March 2018 Murfreesboro Pulse

MARCH 2018 / VOL. 13, ISSUE 3 / FREE

NEWS

Neighbors Say No to Sazerac

Middle Tennessee’s Source for Art, Entertainment and Culture News

Meet the Candidates for U.S. House ’BORO BUSINESS BUZZ

AMC Theater, Riser Room, Cousins Maine Lobster

Local conference focuses on how horses can help heal struggling humans

IN MUSIC

WAXFACE RECORDS / BLUEBIRD IN THE BORO / DEWDROP JAMBOREE / COMMUNITY RHYTHM EVENT / & MORE

Contents

WORD FROM THE EDITOR

28

24

COVER PHOTO BY RICHARD MEADE

IN EVERY ISSUE

FEATURES

12 WAXFACE RECORDS

5 Events

Making sure Murfreesboro has a brick-and-mortar record store

14 BLUEBIRD IN THE BORO

Tim James discusses annual Alive Hospice fundraiser shows.

16 COME AND DRUM SOME

Mayday Brewery hosts March 22 Community Rhythm Event.

18 BRIGHT SIDE OF THE MOON TPAC hosts Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular on March 10.

Eagala Organization shows how horses help heal struggling humans.

40 MEET THE CANDIDATES

FOR U.S. HOUSE Desjarlais, Maddux, Reynolds and Phillips are running for office.

Art Director: Sarah Mayo

Publisher/Editor in Chief: Bracken Mayo

MTSU Star Party, Anime and Comic Kon and more

8 Sounds LOCAL CONCERTS

Copy Editor: Steve Morley Advertising: Don Clark Leslie Russell-Yost

Poetry in the ’Boro, March 11 THEATER

The Taste of Sunrise; Pride and Prejudice and more

28 Food

Stagger Moon; The Secret Commonwealth; and more!

RESTAURANT REVIEW

MUSIC NOTES

RECIPE

Campus Subs

The Justin Reed Show; Gravel Road Gypsies; Dewdrop Jamboree; Tiny Trio

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

ALBUM REVIEWS

REVIEWS

Casual Sects, Michael Jacobs

24 HORSEPLAY

boropulse . com

THIS MONTH

POETRY

20 Living GARDENING

Another growing season has begun.

22 Art EXHIBIT

Depression-era photos by Eudora Welty

31 Movies Annihilation; Phantom Thread LIVING ROOM CINEMA

Great Big Lies

NEW RELEASES

36 News NO SAZERAC

Neighbors say no to distillery warehouse.

BUSINESS BUZZ

Riser Room; Dog Haus FLEA MARKET

The future of the flea market and stadium

42

Opinion PHIL VALENTINE

Blame sick people for mass violence.

LIVE . . . WELL!

Dig Deeper

THE STOCKARD REPORT

CBD gummy bust may backfire

46 Sports

A Wrinkle in Time; Paul, Apostle of Christ

MTSU SPORTS

READING

SPORTS TALK

Ecce Deus: Essays on the Life of Jesus Christ

Contributors: Dylan Skye Aycock, Jessica Barroll, Megan Castleberry, John Connor Coulston, Greg Crittenden, Jennifer Durand, Joseph Kathmann, Chantell Kennedy-Shehan, Zach Maxfield, M.C. Radford, Justin Reed, Edwina Shannon, Jay Spight, Andrea Stockard, Sam Stockard, Norbert Thiemann, Semaj Thomas, Elizabeth Tullos, Phil Valentine, Kory Wells, Michelle Willard

Men rank in top 25

Team USA champs FITNESS

Sun and smoothies

Copyright © 2018, The Murfreesboro Pulse, 10 N. Public Square, Murfreesboro, TN 37130.

Proudly owned, operated and published the first Thursday of each month by the Mayo family; printed

by Franklin Web Printing Co. The Murfreesboro Pulse is a free publication funded by advertisers.

Views expressed in the Pulse do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. ISSN: 1940-378X

SIGN UP to receive our weekly digital newsletter at BoroPulse.com/Newsletter 10 N. Public Square, Murfreesboro, TN 37130 • 615-796-6248 To carry the PULSE at your business, or to submit letters, stories and photography: Bracken@BoroPulse.com

WE GOT TO HAVE A GOOD VIBE, as friend of the Pulse Bob Marley says.

You just can’t live that negative way If you know what I mean Make way for the positive day . . .

Oh, what a new day . . .

Today is a new day!

Whatever happened yesterday happened, whatever may happen tomorrow may happen, but you have now, and I encourage you to be still and know, to make the most of it, to stay positive.

Pain, negativity, quarrels, hate and suffering may, possibly, exist in the lives of some, but I always try to count my blessings, stay in control of my thoughts and find some enjoyment in every day.

I strive to be a solution man, not a problem child.

Once again, thanks to all who have read the Pulse, advertised with the Pulse, written stories for the Pulse, given ideas and feedback to the Pulse, and allowed the Pulse into your lives and businesses.

Sarah and I launched this thing in 2006.

Through staying positive, maybe a few miracles and focusing on doing our best with each edition, the publication is still Pulsing right along today.

Some ask occasionally: “So, you two do it all, then?”

Umm . . . no. That would be impossible.

It takes a village.

Thanks to everyone who has supported and encouraged. Thanks to the team.

While, as the team knows, the ongoing cycle of deadline after deadline requires time, dedication and energy, the journey continues to be incredibly interesting, presenting the opportunity to meet so many various individuals: beekeepers, bankers, recyclers, guitar players, auctioneers, aviators, retailers, delivery drivers, online marketing consultants, metalworkers and landscapers. Everyone has a different skill set and vision. What’s yours? Tell us about your interesting endeavors: bracken@boropulse.com To all of the journalists: Do not ignore the warning of Oprah and others who are declaring that lately the media is under siege.

Lovers of liberty, American patriots, should insist always on a free press and free expression!

Some seem to think they have a right to control what another individual can or cannot say, which opinions are socially acceptable and which are hate speech, what stories the media outlets can or cannot cover, or that posting a social media comment with which they disagree should be against some new law.

Nonsense!

Thanks for the free speech advocates out there. Your work is always important.

That said, neither should one become too comfortable that what a particular media outlet reports is true.

Don’t trust the media, don’t trust politicians, don’t trust any one single source. If a subject is important, please, get a second, and third opinion.

Peace, BRACKEN MAYO Publisher/Editor in Chief

4 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

Events

BY ANDREA STOCKARD

MARCH 2 MTSU STAR PARTY The first Friday of each month, the MTSU astronomy department hosts a free Star Party event, open to the community. The event begins with a different lecture each month in Wiser-Patten Science Hall, room 102, at 6:30 p.m., followed by Telescope Observing at the MTSU Observatory (weather permitting). On Friday, March 2, Dr. John Wallin will present “The Invisible Universe and How We See It,” and on April 6 Dr. Eric Klumpe presents “Funky Fizix in Film: Life on Mars.” The events are free and kids are welcome. For more information, visit mtsu.edu/observatory.

MARCH 2 TRANSPARENT HEART YOGA GRAND OPENING

MARCH 3 MARDI PAWS BALL Supporters of Purple Paws bring Mardi Gras to Tennessee with the 2018 Mardi Paws Ball, held at The Stones River Country Club on Saturday, March 3, from 6–9 p.m. supporting Purple Paws’ mission of rescuing animals. Tickets are available at Let’s Make Wine, 2018mardipawsball.splashthat.com and The Boutique at StudioC on the Murfreesboro Public Square. Tickets include food, music, dancing, drink tickets, costume contest and lagniappe. Masks are available at The Boutique at StudioC, with sales donated to Purple Paws. For more information, find purplepawstn on Facebook.

TUESDAYS CHESS CLUB The Murfreesboro Chess Club meets each Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the McDonald’s at 1706 Memorial Blvd. Chess players of all levels are invited to come out and meet and play against other local chess enthusiasts.

For more information, call 615-713-9256.

WEDNESDAYS BORO2SQUARE RUNNERS Boro2Square Runners is a running group for individuals looking to get out and run and socialize with other runners. Weekly runs begin at 6 p.m. each Wednesday, starting from the Boulevard Bar and Grill, 2154 Middle Tennessee Blvd. Distances are between 3 and 5 miles, with runners of all paces. For more information, visit facebook.com/boro2square.

THROUGH MARCH 6 CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY AND BRUSH PAINTING EXHIBITION As part of the inaugural Murfreesboro Festival of Chinese Arts, The Center for the Arts Art Gallery (110 W. College St.) hosts a Chinese calligraphy and brush painting

exhibition by accomplished and awardwinning artists Dr. Nan Liu and Dr. Jianhu Yang. Admission is free and gallery hours are Monday–Friday 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

For more information, call 615-9042787 or visit boroarts.org.

MARCH 2 UNFORGED CLOTHING AND MILE24 Join local artists and entrepreneurs in support of Unforged Clothing Company and Mile24 for a family-friendly night of art, clothing and music on Friday, March 2. The event includes a fashion show featuring the release of the spring clothing line of Unforged Clothing followed by a performance of Mile24’s new song release at Carpe Artista (101 Front St., Smyrna). Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with show beginning at 7 p.m. For tickets or more information, visit unforgedclothing.com.

Visit BOROPULSE.COM/EVENTS for more community events

Join Courtney Sabbagh for the free, official grand opening at Transparent Heart Yoga (423-B W. Lytle St.) on Friday, March 2, from 5–7 p.m. Expect a raffle featuring free yoga and merchandise, activities throughout the day and food provided by Studio Veg and Olive Branch Bakery. The first 100 people to attend get reusable swag bags. RSVP for extra chances to win. For more information, visit transparentheartyoga.com.

MARCH 5–7 BLUEBIRD IN THE BORO Bluebird in the Boro is an annual concert series benefitting Alive Hospice. Now in its fifth year, Bluebird in the Boro features one-of-a-kind “in the round” performances by award-winning songwriters as well as

cocktails and appetizers catered by Five Senses and Mayday Brewery. Enjoy an evening with Don Schlitz on March 5; Kendell Marvel, Even Stevens and friends on March 6; and Tim James, Dan Couch and friends on March 7. Music begins at 6 p.m. at The Grove at Williamson Place (3250 Wilkinson Pk.). For more information, visit alivehospice.org/boro.

MARCH 7–10 TSSAA GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS The TSSAA will hold state championships for girls basketball at the MTSU Murphy Center, March 7–10. For more information, visit tssaasports.com.

MARCH 8 M.J. MILLER BOOK SIGNING Linebaugh Public Library will host local author M.J. Miller for a book signing on Thursday, March 8, from 12–3 p.m. The author will be signing and selling copies of her book, Life Lessons from the Hive, published in 2017. What can bees teach us about the Kingdom of God? Life Lessons from the Hive explores the fulfillment of Paul’s statement: “All creation testifies to the glory of God.” This book helps people who want to grow spiritually to understand Kingdom principles through the fascinating world of bees. This humorously illustrated book safely introduces the reader to the inner workings of a bee hive, without the threat of getting stung. Miller, a MTSU graduate, began her career as a drama teacher and artist, then as a Youth CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

MARCH 3 AND 4 MURFREESBORO ANIME AND COMIC KON Murfreesboro Anime and Comic Kon (MACK) is back for its seventh year Saturday, March 3, from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday, March 4, from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. at Clarion Inn (2227 Old Fort Pkwy.) Admission is $10 per day or VIP Package for $20. The fan-friendly show features free gaming all day gaming (Magic, ( Pokemon, Yu Gi Oh and many other games). Participate in the costume contest for the chance to win cash and merchandise.

Each attendee will receive a free Star Wars carded figure with paid admission (while they last) and, on Sunday, receive a raffle ticket to win an entire booth full of merchandise (comics, toys, posters and swords worth $5,000). Guests include artists Joseph Michael Linsner (Harley Quinn, Wolverine, Betty Page, Conan, Iconic Dawn), Roberto Yun Rodriguez (Family Guy, Gravity Falls, Ultimate Spiderman, Archer), Chris Stevens (Avengers, Deadpool, G.I. Joe), wrestler Zeb Coulter and many other artists and cosplayers.

Admission is free to all kids 10 and under. For more information, call 615-896-2420.

BOROPULSE.COM

* MARCH 2018 * 5

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 With A Mission (YWAM) Bible teacher and missionary in the Asia/Pacific region.

When she is not tending bees, she speaks in churches, conferences and study groups.

Linebaugh Public Library is located at 105 W. Vine St. in Murfreesboro.

crafts and scrapbooking, baking, floral, sewing and knitting items. For more information or to sign up to sell your items, visit crafters-exchange.blogspot.com or or call 615-542-1669.

MARCH 17 GREEN TIE CASINO NIGHT

MARCH 9

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday, March 17, with a grand fundraiser for the Murfreesboro Symphony Orchestra at Stones River Country Club (1830 NW Broad St.) from 7–11 p.m. Attendees to the Green Tie Affair Casino Night will receive casino play money, two drink tickets and heavy hors d’oeuvres. The evening will also feature a DJ, cash bar and prizes. For more information, call 615-898-1862 or visit murfreesborosymphony.com.

ALIVE HOSPICE MURFREESBORO LUNCH AND LEARN Join Alive Hospice for another Lunch and Learn Friday, March 9, from noon–1 p.m. at Alive Hospice Murfreesboro (1629 Williams Dr.). This month’s topic is “Navigating the Aging Journey: Geriatric Care Management.”

Are you feeling lost on the aging journey?

Learn about the professionals who specialize in connecting families to the needed resources and ensuring quality care is provided at every step. Gretchen Napier, CEO of LifeLinks Care Management, is this month’s guest presenter. Lunch is provided and parking is free. For more information, contact 615-346-8418 or kking@alivehospice.org.

MARCH 9–MAY 10 HABITAT VETERANS BUILD Murfreesboro’s Habitat Veterans Build partners with over 20 veterans groups across the county for veteran volunteers to build a Habitat home for Habitat future homeowner Anika, a Navy veteran.

Individuals and groups can sign up for volunteer spots by contacting 615-890-5877, ext. #106, or megan@rchfh.org. Volunteer days are Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and the location is 712 Carver Ave. For sponsorship information, contact 615-6035395 or melissa@rchfh.org.

MARCH 10 TEDDY BEAR TEA Enjoy a Victorian era tea party with The Historic Sam Davis Home and Plantation (1399 Sam Davis Rd., Smyrna) Saturday, March 10, from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. with tea times starting at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and on Sunday at 2 p.m. Enjoy tea, light refreshments, and the experience of an era of civility and refinement. Tickets required. For more information, contact education@samdavishome.org or visit samdavishome.com.

MARCH 13 RUTHERFORDCABLE WOMEN MOVING FORWARD Bethany Hoppe will present Women in Leadership: Achieving the Learning Curve at Rutherford Cable’s Breakfast Meeting on Tuesday, March 13, from 7:30–9:30 a.m. at the Stones River Country Club (1830 NW Broad St.). While changes in the status of women in the world have changed 6 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

MARCH 17 SPRING THAW BIKE SHOW The 16th Annual Spring Thaw Bike Show and Swap Meet will be held at the Wilson County Expo Center, 945 E. Baddour Pkwy., Lebanon, on Saturday, March 17 from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. The bike show is open to all types of motorcycles; the best of show wins $1,000. Motorcyclists can also find a great variety of new and used parts. For more information, visit bothbarrelspromotions.com or find Both Barrels on Facebook. dramatically over the last decade, and more recently in the media through high-profile cases of oppression and even abuse, there are still many questions left unanswered for women in the work field. Hoppe is an advocate for the rights of women and girls with disabilities. Through public speaking, writing, performance and film, she teaches the importance that education plays in elevating the status of women who also happen to have disabilities. For more information on Cable or the March 13 event, contact yourrutherfordcable@gmail.com.

MARCH. 13 BUSINESS AFTER HOURS The Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce presents Business After Hours, an informal business networking event, on Tuesday, March 13, from 5–7 p.m. at Vintage at The Avenue, 1349 Greshampark Drive. Bring plenty of business cards.

Admission is $5 for CoC members and $15 for future members. No registration is required. For more information, visit rutherfordchamber.org.

MARCH 14–17 TSSAA BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS Watch the TSSAA Boys Basketball Championships at the MTSU Murphy Center (1301 E. Main St.) March 14–17. For more information, visit tssaasports.com.

MARCH 15 AMELIA’S CLOSET ANNIVERSARY OPEN HOUSE

Amelia’s Closet is a faith-based, volunteerstaffed organization that helps reduce poverty in the community by preparing women for sustainable employment through professional clothing and hope. Drop in Thursday, March 15, from 4:30–6:30 p.m. and celebrate three years of assisting clients, learn more about the organization, tour the shop and meet the volunteer staff. Amelia’s Closet is located at 810 NW Broad St., Suite 10. For more information, visit ameliascloset.org.

MARCH 15 THE CONNECTION Local small business owners will gather for The Connection: An Evening of Professional Networking and Business Brainstorming from 5–7 p.m. on Thursday, March 15, at CJ’s Restaurant, 352-A W. Northfield Blvd.

All Middle Tennessee entrepreneurs and professionals are welcome to attend this casual, free, no-obligation event, where they can meet other small business owners and tap into one another’s experience and energy. An open roundtable discussion will encourage participation from those in attendance, asking them to articulate their vision for their business and calling for examples of some of the business challenges and solutions they are experiencing. The series will continue the third Thursday of each month.

MARCH 15–17 CRAFTERS’ EXCHANGE The Hilton Garden Inn, 2631 Highwood Blvd., Smyrna, will host a Crafters’ Exchange on March 15–17 from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. The event will feature all types of

MARCH 17 SPECIAL KIDS RACE The 7th Annual Special Kids Race will be held on Saturday, March 17, at Murfreesboro Medical Clinic, 1272 Garrison Dr., Murfreesboro. Over 3,000 walkers and runners will compete in three different distances (15k, 5K, 1-Mile), and for a very special reason–to benefit the kids served by the Special Kids organization.

To register or for more information, visit specialkidsrace.org.

MARCH 24 CANNONSBURGH VILLAGE YARD SALE Sell your unwanted items or just shop at Cannonsburgh Village (312 S. Front St.) from 7 a.m.–12 p.m. on Saturday, March 24. For more information on the event or renting a space, contact 615-890-0355 or shodges@murfreesborotn.gov.

MARCH 24 WING FLING MTSU’s Kappa Delta, Delta Pi Chapter invites everyone to its annual philanthropy event, Wing Fling, Saturday, March 24, at the MTSU Murphy Center (1301 E. Main St.) from noon–3 p.m. Proceeds benefit The Family Center and Prevent Child Abuse America. Tickets include hot wings and a silent auction. For more information, contact shamrockdirector@gmail.com.

MARCH 24 ZETA JAZZY BLUE FUNDRAISER Join the Rutherford County Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority for the 2018 Jazzy Blue Silent Action and Shannon L. Martin Scholarship fundraiser on Saturday, March 24, from 6–9 p.m. at The Warehouse (730 Middle Tennessee Blvd. #14).

Admission is $20. For more information, visit murfreesborotnzeta.com.

MARCH 26–30 SPRING “BREAK-A-LEG” CAMP AT THE CENTER FOR THE ARTS This spring break, head to the Murfreesboro Center for the Arts and discover the Pacific Islands for a Moana-themed camp, March 26–30 from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Sing the songs, learn Pacific Island dancing, explore stage makeup and temporary tattoos. The week culminates in a luau showcase. Admission for grades K–2 is $75 for the week and consists of half days 9 a.m.–noon. Grades 3–12 are $150 for the week and are full days from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Before and after care are available. For more information, call 615904-2787 or visit boroarts.org.

MARCH 29 NATALIE’S RUN The Tennessee Health Information Management Association raises funds in memory of Natalie Stovall at its second annual 5K and Fun Run on Thursday, March 29. Stovall was the founder and director for The Stovall Foundation, a nonprofit organization created for the purpose of aiding military families. She was a devoted wife and mother to two sons. On May 26, 2016, Natalie Stovall Frady lost her life in a car accident. Proceeds from Natalie’s Run provide scholarships to HIM professionals.

The race begins at 6 p.m. at the Gateway Island (1875 W. College St.). Runners and walkers are welcome. For more information or to register, visit thima.org.

MARCH 30 AND 31 BREAKFAST WITH THE EASTER BUNNY Put some spring in your step and magic in your child’s Easter holiday during Lucky Ladd Farm’s Breakfast with the Easter Bunny on Friday and Saturday, March 30 and 31, at 9 and 10 a.m. This special VIP breakfast includes a delicious breakfast buffet, Easter Bunny photo ops, a visit with some of the Farm’s favorite baby animal ambassadors, craft station and souvenir gift for each child. Later, hop along to the Easter Festival celebrations and annual Easter Festival and Egg Hunt from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. featuring fun games, activities, crafts, baby farm animals and non-stop egg hunts with prize packs for the kids. Lucky Ladd Farms, 4374 Rocky Glade Rd., is Tennessee’s largest petting farm. Tickets must be purchased in advance at luckyladdfarms.com. For more information, call 615-274-3786.

BOROPULSE.COM

* MARCH 2018 * 7

CONCERTS THURS, 3/1 HANK’S

Dan Brayall

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING

MTSU Wind Ensemble, MTSU Symphonic Band

HANK’S

Bailey Rose, Jack Finley Band

MAYDAY BREWERY

Kris Bradley

MILANO II

Jack Popek

MAYDAY BREWERY

Aubryn

MILANO II

Jack Popek

THE BORO

The Tiny Trio

SAT, 3/17

NACHO’S

NOBODY’S

FRI, 3/2

SAT, 3/10

CARPE CAFE

COCONUT BAY CAFE

HANK’S

COCONUT BAY CAFE

MAYDAY BREWERY

MAYDAY BREWERY

HANK’S

THE BORO

Devin Port

Ali Morgan & Kelly Frost DJ Ceiz

Heartland Band, Lefty Ferguson Duo

MAYDAY BREWERY

Stelle Amor

MILANO II

Jack Popek

NOBODY’S

Phoenix Rising

THE BORO

Chemicaust, Beyond Duplication, Location

THE GREEN DRAGON

The Accidental Trio

SAT, 3/3 HANK’S

Brad Dix, Zach Neil & Dale Clear

MAIN STREET MUSIC

Rubiks Groove

THE BORO

When Particles Collide, The Dangerous Method

THE GREEN DRAGON

Uncle Don Clark

SUN, 3/4 HANK’S

George Dunne

TUES, 3/6 HANK’S

Kristen Foreman

THURS, 3/8 HANK’S

Kevin Wolf

THE BORO

Radical Arts Open Mic Night

THE CROSSROADS AT TRENZILORE

Dilicus, Blake, U&Me&Me&u

FRI, 3/9 COCONUT BAY CAFE

Mike DizIll

Zone Status

Triple Threat Dana Marie

Lynn Manderson

HANK’S

The Godsey’s, Ivan Fleming

SUN, 3/11 HANK’S

Chazz Wesley

MON, 3/12 MEDIA RERUN

Ben Ricketts, Space Tyger, Calvin Rose, Sparkling Wide Pressure

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING

Don Aliquo, Brian Mueller, Jonathan Wires, Deanna Little

TUES, 3/13 HANK’S

Don Mealer

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING

Silviu Ciulei and Maharajah Flamenco trio

WED, 3/14 MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING

Amber Den Exter

THURS, 3/15 HANK’S

Spencer Maige

NACHO’S

Devin Port

FRI, 3/16 CARPE CAFE

Gage & Ashley Sharp

COCONUT BAY CAFE

Stranger Than Fiction

HANK’S

Kristen Foreman, Lefty Ferguson Duo

8 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

COCONUT BAY CAFE

Karaoke with Hitman Walker

Colleen Lloy, Wes Loper Andrew White, The Festivus Players

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING

MTSU Jazz Artist Series

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING ROOM 173

Gary Wittner with Jazz Ensemble II

PULSE MONDAY, 3/12 @ MEDIA RERUN

Experimental pop artists Ben Ricketts (Oxford, Mississippi) and Space Tyger (Muscle Shoals, Alabama) will perform at Media Rerun on Monday, March 12.

Stop in at 6 p.m. for the multi-genre show with local support provided by hip-hop artist Calvin Rose and Sparkling Wide Pressure (ambient music). Before heading out to the event, check out each artist on Bandcamp. Media Rerun is located at 2820 S. Rutherford Blvd in the Walmart shopping center.

NOBODY’S

MILANO II

THE BORO

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING

Gravel Road Gypsies The Secret Commonwealth

SUN, 3/18 HANK’S

Sydney Shayne

THE BORO

New Suede

TUES, 3/20 HANK’S

Dan Schafer

THE CROSSROADS AT TRENZILORE

Jounce, The Mad Gear, New Suede

THURS, 3/22 HANK’S

Bailey Rose

THE BORO

Radical Arts Comedy Night

THE CROSSROADS AT TRENZILORE

Nonconnah, Mason Grove, trans*, Vladopus9

FRI, 3/23 CARPE CAFE

Jenny Johnson

COCONUT BAY CAFE

Skipper Grace

HANK’S

On The Run, Jack Finley Band

MAYDAY BREWERY

Stephen Simmons

PICK

BEN RICKETTS, SPACE TYGER

Jack Popek MTSU Opera Theater: The Impresario/The Disappointment

NOBODY’S

Escape

THE BORO

Stagger Moon, Sugar Lime Blue

SAT, 3/24 COCONUT BAY CAFE

Elecousticsoul

HANK’S

Joe Hooper, J.D. Myers Mayday Brewery Red Wine Hangover

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING

MTSU Opera Theater: The Impresario/ The Disappointment

THE BORO

Noisecult, Black Sky Tribe, Pains Chapel

SUN, 3/25 MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING

Flute Studio; Trombone and Euphonium Studio

HANK’S

Alexis Taylor

MON, 3/26 MTSU SAUNDERS FINE ARTS ROOM 101

Endahl/Phillips combos

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING

Stones River Chamber Players

TUES, 3/27 HANK’S

Delyn Christian

MILANO II

Jack Popek

THE BORO

Aconundrum

SAT, 3/31 COCONUT BAY CAFE

Graham Anthem

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING

HANK’S

WED, 3/28

THE BORO

MTSU Jazz Ensemble II

SAUNDERS FINE ARTS ROOM 101

Marcus Wanner MTSU

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING

Nathan Stone, Ryan Colbert

THURS, 3/29 HANK’S

Dale Drinkard Jr.

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING

Matt Berry

NACHO’S

Devin Port

FRI, 3/30 CARPE CAFE

Jaysen Gold

COCONUT BAY CAFE

DJ RDP

Pontiac Alley, Ryan Broshear 7 Stone Riot, Murder Suicide

WASHINGTON THEATRE AT PATTERSON PARK

Dewdrop Jamboree with Martin Family Circus, Sweet Lucy, Accidental Trio, Teresa Camp, Steve Hall, Rhonda Tenpenny, Bobby Howard, LB Ferrell, Julie Richardson

MON, 4/2 MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING

Mariya Sazonova, MTSU Tuba Studio

TUES, 4/3

HANK’S

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING

LIQUID SMOKE

WED, 4/4

Zac Edington, Kevin Wright Band Uncle Don Clark

MAYDAY BREWERY

Delyn Christian

MTSU Tuba Ensemble

MTSU WRIGHT MUSIC BUILDING

MTSU Steel Band

 IF YOU GO Arts Center of Cannon County 1424 John Bragg Hwy., Woodbury, 615-563-2787 Autograph Rehearsal Studio 1400 W. College St. 615-686-6121 Carmen’s Taqueria 206 W. Northfield Blvd.

615-848-9003 Century 21 125 Lasseter Dr. 615-890-9168 Coconut Bay Café 210 Stones River Mall Blvd.

615-494-0504 First United Methodist Church 265 W. Thompson Ln. 615-893-1322 Georgia’s Sports Bar 555 S. Lowry St., Smyrna 615-267-0295 Green Dragon 714 W. Main St. 615-801-7171 Hank’s 2341 Memorial Blvd.

615-410-7747 Lone Wolf Saloon 1208 S. Lowry St., Smyrna 629-255-8296 Main Street Music 527 W. Main St. 615-440-2425 Mayday Brewery 521 Old Salem Hwy. 615-479-9722 Milano II 114 E. College St. 615-624-7390 MTSU Wright Music Building 1439 Faulkinberry Dr. 615-898-2469 Nacho’s 2962 S. Rutherford Blvd.

615-907-2700 Nobody’s Grille & BBQ 2227 Old Fort Pkwy.

615-962-8019 Peter D’s 2357 Medical Center Pkwy.

615-603-7111 Phat Boyz Bar & Grill 4425 Woodbury Pk. 615-546-4526 Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant 114 N. Church St. 629-201-6916 The Boro Bar & Grill 1211 Greenland Dr. 615-895-4800 The Crossroads at Trenzilore 6097 Lebanon Pk. Wall Street 121 N. Maple St. 615-867-9090 Wilderness Station at Barfield Crescent Park 401 Volunteer Rd. 615-217-3017

BEAU BRASWELL, RON RUSSELL, NASHVILLE ELVIS FESTIVAL ON THIS MONTH’S JUSTIN REED SHOW SPRING IS ALMOST HERE and I am so ready—the warm weather just makes me happy and makes me want to turn the volume up on some great country music! March is looking to be a great month on The Justin Reed Show: MARCH 1 Ron Russell  will appear on the show at 8 a.m. Russell is one of the most passionate and professional individuals working in the music industry today; he moved to Hollywood to pursue his love of music and has worked for ASCAP. His new single, “The Best Job That I Have,” is currently on the air.

He will drop by to play live! More information can be found at ronrussellmusic.com.

The 9 a.m. hour features musician Jeremy Parsons in the studio. Fresh off the release of his second studio album, Things I Need to Say, Parsons is playing all the time and making music as much as he can.

His current single, “Burn This House Down,” is currently climbing the charts; he will also play live in-studio. To get Jeremy’s album, visit jeremyparsonsmusic.com jeremyparsonsmusic.com.

MUSIC NOTE

ance, beginning at 8 a.m. Discussing his new album, Stoned on One, Pope will discuss songs the One off the new album and how being

compared to Chris Stapleton and Waylon Jennings feels. For more information on Andrew Pope, visit andrewpopemusic.com.

MARCH 29 The man responsible for getting me on the air for the first time will drop by at 9 a.m. Beau Braswell, 6-time AMA National Motorcycle champion and platinumselling country artist, returns to the show with new music.

He is officially kicking off a new tour in March and he will provide all the necessary details. Find Beau at facebook.com/beaubraswell80.

Thank you for listening or watching the show live on facebook.com/thejustinreedshow! I would be nothing without listeners like you.

Also, I hope to see you at the season opener of the Dewdrop Jamboree on March 31!

Peace, Love and Ernest Tubb, — JUSTIN REED

MARCH 8 Elvis expert Tom Brown will return to the show at 8 a.m. Brown joined The Justin Reed Show last year to promote the first Nashville Elvis Festival.

This year, Brown will return to host the second annual fest. Brown has been the Vice President of Original Productions for Turner Classic Movies and he currently works with the web series The Gates of Graceland interviewing friends and former coworkers of the King. More information can be found at nashvilleelvisfestival.com.

MARCH 15 Erin McLendon returns at 8 a.m. to co-host with Justin until the end of the show. McLendon will be making her 19th appearance on the show and she will be playing some of her favorite songs and catching up on life in the music business and her upcoming wedding. She will also spin some cuts from her current release, Making It Up as We Go. More information can be obtained at erinmclendon.com.

MARCH 22 Country artist Andrew Pope comes back to the show for his fourth appearBOROPULSE.COM

* MARCH 2018 * 9

GRAVEL ROAD GYPSIES TO REUNITE AT NOBODY’S GRILLE ST. PATRICK’S SHOW

TINY TRIO HOSTS JAZZ JAM AT THE BORO ON MARCH 16

MUSIC NOTES

Murfreesboro-based jazz/funk/fusion band The Tiny Trio will perform at The Boro Bar and Grill on Friday, March 16, beginning at 9 p.m.

The group—Cory Ponder on drums, Max McKellar on electric bass and Matt Lund on electric guitar—is dedicated to creating exciting instrumental music, both composed and improvised.

“We play instrumental music, much of which is improvised, and audience members who bring their instruments are welcome to play with us on the improv songs,” Lund said, describing the open jam session.

The Boro is located at 1211 Greenland Dr. The show is 21 and over, no cover. Find more on the Tiny Trio on Facebook or Bandcamp.

Murfreesboro rock outfit Gravel Road Gypsies will make a comeback to the local music scene with a special St. Patrick’s Day show at Nobody’s Grille. Raid the closet for your best green apparel and then stop by for a night of classic rock and country. Avery Kern will open with covers of Kacey Musgraves, Chris Stapleton, Fleetwood Mac and more beginning at 8 p.m. Although new faces will be onstage this time, the band says to expect the same great music. Nobody’s, located at 2227 Old Fort Pkwy., is currently taking reservations for the March 17 event. Call 615-962-8019.

NOTED GUITARISTS HIDALGO AND RIBOT JOIN FORCES TO EXPLORE MUSICAL BOUNDARIES Guitarist-vocalist-songwriter David Hidalgo, best known for co-fronting Grammy-winning MexicanAmerican roots-rockers Los Lobos, has proven himself to be a multi-hued musician who likes to walk the razor’s edge, cutting a wide swath through blues, boogie, American rock and traditional Latin styles.

It’s no surprise that he has been teaming with kindred spirit Marc Ribot, a guitarist with a long and varied back catalog and an arm-length list of sideman credits ranging from Elton John to Elvis Costello, and whose reputation extends to the avant-garde fringes. Put them together on one stage—as they’ll be in The Lounge at Nashville’s City Winery on Wednesday, March 21—and listeners can expect to hear a heady brew that’s as left-of-center as it is south of the border: that is, music with no walls.

ENTERTAINMENT

DJ, BINGO, TRIVIA & KARAOKE NIGHTS  MONDAYS AHART’S PIZZA GARDEN Trivia, 6:30 p.m.

HANK’S Open Mic, 6–10 p.m.

LEVEL III Trivia, 7 p.m.

 TUESDAYS COCONUT BAY Live Trivia, 7:30 p.m.

LONE WOLF SALOON Open Mic Night, 7–11 p.m.

NACHO’S Trivia, 7 p.m.

NOBODY'S Bingo, 7 p.m.

OLD CHICAGO Trivia, 9 p.m.

TGI FRIDAY’S Trivia, 9 p.m.

 WEDNESDAYS CAMPUS PUB Karaoke, 10 p.m.–2:30 a.m.

HANK’S Karaoke, 7–10 p.m.

NOBODY’S Trivia, 7 and 9:30 p.m.

PHAT BOYS Karaoke, 7–11 p.m.

SAM’S SPORTS GRILL Trivia, 8 p.m.

STATION GRILL Trivia, 7 p.m.

 THURSDAYS BOB’S BBQ Trivia, 7 p.m.

CAMPUS PUB Trivia, 6:15 and 8:15 p.m.

COCONUT BAY Karaoke, 8:00 p.m.

 FRIDAYS GEORGIA’S SPORTS BAR Karaoke, 9 p.m.

MT BOTTLE Karaoke, 9 p.m.–3 a.m.

PHAT BOYS Karaoke, 8 p.m.–1 a.m.

 SATURDAYS CAMPUS PUB Karaoke, 10 p.m.–2:30 a.m.

NACHOS Trivia, 7 p.m.

NOBODY’S Karaoke, 9:15 p.m.–12:30 a.m.

 SUNDAYS

NOBODY’S Karaoke, 9:15 p.m.–12:30 a.m.

JACK BROWN’S Waxface Vinyl and Music Trivia Night 8 p.m.

SAM’S SPORTS GRILL Trivia, 8 p.m.

PHAT BOYS Karaoke, 8 p.m.–1 a.m.

WHISKEY DIX DJ Cliffy D, 8 p.m.

Send karaoke, trivia, open mic and events to listings@boropulse.com

GEORGIA’S SPORTS BAR Karaoke, 7 p.m.

10 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

DEWDROP JAMBOREE RETURNS MARCH 31 Dewdrop Jamboree’s fourth season will kick off Saturday, March 31. The first installment, hosted by Justin Reed and Larry Martin, will showcase many Dewdrop veterans including Teresa Camp, Steve Hall, Rhonda Tenpenny, Bobby Howard, LB Ferrell and Julie Richardson, as well as musical groups Martin Family Circus, Sweet Lucy and the Accidental Trio.

The Jamboree is organized by the American Musical Arts Group, an area nonprofit group with a mission to preserve and showcase traditional American music genres. Each show features a rotating cast of musicians with styles ranging from bluegrass, traditional country and gospel to contemporary country, rock ’n’ roll and blues.

See the show at Washington Theatre inside Patterson Park, located at 521 Mercury Blvd., on Saturday, March 31 at 6 p.m. All tickets are general admission and available at the door for $10 for adults and $5 for children. Visit the Dewdrop Jamboree Facebook page for updates on future installments.

Performances are also slated for May 5 and June 9.

— DYLAN SKYE AYCOCK

ALBUMS

BY JOHN CONNOR COULSTON

CASUAL SECTS

MICHAEL JACOBS

By the looks of Casual Sects’ name, album title and album art, you might expect this album to be a joke.

However, this local garage-rock trio puts some serious songwriting and instrumentation down over high, functioning’s 20-minute runtime.

Vocalist, guitarist and lyricist J. Tyler Brunson, bassist and backing vocalist Joshua Echlin and drummer J. Alexander Cunningham combine ’60s pop-rock melodies, ’90s angst and lo-fi recording for a roaring debut outing. To attempt to explain what makes this record so memorable, the trio is not afraid into dig into personal lyrical content, but they’re not so caught up in making their point that the melodies and hooks suffer.

The band tackles topics like grief (“The Mourning Cometh”), coping (“Kicking Bucket City”), and addiction (“The Itch”) like they’re hiding behind a smile.

They’re telling these personal accounts with purpose, but don’t want you to get bogged down by the bleak.

It’s as if they’re saying, “Yeah, life sucks sometimes, but we’ve still gotta make some kick-ass rock ’n’ roll.”

They do this by boiling down thoughts and themes into simple mantras in the choruses. Expressions like I think it’s all bad news and It could be true what they say, carry the point across while providing punchy hooks.

There are also a few points at which Casual Sects breaks this mold. “Ready?” alludes to a dark situation while Brunson fumes with frustration, often jamming lyrics into a less traditional structure. On the other hand, “Clingy” leans hard into a conventional love song trope for a so-repetitive-it’s-catchy number about infatuation. “Sabbath,” also centered around a love theme, is a simple rocker that features lyrics about breaking up/ making up and some riff-filled breakdowns.

All these varying approaches meld into a fuzzy, lo-fi EP that is well worth your time if you’re into modern acts like Wavves, Ty Segall and Diarrhea Planet; it is surely worth ranking Casual Sects among Middle Tennessee’s most promising acts in the genre. high, functioning is available on Bandcamp.

Local singer-songwriter Michael Jacobs has returned for his eighth solo album, Change, an outing that offers fans more of his socially and self conscious lyricism and Americana instrumentation.

Jacobs, whom we last heard on 2015’s Resisting Shadows, has assembled an all-star lineup for this nine-track effort. Guitarist Jon Conley, who plays with Kenny Chesney, and bassist Lee Francis, who plays with Jon Pardi, bring their talents to the record, as well as keyboardist David Dorn, violinist Eamon McLoughlin and producer Daniel Dennis. This crew gives the backing instrumentation of Change a refined feel that holds it above many other releases in the singer-songwriter genre. While the polish helps push the album into a higher caliber, it’s Jacobs’ approach to songwriting that is the true selling point.

The Native American musician tackles personal change as well as change in the world around us.

The personal change is best expressed in “Won’t Fade Away.” It’s the most energetic cut on the album, with ripping electric guitar as its driving force. The lyrics bring to mind Neil Young’s 1979 song “Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black),” delivering a defiant message of survival: I won’t lay down, I won’t fade away / Every day is an uphill climb.

“Better Than This” focuses on a desire for society to change, with a chorus of There must be something better than this, a better kind of way that we always miss, cause we’re fools rushing to the abyss.

Another highlight, “Oh Children,” is, as Jacobs describes it, a song “about environmental issues and our stubborn reluctance to change our behaviors.” It’s another upbeat song that features a stomp-filled intro and a sing-along-ready chorus.

Elsewhere, the tracks are all well-crafted, but they can start to blend together after a couple of listens.

Overall, Change is a strong listen with inspiring messages of hopefulness and perseverance that we all need to hear. Find more at michaeljacobsmusic.com.

high, functioning

Change

A CLASSIC OUTSTANDING

AVERAGE BELOW AVERAGE

AVOID AT ALL COSTS DEAD

Sounds

Read more about local music at

BoroPulse.com/Category/Music

Making sure Murfreesboro has a brick-and-mortar store dedicated to records.

M

urfreesboro record collectors haven’t had to travel far when looking to add to their collection. Antique and thrift shops, chain retailers and local record stores like Waxface Records and Media Rerun have supplied the local community.

For Murfreesboro resident Reid Conner, the thought of opening a record store was no daunting task. In fact, the lifelong record collector says he didn’t think twice about the business venture.

“I’ve always been fascinated with vinyl records, since I was a kid,” Conner explains. “But it wasn’t until later when I started building my collection and getting serious about it.”

Before opening his own brick-and-mortar store, Conner capitalized on his love of vinyl by hauling records to Nashville flea markets.

Tired of transporting record crates every weekend, he sought to fill the void left by places like Little Shop of Records and Hastings, the former having closed in October 2015 followed by the latter a year later.

“Sometimes I would want to buy records but realize there were no longer stores here fully dedicated to vinyl,” he says. “It was one of those things where I woke up one day and said, ‘You know, I’m going to

12 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

STORY AND PHOTOS BY DYLAN SKYE AYCOCK open a record store.’”

It was during that time frame when Conner decided to take a leap of faith and open Waxface Records at 748 E. Northfield Blvd.

For a city craving the crackle and pop of vinyl, Waxface is a slice of paradise. When Conner opened the store last June, there were about ten record crates and a few boxes to flip through. By the end of the first month, the store began filling out with hundreds of new releases and classics.

“Operating the store has been a huge learning experience,” Conner says. He adds that meeting customers and swapping vinyl knowledge is what he has enjoyed most as a business owner.

“Even though we’ve been open for a while, people are still discovering the store,” he adds.

Nine months later, the store is stocked with records in all popular genres, from classic rock and jazz to traditional country and hip-hop.

Waxface has a wall dedicated to new releases, along with boxes of 45s, CDs, 8-track tapes and posters throughout the store. There’s even a small lounge area that provides a space for musicophiles to converse over their findings.

“I try to gauge what people are interested in, but I also try to carry stuff people

aren’t going to find anywhere else,” he says. “It’s always great when people come in here and say something like, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen this before.’”

In a couple months, vinyl fans will have the chance to score limited pressings on Record Store Day, a one-day event that celebrates the culture of indie record stores.

Now in its 11th year, RSD sees owners across the globe opening their doors to eager collectors queuing up to purchase special releases.

“Last year was our first experience with a special Record Store Day event on Black Friday,” he says of the annual post-Thanksgiving

event. “The big day’s in April, and I hope people will come out to see what we have.”

Although Conner can always be found spinning records, customers will soon be able to catch a show while browsing. Waxface hosted its first in-store performance last month with New Suede and guitarist Joey Fletcher, and Conner expects to book more shows in the future.

Keep an eye out for Record Store Day 2018 releases at recordstoreday.com. Visit Waxface Records on Facebook or at waxfacerecords.com. Waxface is located at 748 E. Northfield Blvd. in Murfreesboro.

Sounds

Read more about local music at

BoroPulse.com/Category/Music ville and pursue a career in songwriting?

TIM JAMES: I moved to L.A. when I was

a young lad and didn’t know any better. I decided when I lived in California, after having quit my day job in sales, to pursue what I felt like God wanted me to do, which was music. As you know, the odds of making it are slim to none and everybody told me that. So at some point, I started making trips back to Nashville to play songs for people and got shot down like everybody does. Eventually, a guy, who is still in the music business, told me if you truly want to be a country songwriter, you’ve got to be in Nashville. His exact words were, “If you want to be on Broadway, you’ve got to go to New York. If you want to be in television, go to L.A. But if you want to write songs, come back to Nashville.”

Tim James and others to perform.

BY DYLAN SKYE AYCOCK BLUEBIRD IN THE BORO, a threenight concert series that captures the spirit of Nashville’s iconic Bluebird Cafe, is coming back to Murfreesboro March 5–7 to benefit the nonprofit Alive Hospice.

Now in its fifth year, Bluebird in the Boro features “in the round” style performances by songwriters who have penned some of country music’s bestknown songs. The event is an offshoot of the Alive at the Bluebird series, which celebrated its 25th installment in January at The Bluebird Cafe.

Alive Hospice provides care to people with lifethreatening illnesses, counseling for families and community education about the end of life.

Money raised from past Bluebird in the Boro events helped fund the Alive Hospice facility near Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital. The facility opened nearly debt-free last summer.

The songwriters attending this year’s event—Don Schlitz, Kendell Marvel, Even 14 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

Stevens, Waylon Payne, Mike Loudermilk, Tim James, Dan Couch, Kent Blazy and Danny Myrick—have written songs for Kenny Rogers, Tim McGraw, George Strait, Jason Aldean, Chris Stapleton and a host of other artists.

We spoke with Grammy-nominated songwriter and Murfreesboro native Tim James, who will perform Wednesday, March 7, alongside Couch (Kip Moore’s “Somethin’ ’Bout a Truck”), Blazy (cowriter on the classic Garth Brooks ballad “If Tomorrow Never Comes”) and Myrick (Aldean’s “She’s Country,” McGraw’s “Truck Yeah”). James played an integral role in helping launch Bluebird in the Boro in 2014.

Murfreesboro Pulse: You grew up

less than an hour from Music City, yet ended up living in California for a while as a performer. What inspired you to come back to Nash-

Like you said, chances were slim to none, but you moved back to Tennessee and not too long afterward you had “My List” recorded

by Toby Keith. How much time had passed after moving back before the song hit No. 1 on the charts?

The actual time was probably about three years. But I’ll tell you, it was a long three years. I got signed to a publishing deal in Nashville before I even moved back to Tennessee, and I was there for about a year before they closed. For a couple of years, I painted houses for a living . . . I would paint two to three days a week and then I would write the other days. I then met a guy who told me Toby Keith and his manager started a publishing company and they were looking to sign some writers. So I went over there and signed a deal with them. Toby cut that album called Pull My Chain, and “My List” was on it.

How does a song typically come together for you?

When I first started, I was older than most people who were having success. A couple of veterans told me back in the day that you have to treat it like a job, but you will find that there are a lot of creative and artistic people that disagree with that. I got up every day for many, many years and went to Nashville and wrote songs. Even after “My List,” I wrote more and more because that was just my foot in the door. I was going to continue to go to work and throw enough songs in the filter in hopes that at the bottom something good would come out.

With hits like “My List” and Lee Brice’s “Love Like Crazy,” you’ve had a lot of radio play. What goes through your mind when you hear your song for the first time after being cut?

That’s the ultimate goal as a songwriter, to have something that you hear on the radio. I was just in a restaurant in Denver and they played my George Strait song “Give It All We Got Tonight.” So it’s always a thrill . . . that’s just the day in the life of a songwriter.

There are people I know that came up with me in the same class of songwriters, and they’ve never had a song on the radio. So I certainly never take it for granted.

What advice do you have for songwriters who are cutting their teeth in the music industry?

Well, it certainly is a different game than it was back in the day. Back when I first started, there were more successful artists. Nowadays, there are only a handful of really successful artists, and then there are only a handful of those artists that will record songs they didn’t write. My advice is that you have to get in it now and with low financial expectations. You have to do it for the passion of it. But it’s tougher now because of streaming services, and the digital age has changed everything . . . nobody buys physical albums as much.

[Keith’s] Pull My Chain album that “My List” was on sold, I wanna say, three million copies, and it wasn’t that big of a deal. Now I have a song called “Either Way” on From a Room: Volume 1 by Chris Stapleton, and it’s probably going to sell a million records.

That’s huge nowadays.

Having been involved with Bluebird in the Boro since the beginning, what do you enjoy most about performing at the event?

They asked me to put this together for them in the initial stages because I was raised here and still live here. My dad passed away about eight years ago, and Alive Hospice took care of my dad in the last few months of his life.

So Anna-Gene O’Neal, who is the head of Alive Hospice, contacted me and my buddy Rivers Rutherford, who is also a songwriter.

Most of the songwriters I know come together for benefits all the time. But this one was more special to me because they took care of my dad and were so great at it. Whatever I can do to help support a hometown cause or benefit, I’m always going to do it.

guitarist and Crystal Gayle’s “Midnight in the Desert” co-writer, Mike Loudermilk.

 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7  MONDAY, MARCH 5

Opening night of the three-day concert series is an Evening with Don Schlitz, the Grammy-awardwinning songwriter and Country Music Hall of Fame member whose catalog of country hits includes Kenny Rogers’ perennial “The Gambler.”

 TUESDAY, MARCH 6

The series’ second night will feature Kendell Marvel, a veteran songwriter who recently released his own solo album Lowdown and Lonesome and Even Stevens, the co-writer with Eddie Rabbitt on a string of pop-country hits. Marvel and Stevens will be joined by singer and Walk the Line actor Waylon Payne, as well as renowned

The final night of the concert series will feature Grammynominated songwriter and Murfreesboro native Tim James along with fellow songwriter Dan Couch, who co-penned the hit song “Somethin’ ’Bout a Truck.”

Recently added to the event’s closing performance is award-winning songwriter and “If Tomorrow Never Comes” co-writer, Kent Blazy and songwriter Danny Myrick, whose works have been recorded by artists such as Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean.

The Grove at Williamson Place is located at 3250 Wilkinson Pike in Murfreesboro. Tickets are $100 and include food and drinks from Five Senses and Mayday Brewery. Each show begins at 7 p.m. For more information on Bluebird at the Boro, visit alivehospice.org/boro.

KRAUSS

DANIELS

YOUNG

CHARLIE DANIELS’ 20TH VOLUNTEER JAM SET FOR BRIDGESTONE ARENA Country legend Charlie Daniels is prepping his 20th Volunteer Jam with some of the biggest names in country and rock music.

The all-star concert, Volunteer Jam XX: A Tribute to Charlie, is set for Wednesday, March 7, at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

Alabama, Chris Young, Sara Evans and Lynyrd Skynyrd are among artists recently added to the already stacked lineup featuring Alison Krauss, Justin Moore, Ricky Skaggs, the Oak Ridge Boys, Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry, Blackberry Smoke and more. Throughout the evening, music fans will hear many of Daniels’ hits, such as “Long Haired Country Boy,” “In America,” “The Legend of Wooley Swamp” and the Grammy-winning “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” As always, the Charlie Daniels Band will also take the stage.

“This year we get back to basics, back to the free-form rocking traditions the Volunteer Jam was known for,” Charlie Daniels said in a release detailing the event. “I’m planning a jam at the last part of the show that will blow the roof off Bridgestone. And we’ve got the pickers coming this year that can make that happen big time.”

A portion of the proceeds from the Volunteer Jam will be donated to The Journey Home Project, a nonprofit co-founded by Daniels and manager David Corlew to help military veterans. — DYLAN SKYE AYCOCK

MUSIC NOTE

Sounds

Read more about local music at

BoroPulse.com/Category/Music

Everybody Drum Some hosts March 22 rhythm event at Mayday.

STORY BY BRACKEN MAYO

E

verybody Drum Some, the open-ended percussion collective led by Murfreesboro drum instructor Ross Lester, will host its next community rhythm event on Thursday, March 22, at Mayday Brewery. As always, Lester invites all in the Middle Tennessee community to gather together with their neighbors and make music.

These seasonal group drumming sessions are open to all ages and all skill levels; organizers will judge not. Participants must simply be willing to participate and make some effort to cooperate in something much bigger and grander than one individual could possibly create.

“What’s amazing is that from the beginning of the evening to the end of the evening, the whole group really grows together in their ability to communicate musically,” Lester said of these types of rhythm sessions.

Come and drum some!

It matters not what musical experience and past training participants may have, what music ambition they may have, whether they are a professional jazz drummer who enjoys complex polyrhythms or whether they have a two-year-old who enjoys banging on the pots and pans. The only ones who are excluded are those who exclude themselves, hence the name: Everybody Drum Some.

Lester presents these group drumming events for arts events, youth groups and community gatherings, and also works with local groups recovering from PTSD and substance abuse. The local musician and instructor has even led group drumming sessions for some of the inmates at the county jail.

16 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

Attending a single drumming session may not magically heal a participant’s pain or illness, but it could be one more positive experience in someone’s life, which is why Lester fully encourages all to take advantage of positive community experiences whenever possible.

He says he is “just a drummer,” but he’s one who cares about his fellow human beings and improving his community. While drumming for an hour may not turn a life around, it is often difficult to dwell on one’s own troubles, let alone the conflict in the

world at large, in such an actively collaborative environment.

Even if someone does not wish to participate in the drumming, they may still hang out and observe this recreational musicmaking experience, an ongoing experiment in group communication and dynamics.

Rhythmists can bring djembes, congas, shakers, hoop drums, wood blocks, tambourines, triangles or their percussive instrument of choice, but even those who have no instrument may come out and use one in the extensive Everybody Drum Some collection.

For Lester, the community music event is much more than a bunch of individuals smacking drum heads to make noise.

A drum circle, he contends, can teach skills such as listening to your neighbor, respect, communication and creativity. Many say that listening to your neighbor, respect, communication and creativity could benefit our community and the world.

“It is exemplary of society as a whole,” Lester said of a drum circle.

These group rhythm events can indeed offer a chance for plenty of personal artistic expression and freedom, but Lester spoke of the importance of listening to what those surrounding you are saying, and of being conscious that your part doesn’t infringe upon the rhythm of the community.

Even for the leader of the group, it’s impossible to predict exactly what direction the music will take when a new drumming group comes together to create improvisational percussive sounds, but most likely it will be a joyful noise.

Everybody Drum Some’s Spring 2018 Community Rhythm Event will be at Mayday Brewery, 521 Old Salem Rd., on Thursday, March 22, beginning at 6 p.m.

The event is free, and all are welcome.

For more on Ross Lester’s Everybody Drum Some, visit everybodydrumsome. com. Come out and see where the beat takes the group, or where the group takes the beat.

WALTER EGAN TO HEADLINE INTIMATE, ECLECTIC LIVE SHOW AT BELLEVUE’S WORLD MUSIC ON MARCH 10

MUSIC NOTE

Walter Egan’s late-’70s pop classic “Magnet and Steel” is about the once-powerful pull between the singer-songwriter and Fleetwood Mac’s resident gypsy chanteuse, Stevie Nicks, who can be heard singing on the track. There’s plenty of personal back story to that situation, and personal back story is exactly what you get on the locally produced web series Studio 23 Nashville. Egan, who recently appeared on an episode of the off-the-cuff music-and-talk series, will be headlining Studio 23 Nashville Live, an event featuring five artists who have guested on the web show (also available on subscriber-based Brio TV). Joining Egan and show host/Studio 23 owner Bryan Cumming at Bellevue’s World Music at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 10, will be Bobby Tomberlin, Tim Buppert, Beth Sass and Laura Powers.

The lineup mixes established songwriters and performers (Egan, Tomberlin and Buppert) with up-and-coming talent; singer-songwriter Sass has in fact been recording and performing in a duo with Egan, the collective fruits of which will be put on display during the March 10 show. Similar multiEGAN artist interaction is expected to occur throughout the show, says Studio 23’s Cumming. The show’s intimate atmosphere will likely prompt personal behind-the-song stories from the artists presenting them, making this a priority event for anyone who shares or understands the passion of music-making.

Tickets for the event are $15 and can be obtained by calling World Music at 615425-0256. Learn more about Studio 23 Nashville and view archived episodes by visiting studio23nashville.com. — STEVE MORLEY

Sounds

Read more about local music at

BoroPulse.com/Category/Music

Bright Side of the Moon Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular to stage sensory smorgasbord at TPAC

BY STEVE MORLEY

P

ink Floyd’s timeless Dark Side of the Moon album, released in March of 1973, is emblazoned with a nowiconic image of bright, focused light entering, and being refracted through, a prism. That image proved to be prophetic, unintentionally anticipating the wedding of laser technology and rock music soon to follow. Laserium, the Los Angeles event that first featured a full evening of laser effects presented with a program of recorded music (including selections from Pink Floyd’s pre-Dark Side period), premiered in November of the same year. Indeed, the basis for many laser effects involves more or less the same high-intensity beams and refraction seen on the front of the album made historic by its unprecedented 15-year (736-week) stay in the Billboard Top 200.

For a band so notable for its pioneering light shows and special effects, Pink Floyd was surprisingly late to join the laser game, not opting to use the gargantuan glowing beams on tour until the late 1980s, more than a decade after groundbreaking uses of lasers in rock shows staged by Led Zeppelin in 1975 and more extensively soon thereafter by The Who. (In fact, it’s a commonly held—and 18 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

internet-reinforced—misconception that Floyd was among the first to integrate lasers into their live shows.) Nonetheless, Pink Floyd and laser shows have become forever synonymous. In the 45 years since Dark Side and Laserium both reared their mesmerizing heads, the laser show has evolved from a live-performance enhancement to a standalone event. One of the longest-lasting such attractions is the touring Pink Floyd Laser

Spectacular, which in 1986 began cementing the now-rock-solid bond between the spacious, expressive music of Pink Floyd and the graphically simple but highly sympathetic and oversized atmospherics provided by lasers. This year’s tour includes a stop at Nashville’s Tennessee Performing Arts Center on Saturday, March 10. Showtime is 8 p.m.

“When you see our show, there is no difference between sitting in our show and

sitting in front of a major rock show with the laser effects, except that there’s no band onstage,” says Steve Monistere, producer of the Floydian laser extravaganza. “And our show is, you know, it’s lasers, it’s lights, it’s videos; it’s a multimedia show, so we have a lot more lasers than most of the concerts do.”

Monistere tells the Pulse that lasers have become smaller and far more portable than the cumbersome 300-pound beasts they were (not to mention their 400-pound power supplies and the backstage water hoses needed for cooling them) when he began staging Pink Floyd-based shows in the mid’80s. This, he says, makes transportation of the star attractions far more efficient, “and the shows are more spectacular because you’ve got more lasers, right?”

The soundtrack, which includes the entirety of Dark Side of the Moon coupled with mostly well-known tracks and a few surprises from the band’s deep catalog, is provided by remastered source tapes of the highest quality available, exclusively licensed from Pink Floyd for use in North America. (Earplugs are recommended, by the way, for the faint of eardrum.) Monistere, asked if he’s ever actually had exchanges with the musicians (two of whom are now deceased), says, “Not the band members. They’re walking their grandchildren down Abbey Road in a stroller, you know? No, we deal with their management,” explains the gregarious producer, laughing. “But my agreement does have all the band members’ signatures on it, if that means anything!”

For tickets or more information, go to tpac.org or call the box office at (615) 782-4040.

BOROPULSE.COM

* MARCH 2018 * 19

Living Farmers Market Education Series

BY EDWINA SHANNON

Another Growing Season Has Begun WE ARE AT THE TIME to get coolweather vegetables in. Think fresh greens and some rooted vegetables . . . then taste those fresh greens and vegetables. Oh, yum, delish.

The recommended rule of thumb is to plant most cool-season vegetable seed at a depth equal to approximately three times the seed diameter. Of course, there is an exception: lettuce needs light to germinate so lightly broadcast that seed on top of the soil and pat it in. There is an easy-to-understand graph of spring vegetables and when to plant them contained within the UT Extension publication, SP 291, “Guide to Spring Planted, Cool Season Vegetables,” available online. Home gardeners can tighten up the space between rows, especially if the garden is hand cultivated, but they should follow the recommended space between plants. The publication is a great resource for those of us who work in the garden in the early spring.

You do want to minimize soil turning this time of year. If you squeeze a handful of soil and it maintains the squeezed form, then the soil is too wet to work. If you proceed and work it anyway, you will accomplish soil sculpture, creating hard clumps of compacted dirt that do not support healthy gardens. It takes more than a season to fix the sculpted dirt and get it into usable soil condition again. I speak from experience; heed my plea. Your excitement to work in the garden could set you back.

20 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

Now is also the time to plan watersaving and irrigation alternatives. Rain barrels, also known as cisterns, capture free water from the sky. Happily, it is not illegal to use rain barrels in Tennessee as it is in some western states. Did you know that one inch of rainwater falling on a 1,000-square-foot roof can capture up to 623 gallons of water? That would fill 10 55-gallon rain barrels. If you are interested in seeing one or learning how to install one, the Master Gardener demo area at the UT Extension campus at 315 John R. Rice Blvd. has a system set up at the pavilion.

There are also some online resources, including the UT publication 276 from the Tennessee Yards & Neighborhoods program. That resource provides directions for making and installing your own rain barrel.

Another very efficient method of watering is through drip irrigation. The Master Gardeners do also have examples of its usage. I suggest that you start researching the concept now; I will write more on it next month.

Like so many other actions these days, buying flats of vegetables can be a political statement. Many of the larger companies do utilize a chemical on their seedlings that is suspected to interfere with pollinators, especially bees. Originally thought to have no effect on beneficial insects, neonictinoids are now being studied for potentially interfering with a pollinator’s

ability to navigate between the hive and the nectar, thus killing the hive. To produce vegetables, pollinators are needed in our yards and gardens. Beetles, bees, ants, wasps, butterflies and moths contribute to pollination. Ladybugs are our friends; they eat harmful insects, including those sneaky aphids. With their continual access to the plants, they provide you with vegetables.

Successful pollination results in healthy fruits and vegetables and fertile seeds from heirlooms for next year’s crop.

The chemical is suspect, but officially speaking, the studies are inconclusive. The manufacturers of the products with neonictinoids recommend minimizing impact on the environment, including the pollinators, by following the label directions carefully, restricting neonicotine applications to the soil, or during times when bees are not foraging (evening), and treating only those individual plants which need treatment for a known pest infestation rather than a universal application of the product to all vegetables. There is no labeling required on plants being sold that have been treated with this chemical.

Choose your nursery wisely. Ask about their plants and the chemicals used for their growth and in their soils or growing medium or water. A good nursery will carry quality plants and reduce the chances of introducing harmful insects or diseases into your garden from their plants.

You may choose to avoid the guesswork of the details of the purchased plants and just start your plants from scratch. It is a great science project for families. One huge advantage in starting your own plants from seed is quality control. If any chemical has been sprayed onto your seedlings, you know about it. You know what is added to your water and in your soil. Frosts are over

by April 15, and summer vegetables can start to go in the ground then. All should be in the ground by Mother’s Day. Try to start your summer vegetables inside, six weeks prior to transplanting.

If you choose to start your own veggies, start with clean pots. A solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water will sterilize them.

You want to use a starter medium as well, not soil from the garden. Seed-starting mixtures are usually composed of vermiculite and peat. You can also make your own by mixing 1/3 part sand, 1/3 part peat moss and 1/3 loamy soil, then heating it in

an oven for 30 minutes at 180 degrees to sterilize it. Cool before use.

Fill the pots or flats with a potting mix, and water the mix before sowing seeds.

The potting mix will settle down into the containers. Add more potting mix and water until the containers or cells are nearly full. Try to sow within six weeks of transplanting into their outdoor location.

Sow one seed per pot or cell. There is no fertilizer in seed-starting mixtures, so water with fertilizer mixed at half strength. Those who have pet worms will create their own fertilizer through their own worms’ efforts.

Vermicomposting is a process of using your worms’ discharge as a natural fertilizer for your plants.

Remember this is the time of year when you need to buy seeds for the planting cycles throughout this growing season.

Store any extra seed in the refrigerator, as it is a cool, dry storage option.

UPCOMING EVENTS APRIL 14

Adventures in Agriculture Festival This year’s Adventure in Agriculture will be held on April 14 from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at the Lane Agri-Park on John Rice Boulevard in Murfreesboro. It is a free, family-friendly event with hands-on activities, livestock, trolley rides, horse events and many opportunities through fun learning for adults and children.

APRIL 21 Plant and Seed Swap The Master Gardeners of Rutherford County are organizing the free community plant and seed swap on Saturday, April 21, from 10 a.m.–noon. This event is open to the public and will be held at the Lane Agri-Park Community Center, 315 John Rice Blvd. in Murfreesboro.

The rules for participation are simple: for each one you bring, you take one.

Everything must have a name and instructions. You can bring your houseplants or outdoor plants, but avoid invasives (those that take over your yard).

MAY 11 Farmers’ Market Opening Day Located at Lane Agri-Park Community Center, 315 John Rice Blvd. The market is indoors and open from 7 a.m.– noon on Tuesdays and Fridays.

It is a producer-only market.

BOROPULSE.COM

* MARCH 2018 * 21

Art

 EXHIBIT

DEPRESSION-ERA PHOTOS BY EUDORA WELTY ON EXHIBIT AT TODD ART GALLERY THE MTSU DEPARTMENT OF ART will host an exhibition of photography

by Eudora Welty through March 9 at Todd Art Gallery, Todd Hall, room 224A. Eudora Welty was an American writer and photographer whose main focus was on the American South. Born in 1909, Welty grew up in Mississippi and went on to become a teacher, writer and photographer.

The pieces of this collection come to MTSU from the Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA), where David Lovett, of Knoxville, donated them in 1991.

These 20 black-and-white prints from the KMA’s permanent collection represent some of Welty’s most striking Depression-era images. She took the photographs during her assignment with the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

She took some of the photographs in Mississippi during the 1930s, images that showcase the pervasive poverty of the South and economically disenfranchised persons—both people of color and poor whites. These were assembled in a special limited edition portfolio that was published by the Palaemon Press in 1980.

Welty’s highly acclaimed photographs first drew national attention with the 1971 publication of One Time, One Place. After this publication, she was invited to lecture at the Museum of Modern Art on her photography. Welty later gained more fame, this time as a writer, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for The Optimist’s Daughter.

The exhibition is free and open to all ages of the public. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. For more information, call 615-898-5532.

 POETRY

POETRY IN THE BORO TO BE HELD MARCH 11 Sandy Coomer, Michael Williams to be featured

BY KORY WELLS IF YOU SPEND MUCH TIME WITH poets, it won’t be long before you hear the word “chapbook.” It’s one of the first terms I wanted to learn more about when I was new to poetry. A forerunner to penny dreadfuls and comics, chapbooks in their early forms trace to 16th century Europe, when it became possible to cheaply produce pamphlets and booklets that appealed to the masses. These early publications contained folk tales, children’s literature, almanacs, political and religious tracts, poetry and much more. The term chapbook came into usage in early 19th century England, when booklets were sold

22 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

by itinerant merchants known as chapmen; chap means “trade.”

In present times, chapbooks are short, soft cover books—typically of about 40 pages or less—which contain poetry or other literature.

Chapbooks may be stapled or saddle-stitchbound like a magazine, or they may have a perfect-bound, square spine like a larger book.

While some chapbooks are produced and sold inexpensively, others are an art form. Flexible production options, coupled with the common appeal of their shorter length to both poet and reader, have secured chapbooks’ popularity in contemporary poetry.

Conveniently for my segue into March poetry news, both featured poets at Poetry in the Boro in March have recently released new chapbooks. On Sunday, March 11, Poetry in the Boro will be held at Murfreesboro Little Theatre, 702 Ewing Blvd. Open mic signups start at 6:30 p.m. Featured poets Sandy Coomer and Michael Williams will read at 7 p.m.

Coomer, who lives in Brentwood, is the author of three poetry chapbooks, most recently Rivers Within Us from Unsolicited Press. She’s become known among Middle Tennessee creatives as co-creator and curator of the project 20/20 Vision: A Poetic Response to Photography, a traveling exhibit on view at a Boro

Art Crawl in 2017. Coomer is also an artist, an endurance athlete and the founding editor of the online poetry journal Rockvale Review.

Williams, a Nashville resident, is the Writer/ Storyteller-in-Residence at Martin Methodist College and has been a featured teller at the National Storytelling Festival. The former minister’s most recent books are last year’s Spoken Into Being: Divine Encounters Through Story from Upper Room Books and two poetry chapbooks, Take Nothing for Your Journey and The Khristos Cantos, both published by Finishing Line Press in the past two years. An hour of open mic follows a brief reception and book signing time. Full details on Facebook.

A Spoken Word Performance and Video event coordinated by MTSU Todd Art Gallery and previously scheduled for February has been rescheduled for March 31. Performances will relate indirectly or directly to text, communication, education, socioeconomic inequities, literacy or spoken word. Artists can learn more and submit proposals through March 15 at tinyurl.com/mtsuspokenword.

Also, don’t forget the call for artists and writers of all ages for the Discovery Center’s We Are Tennessee project, mentioned in February’s column. Learn more at bit.ly/wearetn.

Submission deadline is March 23.

Here’s a poem

by Michael Williams from his collection Take Nothing for the Journey, which also appears in Still: The Journal.

MUD PIES

BY MICHAEL WILLIAMS The rain overflowed the half-clogged gutter mingled with dirt making puddles the color of coffee softened with evaporated milk we pilfered my mother’s pans barreled through the sopping yard to shove our hands into the brown pudding of the first and last ingredient of our lives.

Kory Wells is principal founder of Poetry in the Boro and the inaugural Poet Laureate of Murfreesboro. Contact her at korywells@gmail.com.

The Taste of Sunrise plays at MTSU Tucker Theatre March 1–4.

 THEATER

MTSU THEATRE INVITES AUDIENCES TO SEE, AND HEAR, ASL-INCLUSIVE THE TASTE OF SUNRISE MARCH 1–4 MTSU THEATRE PERFORMERS are becoming bilingual for their March 1-4 production, The Taste of Sunrise, creating an eloquent and multifaceted presentation that incorporates American Sign Language into the story of a man’s adventure-filled life.

“The show is beautifully written for both English and ASL. It’s about people who need and want to connect and a culture that makes it difficult,” explains director Jette Halladay, an MTSU Theatre professor whose own adventures with students have taken her around the world to share stories through drama, comedy, music and art. “It’s about people who, in an effort to help, make choices that hurt. And it’s about forgiving, reaching out and being willing to persist in forging bonds that last through the difficult times. Ultimately, it reminds us we are never alone. We are supported and connected in unseen ways.”

Curtain times at the university’s Tucker Theatre are 7:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, March 1, 2 and 3, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 4. Advance tickets, available at mtsuarts.com, are $10 general admission and $5 for seniors 55 and older and K–12 students. MTSU students will be admitted free with a current ID. The award-winning play by Susan Zeder

is set in the 1920s and follows a deaf man called Tuc, portrayed by MTSU junior theatre major Robbie Ramirez, as he recalls the adventures, discoveries and people encountered along his life’s journey.

“So far every rehearsal has been rewarding,” says Halladay. “I’m moved to laughter and tears and gratitude. This is a remarkable script with honest and engaging actors.”

Ramirez and his fellow cast members have spent the last several months learning American Sign Language and noticing the differences between it and spoken English.

Dr. Angela Scruggs, a counselor at AGAPE Nashville who works with clients with hearing impairments, and some members of the deaf community have also worked with The Taste of Sunrise cast and crew to help them learn more about the population.

“ASL has an amazing way of communicating everything you need in just a few simple gestures,” Ramirez says. “I hope this show will inspire a few people to pick up some basic ASL so that they can communicate with a wonderful group of amazing people.”

Characters in The Taste of Sunrise who use sign language have “interpreters” to speak their lines, creating an opportunity for both the cast and the audience to

understand both languages. The performances also will feature two screens with closed-captioning in Tucker Theatre.

The production features scenic, light and costume designs by MTSU Theatre and Dance faculty Scott Boyd, Darren Levin

and Audrey Reed, respectively.

Tickets also will be available at the Tucker Theatre box office one hour before curtain times. For more information, visit mtsuarts.com.

— MEGAN CASTLEBERRY

 THIS MONTH AT CENTER FOR THE ARTS PRIDE AND PREJUDICE 7:30 p.m. March 2, 3, 9 and 10, and at 2 p.m. on March 3, 4, 10 and 11

DISNEY MARY POPPINS JR. 6 p.m. Thursday, March 8; 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. Saturday, March 10

AUDITIONS FOR THE MIRACLE WORKER 6:30 p.m. Sunday, March 4, and Monday, March 5.

Performances will be April 20–29

GODSPELL JR. March 30–April 8 A group of disciples help Jesus Christ tell different parables by using a wide variety of games, storytelling techniques and a hefty dose of comic timing. An eclectic blend of songs, ranging in style from pop to vaudeville, is employed as the story of Jesus’ life dances across the stage. Dissolving hauntingly into the Last Supper and the Crucifixion, the production tells of Jesus’ messages of kindness, tolerance and love.

DISNEY ARISTOCAT KIDS 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 a.m.

Saturday, March 3 In the heart of Paris, a millionairess wills her entire estate to her cat and her three little kittens. Laughs and adventure ensue as the greedy butler pulls off the ultimate catnap caper. Now it’s up to the rough-andtumble alley cat, Thomas O’Malley, and his band of swingin’ jazz cats to save the day.

Center for the Arts is located at 110 W. College St., Murfreesboro.

Find tickets at boroarts.org BOROPULSE.COM

* MARCH 2018 * 23

Living

Eagala Organization shows how horses help lead struggling humans to higher ground.

BY JESSICA BARROLL

Horseplay S

ince almost the dawn of time, humans and horses have had a fluid relationship that has changed over the centuries, from carrying us into the battlefield to plowing our fields.

Recently this relationship has developed into equine-assisted psychotherapy, in which horses are being used in treatments for various mental health issues. At the forefront of this latest development in mental health treatments is Eagala (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association), an international professional association for equineassisted psychotherapy, providing education, training and support for practitioners using their specialized model worldwide since 1999.

Beginning in the mid-1900s the practice of using horses in physical therapy had become more commonplace, but it was not until the 1990s that utilizing horses in mental health treatments really started to gain ground.

“What is really unique to the Eagala model,” says Kristen DeMarco, an equine specialist with Eagala and executive director for Gateway Horseworks. “is that there is a team approach, so there is always a licensed mental health practitioner in the arena along with an equine specialist, horses and client.

It’s also focused on the ground which is also unique—there is no riding and we don’t teach

24 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

our clients any horsemanship skills,” she adds.

“It’s solution-oriented, meaning that we believe that our clients have the solutions to their challenges if given the space to discover them.

So, for example, we’re not teaching people or telling people what needs to happen for them to overcome a challenge or to reach for a goal, we’re really holding the space for them to find their own way through those challenges by incorporating horses in the process. And lastly the Eagala model really has professional standards and they have an ethics committee that can uphold all of those ethics of practice.”

This approach of getting out of the way and letting the clients work in their own space that will ultimately lay the foundation for furthering their treatment is what makes

DeMarco the most enthusiastic about the work and progress she sees being done in this field where “traditional methods can fall short. . . . The mental health crisis in this country and around the globe has reached such astronomical levels that we need more tools in our toolbox and this is just another wonderful tool that is emerging as being effective in treating mental health issues,” DeMarco says.

“With the emotional support from the mental health professional and the physical safety support from the horse professional, it really creates this unique space,” DeMarco continues. “What I hear most often from clients is that the horses haven’t judged them, because they don’t care what drug they used, or what their record says, or how

much money is in their bank account, or what their sexuality is. It just matters who they are in the moment and who they are in the next moment with the horses and we don’t really get that clean slate many places in our lives, so to be able to feel emotionally safe can then provide a space for clients to therapeutically work through very challenging often traumatic issues in a way that can empower them in the future.”

DeMarco tells of one particularly horrific case involving a client she was working with.

“She had been tortured by a family member and locked in a closet, denied food and sexually assaulted, and she was an adolescent. She had stopped speaking and was selectively mute and in the several months that she had been inpatient she had not spoken or spoken very little,” DeMarco says.

This individual would come out to a horse farm, where she began spending time with one particular horse over the course of several weeks.

“We just noticed that she started speaking to the horse, we couldn’t hear what she was saying because she was at the other end of our arena but little by little this horse came close to the group of people and the other horses and one day on no particular direct question to her she just started speaking about something very mundane but it was a breakthrough in her treatment not only at the farm with us but in her residential treatment facility,” DeMarco says. “She actually never stopped speaking from that day and that was after six sessions with us.”

DeMarco concludes the story by saying, “she continues to be one of their biggest success stories from the treatment facility that she was able to grow out of such a traumatic situation and be empowered to move on with her life in such a positive way. We still don’t know what happened over there with her and that horse and it wasn’t really important for us to know—what was important is that something shifted for her.”

Eagala will host its annual conference in Murfreesboro on March 6 at the MTSU Livestock Center. Local musician Templeton Thompson will perform at the conference where more than 400 mental health professionals, equine specialists, veterans, social workers, corporate leaders and many others will be present. For more information on the conference or to find a local organization associated with Eagala, visit eagala.org.

Read more about local restaurants at

BoroPulse.com/Category/Food

PHOTOS BY GORDON RALSTON PHOTOGRAPHY

Food

Meat-and-Three and More H

ere at the Pulse, we enjoy venturing to the most buzzed-about new businesses, but we also feel strongly about featuring the local restaurants that have stood the test of time. From City Cafe—Murfreesboro’s oldest restaurant—to the burgers at the legendary Buster’s Place, it is important to remember the places that paved the way.

This time, let’s head over to Campus Subs, a joint that has served thousands of hot, homestyle meals at its 1124 Old Lascassas Rd. location.

Less than a half mile from the edge of the MTSU campus, the meat-and-three calls itself the “best-kept secret in town,” and, considering it’s tucked away behind Greenland Drive, away from the heavy traffic volume of major thoroughfares, that phrase isn’t far from the truth.

Despite its sandwich-inspired name, general manager Judy Wood says the restaurant switched its focus to meat and vegetables after chain sub shops opened near campus.

Wood wears many hats at Campus Subs; 28 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

if she is not cooking, she is taking orders behind the counter or answering the phone.

“We offer a little bit of everything here,” Wood said after a rush of customers one afternoon in February.

Wood and the Campus Subs team have served an assortment of food over the years including, but certainly not limited to: burgers, fried chicken, homemade soups and salads, chicken and dumplings, meatloaf and pork roast. Each day brings a different batch of sides like fried potatoes, greens, lima beans, broccoli and cheese, glazed carrots and more.

Campus Subs serves up homestyle favorites near MTSU STORY BY DYLAN SKYE AYCOCK

“We make the best taco salads around,” she said. “There aren’t any like ours anywhere . . . and I’d know, because I make them.”

A few hours before the lunch rush begins, patrons stop in to fuel up for the day. While some may grab a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit before work, regulars catch up over coffee and a plate of standard breakfast fare.

Although fast food establishments are on almost every corner in town, Campus Subs is among the few non-chain restaurants in Murfreesboro that serve both breakfast and lunch (City Cafe and Wall Street downtown,

THE DISH NAME: Campus Subs LOCATION:

1124 Old Lascassas Rd. PHONE: 615-896-6700 HOURS: Monday–Friday,

8 a.m.–4 p.m.

ONLINE:

facebook.com/campussub

being a couple others).

Once inside, members of the MTSU community—students, staff or alumni—should feel right at home, as each meal is served with a side of Blue Raider pride. The walls are lined with photos, flags and newspaper clippings that tell stories of campus history. And considering its close proximity to campus, you can’t blame them for the school spirit.

“We have some of the best customers,” Wood added. With 16 years of business in the same location, there is a sense of community that many new restaurants are not yet able to offer.

Regular patrons will also be familiar with the restaurant’s annual Thanksgiving and Christmas lunches. These typically happen a couple days before the holidays and feature menu items like turkey and baked ham, along with vegetables, salad and various desserts.

Due to rotating menu items, call the restaurant to see what meats and vegetables are available that day.

RECIPE

BY CHANTELL KENNEDY-SHEHAN

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here is another chocolate cake recipe, because, well, it is delicious and you know you want it!

I won’t take credit for coming up with this recipe originally, but it has been one of my favorites for years. I hope you enjoy it.

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease or line cupcake pan with liners.

GUINNESS CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH IRISH CREAM BUTTERCREAM

Heat until the butter and sugar is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Yields 12 cupcakes INGREDIENTS: ½ cup butter ½ cup Guinness Stout ¹⁄³ cup cocoa powder ½ cup brown sugar ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup all-purpose flour ½ cup granulated sugar ½ teaspoon baking powder 1 egg ¼ cup sour cream

In a small saucepan combine Guinness, brown sugar, cocoa powder and butter. This works best mixing the sugar and cocoa together first.

In a mixing bowl or bowl, sift all remaining dry ingredients. Add cooled Guinness mixture and beat until smooth. Add egg and sour cream, beat until well incorporated.

Divide batter into greased and lined cupcake pan.

Bake for 20–25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove and allow to cool slightly on pan and then remove from pan and cool completely.

IRISH CREAM FROSTING: ½ cup butter

4 cups powdered sugar 4 tablespoons Irish cream, plus additional if needed Combine all ingredients until light and fluffy.

Decorate cupcakes as desired or, if you are feeling a little “fancy,” take your cupcakes and cut in half so you have two layers. Brush each layer with a whiskey simple syrup, spread base layer with buttercream and stack with the next layer. Top with more buttercream, and drizzle with fudge sauce!

Chantell is the chef and owner of Simply Pure Sweets, located on Walnut Street in downtown Murfreesboro

Movies

 REVIEWS

turned-biology professor whose husband was the only survivor of the latest expedition, and the only person to ever return from the shimmer. She joins a team of four to go into the shimmer to find out what happened to her husband’s team and learn more about what’s inside. It’s here where the movie really shines.

The shimmer refracts the light like an oilslick dome. Once inside, the world becomes a technicolor nightmare where pinks and

blues and orange hues light up a landscape of equally vibrant mutated plant life. Lena (Portman) and the crew, led by Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh), soon discover that the shimmer not only alters the landscape and wildlife, but also their memory and perception. The beauty of this familiar yet alien land is matched only by its lethality.

Their trek towards the heart of the shimmer—the lighthouse—is one of wonder and paranoia, but it is everything around that central journey that gums up the works.

I’m rarely one to decry too much story in movies, but the frequent use of dreams as flashbacks does more to interrupt the momentum than build intrigue. Similarly, the world of the rainbow hellscape is almost too interesting for its own good, nearly collapsing under the weight of the necessity of a final act. Speaking of the ending, it aspired to a revelatory apex of 2001 proportions but landed as puddle-deep weirdness, at least to this reviewer. Still, see Annihilation for the journey, not the destination.

— JAY SPIGHT

equal footing with the demanding Reynolds.

Day-Lewis spent a year studying couture preparing for this role, and his attention to the most minute of details are ever apparent.

Day-Lewis has said this is his last role, but as one star rides out into the sunset in triumphant fashion, another rises to take his place. Welcome to the top of the world of A-list movie stars, Vicky Krieps. Having to play opposite a man of Day-Lewis’s caliber . . . well, it has certainly proved to be too much for people in the past. Fortunately, though, Krieps knocked this one out of the park.

Lesley Manville is intriguing as Reynolds’ sister, Cyril. Despite how demanding Reyn-

olds is, both Cyril and Alma find their own ways to have power over him, and it’s simply magnificent to watch.

Everything about this set is meticulously chosen by P.T. Anderson. The costumes are brilliant and tell their own story. The freaking food choices from Reynolds tell their own story. Everything has a purpose here.

And holy Jonny Greenwood, the score!

Jonny: can you please wade into Hollywood films more deeply than just P.T. Anderson flicks? This great score comes from Radiohead’s lead guitarist. Who needs John Williams? It’s mysterious and memorable, just like Alma, and demanding and intrusive, like Reynolds. On the second viewing I already found myself humming along to it.

About the only complaint I have with this otherwise perfect film is something of a pointless MacGuffin thrown in as “jealousy” seemingly introduced into Reynolds and Alma’s relationship, but it doesn’t really go anywhere.

However, this fault doesn’t occur until well into the third act and relatively minor overall.

Phantom Thread is the very definition of the often overused word “masterpiece.” It is the best film of 2017, and is every bit worthy of the hype it has garnered.

— JOSEPH KATHMANN

ANNIHILATION DIRECTOR Alex Garland STARRING Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez RATED R

The second film from director Alex Garland, Annihilation, is another sci-fi head-trip.

The first definitions for “head-trip” that pop up on Google are: 1. An intellectually stimulating experience; 2. An act performed primarily for self-gratification. Garland’s first feature, Ex Machina, was a stunning and heady debut that fell squarely within the first definition. Annihilation is equally stunning, but falls somewhere between the two.

Though the film is best viewed with no prior knowledge of the story, it is based on a 2014 novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer, which was inspired by his hiking experience through a wildlife refuge

in Florida. Potential prior knowledge ahead (a.k.a. spoiler alert). The film takes place in a similarly wild area of Florida where a meteor hits a lighthouse. Instead of an explosion, the meteor causes a shimmering aura to appear around the lighthouse. As the aura grows in diameter, top-secret government agencies evacuate the affected area and send in teams to investigate the strange phenomena.

Natalie Portman plays an ex-soldier-

PHANTOM THREAD DIRECTOR Paul Thomas Anderson STARRING Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville RATED R

The great Paul Thomas Anderson is back, paired, once more, with the legendary Daniel Day-Lewis. Their previous film together, There Will Be Blood, is widely considered one of the best films of the 21st century, so to say there was some hype behind Phantom Thread is something of an understatement. Anderson’s last film, Inherent Vice, was a rather messy endeavor that was a little too incoherent and loose with its style for my tastes. But I think P.T. Anderson realized that, too. This time, his cast is down to three rather than the enormous supporting cast of Vice. This allows Anderson to intimately focus on the intricate and dynamic relationship between the lead characters in this film, Reynolds and Alma.

This relationship is the centerpiece of Phantom Thread, and these characters are played

masterfully by Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps.

We all know Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the greatest method actors in the history of Hollywood, and he reminds us why, again, here.

But I can’t imagine what it must’ve felt like to have to play opposite a man as intense as he is. (Reportedly, Day-Lewis insisted on meeting Krieps for the very first time on set while filming their first scene together.) Krieps more than holds her own and creates an utterly fascinating character in the process. There’s so much intrigue and depth to her character. The whole film is about her back-and-forth power struggle with Reynolds and Alma’s eventual transformation from shy waitress to a muse on

A CLASSIC

OUTSTANDING

AVERAGE

BELOW AVERAGE

AVOID AT ALL COSTS

BOROPULSE.COM

DEAD

* MARCH 2018 * 31

LIVING ROOM CINEMA column by NORBERT THIEMANN

facebook.com/livingroomcinema

Great Big Lies

Lies and deceit are nothing new, but complacency toward them can be an even greater malfeasance. Here are two documented examples where great big lies have impacted lives. ď ą The Imposter (2012) is documentary directed by Bart Layton. A family in Texas is given new hope when they hear that their missing son has emerged in Spain.

Once reunited, the story does not end.

The Imposter is a gripping true tale.

ď ° Wormwood (2017) is an excellent documentary series directed by Errol Morris. Frank Olson died from falling out of a hotel window in 1953. His family would eventually learn that there was a lot more surrounding his death than what they were initially told by the government.

32 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

OPENING IN MARCH PLAYING THIS MONTH

MARCH 9  A Wrinkle in Time Gringo

MARCH 16  Tomb Raider 7 Days in Entebbe

MARCH 23  Sherlock Gnomes Pacific Rim Uprising

MARCH 28  Paul, Apostle of Christ

MARCH 29 Ready Player One

 RECOMMENDED READING “This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America. Within the U.S., you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.” — books.google.com

ECCE DEUS:

ESSAYS ON THE LIFE AND DOCTRINE OF JESUS CHRIST

BY JOSEPH PARKER (1867) Chapter 2: The Written Word There is a document which claims to be authentic, and which certainly comes before the world as no other book does. The Book claims to have had an origin as mysterious as the birth of Christ—combining the human and divine.

The hand is man’s, the voice is God’s. While this Christian document is before us, we are not called upon to write a life of Christ, but to interpret a life that is written, or to show cause for rejecting the document. Our relation to the document should be first ascertained. Are we to reserve the right of discrimination in reading the documentary evidence? If so, by what law, or under what conditions, is the discriminative faculty to be regulated? To receive the book just as it stands would be simply an exercise of faith; to adopt an eclectic course would involve the rendering of reasons for abandoning the immemorial orthodoxy of the Church.

No doubt the Book is often thought of in a narrow and even unreasoning way by its admirers. Certainly, it is so sparing in details as to apparently leave much of life unprovided for.

It does not occupy a tenth part of the ground traversed by Plato, who, in connection with many lofty speculations, discoursed concerning lands and dwellings, hunting and fishing, cemeteries, monuments, and epitaphs, family quarrels and injury to property, rhetoric and geometry, with a thousand other subjects. Compared with this elaborate treatment of nearly all questions, the statements of the Christian writings are exceedingly bald and poor; yet there may be more in those writings than all the tomes of philosophy. God’s first book, the book of nature, apparently leaves much of life unprovided for; yet as men acquire skill to turn over the ponderous pages, they find that every want has been anticipated. Adam would hardly know the world of which he was the first occupant; yet the primal forces and characteristics of nature are just the same as when he kept the garden of Eden. Modern civilization can hardly understand how men could subsist in ancient times; yet the earth abides forever without appendix or supplement. What was wanting was the faculty of interpretation. Men saw the water but could not interpret it into steam; they saw the lightning, but mistook it for an enemy; they saw the sun, but could not fully interpret all he signified by the eloquence of light. The human power of interpretation grows; yet after it has grown it often forgets both the process and the fact. The volume of nature is precisely today as God published it; but the latter read-

34 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

ers are more sharp-sighted and inquisitive than the former. Civilization becomes wiser, keener, more ambitious and inclusive, year by year. Men were partly afraid; partly unable, to decipher the writing of nature; they read the illuminated title, and settled down into contentment or indifference; as if, when “God finished the heavens and the earth,” he also finished all the uses and applications to which future ages would be disposed to put them.

The Christian writings abound in seminal ideas; they are full of beginnings. The outlines are many, but there are no finished pictures.

The value of those writings may be best represented by the term Life. We know they are inspired, because they are inspiring. The living man is the best confirmation of the living book. The book is not a plumb-line by which to test the perpendicularity of a wall; it is a living spirit, quickening and regulating spirits capable of illimitable development. With infinite appropriateness, therefore, it closes with an apocalypse—not with a final line, but with prophecies of a future which shall eclipse the splendor of all earlier light. The Old Testament closed with a prophecy; The New Testament culminated in a revelation. The New Testament is only the beginning of books; not a finished and sealed document, according to popular notions of finality, but the beginning of a literature punctuated and paragraphed by tears and laughter, by battle and pestilence, and all the changes of a tumultuous yet progressive civilization. The Apocalypse looks towards the future with ten thousand eager and glowing eyes. What if that Apocalypse be fulfilling under our own observation, and Christ be saying to us, “Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the signs of the sky, how is it ye cannot discern the signs of the times?”

God is, so to speak, issuing ever-enlarging editions of the New Testament—so rapidly, indeed, that the world itself can hardly contain the books. Though we no longer know Christ after the flesh, yet we walk with him in the holy sanctuary of the spirit; and from among the golden candlesticks he throws out all the rays by which we read today’s story and tomorrow’s apocalypse. He is still “the light of the world,” and still there is about him all the mystery of light. The light which reveals the landscape needs itself to be revealed; so paradoxical is nature, like nature’s God, that we are dependent for revelation upon what is itself a mystery! If we have ceased to know any of the facts of the Book—its temples, sacrifices, washings, oblations, and miracles—it is because we have come to a deeper sympathy with its spirit. We have now transcended the use of the grammar and the lexicon, except for the most rudimentary and initial purposes. We are not now entirely dependent upon the scribe, but

by a divinely regulated instinct we know as the hand and the voice of God. Our faith cannot be broken down by a misspelt word or a mistaken date; the heart is enthroned as arbiter, and it knows the “going” of the divine step.

No doubt the Book does contain contradictions more or less real. So does the book of nature. The desert contradicts the garden; the storm contradicts the calm; summer and winter are utterly discordant; one plant grows poison, another is impregnated with healing juices; the savage beast and the creature of gentle blood face each other in the contradictory book of nature. The world is full of contradictions, and an intolerably insipid world it would be but for its anomalies. Every man is his own contradiction. In 10 years a growing man will throw off many tastes, companionships and habits, which today are pleasant to him. There is nothing without an element of contradiction but death, and death itself is the great contradiction of God. Human maxims and policies are continually at strife. Out of contradiction comes education. But what is contradiction? Not lying, necessarily—not even opposition, absolutely; contradiction may simply mean incompleteness, or may arise from ellipsis. Two gases may mutually antagonize, yet may be held altogether by a third. Two statements may be discrepant, until a missing link is supplied. A man may pursue two divergent courses of conduct, yet may hold his integrity without a breach; when smitten on one cheek, he may turn the other, and yet he may rebuke an offending brother; he may judge no man, yet he may refuse to cast his pearls before swine, or give that which is holy unto the dogs: this supposed contradictoriness he has learned of Jesus Christ, who, though he had nowhere to lay his head, promised to those who followed him, “a hundredfold more in the present world;” who reproached men for not coming to him, and then told them that no man came unto him except if the Father drew him, and afterwards gave them to understand that they would be damned if they did not come unto him; who preached trust concerning tomorrow, and then told men to make unto themselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness.

All this appears to be contradictory and perplexing, yet the same kind of contradiction marks the whole life and speech of men. One book may be many books, as the New Testament literally is. Its chapters may be addressed to different men, or to the same men under different circumstances; or cautionary words my be interposed in anticipation of possible abuse. One of the New Testament writers states plainly that there are in the revelation two distinct kinds of spiritual ailment, known respectively as “milk” and “strong meat;” one for babes, the other for men. When babes eat men’s food, what wonder if they suffer from doctrinal dyspepsia, and be excluded from the Church as heretics? And when men appropriate the babe’s milk, what wonder that the Church should suffer in robustness and power? There is one remarkable saying of Christ’s, which prepares us for ever-widening revelations of his purpose in relation to man: he said, “I have many

things to tell you, but ye cannot hear them now: howbeit, when he the Spirit of Truth is come, he will lead you into all truth.”

Among the “many things” would be explanations of hard sayings and complements of unfinished circles. The plan of revelation, too, hinted that man should become more reliant upon the Spirit. Writing is a human contrivance, but thinking is a divine operation. The scribe for the child, the Spirit for man. The instructions of a parent or schoolmaster amply illustrate the whole case alike as to method, instrument, and result. At one period the child is addressed as if he were irresponsible, and at another as if every deed would be brought under judgement. The schoolmaster first sets before the pupil the most detailed methods of calculation, and insists upon every step being taken; afterwards he shows the pupil how to abbreviate the processes of doing the very same work, and actually ridicules him if the calculation is carried on in the detailed and minute method which at first was affirmed to be right. So a man is educated in proportion as he becomes able to group and summarize details, and by scientific eclipses to pass rapidly towards results. All this is part of a great movement from the letter to the Spirit, from the symbol to the life. This is man’s upward course towards God; a deliverance from manual toil, and an entrance upon the joys of a work which never satiates the appetite, and never serves the faculty. When we are “perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect,” we shall escape the medium of manual processes, and the work from the spiritual center. According to the processes, so may be the verdicts which men may pass upon one another. The pupil who is only able to do a sum in simple multiplication would not be “able to bear” a revelation respecting the differential calculus; but in proportion as he was able to acquit himself well in multiplication, the teacher would be justified in saying that he was a good scholar, and yet that he knew nothing—good as far as he had gone, yet ignorant in view of the vast region which remained to be explored.

When Christ tells men to come unto him, he is addressing them in their alienated condition; when he tells them that they will not come unless the Father draw them, he is but cheering and confirming their Christ-ward desires. The statement is equivalent to this: “I am so unlike what all men have expected, and I have commenced my work in so unlikely a manner, that no man could possibly come unto such a poor, friendless, homeless man, except my Father draw him; I present no external charms, I can appeal to no sordid motives; if any man, therefore, feels the slightest drawing towards me, he may regard the inclination as divinely inspired, for no man cometh unto such a person as I am, except the Father which hath sent me to draw him.’ In this view we have the meaning of the expression, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”

Men are moved by opposites. While there is a falsehood in extremes, there is a moral leverage in them also. The servant is on the road to mastery; the humble man is traveling to the throne; decomposition is a step towards reproduction:

so this lowly outcast Christ, by the very depth of his humiliation, lifts society towards the latitude of heaven. He could not have done his work at any of the intermediate points of the social scale; he must go down until there was no man below him—until he was despised and rejected of men; so that by any action on his part from the depth, and a concurrent action on his Father’s part from heaven, he could say, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work; no man cometh unto me except the Father draw him.”

But is it not declared, in other parts of the Christian writings, that certain men are foreordained and predestinated to eternal life; that God is likened unto a potter who may fit one vessel unto honor, and another; that he subdues and hardens whom he will? Is not this contradictory of much that Christ said, and confirmatory of other of his sayings? In the interpretation of all such sayings, the heart is to be trusted before the dictionary. Christ often puts the understanding of divine mysteries upon the base of an analogy between fatherly and divine government: “If he . . . how much more your Father?” This is a method of interpretation which refers decision to the natural and universal instincts of man, and such a method is absolutely essential where grammar and lexicon cannot disclose the inner meaning of language. Christ goes back to the interpretation of consciousness, where literal interpretation fails. Tried by this higher tribunal of criticism, such meanings as have been attached to the idea of predestination simply cannot be correct. The heart repels them; nature shudders with horror when they are suggested. The fatherly instinct of the human race, to which Christ himself appealed, instantly, without flutter or misgiving, says, “If God calls all men, and yet determines that only a few shall come; if he mocks men by offering gifts which he has rendered them powerless to accept; if he makes some men vessels of dishonor, and then breaks them to pieces because they are not vessels of honor; if he can sit on his judgement seat, and see men going down to hell because he determined from all eternity that they should not go to heaven; if when he says ‘whosoever’ he means but a few—then let all honest and noble men leave him alone in his hateful heaven, and go down to hell in company with poor injured creatures who have deserved better at his hands.” This is the conclusion of that very instinct of parenthood which Christ himself challenged in the interest of the divine government. Nowhere in the sacred writings is God represented as falling below the promptings of that holy instinct, but everywhere as transcending them in love and beneficence; but the interpretation which reprobates any portion of the human race shamefully and cruelly dishonors all that is compassionate and generous, not to say all that is equitable and just, in the common nature of men. Christ’s new canon of interpretation renders men independent of technical criticism, and when the instinct upon which it is founded is entirely purified, it will render men independent of all ambiguous codes. So far, the parental instinct enables men confidently to affirm that, whatever may be the

meaning of predestination, it cannot narrow the affections, or pervert the justice of God. It has been suggested by the narrowest and hardest school of theologians, that God may, as a sovereign, condemn anybody without being held accountable, or without giving any shadow of reason to his creatures. This, however, is a notion which proceeds upon a mistaken apprehension alike of divine and human nature. There is not only a fallacy, but a falsehood, in the very heart of such a representation. God himself cannot so act with moral beings. In proportion as any creature is endowed with the moral element, in that proportion is the sovereignty of God limited in relation to that being, when debated questions arise between the creature and the Creator. It is by virtue of the moral element that man stands upon a common plane with God. Sovereignty is a matter of power over forces and events which do not come within the sphere of responsibility. The whole tenor of the Christian writings goes to show that, as a sovereign, God could not even save man; his sovereignty was limited to the method by which salvation should be offered; on all questions of plan, time, and circumstances, God’s sovereignty was absolute; but no man could be saved apart from the exercise of his own will; the moment that force entered would be the moment of his degradation as a man. If man could have been saved simply by a volition of the sovereign, then the humiliation and agony of Christ constituted a circumlocution in the divine government which could be accounted for only on the ground of the most wanton cruelty on the part of God. Salvation and reprobation alike lie beyond the limits of sovereignty, except in such points as have just been named. It is not our business to enter upon an interpretation of such passages as are mistakenly supposed to justify the theory of reprobation, but it is our business in thus canvassing the Christian writings to point out the canon of construction which Christ himself appealed to in illustrating the immeasurable bounty of God towards man. Christ set up the human parent as the best representative of the divine Father, and thereby elevated the parental spirit into an interpreter of divine things.

With such real or apparent contradictions before us, it becomes of the first importance to determine what is to be done with the Christian writings? Are sophisticated and foolhardy men to be turned into them indiscriminately, and left without guidance as to their divisions and applications? Is the Church an authorized and necessary interpreter of the written Word? The determining distinction between a book that is true and a book that is false is, that the true book, with all its ellipses, brokenness, and literal discrepancies, may be trusted anywhere; for the spirit that pervades it will be its strong defense and it will grow upon the consciousness of men in proportion as they learn more of the brokenness and ellipsis of life itself. The bad book, on the other hand, with all its artistic consistency, will cheat every promise it offers, and fail most where it is needed most. The position which the Christian writings have attained is the best vindication of their claim to be the declarations

which God has authorized; not apposition of finality, or apprehension as to encroachment, but one of inspiring and self-spreading life, which encompasses all the wants of man.

Words already cited from Christ’s own lips show that we are not living under a dispensation of the book, but under the dispensation of the Spirit; and this fact harmonizes with the while of God’s educational method being one of continuous advance from the seen to the unseen, from “beggarly elements” to all-subduing life. Christ gave a very partial revelation of himself in the days of his flesh. A few strong, startling and revolutionary words, with a chastened and persuasive tone of consolation, sustained by many mighty works, was all that he gave men, with one exception; but that exception was itself the chief hope of the Church, being nothing less than a promise of the Spirit of Truth. That Spirit was to be an indwelling presence in the Church, inspiring and guiding the education of the soul, interpreting the facts which the visible Christ had created, and leading into the truths which those facts dimly outlined. Truth is always deeper than fact.

Christ had built up, by teaching and suffering, the world’s greatest, holiest fact: but the Spirit was promised, to reveal the infinite truth which that fact pointed out. The Christian writings without the Christian Spirit would be a dead letter; but the Spirit, by daily interpretation and application of the written word, enlarges it so as to extend it over the whole ground of

life. Though this is the age of the Spirit, it is appropriately termed the Christian era; for the Spirit “takes of the things Christ” alone—never changes the theme but continues to unfold “the unsearchable riches.” Christ’s personal work was rudimentary in a large sense; he struck across the courses of life in a manner which compelled attention; his words often flashed like lightning, and his step startled like thunder at midnight; but his work has all the appearance of a fragment about it. He has many things to say, but forbears; what men knew not in his lifetime, they were to know afterwards; his own words were to be succeeded by greater, because he was going to the Father. There was much abruptness about this. He had roused the Jewish mind without tranquilizing it again.

Christ’s work, looked at entirely by itself, simply as a three years’ ministry, was certainly fragmentary, though perfect so far as it went; yet looked at in relation to the whole width of human history, it was suggestive, not exhaustive; preliminary, not final. Throughout the whole of his work the Spirit expounded simply the doctrines of Christ, not any doctrines of his own: “He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” Here then we have the solution of the difficulty as to the interpretation of the written Word; there is a Spirit whose particular function it is to reveal the Christ more plainly.

BOROPULSE.COM

* MARCH 2018 * 35

News

A

plan by one of the largest liquor companies in the United States to purchase a 55-acre piece of land just outside of the Murfreesboro city limits, where it aims to construct a distillery, visitors center and multiple warehouses, has recently caused the surrounding community members to wonder how city officials can allow a large manufacturing operation to open adjacent to their residential neighborhood.

Sazerac, which owns dozens of liquor brands including Fireball, Southern Comfort, Buffalo Trace, Skol, Taaka, Margaritaville, Montezuma, Popcorn Sutton, Kentucky Tavern and many others, unveiled plans in late 2017 to acquire a piece of property bordering the northwest edge of Murfreesboro, just off of Florence and Asbury Roads near the I-24 and 840 interchange. Here, according to company representatives, Sazerac would like to construct a whiskey distillery and tourist destination, complete with a bottling and processing building, grain silos, a VIP meeting building, a charcoal pavilion and four barrel warehouses, each capable of storing 20,000 barrels of hard liquor, and up to 66 feet in height.

Prior to the construction of this liquor-land plant and attraction, the City of Murfreesboro would have to first annex the piece of property in question, currently owned by Joseph Smith and Ricky Smith, and also zone it to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow mass production on the land.

Christy Andrews lives on Honeybee Drive, just to the south of the proposed distillery.

Andrews says she does not find a residentially zoned neighborhood to be the most suitable site for a massive whiskey production facility.

“The primary purpose of zoning is to segregate uses to prevent new development from interfering with existing uses and/or to preserve the character of a community,” Andrews told the Murfreesboro Planning Commission during a Jan. 17 public hearing on the 36 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

NEIGHBORS SAY NO TO SAZERAC matter. “I don’t see how in any way a zoned residential neighborhood would be considered compatible with an industrial or manufacturing business such as a distillery.

“There is an abundance of available land in Murfreesboro already zoned and suitable for this type of plan,” Andrews continued.

Taylor Berry, one of many other area residents somehow opposed to the idea of major production and distribution operations in the middle of a subdivision, also encouraged the Murfreesboro Planning Commission to vote to not recommend the property be rezoned.

“We have no problem with a distillery in Murfreesboro, I’m sure it would be great for the economy,” Berry said.

“But please, put it somewhere else.”

City Planners approve, say they value private industry contributing to local road building.

BY BRACKEN MAYO

Initially, employees, vendors and visitors to the distillery would use Asbury Road to access the distillery. But, incidentally, Murfreesboro’s 2040 Major Transportation Plan already includes plans for a major five-lane road just to the north of the proposed distillery site, which would most likely connect to a new I-24 exit in between 840 and Almaville Road.

As part of its proposal, Sazerac is “committing to enter into a public/private partnership with the city, to accelerate the construction of a five-lane roadway connection that is to the northwest,” said Matt Taylor, professional engineer and vice president of Murfreesboro-based Site Engineering Consultants, on behalf of his client, Sazerac.

“We would prefer for that to happen sooner rather than later, and I think that is the city’s intention as well,” he said.

City Environmental Engineer Sam Hud-

dleston says that portion of the city needs this new five-lane road project, referred to in the 2040 plan as the Cherry Lane Extension, a phrase he uses to describe that unique area of town.

“It’s close to everything, yet it’s close to nothing. What I mean by that, (is) you have 840 in your back door, you have I-24 in your back door, but you really can’t get access to them. If you’re trying to get over to Broad Street, occasionally you get caught by the train,” Huddleston said.

As the neighborhood grows, Florence Road and Old Nashville Highway have limited capabilities, and the area needs the new roadway, as well as an new Interstate connection, Huddleston said.

He points out that just because a road project is on the 2040 plan, doesn’t mean that it will take until 2040 to complete.

Sazerac’s Glenmore Distribution Center in Owensboro, Kentucky

Sazerac’s Buffalo Trace Distillery Warehouse Facility in Frankfort, KY

“We’re pursuing those [projects] now,” he said. “Occasionally we create a great opportunity for a public/private partnership . . . the public/private partnership has been a strong part of our road-building history.”

Sazerac has offered to contribute financially to that project, and Huddleston says it is his goal to present to the City Council a joint funding plan involving both the City of Murfreesboro and Sazerac to make that new roadway project possible.

“The interchange is really a gamechanger for that property, and for the surrounding community,” Huddleston said.

While the City of Murfreesboro has the authority to authorize and construct the Cherry Lane extension, the new I-24 interchange is a different matter, and would require state and federal approval, which could take up to 10 years.

However, Taylor said the permanent Sazerac entrance on the north of the prop-

erty is only linked only to the Cherry Lane extension project, not necessarily the new I-24 interchange.

In the meantime, prior to a new road and interchange, Asbury Road would provide access to the Sazerac property. Community members have expressed concern that the two-lane road would not be ideal for semi trucks coming to and from the distillery.

“Now, there’s no traffic on it. It is a bad road. There’s potholes all on it; I have to weave back and forth to avoid the holes. It’s not very well paved,” said Richard Davis, who lives in the area. “Houses are 10 feet away from the road.”

Taylor estimates that at maximum capacity, Sazerac would see 12 trucks a day; most likely the truck traffic would be limited to four to six trucks a day, he said.

“Our use is going to generate significantly less traffic than a residential neighborhood,” he said.

Huddleston said he believes that Asbury Road could accommodate construction traffic, and does not “envision any significant improvements to Asbury Road.”

“The farm and billboard use on Asbury Road does sometimes require heavy equipment,” Huddleston said.

The potential new quick access to I-24, close proximity to the major tourist hub of Nashville and the presence of a natural water source on the land make this piece of property very attractive to the whiskey manufacturer, Taylor said.

“The lake is a huge asset in this project,” he said.

Murfreesboro Planning Director Gary Whitaker said that without the new portion of Cherry Lane providing access to the Sazerac property, its current proposed site may not be the most ideal location for it.

“Without the extension of Cherry Lane, there’s no doubt, it’s residential property.

With the interchange, with a five-lane road, that property is not really set up for residential use. It’s set up for more of a commercial use,” he said.

Nevertheless, those who stand to feel the impact of a distillery bordering their backyards say they do not believe Sazerac would make an appropriate neighbor in their residential neighborhood.

Heather Cadenhead, a mother and a Honeybee Drive homeowner, called the deal an instance of “crony capitalism that would devastate a community.”

“I never would have purchased a home in Thistle Downs had I known that residential zoning ordinances I thought would protect my family could in fact be sold to the highest corporate bidder,” she said.

Her family bought its home on Honeybee Drive partially to get away from mold in their former residence, she said. Now, though, she has concerns about mold resulting from the production of whiskey.

Another neighborhood resident, Patrick Banker, brought up baudoinia, a.k.a. whiskey fungus, a black mold that can cover signs, buildings and cars nearby distilleries, as seen in some Kentucky neighborhoods close by whiskey production operations.

Other neighbors pointed out that numerous major auto dealerships sit only about a mile away from the proposed Sazerac distillery site, and that they would hate for their hundreds of brand-new, pristine automobiles to become covered with the black mold.

Dr. Anne Pringle, a professor of botany and bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin, told the concerned neighbors that she does not believe that baudoinia poses a health risk to them, or anyone. “There’s

no evidence that a distillery harms your health,” she said.

Pringle also points out that black fungi currently grows noticeably on some existing signs in the Asbury Road neighborhood.

“I don’t think that there will be any more black mold in your neighborhood after this distillery is built, if it is built, than there already is,” she said.

Not every owner of property bordering the proposed Sazerac site opposes the distillery plan.

The Dismukes family owns the piece of property with the longest border, with the lot in question located to the west of it.

Bo Dismukes said he would rather have Sazerac’s distillery next to his family farm than another subdivision, and said their plan would offer a buffer between his land and the densely populated subdivisions.

But the stream of other residents opposed to the plan continued at the January public hearing.

“I look at this commission, and your job is to protect the citizens through proper planning, through proper growth,” said Nathan Peterson. “Your job is to approve plans that would enhance the property values of the residents, not run the risk of degrading those values.”

Taylor emphasized that the entire 55 acres his client seeks to acquire and develop will not be packed full of industry, and that “large expanses of open space” will remain, as he described a “very serene campus.”

“We intend to keep a large portion of the vegetation and trees on the property,” he said. “We’re impacting about 30 percent of the property.”

He also said that this Sazerac facility would not attempt to equal the volume of Tennessee whiskey makers Jack Daniel’s or George Dickel.

The Murfreesboro Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the property be annexed and rezoned.

The Sazerac distillery proposal will now go before the Murfreesboro City Council for a final public hearing and vote. This will begin at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 12, at Murfreesboro City Hall, 111 W. Vine St. Learn more about Sazerac at sazerac. com. Find a page that property owners near the distillery set up to oppose the plans at facebook.com/fightagainstdistillery. Learn more about Murfreesboro’s 2040 Major Transportation Plan at murfreesborotn.gov.

BOROPULSE.COM

* MARCH 2018 * 37

AROUND TOWN ’BORO BUSINESS BUZZ

AMC Theater, Riser Room, Dog Haus Biergarten, Cousins Maine Lobster, Sub Stop

cial broker handling the project, said two national chain restaurants and a nationally known brand are interested in the space.

MORE FOOD NEWS COUSINS MAINE LOBSTER’s food truck

BY MICHELLE WILLARD THE NEW MOVIE THEATER at Stones River Mall should be open by Memorial Day, according to recent reports.

The nine-screen, full-service AMC THEATER is nearing completion, said Jon Speed, an assistant project manager of development and construction for the mall’s parent company, Sterling Organization.

The 47,000-square-foot theater was approved for 1,000 seats with full-service, electronic, high-back recliners with seatside dining.

Another new concept coming to the ’Boro is coming from an old favorite.

Christy and Shawn Hackinson, owners of THE ALLEY ON MAIN, announced they will soon break ground on a new venture to be located in the empty courtyard next to their existing restaurant at 223 W. Main St. Christy Hackinson explained in a video that The Alley will remain where it is, next to the new two-story building. The first floor will house THE RISER ROOM, which will offer sandwiches, soups and salads as well as an event space.

The building will be topped by a rooftop bar called SOPRA, which means “above” in Italian. Sopra will serve signature cocktails along with shareable plates.

The Hackinsons said they hope to break ground in April and open in the late fall, just in time for Christmas.

In other groundbreakings, developer Baker Storey McDonald plans to start work on a new multi-tenant commercial development on the northeast corner of South Church Street and Joe B. Jackson Parkway.

Called MARKETPLACE AT SAVANNAH RIDGE, the 137,245-square-foot shopping center will likely be anchored by an Aldi.

PLANS FOR SOUTH CHURCH Gina and David Stansberry, the owner/ operators of ATTACK! BARCADIUM and FROZEN TREATS FROM MARS on South Church Street near the Murfreesboro Public Square and the lessees of two ad38 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

DOG HAUS BIERGARTEN

ditional buildings on South Church Street, have recently clarified their plans for their area of downtown Murfreesboro.

“We are renovating the corner building [at Church and Vine] to be able to house a full kitchen that the ice cream shop kitchen space just can’t support anymore,” Gina Stansberry commented last month. “The fudge machine, ice cream machine, popcorn machine, carmelizer and storage take up a lot of space.”

She said they rented the Frozen Treats From Mars space in 2015 but quickly realized they were going to outgrow its kitchen space. She added that the corner building would have a much larger dining room and that they hope to obtain an alcohol license for this space.

Once workers complete renovations to the corner building, the Stansberrys plan to “move our ice cream business with all its machinery and finally have a kitchen large enough to add a few other things we had planned.” This concept will include many additional food items, pinball machines and a space to host birthday parties and events.

As far as the former Pa Bunks space at 107 S. Church St., the Stansberrys say they are ready to vacate that spot, once planned to be the Space Cafe.

“We had great hopes and dreams to turn it into a cafe,” Gina said. “While we were doing mass renovations we quickly figured out we did not want to stay in that space, no matter how much money and improvements we added. Who ever takes over this space will benefit from our renovations greatly,” she said, adding, “We desperately want to get out of old Pa Bunks . . . I’m

willing to work with anyone as long as I eventually can get out of that space.”

MORE CARS ON MEDICAL CENTER PARKWAY The City of Murfreesboro recently approved plans for a CARMAX that will join all the other car lots in The Gateway area.

CarMax will be the latest dealer to locate a facility on Medical Center Parkway/Manson Pike.

HONDA OF MURFREESBORO has

moved into its new home on John Rice Boulevard, the car dealer announced in an email to customers.

The new lot is anchored by a 51,084-square-foot central building in Honda blue with two outbuildings for used cars and service.

Also on the corner of John Rice and Fortress/Medical Center/Manson, NELSON MAZDA’s new location is also quickly taking shape.

The dealer’s second campus will be a 24,796-square-foot dealership and is slated to open in the spring. When finished, it will be two stories tall, designed in brick with metal accents.

Across the John Rice from Nelson Mazda, a new multi-tenant commercial center will host an urgent care clinic and two restaurants.

The first phase, approved last June, includes 17,100 square feet with room for seven or eight tenants.

No timeline or plans have been set for the second phase. John Harney, the commer-

is going to be a restaurant soon if a billboard near Sam Ridley Parkway on Interstate 24 is to be believed.

Murfreesboro residents and local franchisees Craig and Quinn Betts confirmed that the rolling restaurant will soon put down roots.

The Bettses said they plan to add about 600 square feet at 1932 Almaville Rd. in Smyrna, which has been the commissary for their two lobster trucks.

The extra square footage will become a dining room for about 40. They also plan to add outdoor seating and a drive-thru.

According to a recent Eater Nashville article, the restaurant should open in April.

Murfreesboro should “prepare for the absolute wurst” now that Dog Haus Biergarten has opened.

After taking the old Sal Y Limon (and Burger King before that) down to the studs, the rebuilt DOG HAUS BIERGARTEN opened Feb. 17 at 521 NW Broad St. in Murfreesboro.

Back in November, the gourmet hot dog, sausage and burger concept announced a major company-wide shift to using all natural, vegetarian-fed pork, chicken, turkey and beef raised without antibiotics or hormones in all dogs, sausages and burgers.

Additionally, Dog Haus’ proprietary hot dogs and sausages will be free of all added nitrates and nitrites, containing only naturally occurring ones found in sea salt and celery powder. Hot dogs and sausages made this way are rarely found in restaurants or on store shelves.

Guests can select from a list of craft beers from a tap list emphasizing local favorites and finish on a sweet note with premium shakes or soft-serve ice cream.

The same week, MISSION BBQ opened its new Murfreesboro location on Medical Center Parkway.

The restaurant is known for its traditional barbecue with a hefty side of patriotism.

Mission BBQ opened its first restaurant Sept. 11, 2011. The founders have said they believe there is nothing more American than barbecue and nobody more American than the brave men and women who have sworn to protect and serve.

To honor veterans, the restaurant per-

forms a daily salute to the Stars and Stripes at lunchtime.

CBD BUST VICTIM LAUNCHES GOFUNDME ENCHANTED PLANET has launched a GoFundMe campaign after Rutherford County law enforcement agencies raided it and 22 other businesses and served 21 indictments on people accused of selling hemp-derived products.

“Last week our store was padlocked because we carried CBD. CBD is made from industrial hemp, not marijuana and is 100 percent legal,” said Louis Shaun Berbert, who opened Enchanted Planet in 1994.

“We take pride in providing products that our customers need, and make sure that we follow all the laws,” Berbert said.

Enchanted Planet was caught up Feb. 12 in a police sting, dubbed Operation Candy Crush, when indictments were served following an undercover investigation by the Sheriff ’s Office and Smyrna Police Department. The agencies sent out officers to purchase products containing cannabidiol, a.k.a., CBD, at the 23 stores.

The stores were accused of selling products resembling candy and containing

the industrial hemp derivative. On Feb. 12, Enchanted Planet and all the other stores were padlocked.

They were allowed to reopen Feb. 16 but the businesses have lost tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue, attorney’s fees and other costs.

Stacey Hamilton, who co-owns two vapor stores in Murfreesboro, Kaleidoscope Custom Vapor Lounge on South Church Street and Memorial Boulevard, said she has lost more than $50,000 because of the raid.

“The officers at my Church Street location photographed and seized CBD products, close to $3,000 in cash, the cash register and, without a warrant, they seized several bottles of eLiquid (which is tobacco-based) stating ‘they were appealing to kids,’” Stacey Hamilton said.

To contribute to Enchanted Planet’s GoFundMe, visit gofundme.com/enchantedplanet1994. The store owners will return to court March 19.

CLOSING CORNER In a surprising announcement, the owners of Sub Stop said the Murfreesboro/Nashville institution will be closing its pink doors.

Travis Millwood, owner of the SUB STOP

brand, said he received an offer too good to refuse for the location at 306 W. Vine St. “After carefully evaluating the offer and our family’s current needs, we have decided to accept this opportunity,” Millwood wrote in a Facebook post.

Millwood added there may be another announcement about the future of the brand in the coming weeks.

Another Murfreesboro institution is closing its doors after nearly two decades of service.

It was with a heavy heart that Penny Bolton announced she will close her clothing boutique, PENNY’S CLOSET. In a Facebook post, Bolton said she has decided to retire and close her store on Northfield Boulevard.

“I know the toughest part of this is that I will dearly miss the daily interactions with my customers and employees, many that have become my dear, dear friends,” Bolton said in an email to her customers.

Everything in the store is on sale for up to 75 percent off.

After 38 years of business, MURFREESBORO VACUUM CLEANER & SEWING

CENTER, a Memorial Boulevard institu-

tion, has closed up shop and the Leonard family has sold the building that housed it, as well as QUILT CONNECTION and GOLDEN SCISSORS BARBER SHOP.

Ken Leonard Sr. launched the shop in 1980, and he and his son ran a successful business there for decades.

“I came to work for him in 1982. I was 13 years old at that time,” Ken Jr. said.

Many Murfreesboro country and bluegrass music players and fans have attended one of the Saturday morning picking and singing jam sessions that Murfreesboro Vacuum Cleaner & Sewing Center hosted for so many years.

THE SALVATION ARMY FAMILY STORE at 125 S. Front St. also announced

it is closing its doors. There is now a 10,000 square foot retail space with garage access available for lease at 125 S. Front St., between West Main and NE Broad streets.

If you have a tip about a new business coming to town, an old one closing, complaints, or other Murfreesboro business news, contact Michelle @michwillard on Twitter or michelle.willard@gmail.com.

BOROPULSE.COM

* MARCH 2018 * 39

News

ELECTION COVERAGE

A Look at the Congressional Candidates for Tennessee’s Fourth District

BY ELIZABETH TULLOS THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IS THE LOWER CHAMBER IN CONGRESS. Combined with the Senate, they create the legislative branch of our federal government. Our state is divided into nine Congressional districts, with Murfreesboro resting in the northernmost point of the Fourth Congressional District.

Tennessee’s Fourth Congressional District spans across 16 counties in Middle and East Tennessee. From Maury County to Bradley County, over 700,000 citizens are represented in this district. Since 2010, the district has consistently voted Republican when Scott Desjarlais defeated Lincoln Davis, the Democratic incumbent since 2002.

★ ★ SCOTT DESJARLAIS scottdesjarlais.com For seven years, Rep. Desjarlais has served in Congress on several committees, including the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Armed Services. Prior to arriving in Washington D.C., he had never held public office. Instead, Rep. Desjarlais spent most of his career as a general physician in Marion County, Tennessee. In 2010, Rep. Desjarlais sought office and won against the Democrat incumbent, Rep. Lincoln Davis, a significant milestone for the Republican party in Tennessee. This was the first time an incumbent had been unseated in Tennessee’s Fourth Congressional District.

Rep. Desjarlais has a lifetime score of 93 percent from Americans for Prosperity, an “A” from the National Rifle Association, an “A” from Numbers USA and a 100 percent rating from National Right to Life for his pro-life voting record.

However, Rep. Desjarlais’ voting record on pro-life issues does not reflect his personal history. The Congressman from South Pittsburg, Tennessee, has run the entirety of his political career under a traditional family values platform. During his 2012 reelection campaign, records from his divorce with his first wife, Susan Desjarlais, became public. The records indicated that not only did the pro-life Congressman support his first wife’s two abortions, but he also had extramarital affairs with two patients, coworkers and a drug company representative.

In his affairs with his patients, Rep. Desjarlais told one patient to seek an abortion and prescribed a now-banned painkiller to the other. In 2013, the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners fined Rep. Desjarlais for 40 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

his sexual misconduct with patients.

“Tennesseans know they can count on me to never compromise on independent, conservative principles and that I will always fight for smaller government, less spending and more jobs,” DesJarlais said in a 2013 release.

Rep. Desjarlais announced his re-election bid in October last year. In his campaign announcement, the representative cited military preparedness as a top issue in his reelection bid. During his campaign for 2018, Rep. Desjarlais has remarked on a crisis of military strength, training and strategy, relying on his experience in the House Committee on Armed Services. In addition to military policy, the representative continues to support border and immigration enforcement, repealing Obamacare and prohibiting abortions as top political issues.

Over the course of his political tenure, Rep. Desjarlais has faced numerous challengers, most notably, state Senator Jim Tracy in 2014.

Rep. Sen. Tracy was unable to unseat the incumbent, losing by a mere 38 votes.

★

JACK MADDUX maddux4congress.com United States Navy veteran, retired Chattanooga police officer and political newcomer Jack Maddux entered Tennessee politics last spring by challenging the incumbent Congressman, Rep. Desjarlais, in the upcoming August primary election.

“My experience in the Navy, law enforcement and business has better prepared me to take action on the issues facing America and Tennessee,” Mr. Maddux said during his campaign announcement. “Scott Desjarlais has become too comfortable with Washington D.C. I will work hard to be an outspoken

2018 U.S. HOUSE RACE

voice of the people of Tennessee and remain focused on results, not complacency. I hope that you will join me on this campaign to once again put people first.”

A longtime resident of Cleveland, Tennessee, Maddux has dedicated his career to serving others. In the United States Navy, Maddux entered an engineering career. At age 38, he joined the police force in Chattanooga.

In December, Maddux received praise for signing the term limits pledge from U.S. Term Limits, a nonprofit grassroots organization that advocates for term limits at all levels of government. The term limits pledge states that “as a member of Congress I will co-sponsor and vote for the U.S. Term Limits amendment of three (3) House terms and two (2) Senate terms and no longer limit.”

United States Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Congressman Ron DeSantis (R-FL) have introduced the amendment in Congress.

“Jack’s support of term limits shows that there are individuals who are willing to put self-interest aside to follow the will of the people,” said U.S. Term Limits, President Philip Blumel regarding Maddux’s pledge. “America needs a Congress that will be served by citizen legislators, not career politicians.”

On his campaign website, Maddux lists abortion at the top of his campaign issues, stating “Our current Congressman refuses to state when life begins.” Maddux has also focused on policy issues such as strengthening our national security, protecting small business owners, eliminating financial waste at the federal level, repealing and replacing Obamacare with a system that benefits smalltown America, smart immigration policies and protecting Americans’ rights granted under the Second Amendment.

★

MARIAH PHILLIPS mariah4congress.com The only woman to run for Tennessee’s Fourth Congressional District in the 2018 election is Mariah Phillips, a Rutherford County teacher and graduate of the Emerge Tennessee program. Emerge Tennessee began last year with the mission of training Democratic women to run for office.

At 19 years old, Phillips began supporting herself as a barista at Starbucks. Twenty-one years later, Phillips is a U.S. government teacher at Daniel McKee Alternative School

in Murfreesboro during the week and a barista at Starbucks on the weekends. A mother of five, Phillips says she works the two jobs to best provide a steady income and healthcare for her family.

Last May, Phillips’ campaign announcement followed immediately on the heels of Congress’ vote to repeal and replace Obamacare last year.

If elected, Phillips seeks to ensure education funding, streamlining the management of healthcare, introducing rural broadband as a public utility and protecting public lands from privatization and development.

★

STEVEN REYNOLDS stevenreynoldsforcongress.com Returning from defeat in the 2016 general election, Steven Reynolds has returned to political life in an effort to unseat Rep. Desjarlais in the November general election this year. As the 2016 Democratic nominee for the Fourth Congressional District, Reynolds received more votes than any challenging Democrat in Tennessee and he received more votes than Hillary Clinton in all of the 16 counties in the district.

A lifelong resident of Middle Tennessee, Reynolds was raised in Manchester, Tennessee, attended Middle Tennessee State University and began his 30-year career in the infrastructure industry in Rutherford County. Reynolds says his roots as a bluecollar American in rural Tennessee have strongly shaped his political platform.

“I can remember back in Manchester, growing up as a child, there were these guys in white hats that would stand at the red light and take up money every summer,” Reynolds said during a 2017 campaign speech. “They would burn a cross in Manchester, Tennessee; I saw it with my own eyes. But we don’t see that anymore because good, reasonable, moral people have risen up and said ‘enough of that.’

We will not stand for this anymore.”

If elected, Reynolds seeks to utilize his three decades of experience in business management to advocate for manufacturing jobs in Tennessee, improve on our healthcare system, calling it a “moral issue” to care for our sick, poor and most vulnerable and returning the level of devotion our veterans have shown us to care for their needs. He also says he will stand for privacy, campaign finance reform and diplomacy.

M

iddle Tennessee soccer fans and those with an interest in the expansion of Major League Soccer to Nashville recently celebrated MLS awarding Nashville its newest franchise team, which should begin play in 2020.

Publishing heir John Ingram, whose family began what is now the La Vergne-based Ingram Content Group, and the Wilf family, who owns the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, unveiled plans to construct a new 27,500seat soccer stadium at The Fairgrounds Nashville to house the team.

Meanwhile, vendors and shoppers at the Nashville Flea Market—a pop-up, indoor and outdoor extravaganza of antiques, crafts, records, toys, pecans, jellies, clothing, lemonade, rugs, commerce and entrepreneurial spirit held one weekend each month at The Fairground Nashville—celebrate the market’s 50th year at the same property, located off of Nolensville Road just south of Downtown Nashville, a space owned by Metro Nashville and operated by an appointed board of fair commissioners.

For months, rumors have swirled among the flea market supporters that this new high-dollar redevelopment focusing on professional sports may disrupt, displace or diminish the popular monthly market that so many have supported over the decades.

“There’s a lot of people who have been setting up there for 20 to 30 years. It’s their livelihood,” said Stephen Vire, whose Rockvale-based Somewhere Place Else Farm sells pickled eggs, spaghetti sauce, jams, hot sauce and more at a flea market booth each month.

But while Tennessee State Fair officials actively seek alternate locations for the annual state fair, those closest to the flea market and The Fairgrounds insist that the market will continue operating at its current home.

“The flea market opened 50 years ago this year. It’s a milestone we celebrate and one we are trying to build on so that the market will exist 50 years from now,” Laura Schloesser, Executive Director of The Fairgrounds Nashville , said in March 2018. “The flea market will continue!”

However, The Fairgrounds Nashville property (f.k.a. The Tennessee State Fairgrounds) will certainly change over the coming years.

According to a flyer that flea market officials recently circulated among the vendors, planning has begun for a new 100,000-square-foot exposition building at The Fairgrounds with “better access

Future of the Flea Market Will soccer stadium displace Middle Tennessee shopping tradition? According to Nashville Flea Market vendors, patrons and staff: No. STORY BY BRACKEN MAYO through loading docks and roll-doors than our current facilities, and more efficient and reliable utilities.”

The same flyer states that the combined space of the existing eight buildings at The Fairgrounds (some of which will most likely be demolished in the coming years) is 121,000 square feet.

“There are many legislative and commission considerations, including leases, demolition and rezoning, that will occur prior to finalizing the stadium plan,” according to the newsletter.

“The improvements being made are an investment into the Market. We want the flea market to thrive—not just survive,” Schloesser says. “We are working on a design for a new Fairgrounds Expo building. Our plan is to construct a new building prior to any existing buildings being removed. This will allow us to transition the market and events into the new space before any stadium construction would commence.”

She says the Metro Council must approve any specific plans prior to any demolition of buildings.

“We are making investments in the

property that will help support the market and other Fairgrounds events for decades to come. We cannot support the market or our other events long term without making significant improvements. The buildings and utilities are 50 years old and inefficient,” she continues. “Once this upgrade is completed, it will improve the experience for everyone.

An upgrade of this magnitude will require flexibility and patience.”

While shoppers may have to use a different entrance gate, and some vendors may have to relocate their booths from their preferred spot at the market during the construction period, if Fairgrounds officials, flea market vendors, flea market attendees, the surrounding community and the Metro government can work together, the longrunning Nashville Flea Market will roll on, and could even gain some momentum over the coming years.

Many point out that, currently, the flea market is a profitable endeavor for The Fairgrounds. The monthly income from flea market vendor fees and parking fees serves as a reliable revenue stream for The Fairgrounds property.

“Some are saying ‘they are going to close the flea market,’ but they can’t, because it pays the bills,” says Dick Dickerson, who sells roasted nuts each month at the market, and also heads the Nashville Flea Market Vendors Association. “I feel pretty good

about it [the transitional period of construction]. We’re going to have a flea market for a long time.”

Schloesser concurs.

“The flea market will exist as long as vendors desire to partner with us. We have a symbiotic relationship—many vendors rely on the availability of the market for their livelihoods, it is either all or an important supplement to their incomes,” Schloesser says. “In turn, The Fairgrounds relies on the revenue the market produces to remain viable and an affordable venue option in Nashville. And no less important, the flea market contributes greatly to the culture and vitality of The Fairgrounds— and Nashville as a whole.”

Former Nashville mayor Karl Dean made efforts to push the Nashville Flea Market out of The Fairgrounds and redevelop the property for other uses; Dickerson points out that current Mayor Megan Barry has pledged her support for keeping the flea market at its longtime Fairgrounds home.

“There are still some people who would like to do away with the market, and get rid of all of the land,” Dickerson says. “But they are overwhelmed by the voters, the citizens.”

Some say that if construction reduces the customer traffic, or forces cancellation of even a few months of the market, it could make it difficult for the flea market to rebound.

“There has been a very public collective commitment from the Fair Board, the mayor, and the soccer ownership group for the continuation of the flea market and other Fairgrounds events throughout and after construction,” Schloesser says, addressing that concern.

Others raise questions regarding the uncertainty of future vendor fees.

“A lot of us are small, family businesses,” says Linda Morse with Alchemy of Sol, a Smyrna resident whose business produces soap. “My concern is that they’ll do these improvements, and then price everyone out.”

She said even a slight increase in monthly booth rental fees could exclude many of the smaller businesses from participating in the flea market. A higher booth fee may result in smaller profits for many of the vendors, making setting up at market each month unjustifiable.

Steve White offers piles and piles of socks, as well as various tools, snack cakes and other clothing items, at his Sock Depot tent at the market each month. His family has participated in the market since 1978, and now he takes a very pragmatic approach, one month and a time.

“I’m going to come until I start losing money,” the businessman said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 45 BOROPULSE.COM

* MARCH 2018 * 41

Opinion Blame Sick People for Mass Violence, Not Guns VIEWS OF A

CONSERVATIVE

COLUMN BY PHIL VALENTINE

E

philvalentine.com

verybody’s searching for answers in wake of the latest school shooting in Florida. The gun-grabbers notwithstanding, I believe most people genuinely want to stop the shootings. We just have different ideas of how to get there. However, it’s becoming obvious that the debate is focused on the wrong thing.

Naturally, anytime there’s a shooting the emphasis is going to be on the gun.

It’s funny how the object of the murder is

never the issue when it’s not a gun. When there’s a stabbing, the target is never on the knife. When some crazy person runs people over in a vehicle, the focus is never on the vehicle. Let me demonstrate why the issue here should not be guns; then we’ll move on to the real problem.

There are over 300 million guns in America. Whether or not you like that fact, it’s still a fact. There are about 30,000 gun deaths a year. That includes homicide and suicide. That means that 0.01 percent of guns are used for evil. Obviously, the problem is not the guns.

The path that led me to the epicenter of the problem is interesting. I knew all the facts that went into my epiphany. I had just never aligned them this way before.

A friend of mine once joked on the radio while interviewing a hit songwriter that he knew all those words. Just not in that order. That’s sort of how I felt.

I don’t know if you know this, but back

in 1975 the Supreme Court ruled that you could not be held in a mental institution against your will unless you were a danger to yourself or others. I had known that fact because it’s why the homeless population exploded in the 1980s. The liberals blamed it on Reagan. Kenneth Donaldson sued his doctor and the mental hospital claiming he had been held against his will. He won.

I also knew that multiple-victim shootings seemed to have exploded in the last couple of decades. I wanted to know when that acceleration began to see if I could draw any conclusions. Statisticians have an expression: “correlation does not imply causation.” The homeless explosion is an example of that. Just because homelessness grew dramatically during the Reagan administration doesn’t mean Reagan had anything to do with it. However, correlation and causation are oftentimes related.

In order for this to be a fair comparison, I looked at the mass shootings in the 43 years prior to 1975 and the mass shootings in the 43 years after 1975, which would bring us up to 2018. I excluded gang killings for obvious reasons. I also excluded robberies and terrorist attacks. These

aren’t motiveless crimes. This also doesn’t include U.S. territories nor does it include serial killers. We’re trying to figure out why crazies are randomly killing people.

Here’s what I learned in the course of my research. In the 43 years prior to 1975, there were four mass shootings resulting in 29 deaths. In the 43 years after 1975, there were (get ready) 150 mass shootings resulting in 864 deaths. If that’s not startling enough, in the 43 years since 1975, there have only been six years when there wasn’t a mass shooting.

People want to point to the breakdown of the family unit or increased use of psychotropic drugs. They could certainly be contributing factors. However, one would be hard-pressed to discount the Donaldson ruling in 1975 as a turning point. There are simply too many dangerously mentally ill roaming the streets. That is where our efforts should be concentrated.

Phil Valentine is an author and nationally syndicated radio talk show host with Westwood One. For more of his commentary and articles, visit philvalentine.com.

Live Exceptionally...Well!

BY JENNIFER DURAND

Dig Deeper HOW MANY TIMES do you take something at face value, without questioning or digging a little deeper? Do you look at a problem and think “I don’t have time to figure this out” or “why isn’t this working?” and just skim over it? I have been guilty of such behavior. The beauty is in looking at a problem over and over and eventually realizing that there was a simple solution all along. This builds a desire to question the next “problem” that comes along, until it becomes second nature to question everything that seems to block one’s progress.

“Knowledge is having the right answer. Intelligence is asking the right question.”

The solution to a problem is always there. It may not be what we think it will be or want it to be, but it is present. When we take the time to “dig deeper,” solutions become apparent and life runs more smoothly for a moment.

We have a spray hose on our kitchen sink. It always stuck every time I tried to use it. It wouldn’t pull up and allow me to spray. Each time I’d try I never understood why it did this. After months of this annoyance, I witnessed my cleaning lady using it quite easily. When I asked how she did that, she said it was just getting caught on the drain below the sink. Lo and behold, I looked under the sink to see the issue. Though embarrassing to admit, I just never thought to look beneath the surface of this problem. There was a simple solution all along. Now I can use the device effortlessly and happily. Whenever it does get caught, I know what to do.

functional cutting area. These two simple scenarios reminded me about the bigger picture of questioning problems that arise. Don’t let things go just because it seems easier—when in fact such problems are creating more friction than necessary. There is a smoother road beneath the surface.

“The meaning of life is to give life meaning. Turn your can’ts into cans and your dreams into plans.”

— Sabrina Dickens I have a friend who has struggled with not being consistently happy. He recognized his behavior and the effect it had on himself and those around him.

He realized he was blaming his condition or outlook on his reaction to others. When he didn’t agree with something, he was letting it affect his genuine happiness rather than accepting that it was simply someone else’s opinion or action, and that he had a choice in how he reacted to it, regardless of whether he agreed with it.

After questioning this negativity and where it stemmed from, he saw that he had to own his own behavior and realized that if he wanted to experience more happiness, he in fact needed to make a conscious choice to be happier.

It was beautiful to witness the instant shift and the benefits that resulted from questioning his behavior and choosing to make a difference. While there are still moments of temptation or struggle, his overall happiness factor has increased and he chooses to look at things differently as he works them out. The heart has questions and answers all at the same time.

Next time you are tempted to let a problem continue to be a problem, question your “why.” Table it if you need to, but don’t let it go and build into a bigger problem or an annoyance. Happiness, ease and flow are just a question and answer away. Happy problem solving!

“Don’t let things go just because it seems easier— when in fact such problems are creating more friction than necessary. There is a smoother road beneath the surface.”

“Effective questioning brings insight, which fuels curiosity, which cultivates wisdom.” — Chip Bell Another example of this happened when using my dental floss. Normally the floss cuts off easily. My last container just wouldn’t cooperate and I fought with it each day just to get a piece out. Not allowing time for “problem solving,” I just carried on with this minor exasperation, thinking “why won’t this work?”

One day I decided to take a moment and question this nuisance. I saw that there was a buildup of the wax string around the cutting area. After cleaning out the buildup, I pulled the string out and, yep, you guessed it: easy access to what I needed, and a

Jennifer Durand is owner and operator of The Nurture Nook Day Spa & Gift Shoppe; she is a certified QiGong and Breathe Empowerment, a skin care and makeup specialist, an InterPlay leader licensed in massage therapy, body work and somatic integration. Let her help you find your personal “ahh . . .” factor by visiting nurturenook.com or facebook.com/nurturenookdayspa or by calling (615) 896-7110.

Opinion CBD GUMMY BUST SPECTACLE MAY BACKFIRE ON LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT The

STOCKARD REPORT

BY SAM STOCKARD THE GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATORS are battling out over how to fight the opioid crisis claiming thousands of lives yearly in Tennessee, as young and old alike overdose on addictive drugs. It’s a crisis we must solve.

But in Rutherford County we’re putting our investigative energy into gummy worms and gummy bears.

Local law enforcement officials, from District Attorney General Jennings Jones to Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh, Smyrna Police Chief Kevin Arnold and Murfreesboro Police Chief Michael Bowen, put their heads together for a months-long probe called Operation Candy Crush, in which they padlocked 23 stores and rounded up 21 people JONES indicted for selling Schedule 6 drugs.

The only problem was the items the stores were selling across Rutherford County might have been legal. Instead of deriving from marijuana, as the sheriff ’s ARNOLD office said in its press release, the candies and other items could have come from industrial hemp containing less than .3 percent THC, the chemical that makes people high. And, based on the action by the Tennessee General Assembly, that stuff is perfectly okay.

A March 19 hearing is set before Circuit Court Judge Royce Taylor to decide whether the candy is legal. Taylor, who signed the warrants allowing the convenience store busts, was wise enough to force the padlocks to be removed and allow stores to reopen.

Defense attorneys for the store owners argued during a mid-February court hearing 44 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation didn’t go far enough in determining whether the items had too much THC in them, the key between hemp or marijuana derivatives.

Asked whether the candies were loaded with THC, TBI spokesman Josh DeVine said, “Our forensic scientists’ jobs are to objectively identify compounds that are present in evidence submitted to our lab and report out the schedule as indicated in the Tennessee Code Annotated to the submitting agency. We make no determination as to the legality of these compounds. Instead, the District Attorney General determines whether the law has been broken, based upon the circumstance of each case.”

Jones, however, had said in the press conference that Judge Taylor and the TBI agreed the items were illegal.

The district attorney pointed out a drug such as OxyContin is legal if obtained through a prescription. Thus, someone buying these gummy bears would need a doctor’s prescription?

FITZHUGH In that case, Walmart, Amazon and just about every store in the country could be shut down, because it’s highly unlikely anyone is showing a script to get their gummies in person or online.

BOWEN Store operators are howling that they were wrongly busted and maybe they were. Store owners’ attorneys say they were considering whether to file suit against Rutherford County and the law enforcement agencies for arresting them and cutting into their business for five days.

The question, then, is: Why are people buying these things?

Smyrna Police Chief Kevin Arnold said people use the stuff to “get high.” He also said store clerks know exactly what the CBD gummies are and where they’re located.

Of course, he also said they’d lock the doors on Walmart if it were caught selling the

CBD candies. Good luck with that.

So if Arnold is trying to sell me oceanfront property in the Hilltop community, I might be a little skeptical.

Then again, if the TBI, FBI and DEA are helping with your operation, as advertised, you might go along.

But do people really get high from this stuff? From firsthand experience, I have to plead ignorance. But based on what people are saying, you’d probably have to eat about a thousand of these gummies to get a buzz.

You could also eat about 500 regular gummy bears and get a sugar high every day. Then, by the time you turn 25 you’d be diabetic, if not dead.

One other thing to consider is whether somebody is making a killing by marketing these CBD gummies to people who think they’re getting high when they’re really not.

Some of the items were said to have marijuana leaves on the packaging. The hemp plant, though, looks just like pot, so while the packaging might be misleading it could border on false advertising.

People buy stuff thinking it’s pot when it’s not. That’s how badly some people want to get high. It might be easier if they moved to Colorado, California, Washington or Oregon— Alaska’s too far—or about 25 other states that have medical marijuana—the smoking kind.

In Tennessee we’d rather keep pot smokers running for cover and the dealers killing each other, which is somewhat commonplace in Murfreesboro. In that case, gummy bears might be the better option, especially if they can cure what ails you.

According to WebMD, people take CBD for anxiety, bipolar disorder, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia. Maybe it does relax people a little bit, and at $7 to $70 a bag, it better do something.

BACKFIRED BUSTS

When they held their press conference in front of a padlocked vape store on Middle Tennessee Boulevard—on a frigid February day, no less—law enforcement officials probably thought they were going to make a big splash and show how they were clamping down on these illicit store operations.

They said they’d gotten a tip from parents whose children bought the candies and had some ill effect.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney John Zimmermann, a hard charger against anything that remotely resembles pot, even though his own son was busted last year for dealing meth in Nash-

ville. Questions were raised about whether the son’s name was misspelled in Metro’s system to hide the connection between him and his father and let him get a lighter-thannormal punishment.

Zimmermann also has a censure from the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility dating to 2002 for withholding evidence from a defense attorney, in addition to two other disciplinary sanctions, records show.

Maybe he didn’t give Judge Taylor enough information when he signed the warrants, which could be considered another form of withholding evidence. More than one defense attorney argued the prosecution might have misled the judge or at least didn’t make a decent argument for the warrants.

Taylor likely was embarrassed by the whole ordeal, though he didn’t show it on the stand. But the fact he ordered a separate hearing to decide whether the stuff is live or Memorex shows he had some serious concerns about the facts.

The initial fallout is embarrassment for the DA’s office and local law enforcement, especially Fitzhugh, who is up for election.

Likewise, the stores wound up with a black eye and empty cash registers. Most people can’t go five days without getting paid.

On the other hand, if some were selling illegal and dangerous synthetic drugs, they deserve everything they get. But in regard to CBD gummies, they’re probably not even as harmful as cough syrup. In that case, our narcs should stick to busting cocaine, meth and fentanyl dealers and leave the candy.

COMPETITION IS FUN

Just when state Sen. Bill Ketron might have started breathing easy in advance of the Rutherford County mayor’s race, he got an opponent many were expecting all along: former Rutherford County Commissioner Tina Jones, who qualified for the Republican primary on the final day. Also running is former United Way executive Randy Allen.

Once an influential member of the commission, Jones has been out of the public eye for several years. But she’s entering the fray with some interesting ideas.

For one thing, she wants to lobby state legislators to get rid of standardized tests in K–12 schools so teachers can concentrate on teaching, not test-giving. She has a good point, because everyone gets too uptight about these tests. After all, they do determine whether teachers keep jobs or enter the unemployment line.

Gov. Bill Haslam and legislators claim

these tests create accountability and build student achievement. What they really do, though, is force teachers to teach students what they expect will be on the test, rather than teaching them the fundamentals and encouraging them to expand their minds— without weed, gummies and LSD. After all, students have been taking these tests for decades. Remember when the teacher said make sure you have two sharp No. 2 pencils? The difference is the tests weren’t life or death 40 to 50 years ago, and people didn’t freak out over the results.

Teachers and principals could look at them and see where students needed to improve, but the scores didn’t scar people’s lives and force the state takeover of schools—which is a failure on another front.

Jones might be on the right track, even if she never gets the state to drop the tests completely. But at least it’s a start.

She also has some pretty strong opinions against Nashville’s proposed mass transit plan, which calls for spending $5.4 billion over several years through a series of tax increases to send out more buses, build rail lines and run a train underground.

Set for a referendum on the matter,

Davidson County is in the midst of a public relations war about the transit plan. When your mayor is fighting to stay in office amid investigations into her affair with the former head of her security detail, you’re fighting an uphill battle, one that has about as much to do with Middle Tennessee as it does with Nashville.

Anyone who drives to Nashville during rush hour might be willing to fork out any amount of money for another alternative— such as a high-speed rail. It’s something Middle Tennessee should have taken on 25 years ago. At the time, it was considered too expensive, and it always will be—until enough people say “just do it.”

Jones is interested in reversible lanes, more buses and other less expensive ideas.

But to make those work, a new mindset is going to have to take hold . . . one in which people are willing to get out of their cars and sit beside someone else on a bus?

Good Lord, most people haven’t ridden the bus since seventh grade, and they’re probably not going to do it now.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41 He participates in other markets in other cities, and over the years has seen the others come and go, and Nashville’s ebb and flow as well.

“It is our responsibility to ensure we utilize the many channels available to us to keep the vendors and their customers abreast of developing plans,” Schloesser says. “We are spending a great deal of time meeting with vendors individually to explain where we are in the process and working through any concerns.”

Dickerson says that he believes that once the dust settles, once the old buildings are

torn down, newer, modern ones built, and the soccer team is settled in its home, the Nashville Flea Market will be “better than ever.”

“It’ll take four or five years, but it’ll happen,” he said. “It’s the seventh largest flea market in America and we don’t believe they are going to interfere with it.

“It has a chance to be bigger than the seventh largest . . . there will be a flea market here.”

Sam Stockard can be reached at sstockard44@gmail.com.

For more information on The Fairgrounds Nashville, the monthly Nashville Flea Market, and other events on the property, visit thefairgrounds.com.

Sports

BLUE RAIDER SPORTS

BY GREG CRITTENDEN

NICK KING

Wendell Carter of Duke.

Potts continues to steadily improve his efficiency. Although his three-point percentage fell slightly from January, his percentages from inside the arc and at the free throw line improved considerably.

Antwain Johnson was inserted into the starting lineup late in January, and he made the most of that opportunity in February.

Johnson was incredible, shooting just shy of 58 percent from the field and an astounding 63 percent from three-point range. Johnson nearly doubled his points production from January to February as he averaged 15.7 points per game for the month.

The Blue Raiders finish their 2017–18 regular season with homestands against Western Kentucky and Marshall on March 1 and March 3 respectively.

 ALEX JOHNSON RE-EMERGING FOR THE LADY RAIDERS AS THE TEAM PREPARES FOR C-USA TOURNEY

MTSU GOES UNDEFEATED IN FEBRUARY, CRACKS AP TOP 25

I

t was a historic February for the Blue Raiders.

En route to a perfect 7–0 record for the month (23–5 for the season), many milestones and firsts were accomplished.

The first chunk of history came in a blowout victory over Rice in which Giddy Potts notched 22 points. Those points pushed Potts past the 1,500-point mark for his career, making him just the seventh Blue Raider in history to eclipse the mark.

However, the most exciting news of the night came when fan favorite Chase Miller scored the first points of his college career on a three-point shot. The score was welcomed by chants of “Miller Time” from the fans in the packed stands.

The Blue Raiders logged another first a few games later when they took to the road to play LA Tech. In seven tries the Blue Raiders had never won a game in Ruston, Louisiana, and, despite MT getting out to a 46 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

big lead, the Bulldogs tried to make sure this would be an eighth loss for Middle. LA Tech closed a 21-point deficit to only six in the second half, but MT struck back to close the game out with a 17-point win.

The victory in Ruston was followed by another first. For the first time in program history Middle Tennessee State basketball made it into the AP Top 25.

Fittingly, the victory over LA Tech netted coach Kermit Davis his 400th career win.

In the final game of the month, Giddy Potts passed Reggie Upshaw for fourth on the Blue Raiders all-time leading scorers list in a 17-point performance against UAB. Nick King continues to dominate as a Blue Raider. He has moved himself back into the top 20 amongst the nation’s leading scorers, and has been nominated as a finalist for the Karl Malone Award along with likely NBA Draft lottery selections Deandre Ayton of Arizona as well as Marvin Bagley and

against Charlotte in the last game of the month. Johnson averaged 16 points per game for the month, which is more than a six-point improvement on her season average entering the February schedule.

Should Johnson return to the full form that Lady Raiders fans have witnessed the last two years, MT could make a nice run in the C-USA tournament. Coach Rick Insell will need to continue to get strong supporting performances from Abbey Sissom and Jess Louro, who have been key contributors in keeping the team afloat throughout Johnson’s recovery.

The defense has remained a constant for the Lady Raiders throughout the season.

Although they fell a few spots in scoring defense rankings, they do remain the 27th-best defense in the nation. If they can find consistency on offense—and a healthy Alex Johnson will help—then they stand to make a lot of noise in the upcoming conference tourney.

The Lady Raiders have one game remaining on the 2017–18 schedule, a homestand against Old Dominion on March 3. This game is a must-win if they hope to secure that coveted fourth spot in the conference.

IN WHAT HAS BEEN a roller-coaster season for the Lady Raiders, February was much of the same.

The Lady Raiders scored wins over Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Rice and Charlotte but dropped contests to Louisiana Tech, Western Kentucky and Alabama-Birmingham. Going 4–3 for the month puts Middle Tennessee at 17–11 on the season.

Although the season has not gone as planned thus far, the Lady Raiders did move into a tie for fourth place in Conference USA with LA Tech. Gaining full control of the No. 4 spot would be key for the Lady Raiders in the C-USA tournament, as that is the last seed that will receive a bye.

February also saw the reemergence of Alex Johnson.

Johnson, the Preseason Conference USA Player of the Year, was injured in the first game of the season and has struggled to return to form. However, the junior forward did play and start every game during February, ALEX JOHNSON and she posted season highs in points (24) and minutes (37)

Sports

SPORTS

TALK

COLUMN BY “Z-TRAIN”

titanman1984@gmail.com

CHLOE KIM, JOHN-HENRY KRUEGER, MIKAELA SHIFFRIN AMONG NEW TEAM USA OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS THE TRAIN DADDY IS BACK with sports news, life lessons and politically incorrect talk.

All aboard! Let it be known that Tennessee is the greatest state in this country, and aside from big-ass bugs and the summer humidity, it’s paradise, baby! I love this state, I love Tennessee sports, I love Southern heritage and I love my home. A simple life makes me a simple man and I am satisfied with that.

Now, let’s shine a light on the men and women who represented Team USA in the 2018 Olympics. To be honest, Team USA was not your typically dominant Team USA, notching its lowest medal count in 20 years.

The United States finished fourth overall with 23 total medals; Norway smashed the

48 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

competition with a leading 39 medals.

But Team USA should be proud.

Among the amazing women who represented Team USA, Chloe Kim has probably spawned a new generation of little USA snowboarders. The 17-year-old dominated the half-pipe, winning gold and, in between runs, using Twitter to jokingly complain about being hungry. Jamie Anderson also respectably won two snowboarding medals.

My vote for favorite act goes to Team USA Women’s Hockey, chopping up Team Canada like bacon in a dramatic shootout to bring home the gold! They were my favorite performance of the games. Lindsey Vonn showed the world that despite her age she had just a

tad bit left in the tank, winning bronze and becoming the oldest Alpine skier ever to medal.

My dream girl won two medals—Mikaela Shiffrin, beautiful and classy—winning gold in the giant slalom and silver in Alpine combined. The women’s cross-country team won its first-ever medal, and it was gold.

The women’s bobsled team won silver, and the women’s team pursuit in speed skating captured a bronze. Well done, ladies, you represented America with class.

What about the men! My favorite, “The Flying Tomato,” Shaun White, showed us he may very well be the greatest Winter Olympian in American history, stealing gold on his final run and showing the young snowboarders he is still king of the half-pipe.

US luger Chris Mazdzer was a long shot to even compete, yet with the run of his life he secured the first-ever medal for Team USA in the luge. I loved the fact that his girlfriend and sisters were in the crowd wearing bikinis and cheering despite sub-zero wind chills.

How can you not love 17-year-old Red Gerard? This stupid teenager stayed up too late watching Netflix, overslept, lost his coat, miraculously won a gold medal and then, in pure astonishment, said “holy f *ck” on live TV. Silly teenagers!

Curling, curling, curling! What else is there to say. Team USA, underdogs, knocking off the powerhouse Swedish team to win gold! You know you are as fascinated as I am with those sweeping brooms.

David Wise won gold and Alex Ferreira won silver in the stupid sport that is half-pipe skiing. Really, it’s like slow man’s snowboarding.

John-Henry Krueger’s silver win in the men’s 1,000 meter speed skating was impressive due to the lack of American success in that sport.

Krueger is just happy he won’t be remembered as that kid who got swine flu; he was forced to withdraw four years ago due to the sickness.

Onto another topic, one that can be entwined into The Olympics: transgender athletes. You sure you want to do this, Train Daddy? Seems like a dangerous subject. . . .

I have discussed trans athletes in the past when relevant, and after these Olympics I am making it relevant again. I believe that soon, transgender athletes will begin popping up in the NCAA and future Olympic Games. The NCAA and IOC actually embrace the idea allowing athletes to compete with whatever gender suits their fancy. In South Korea we didn’t see any transgender athletes compete, but the coming 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan more than likely will include multiple

transgender athletes competing.

It remains a controversial subject, with the number-one question being: do transgender athletes have an unfair advantage?

The anger is more directed towards transgender women who decide to compete with naturally born females. Most people ignore transgender men in sports. Why is this?

The makeup of a man and woman can’t be compared; men have the advantages of power, strength, muscle mass and stamina.

It’s a fact. You can’t tell me lowering the testosterone levels of a trans woman suddenly makes her fair competition.

Why do you even care, Train Daddy?

I care because I am passionate about the integrity of sports and its record books.

Allow former men to compete with women and we destroy the integrity of it all. Most of you won’t wake up until a transgender athlete dominates the field. Say a trans woman wins gold in the Olympics. Millions of people will then say “how was this allowed?” And I will say I told you so!

What about transgender rights? There is an answer to making this fair for all, though some won’t like it. The only way to create an honest playing field is to not have men’s or women’s leagues. Instead we have no-gender leagues in which the fastest and strongest athletes play.

You know as well as I do there would be a lack of women in professional sports in that case.

Transgender supporters and feminists want equality, right? There is a reason we keep men and women separate in sports, and having transgender women competing with naturalborn females will never be fair.

What’s sad is that, like every other social issue, if you oppose this you’re somehow a bigot in the eyes of many, rather than a human being who is rationally defending the integrity of sports.

Watch out for New Zealander Laurel Hubbard. Laurel has been dominating weightlifting in New Zealand. The 39-year-old transgender woman lived the first 35 years of her life as a man and now is competing and winning at the highest levels as a woman.

Hubbard will compete in the Australian Commonwealth games this April and is on track to compete in the 2020 Olympics.

I truly have no animosity towards transgender people. I live by the code: treat your neighbor as you would treat yourself. I try and show respect to every stranger I meet, no matter the differences between us. But I am very passionate about the integrity of sports.

Train’s out the station. Choo-choo!

THIS SPRING:

Get Some Sun, Take Up Gardening, Make a Smoothie, Do a Cleanse

S

pring is just around the corner here in Tennessee, and for me personally, spring usually comes and goes so quickly it leaves me wanting more. Let’s pack away our sweaters, coats and winter boots and jump into shorts, dresses and flip-flops, and say goodbye to winter.

The change of season couldn’t come fast enough for many MTSU students who celebrate spring break, and for others who have planned vacations to beaches, cabins or weekend getaways to enjoy the outside weather. During all of this fun, we want to stay hydrated and be able to maintain constant energy as well.

Therefore, I have provided a few health tips and recommendations to make your spring more delightful! Most everyone has

already heard of and knows the importance of water and exercising. Drinking plenty of water, at least 8 ounces every hour or two, will help control blood levels and curb your appetite.

If you haven’t switched up your workout routine in a while, now is a great time to start a new exercise program to keep your momentum up and to trick your muscle memory so your body can continually get the best results.

Of course, spending time outside these days is inevitable because often it feels so good.

So, when jogging outside or doing high-intensity cardio workouts, occasionally drink Gatorade or Powerade rather than just water to replenish your electrolytes.

Also, to get more energy, take a walk in the sun or sit outside with no shoes so the sunlight will absorb into the bottom of your feet, the largest pore on your body.

Better yet, try to pick up a new outdoor hobby such as gardening. You will burn calories as well as learn how to plant and grow vegetables that could turn into some mouthwatering smoothies.

Smoothies are a hit in the spring because vegetables and fruit start to bloom, which makes for creative, fruity drinks. I have a favorite one I call Green Machine and it includes: slices of green peppers, cucumbers, avocado, green apple, spinach, an orange, green tea, green vegan protein and a splash of lime juice. It gives me an energy boost without the fatigue and jittery feelings afterwards.

Lastly, spring is a great time to do a detox or cleanse. Numerous plans are available that last anywhere from 3 to 21 days. Choose one that works best for your lifestyle and start anywhere: a kidney, liver, gallbladder, colon, parasite, lung or heart cleanse. These major organs in your body help keep you healthy. Take care of them!

Be a better you every day!

— SEMAJ THOMAS

BOROPULSE.COM

* MARCH 2018 * 49

Higher Thoughts for Everyday Living Middle Tennessee hypnotist, philosopher and motivator M.C. Radford encourages everyone to think positively and live life with a healthy, optimistic attitude.

Here, he shares more points from his book Higher Thoughts for Everyday Living, suggesting that readers meditate on one each day—and be amazed at the positive changes that transpire in their lives.

1 – When you realize who you are, you

will realize who and what you can be. The goal of the universe is harmony.

2 – People look for the good life in the wrong stall. They worry far too much about how their friends and neighbors are doing.

Searching in the material or mechanical world will never bring the good life, only a counterfeit existence.

3 – Competing with the world is never the answer and will only bring you misery and frustration. There is nothing wrong with wanting to live in luxury, but never desire it because Mary or Tom has it. Go after it because you want it.

4 – When you compete, you are saying you have to cut someone down to raise yourself up.

5 – All wealth, good health and prosperity are in your mind now. Meditate on these things and they will come to be in your everyday life.

6 – What you continue to think about, you bring about; what you worry about, you also bring about. What you fear becomes your prayer, and your prayer is always answered.

7 – Whatever you have in your life now is the reflection of all your thoughts and feelings. There is only now. The thoughts you think today will be your children of tomorrow. So if you entertain good thoughts in your mind all day long today, you will have good children tomorrow.

8 – Did you know that 90 percent of the general population is ashamed of their body in some way? What if your body, your brain and your nervous system were a machine made up of many parts and you were simply the life unit that lived in and used it as a servant in this visible world?

9 – On a ship you have a captain and crew.

They use the ship to take them wherever they want to go. Then the ship runs aground or maybe it sinks. The entire crew, or the life unit, leaves the ship and goes home. After a time this unit takes another ship to go on another leg of the journey.

0 – Then there’s the human body. You are the captain and you have a crew of many cells that runs the body and uses the body in this visible world. Then the body stops breathing.

Would you not take your crew and leave the body and go home (back to God) for a while before you continued your journey—perhaps with a new body? q – You are no more the body than electricity is the motor that turns the crank or the wire 50 * MARCH 2018 * BOROPULSE.COM

through which electricity travels. This captain knows everything about the sea and running a ship. But let us say the ship (your body) has an ego or conscious mind that is fighting for control and that gives the captain orders to go to London. The captain will navigate the ship to London using the most direct way (if left alone) unless the boss (conscious mind) starts giving orders to go west 100 miles or east 100 miles, thereby getting the ship off course.

Now since the captain (your subconscious mind) knows exactly what needs to be done, the boss should simply give the captain the order and let the captain do his job. w – In your life, the subconscious mind knows everything and can do anything; so never tell it how to do something. You only need to outline the goal, and it will take you there by the shortest and fastest route possible. e – How do you give the subconscious mind orders? Simply build a vivid picture in your mind of the end results you want and reinforce the picture of the desire you want many times a day. You will steadily move closer until you reach your goal. r – The subconscious mind only knows to create in your life what you continue to picture in your mind. Your vivid picture becomes the blueprint. Like a paved highway, it will take you smoothly to your destination or goal. t – It is a scientific fact that there is a life force. This life force, this sea of energy, this sea of intelligence—some call it God, some call it the universal mind, it is called by many names, but regardless of what you call it— will supply all the energy, all the wisdom, all the answers to every problem, need or desire. y – This field of intelligence is what we came out of. When our body stops breathing, we go back into this field of energy, because this field of energy or intelligence is our real home. u – When we are in this field of intelligence we can have no stress or negativism of any kind. Because we are one with it and we are given free will, when we come to this physical or visible world, we forget who we are. So we start building an ego. The reason we start to have stress and tension—which is the frontrunner of all negativism and all the problems in our life in this visible world—is we build this new entity by developing the conscious mind. We then have to make a decision every time we encounter any situation that is new to us. i – For example, we go outside into the cold.

Since we are uncomfortable, which causes stress, we learn to put on warm clothing to eliminate the stress and feel comfortable. This goes for every negative situation we encounter in the physical or visible world. Now the more we rely on reason and the more we make our egos stronger, the rougher road we will have ahead. So we forget where we come from.

That is why Jesus made the statement, “You must lose your life in order to find it.” In other words, your ego must die before the Father can do the work in your life. As He said, “It is not Me but My Father who doeth the work.” o – When we encounter enough pain, it will turn us back to God or the field of intelligence. The more we start to listen with our inner ear (which is called intuition or the direct link to God), we will have all our needs met at every turn. Then we will have no more stress, no more sickness, and no more fear— only peace and harmony forevermore. p – If you spend 15 minutes a day meditating or praying on the answer to your problems, then your problems will be a thing of the past. The trouble with most people is that they don’t stay prayed up. But more importantly, most people don’t even know how to pray. There are many different religions and none of the leaders seem to know what true prayer is. They teach their members only lip service. You should never ask God for anything as the Bible says He knows your needs before you ask. True prayer is mentally picturing what you want and then thanking the Supreme Mind for already sending it to you. a – If you would like to change or improve your life, you must learn exactly what the self image is and how it works. What is the self image? Your self image is a blueprint in your mind and brain. You will never think or act any differently unless you change your self image. You will always think and act exactly as you conceive yourself to be. s – If you believe you are a failure, that is a part of your self image, and you will always find a way to fail in everything you do. d – Now how did you attain a self image of failure? If you were born in poverty, you were exposed to lack and limitation that was all around you. So this became a part of your self image. If you as a young person start hanging out with negative people such as dropouts, bullies or people who think the world is out to get them, then you will naturally start building the self image of failure. All complainers have a low self image. As long as you complain, the situation will remain the same. f – If you want to change the self image of failure to a self image of success, then the failure blueprint you have always held in your mind must be changed to a success blueprint. You must hold the success pictures in your mind until they override the failure

pictures. At that point you have reprogrammed your self image. This also applies to being in ill health, being unhappy or having any other negative situation in your life. g – What is a thought? You cannot see a thought, you cannot hear a thought, you cannot taste a thought, you cannot smell a thought, and you cannot feel a thought.

A thought is not physical, so if it is not physical then it must be spiritual. Thought is a spiritual activity. Spirit is the creative principle of the universe. The only activity the spirit possesses is thought. Whatever the spirit thinks it creates. h – Thought is the most important product we have. Thought rules the world—thought rules every government, every bank, every industry, every person and everything in existence. People who do not think will always be under the control of those who do. j – Thought is extremely powerful. A person was cured of throat cancer when told distilled water was a new cure. He was told this new drug had to be given by a nurse at exactly the right time and in the right amount.

Another patient was cured of cancer because the doctor used a different kind of instrument to take his temperature; the patient thought it was a cure. His belief was his cure. You have heard the saying, “The faith or belief of a mustard seed can move mountains.” The mountain that is spoken of is the mountain of fear, worry, ill health and more. k – Every problem that has ever been solved was solved by the mind. Every cell in your body has intelligence. Every emotion has a chemical match. Every thought causes the brain to manufacture a chemical to correspond. l – There are many things to which people are addicted. Some people are addicted to drugs or alcohol; others are addicted to anger, sickness, worry, tension, anxiety, going to a doctor, laziness, unhappiness and on and on. Your mind can cure any addiction. You have the power. ; – The universe is an organism. You are an organ in the universe. You have many organs in your body and all your organs have cells. All your cells are controlled by the brain, and the brain is controlled by your mind. So who can heal you but yourself? z – Many people have a disease called homeostasis. Homeostasis is clinging to old outdated ideas. Then there are many who have psychosclerosis, which is hardening of the attitudes.

M.C. Radford will answer any questions on the mind, brain, body, spirit, hypnosis or metaphysics. He can also aid with eliminating smoking, excess weight, phobias and other issues. Contact him at 615-351-2939.