years as a county technician, eventually retiring from the Department of Finance and Administration. Not one to just rest, Virgie went to work for the Churches of Christ Disaster Relief for 12 years.

“When Virgie visited her grandmother, there was one boy [Joel], in particular, she mentioned who would visit,” recalls Judy Redmond, Virgie’s best friend since the seventh grade. “As she got older, during the teenage years, Joel wanted to ask her for a date, but he was afraid of her father. Back in those days, Virgie’s father was like my father—very, very strict.”

Joel Wright grew up off of Hillsboro Road, and he was good friends with Virgie’s cousin Jimmy Ray, who lived on Capers Avenue with his mother (Aunt Elizabeth) and their grandmother. “I would see Joel when I would visit my cousins and Grandma, which was just about every day,” Virgie recalled. After graduating from Cohn High School, Joel married, had two boys and a girl, worked as a mechanic at Tricketts and later at Roadway Express, and eventually settled in Greenbrier with his family. “My grandmother and aunt all talked about Joel, Suzanne and their kids, and my father always took our cars there for him to service them,” Virgie said. “So, I was always hearing about him and what he was doing.” Suzanne became ill with an artery disease, and he took care of her for eight years, even as she lost her left leg at the knee and then just below the hip. She died in 2004.

Though Virgie always lived with her parents, she said she was “always looking for someone to marry.”

She said she once asked her father how she would know if she had found the right man, and he told her, “Well, just remember you’re going to have to look across the table from him for the rest of your life, so make sure you pick someone you like.” Before he died, Virgie’s father blamed himself for her never having married, saying that perhaps he had been too strict on her. “Maybe I caused you not to get married,” he told her.

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I would see Joel when I would visit my cousins and Grandma,

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which was just about every day,

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A self-described “Daddy’s girl,” Virgie responded by telling him that she was 42 and “wasn’t dead yet and still might get married.”

As she cared for her mother who had Alzheimer’s, Virgie said she did not think much about not being married. “I was so busy with my life, and I just prayed that God would make me happy whether or not I was married,” she said. Virgie had caregivers and friends who helped her keep her mother at home until she died at age 80, and she continued to work and enjoy her life. It was her Aunt Elizabeth’s sudden death of a massive heart attack on December 20, 2005, that would bring Virgie and Joel together again.

When Virgie’s Aunt Elizabeth died, Jimmy Ray said that Joel needed to be a pall bearer at the funeral because their aunt liked him so much. Virgie later said that Joel would joke with her that “Woodlawn Funeral Home got him in trouble.”

After the funeral service, Virgie and Joel talked, and she said when she asked him what he had been up to, he just said, “Working.” At the restaurant following the funeral, Virgie asked her cousin Jimmy Ray what Joel had been doing, and Jimmy Ray said that Joel had been thinking about her and wondering if she was single.

Joel said that he “hadn’t been home but maybe 10 minutes from the funeral” when Jimmy Ray called and told him that he should take Virgie out on a date. “Don’t wait,” Joel said Jimmy Ray told him. “Just call her and talk to her. If you don’t like her, no hard feelings, but you know she’s short.” Joel asked Jimmy Ray what Virgie’s shortness had to do with dating her, and Jimmy Ray laughed and said, “Oh, nothing, really.”

“I just happened to be visiting Virgie the night Joel called,” says Judy. “They didn’t set a date, but the call

sounded promising. At that time, I told Virgie she would be married within six months.” Virgie happily agreed to go on a date with him.

Around MLK Day in 2006, Virgie and Joel went on their first date: to The Cheesecake Factory in Green Hills. “It was a good date,” Virgie said. “But I thought he wouldn’t call me again. He said he was seeing someone at church.”

Joel did call Virgie again, and he said he would call the other woman and tell her that he could not date her anymore because he wanted to only date Virgie. “I didn’t think he would actually call her,” Virgie recalled,

Best friends Judy Redmond and Joyce Griffith stood with Virgie on her wedding day.

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“but we started seeing each other all the time.” Joel even asked Virgie to quit her part-time evening job at the Cracker Barrel on Charlotte Avenue so that they could see each other every night. Shortly after their first date, Virgie met Joel’s mother, and she is the one who inspired Joel to ask Virgie to marry him so soon after meeting her. “At your age, you don’t have any time to be wasting,” Joel said his mother told him.

That February, Virgie met Joel’s entire family at his sister’s 50th birthday party, and soon after, Joel asked Virgie to marry him.

At 64 years old, Virgie said that she thought she was too old for a church wedding, but Joel really wanted her to have one since she had never been married. She also spoke to Joel’s three adult children to get their blessing. “I’m not tak-

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ing your Mama’s place; I just want to love you all,” she told them.

On May 13, 2006—just four months after their first date—Virgie and Joel were married at the West Nashville Heights Church of Christ in front of almost 300 people. “I guess people didn’t think I was really going to get married,” Virgie said, chuckling. “But, they came. Judy told all of our Cohn classmates to come to the wedding.” Her two best friends from Cohn—Judy Redmond and Joyce Griffith—stood up with her.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people so in love than those two,” said Judy. “What smiles they have on their faces. You would think they had been married for [many, many] years.”

Joel sold his house in Greenbrier and moved in with Virgie into her house in Charlotte Park.

“It’s a very good marriage,” Virgie said. “I’ve lived in West Nashville my whole life, so I’m glad Joel wanted to stay here, too,” she said. They are both active members of their church, Charlotte Heights Church of Christ. “We get along good, and we travel everywhere,” Virgie said.

In the 12 years they have been married, Virgie and Joel have done several

Diamond Tours and organized other tour groups, and they have been to the Grand Canyon; Denver, Colorado; Jackson Hole, Montana; Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Savannah, Georgia; and Maine. In May, Virgie and Joel will travel to Illinois to see Joel’s granddaughter graduate from college, and in September, they will stay at their time share in Daytona, Florida, and also visit President Jimmy Carter’s home in Plains, Georgia.

“I’ve seen more of the United States since I’ve been married to Virgie,” Joel said.

The year they went to Maine was the same year Virgie found out she had breast cancer. “I didn’t lose my breast,” Virgie said, “but the doctor went in and took my tumor out, and then they found three more places in my breast. Then I had trouble with my lymph nodes, and it got as big as a softball under my left arm.

I had to take radiation for a month.

That wasn’t bad, but I had to be there every day except Saturday and Sunday. Joel was right there by my side.” Joel has had some health challenges, too. “He had to have a pacemaker put in, and his heart stopped,” Virgie said. They also went through his mother’s sickness and death, and Virgie said through it all, his three sisters and children have been very good to her.

In addition to being a good caregiver, Virgie said that Joel is also a handyman, an organizer, and a very good cook. “I was making

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something in the kitchen one evening, and Joel said, ‘Oh, you do it this way,’” Virgie recalled. Virgie said she told Joel’s mother, and her mother-in-law said, “Virgie, just let him do it.” So, Virgie lets Joel cook since he loves it, and she does the cleanup. They also still go to The Cheesecake Factory often, since they receive lots of their gift cards. “The kids like to send us back there,” Virgie said.

Virgie is now 76 and Joel is 75. As Virgie reflects on her 12-year marriage to Joel, she thinks about all she has gained from a marriage she stopped thinking would happen. “I love Joel’s family, his three adult children, and his five grandchildren,” she said. “He’s always cutting up and keeps a lot of spice in my life. I’m so happy.”

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When she’s not being dragged around The Nations by Mr. Ralph Ellison and her other three dogs, Naomi Goldstone is a professor of English and coordinator of the African American Studies Program at Austin Peay State University.

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Nashville’s Southern Roots Run Deep

theVANDERBILT

AGRARIANS

by Brigid

Murphy STEWART

photos courtesy of Vanderbilt University Special Collections and University Archives, unless otherwise noted.

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t was the end of the Roaring Twenties. Nashvillians who had survived World War I, danced the Charleston, driven Model-Ts, and taken

streetcars from West End to Broad Street had yet to face the devastating effects of the Great Depression. People were flooding into the city, and not everyone was thrilled by the changes that wrought. The South’s agrarian roots began to wither as populations shifted from historically rural landscapes to more urban lifestyles.

Photo by Joe Rudis.

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t was the sort of rapid growth that Nashville is experiencing now— and, like now, many people were uncomfortable with the transformation of their hometown. They were feeling what many longtime Nashvillians experience today when they drive around town. The pace of life was truly changing, many would argue for the better, but some longed to maintain a rich cultural past that was more familiar and predictable.

At this pivotal time in Nashville’s history, a group of academics and writers who would become known as the Southern Agrarians or Vanderbilt Agrarians was determined to alert Southerners to what they believed were the “evils” of industrialism and the loss of their cultural identity.

On Whitland Avenue, a historical marker stands at the house of James M. Frank. An earlier group of Vanderbilt poets, students and teachers met there regularly to dis-

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cuss not only the changing world, but also the importance of culture and the role of poetry and verse, along with literary theory and criticism. These distinguished poets were called “The Fugitives,” publishing their works in the critically acclaimed Vanderbilt University magazine, The Fugitive. The founding members of that group were Vanderbilt English teacher John Crowe Ransom and some of his colleagues and students, including Allen Tate, Andrew Lytle, Donald Davidson and Robert Penn Warren.

Their discussions brought Vanderbilt to the forefront of a landmark literary critical approach, its name derived from John Crowe Ransom’s book, The New Criticism.

This new approach insisted all literary criticism should focus solely on the written word, shunning the notion that the artist’s life and background should be considered in understanding a work.

The Fugitive magazine was published from 1920 until 1925, with a final book of poems published in 1928. The group did not completely disband—some moved on to pursue other interests, but they kept a loose affiliation with each other. Those still living in town continued to meet, bringing others to join their discussions as they became increasingly alarmed by how quickly the South was embracing the “industrial gospel,” as Ransom called it.

Recent events had underlined the urgency of their concerns. In July 1925, a cultural earthquake had hit the South in a small town in East Tennessee. A court case challenging the teaching of evolution in schools, The State of Tennessee v.

John Thomas Scopes, took center stage in Dayton. The trial focused the eyes of the world on this landmark case, putting not only Scopes, but also the state of Tennessee, the South and its way of life on trial.

Famed cultural critic, journalist and essayist H.L. Mencken had often downgraded the South, but he was particularly brutal in his criticism of the South during what he dubbed the “Monkey Trial.” Calling Tennesseans “yokels,” “morons” and “gibbering baboons,” he blamed

what he considered the South’s intolerance and backwardness on anti-intellectualism and the prevailing religious fundamentalism.

By 1930, feeling these attacks could not remain unanswered, the Vanderbilt group decided it was time to produce a manifesto.

Twelve essayists, men very different in their approaches, bred in the South with the common determination of defending it, were chosen to write pieces for a book entitled, I’ll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition. These essays were a loose collection of ideas, with an introduction or Statement of Principles, agreed to by all 12 writers: John Crowe Ransom, Donald Davidson, Frank Lawrence Owsley, John Gould Fletcher, Lyle H. Lanier, Allen Tate, Herman Clarence Nixon, Andrew Nelson Lytle, Robert Penn Warren, John Donald Wade, Henry Blue Kline and Stark Young. Their Statement of Principles professes that the labor of cultivating the land in turn cultivates the individual, and that the pace of industrialism with its emphasis on the masses and depersonalization would cause the “decay” of art, religion and “the social exchanges which reveal and develop sensibility in human affairs.”

These essays would be the battle cry of the South against industrialization, critics like Mencken and all who attacked what the writers believed was an honorable Southern way of life.

These 12 men of letters, writers, philosophers, and sociologists explored and defended the culture of the South. They advanced the idea that Southern people, because of their rural agricultural background, tended to have deep personal roots and connections to the land. Southerners were less mobile, literally and financially, so their roots ran deep.

The South, according to the Agrarians, had its own established

culture, rich in art, history and traditions. Much of the North was industrialized and dependent on urban progress. The West was young and still being developed.

The Agrarians felt industrialization threatened to make people into “automatons,” senseless, mechanized, interchangeable and without connection to the land or each other—a people without history. Machines would replace workers and take away jobs that families needed for survival. The Agrarians feared that if Southerners left the family farms, it would cause personal and community financial collapse, leading to cultural collapse as well. The Agrarians warned of a dire threat to the basis of this unique, Southern way of life.

The Agrarians saw a shift in everything familiar in their world.

New buildings rather than crops were sprouting up everywhere.

Farms were being bought and sold.

New people were pouring into the city from rural areas in Tennessee and around the country.

In 1925, Dupont had retooled as a rayon plant. Jarman Shoe Company (Genesco) was founded in 1924. American National Bank of Nashville had opened, along with Caldwell and Company’s Bank of Tennessee, and National Life and Accident Insurance Company.

Twelve essayists, bred in the South with the common determination of defending it, were chosen to write pieces for a book entitled, I’ll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition.

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their book, I’ll Take My Stand, criticism was harsh. They were accused of being backward, racist, anti-progress segregationists. These attacks were the equivalent of Neil Young’s 1970 criticism in his song, “Southern Man.” The Agrarians’ rebuttal was similar to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” in 1974: “I hope Neil Young will remember, a Southern man don’t need him around anyhow.”

The Agrarians went their separate ways after the book but continued to write and speak in defense of their views. Robert Penn Warren became a major literary figure nationwide and eventually reversed his feelings about segregation, becoming an active proponent of civil rights.

The Robert Penn Warren Center on Vanderbilt’s campus is a fascinating stop for history and literature buffs. Andrew Lytle continued to farm, teach and write on Sewanee Mountain. Many of the Agrarians had distinguished literary careers as writers and university teachers. Some family members still live in West Nashville, such as Jamie Nichol who lives in The Nations and is the great-nephew of Lyle Lanier. Richland Avenue recently lost their

Frank Lawrence Owsley, Agrarian.

neighbor and daughter of Frank Owsley, Margaret Owsley Seigenthaler, who died just last year.

People come and go. Land is bought and sold. Buildings are built and torn down again in the name of progress, but what makes Southerners unique remains. It is found in the respect for the land and the love of art and history, along with a rich and colorful tradition of telling our stories. That is what keeps the Southern culture alive. We also continue the determination to keep our historical landmarks, parks and greenways intact. It is not the complete return to farming the Agrarians had hoped for, but their legacy continues whenever citizens raise their voices in an effort to hold dear our Southern roots.

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Banking, insurance and securities had become Nashville’s foundation, earning Nashville the nickname “Wall Street of the South” before the Depression. People flocked from farms where they could not survive to the city for the promise of work.

Nashville’s population surged.

But many Southerners, knowing that progress was inevitable, also valued preserving the flavor and roots of the agricultural South. For instance, in 1925, National Life’s WSM Radio launched the Grand Ole Opry, a comfort to those who had left their homes and an opportunity for all to savor songs and reminders of the rural past.

Over the years, as Nashville has become more urban and progressive, a concerted effort has been made to preserve many of its historical and cultural roots.

Landmarks show this effort, such as Fort Nashboro downtown, the Parthenon, Cheekwood and Belle Meade Plantation in West Nashville (to name a few), plus parks and museums all over town. The Tennessee Historical Commission works to keep the city’s history intact, and until recently, many still considered Nashville a big/small Southern town.

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eration Nashvillian, writer and editor who always considers West Nashville her stomping grounds, regardless of where life takes her.

Lyle Lanier and Robert Penn Warren at Vanderbilt Agrarian Reunion 1980.

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Left to right: Allen Tate, Merrill Moore, Robert Penn Warren, John Crowe Ransom, Donald Davidson at Vanderbilt Fugitive Reunion in May 1956.

Photo by Joe Rudis.

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new Adventure Park at jcc offers thrills, connection with nature

by Elliott WENZLER photos courtesy of Adventure Park Nashville

When Outdoor Ventures’ CEO and founder Bahman Azarm saw the way an aerial forest park in Switzerland challenged and changed his young daughter for the better, he knew he had to bring the concept to the United States.

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hat trip was about 10 years ago. Since then, his parks have sprung up in Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, New York, Massachusetts and most recently, Nashville.

The Adventure Park at Nashville, which is connected to the Gordon Jewish Community Center in West Meade, opened in June 2018, says park manager Lynda Kelly.

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The five-acre park offers 10 aerial trails that loop through trees and poles; some routes reach up to 40 feet off the ground. For children ages 3 to 6, there are two ground trails.

“But if it’s at the top of the hill, it feels like you’re 60 feet off the ground,” says Ethan Knight, the park’s head of operations. “Up on those platforms, you have a good

view of downtown. You can see the Batman building from a number of platforms up here.”

The courses, which have six difficulty levels, can take anywhere from 15 minutes to a half hour to complete, Outdoor Ventures spokesman Anthony Wellman says.

The park is unguided so that climbers can explore on their own, but there is also the option for

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To Kelly, observing this process in the climbers is groups or individuals to hire a guide, Kelly says. one of the best parts of the job.

And what about people with a fear of heights?

“There’s something about being at heights and in the “This is the best place for them,” Knight says. natural environment that’s really magical,” she says.

Kelly agrees, adding that it’s because of how gradual Another important aspect of the job is understandthe heights are and how many levels are available. ing how the park affects the surrounding environment.

“At first you’re only 10 or 15 feet off the ground,” “We all care about the environshe says. “Our goal is to always mental aspect of it, we’ve really have everybody overcome (a tried to nurture that stewardfear of heights).” he experience is designed ship,” she says.

That’s what led Azarm to Visitors and climbers also begin building the parks in the to be fun and to challenge grow in this area, as a natural first place, Wellman says. a person just a bit each time. curiosity often blossoms as they “He watched (his daughter) explore the park. literally change while she was When you overcome that “As builders we try to underclimbing,” Wellman says. “The stand what we’re doing with experience is designed to be fun challenge, you feel good. the trees, and our climbers that and to challenge a person just a come learn to respect trees betbit each time. When you overIt’s a positive rush. ter,” she says. come that challenge, you feel The company has both corpogood. It’s a positive rush.” rate and local arborists to help the staff understand He hoped to recreate that sense of empowerment how to take care and not damage any of the trees or given to his daughter at the adventure parks in the surrounding environment, she says.

U.S., Wellman says.

“You won’t see a nail,” Kelly adds.

“Spectators see that, too . . . they recognize transforAll of the platforms and routes are securely fastened mations of the people that are climbing,” Knight says.

“T

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to the trees and to supplementary poles through wires and a wedge system to avoid permanently affecting the trees, Knight says.

“Everything we have here we have the ability to remove and adjust,” he says. “As the tree grows, we have the ability to grow with the tree.”

When someone truly isn’t able to climb because of a fear, they’re refunded or given a voucher to bring someone else to climb, Kelly says.

One thing that eases some people’s fears is the extensive safety demonstration. A 40-minute presentation shows climbers how to get into their harness and use the specialized equipment to lock into the system.

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Once climbers are in their mandatory harnesses, they are attached to the system using a device called a tweezle, Knight says. They can’t disable this safety device until they finish a course.

“You can’t become unattached when you’re climbing,” Knight says.

If a climber finds themselves feeling stuck on one of the routes, they’re instructed to yell “staff” and wait for one of the trained employees to assist them.

“We’re kind of like really nice lifeguards,” Knight says.

While assistance isn’t always required, staff is consistently keeping their eyes out for anyone having problems in the course.

“I can look up and predict if

someone’s going to have an issue,” Kelly says.

Tickets, which include the 40-minute safety presentation and three hours for climbing, are $54 for ages 12 and up, $48 for ages 10 to 11 and $39 for ages 7 to 9, according to the park’s website.

Reservations are available at the park’s website, mynashvilleadventurepark.org.

On a busy day, there can be up to 150 climbers in the trees, Knight says.

While the park was closed to all climbers except groups during their first winter in Nashville, they plan to remain open year-round in the future. The park will open back up this year in the first weekend of March, Kelly says.

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Nashville native Elliott Wenzler graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in May of 2017 with a BA in journalism and minors in both business and Spanish. Wenzler fell in love with journalism through long-form podcasts and magazine pieces that capture the heart of an issue, culture or phenomenon. You can find her enjoying tacos at 51st Deli, jogging in Sylvan Park or playing trivia at Neighbors.

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says it’s the best job they’ve ever had,” Kelly says.

For climbers, the possibilities for experiences in the park are endless, she adds: “Everything from just general recreation to full-on self-awareness wake up and smell the roses experience.”

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The park is also searching for more employees to join the team for their reopening. There are 30 hours of paid training and a test for varying levels of employees.

From ground-only positions to mainly-aerial positions, there are several types of jobs available.

“Everyone who is a good worker

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connecting the health care

dots in

WEST NASHVILLE

by Leslie HERMSDORFER

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CARE” IS AS SYNONYMOUS

WITH NASHVILLE AS “SONG-

WRITING,” HOW NASHVILLIANS RECEIVE AND PAY FOR HEALTH CARE IS EVER-CHANGING.

Gone are the days of easily being able to get in touch with your doctor’s office and make an appointment with a health care professional whom you would almost consider a family friend. Discussions among friends and family about Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, pre-existing conditions and increases in health care costs are commonplace.

But a number of physicians in West Nashville are trying to change that perception.

Board-certified ER physician and longtime West Nashville resident Ty Babcock, along with his partners—who are also emergency medicine physicians—decided to purchase West Nashville’s Physicians Urgent Care facility and turn it into Complete Health Partners.

Babcock, who has lived with his family in the area off and on for 13 years, and whose experience includes working as an emergency medicine resident at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, says the big driver for him and his partners to take on the risk “was to be able to take care of my neighbors in the area of town that I live and provide additional services.”

The clinic’s goal, Babcock says, “is to be the trusted medical resource for The Nations and West Nashville.” The location seems to meet a need; many other clinics in town are associated with hospitals or are farther west.

Left to right: Drs. Kevin Blythe, Marc Mickiewicz, Ty Babcock, Ed Hadley and Sushri Mishra

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Photo credit: Thomas Wywrot Photography

February–March 2019 | 372WN.com

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Complete Health Partners is connecting the health care dots by being able address a wide range of ailments and acute injuries in one place. photo credit: Jeannine Manes

Patients also have access to an online patient portal, where they can schedule an appointment with a primary care physician, view summaries and lab results from their visits to the clinic and send secure messages to staff. Walk-in patients needing urgent care can also view how long the wait time is and reserve a place in line online.

Babcock is dedicated to providing the advantages he says his clinic offers to those with health care challenges, but also to those who are relatively healthy.

“We have seen the value of having a primary care doctor, of having someone to quarterback the care” in addition to any urgent care physician who may be involved.

This allows for the care team to follow someone over time, monitoring such information as a patient’s vitals and lab results.

As far as the future of health care, while Babcock thinks “the trend for a

long time had reflected the absence of physician ownership of any practices. Independent practices started going away as the hospitals started buying up more and more practices. Now that has reached a critical mass where there is some dissatisfaction amongst some people who are employed by the big facilities who are now looking at going back out on their own.

“You are seeing more direct primary care doctors starting to pop up and people starting to think outside of the box of insurance as well.”

Regarding insurance, Babcock adds, “I think that is where the disruption is going to occur, especially in employer-funded insurance plans. I think they are going to not look at models through traditional insurance,” but instead “are going to look at providers that may be a little smaller, that can provider a higher touch for their employees.”

Complete Health Partners is connecting the health care dots by being able address a wide range of ailments and acute injuries in one place.

Sports medicine is the most recent "dot" added to their care services. Babock "sees an opportunity for community outreach” with sports medicine in the community, with all the sports facilities and teams. “By offering these services in one location, we are saving our patients time and money, while delivering an unparalleled level of customer service.”

Other services may be offered over time, including a weight-loss program and perhaps even mental health services.

Complete Health Partners prides itself, Babcock says, on being a community-based health care facility offering a wide range of services.

“The most rewarding aspect of medicine is to be able to take care of people you know and your neighbors,” Babcock says.

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Located at 6746 Charlotte Pike, the facility is open from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., seven days a week. It offers not only urgent care services, but primary care services as well. Babcock says he “saw a real need for the primary care,” and that is the direction he felt strongly about going.

The clinic’s staff currently includes five physicians and one physician’s assistant. The spacious facility features six exam rooms, including an exam room designed to accommodate children, two procedure rooms, and an inviting wait area with staff answering phone calls during business hours.

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around Nashville for many years, and enjoys listening to music and observing the human condition in both personal and professional settings.

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care doctors starting to pop up and people starting to think outside of the box of insurance as well.

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Dr. Sushri Mishra, primary care photo credit: Thomas Wywrot Photography

February–March 2019 | 372WN.com

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372WestNosh

by Constant

EATER

Whether we’ve driven by them hundreds of times or just spotted a new one we want to try, West Nashville’s got you covered for breakfast, lunch, dinner and cocktails.

Bon appetit, salud and cheers!

MESTIZO’S 7401A Charlotte Pike 615.942.9007 mestizosmexicans.com

J

ust inside Bellevue, at the corner of Charlotte Pike and Old Hickory Boulevard, you’ll find Mestizo’s occupying part of the space once known as Pug’s Corner.

During the time of its construction, it seemed like an odd choice—there are several Mexican restaurants within a stone’s throw in any direction—but once you’ve experienced Mestizo's, it totally makes sense.

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Immediately upon walking in, you may not understand why, but you’ll feel a sense of calm. That’s likely because the layout Is close to perfect.

Now that seems like a strange way to begin to list Mestizo’s attributes, but it’s worth taking notice because it’s so simple and . . . well, balanced. The bar is the focal point of the room and with good reason—it’s perfectly beautiful, provides plenty of seating and it gives due diligence to the drinks

that will be served from it. And because the bar is centered, but several feet away from foot traffic, diners are on top of drinkers, even if a few bar patrons prefer to stand at the bar instead of sit. The dining room has just the right balance of booths and tables and anyone navigating through the establishment, be it server or customer, has the room to do so without dodging large trays or other customers. If there is a wait, would-be patrons are not bottlenecked into the rest of the scene. Mestizo’s interior is a breathable space, by design, that projects a relaxing effect on customers. That’s not to say the vibe isn’t lively, but you can have a conversation without screaming and there’s no pressure to leave, should the conversation take an in-depth turn.

Now that sort of ambience comes at a small price. Yes, the menu selections may be a dollar or two

more than the aforementioned establishments (lunch and dinner combos start at $7.99 and $9.99, respectively), but it’s a small price to pay for a peaceful meal, prompt service and delicious food. Yes, the food. We’re getting to that.

The menu takes the nuts and bolts of many Mexican restaurants and kicks it up a few notches. You have a lunch menu, an a la carte menu, specials, salads, vegetarian dishes, and several options for children. You’ll notice most of these by name. There are designated selections of seafood, steak and “favoritos.” But that’s where the similarities stop. “Mestizo’s is focused on bring fresh ingredients to its customers,” explains general manager Adolfo Lopez. “It is locally owned, and they are very involved in the menu and specials. We focus on bringing the diverse, cultural richness of Mexico into the Nashville palate.”

That’s why there are seven different chicken dishes—and the same number of steak dishes—that reflect regional flavors and influences.

“Every dish is different and delicious,” Adolfo says. “It’s hard to pinpoint one signature item.”

Five pages of menu selections means even the pickiest of eaters can find something, “but our fajitas are very popular—particularly our Baja Fajitas,” explains Adolfo. A combination of fish, shrimp, steak and chicken, along with the usual fajita ‘stuffins,’ the Baja Fajitas are cooked in a Caribbean sauce and are definitely worth the detour from your typical fajitas.

And finally, the margaritas . . . they are impressive (with skinny options available). “They include agave nectar and fresh juice,” Adolfo adds.

Rounding out the experience with plenty of free parking and easy access, Mestizo’s is a great option for date night, family meals or when you’re wanting a place that is close enough to, but not directly in, the frantic pace of the shopping clusters located within three miles in any direction. Open seven days a week, including lunch.

HOURS: Sunday through Thursday, 11:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:00 a.m.–10:30 p.m.

CREDIT CARDS: All RESERVATIONS: No Constant Eater is dedicated to discovering the West Side’s best breakfasts, lunches, dinners and cocktails . . . in the name of fair reporting and satisfied tummies, of course.

February–March 2019 | 372WN.com

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372Who kNew? Name: What’s your relationship to West Nashville?

Todd Breyer, Sylvan Park resident, Registered Landscape Architect

(and NextDoor Social Media’s recip ient top ten in the nation “Good Neighbor” award!)

Favorite thing about our community?

Favorite food? color? drink? dessert? hobby?

If you could run any single company or organization in the world, which would you choose?

Where will you be on Friday night?

Dog or cat?

Surf or turf?

Dream occupation when you were five?

What’s your superpower?

What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?

What excites you most about West Nashville?

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Modern facilities & unique options.

center with catering Specialize in cremations with • Reception • kitchen and private patio memorial services • Private on-site crematory • Special program for veterans • Serving all cemeteries

Call today for more information: 6962 Charlotte Pike Nashville, TN 37209

615-352-9400

CELEBRATE LIFE. REMEMBER FOREVER.™

Michael Illobre Funeral Home Manager