April 1, 2020: The Contributor

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Volu m e 14

| Number 8 | April 1 - 15, 2020

Silent Reading A COLLECTION OF BOOKS TO HELP DIVERT YOUR EYES FROM THE ENDLESS SCROLLING

C

LOCALES - POLÍTICA - INMIGRACIÓN - TRABAJOS - SALUD - ESPECTÁCULOS - DEPORTES Y MÁS...

GRATIS

April

2020 Año 18 - No. 302

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L a N ticia

Escanee esta imagen para ver La Noticia newspaper edición bilingüe digital

IN THE ISSUE w w w. h i s p a n i c p a p e r. c o m

“DONDE OCURREN LOS HECHOS QUE IMPORTAN, SIEMPRE PRIMERO... ANTES”

Nashville, Tennessee

Coronavirus: Lo Que Todos Debemos Saber y Hacer (Pt.2)

Vamos perdiendo la guerra contra el #coronavirus liderando. Es la triste situación en la que nos encontramos por una respuesta preventiva tardía de parte de nuestros líderes a nivel nacional y un equivocado sentido de confianza e intocabiliYuri Cunza dad. Con 526,044 La Por Noticia Newspaper casos en 175 paises, Editor in Chief un total de 23,709 muertos y con los Estados Unidos ahora con 83,097 infectados, como el país de mayor cantidad de casos mundialmente, sobrepasando a China, todos somos perdedores. Las epidemias no discriminan y tanto pobres como ricos podemos ser devastados por un escenario inesperado de lucha por la sobrevivencia. No es la especie más fuerte la que sobrevive, ni la más inteligente. Es el que más se adapta al cambio quien logra sobrevivir. Y ese cambio, de acuerdo a que tan pronto lo implementemos, nos ayudará a reconstruir el mundo que vemos desaparecer frente a nuestros narices a través de los medios diariamente.

Lo más sensato en este momento es quedarse seguro en casa. No importa si su preocupacion es el de perder su trabajo o no cumplir con algún compromiso. Su salud y la salud colectiva es lo más importante a largo plazo. Por suerte nuestros líderes locales han recomendado exactamente esto.

Quédese “Más Seguro En Casa”, es la iniciativa y recomendación firme de nuestro alcalde John Cooper para asi “Flatten the Curve” (Aplanar la Curva) creciente de casos y disminuir la propagación del mortal virus COVID-19. A continuación le ofrecemos algunos detalles y reglas publicadas en covid19.nashville.gov Para combatir aún más la propagación de COVID-19, el Departamento de Salud Pública del Metro ha emitido la Orden de Más Seguro en Casa, que ordena a todos los residentes de Nashville y el Condado de Davidson que permanezcan dentro de sus hogares, e inmediatamente limiten toda sa-

1. ¿Cuál es la situación mundial?

China / Japón / Corea del Sur: no hay nuevos casos, las empresas están abiertas, ¡la gente TODAVÍA sigue usando máscaras! Hasta el momento 523,163 casos en el mundo, 23,639 muertos en 175 países.

Italia: lo peor puede haber pasado, la muerte diaria parece estar disminuyendo; EE. UU: 83,097, M 1,151 TN: 1098 M 3

2. ¿Dónde estamos como nación en este proceso?

Estamos delante de China, lo que no se esperaba hasta en 4-6 semanas, dejando atrás a Italia que aumentó a 80,589.

China está saliendo de eso, lo peor de Italia es incierto, por lo que es probable que EE. UU. empeore en las próximas 2 semanas, alcanzando su punto máximo a principios o mediados de abril.

3. Si la mayoría de nosotros eventualmente se va a infectar por dicho virus, entonces, ¿por qué aislarnos ahora?

lida más allá de lo que es absolutamente necesario para atender lo esencial.

Los residentes de Nashville están obligados a permanecer dentro de sus hogares a menos que se dediquen a ciertas «actividades esenciales». Si lo hace manténgase al menos a seis pies de distancia de los demás.

USTED PUEDE… • Ir a la tienda de comestibles, o almacén • Ir a la farmacia para recoger medicamentos y otras necesidades de atención médica • Ir a las citas médicas (consulte primero con su médico o proveedor) • Ir a un restaurante para llevar, o entregar • Cuidar o apoyar a un amigo o familiar • Dar un paseo, montar bicicleta, trotar y salir a la naturaleza paraejercicitarse, manténgase seis pies entre usted y los demás.

• Pasear con sus mascotas y llévarlas al veterinario si es necesario • Ayudar a alguien a obtener los suministros necesarios

• Recibir entregas de cualquier negocio que entregue USTED NO DEBE …

• Ir a trabajar a menos que esté proporcionando servicios esenciales según lo definido por esta orden • Visitar a amigos y familiares si no hay necesidad urgente • Mantenerse a menos de 6 pies de distancia de los demás cuando salga • Visitar a sus seres queridos en el hospital, residencia de ancianos, centro de enfermería especializada u otro centro de atención residencial, excepto por excepciones limitadas según lo dispuesto en los sitios web de la instalación. ¿Es obligatoria esta Orden? ¿Qué pasa si no cumplo?

Sí. Esta es una orden legalmente exigible.

9

Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com

- Hoy tenemos 83,097 infectados como nación. Si no nos aislamos, entonces, cuando EE. UU. alcance su pico a principios de Abril, alcanzaremos 100,000 infectados, convirtiéndonos en la nación más infectada y posiblemente la de mayor cantidad de vidas perdidas.

Entonces, el plan es: si podemos mantener el virus contenido y no propagarse, el 99.9% de nosotros no estaremos infectados pero aún somos vulnerables. Por aislamiento, COMPRAMOS el tiempo, hasta que el clima se calienta (el virus es menos virulento a altas temperaturas) y hasta que una vacuna esté disponible (a fines de 2020 o principios de 2021), para que todos podamos inmunizarnos.

Con información del Doctor Ming Wang, M.D., Ph.D. Harvard & MIT (MD, magna cum laude); PhD (laser physics).

1. Mantenerse callado 2. Sólo dar nombre y apellido 3. No mentir 4. Nunca acepte/lleve documentos falsos 5. No revelar su situación migratoria 6. No llevar documentación de otro país 7. En caso de ser arrestado, mostrarla Tarjeta Miranda (llámenos si necesita una)

Contributors This Issue

12

16

Basados en la Quinta Enmienda de la Constitución, los derechos de guardar silencio y contar con un abogado fueron denominados Derechos Miranda luego de la decisión de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de Estados Unidos en el caso Miranda vs. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, de 1966.

w w w . j u a n e s e . c o m

Cathy Jennings, Chair Tom Wills, Bruce Doeg, Demetria Kalodimos, Ann Bourland, Kerry Graham, Peter Macdonald, Amber DuVentre

- Si todos nos quedamos en casa y nos aislamos ahora, es probable que nos detengamos, con suerte, alrededor de 80,000, y sin nuevos casos cada día eventualmente en semanas (como lo logran ahora la mayoría de los países asiáticos, China, Japón y Corea del Sur).

Conoce tus derechos: ¿Que hacer en caso de una redada?

por

Contributor Board

Dibujo y concepto: John Yandall

Coronavirus Report

La Noticia + The Contributor

Moving Pictures

Vendor Writing + Art

Street papers have made big changes during the coronavirus pandemic, and Nashville service providers have too.

La Noticia, one of the leading Spanish-language newspapers in the nation, brings Spanish content to The Contributor.

Shooting Heroin is an earnest drama disguised as a vigilante revenge and it’s available to stream online now!

Vendors write in this issue about sheltering in place, the Atlantic Ocean, and learning how to walk when someone says you won’t.

Amanda Haggard • Linda Bailey • Hannah Herner • Tom Wills • Joe Nolan • Sandra Amstutz • Laura Birdsall • Tony Inglish • Jenna Minser • Israel Bayer • Yuri Cunza • Erica Ciccarone • Mr. Mysterio • Ridley Wills II • Vicky B. • Jamie W. • Jason T. • Norma B. • Mary B. • Tyrone M. • Wild Bill • John H.

Contributor Volunteers Joe First • Andy Shapiro • Michael Reilly • Ann Bourland • Patti George • John Jennings • Janet Kerwood • Logan Ebel • Christine Doeg • Laura Birdsall • Nancy Kirkland • Mary Smith • Andrew Smith • Ellen Fletcher • Richard Aberdeen • Shayna Harder Wiggins • Pete MacDonald Cathy Jennings Executive Director

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

Tom Wills Director of Vendor Operations Hannah Herner Staff Writer Jesse Call Housing Navigator Barbara Womack Advertising Manager Amanda Haggard & Linda Bailey Co-Editors

Andrew Krinks Editor Emeritus Will Connelly, Tasha F. Lemley, Steven Samra, and Tom WIlls Contributor Co-Founders

Editorials and features in The Contributor are the perspectives of the authors.

Submissions of news, opinion, fiction, art and poetry are welcomed. The Contributor reserves the right to edit any submissions.

The Contributor cannot and will not endorse any political candidate.

Submissions may be emailed to: editorial@thecontributor.org Requests to volunteer, donate, or purchase subscriptions can be emailed to: info@thecontributor.org Please email advertising requests to: advertising@thecontributor.org

The Contributor

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Make sure to include your vendor's badge name and number in the description. If you bought this version digitally, you can still leave your regular vendor a tip or donate to the vendor relief fund to help vendors affected

by COVID-19. Email Cathy@thecontributor.org for more information or with questions!

PAGE 2 | April 1 - 15, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

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The New Christian Year Selected by Charles Williams

Charles Walter Stansby Williams (1886–1945), the editor of the following selections, is today probably the third most famous of the famous Inklings literary group of Oxford, England, which existed in the middle of the 20th century, and which included among its ranks the better-known and longer-lived Oxford Dons J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. First published in 1941, this series of profound quotations, encompassing all walks of life, follows the sequence of the themes and Bible readings anciently appointed for contemplation throughout the church's year. It is hoped that the readings reproduced here will prove beneficial for any who read them, whatever their place in life's journey. — Matthew Carver

6th Wednesday in Lent I ASKED Him to let me suffer for my friends and for Him both in body and soul. But I had envisaged noble and pure suffering which, as I now see, would only have been another form of joy. I had never dreamed of this infernal suffering that He has sent me and has consisted in His seeming withdrawal from me and leaving me defenseless in the midst of my cruellest enemies.

Léon Bloy: Letters to his Fiancée.

6th Thursday in Lent His hour was not yet come. This is, because He was not so pleased; for our Lord was not born subject to fate. Thou must not believe this even of thyself, much less of Him by Whom thou wert made. And if thine hour is in His will, is not His hour in His own will? His hour then here does not mean the time that he was obliged to die, but the time that He deigned to be put to death.

St. Augustine, quoted by St. Thomas Aquinas: Catena Aurea.

THE originator of this cup is also one with him who drank it.

St. Augustine: Lectures on St. John.

6th Friday in Lent WHAT will move you? Will pity? Here is distress never the like. Will duty? Here is a person never the like. Will fear?

Here is wrath never the like. Will remorse? Here are sins never the like. Will kindness? Here is love never the like. Will bounty? Here are benefits never the like. Will all these? Here they be all, all in the highest degree.

Lancelot Andrewes: Sermon on Good Friday, 1604.

WHEN the Messiah . . . stands alone before the high-priest, deserted even by the chosen disciples . . . he is the sole representative at that moment of God's holy people; he bears in his own person the whole burden of Israel's appointed destiny.

Doctrine in the Church of England, Report of the Commission.

6th Saturday in Lent WHO but Himself could trouble Him? Christ was troubled, because it pleased Him to be troubled; He hungered because it pleased Him to hunger. It was in His own power to be affected in this or that way, or not. The Word took up soul and flesh, and whole man, and fitted it to Himself in unity of person. And thus according to the nod and will of that higher nature in Him, in which the sovereign power resides, He becomes weak and troubled.

St. Augustine, quoted by St. Thomas Aquinas: Catena Aurea.

NO manner of violence offered him in body, no man touching him or being near him; in a cold night, for they were fain to have a fire within doors, lying abroad in the air and upon the cold earth, to be all of a sweat, and that sweat to be blood; and not as they call it diaphoreticus, "a thin faint sweat," but grumosus, "of great drops"; and those so many, so plenteous, as they went through his apparel and all . . . never the like sweat certainly, and therefore never the like sorrow.

Lancelot Andrewes: Sermon on Good Friday, 1604.

Sunday Next Before Easter (Palm Sunday) . . . TO live thus, to cram to-day with eternity and not with the next day, the Christian has learnt and continues to learn (for the Christian is always learning) from the Pattern. How did He manage to live without anxiety for the next day—he who from the first instant of His public life when He stepped forward as a teacher knew how His life would end, that the next day was His crucifixion, knew this while the people exultantly hailed Him as King (ah, bitter knowledge to have at precisely that moment!), knew when they were crying, "Hosanna!", at His entry into Jerusalem that they would cry, "Crucify Him!", and that it was to this end He made His entry; He who bore every

day the prodigious weight of this superhuman knowledge— how did He manage to live without anxiety for the next day?

Kierkegaard: Christian Discourses.

THOU, the Life, wert laid in the grave, O Christ; and the hosts of the angels shuddered, praising thy humility.

Ritual of the Orthodox Church.

Holy Week Monday

Holy Week Saturday

THE progress of these terrors are plainly shown us in our Lord's agony in the garden, when the reality of this eternal death so broke in upon Him, so awakened and stirred itself in Him, as to force great drops of blood to sweat from His body . . . His agony was His entrance into the last eternal terrors of the lost soul, into the real horrors of that dreadful eternal death which man unredeemed must have died into when he left this world.

We are therefore not to consider our Lord's death upon the cross as only the death of that mortal body which was nailed to it, but we are to look upon Him with wounded hearts, as fixed and fastened in the state of that two-fold death, which was due to the fallen nature, out of which He could not come til He could say, "It is finished; Father into thy hands I commend my spirit."

William Law: An Appeal.

Holy Week Tuesday

THEY (Joseph and Nicodemus) answered (the Blessed Virgin) and said: "We sorrow and mourn with all our hearts for all that is done to him, and fain would we have helped him, but we could not overcome wickedness with right, nevertheless this little service shall we do to our Lord." Then rose they up and made them ready to take him down.

St. Bonaventura: The Privity of the Passion.

IT was not written by hazard: "Joseph wrapped Christ's body in a clean winding-sheet, and placed it in a new monument," and that "he rolled a great stone," because all things around the body of Jesus are clean, and new, and exceeding great.

Origen: St. Matthew.

Easter Sunday

HE said to Judas, when he betrayed him: "Friend, wherefore art thou come?" Just as if he had said: "Thou hatest me, and art mine enemy, yet I love thee and am thy friend." . . . As though God in human nature were saying: "I am pure, simple Goodness, and therefore I cannot will or desire or rejoice in, or do or give anything but goodness. If I am to reward thee for thy evil and wickedness I must do it with goodness, for I am and have nothing else."

Theologica Germanica.

GOD comes to us without any purpose of departing from us again; for the spirit of life that God breathed into man, that departs from man in death; but when God had assumed the nature of man, the Godhead never parted from that nature; no, not in death; when Christ lay dead in the grave, the Godhead remained united to that body and that soul, which were disunited in themselves; God was so united to man, as that he was with man, when man was not man, in the state of death.

Donne: Sermons.

Holy Week Wednesday

BY His Passion Christ achieved glory, not only of His soul, which He had from the first moment of His conception, but also of His body; . . . to which glory He brings those who follow the footsteps of His Passion.

Aquinas: Summa Theologica.

HIS own single voice prostrated that great crowd . . . For God lay hid in that human flesh; and eternal day was so obscured in those human limbs, that with lanterns and torches he was sought for to be slain by the darkness . . . And now everywhere through the Gospel Christ is still saying: "I am He." St. Augustine: Lectures on St. John.

GOD withdrew his protection, but did not break the union.

Anonymous, quoted by St. Thomas Aquinas: Catena Aurea.

Holy Week Thursday JESUS suffers in His passions the torments which men inflict upon Him, but in His agony He suffers the torments which He inflicts on Himself; This is a suffering from no human, but an almighty hand, for He must be almighty to bear it.

Pascal: Pensées.

HE was pieced with love no less than with grief, and it was that wound of Love which made him so constantly to endure all the other. . . Christ pierced on the cross is liber charitatis, "the very book of love" laid open before us.

Lancelot Andrewes: Sermon on Good Friday, 1597.

Good Friday JESUS is alone on the earth, without any one not only to feel and share His suffering, but even to know of it; He and Heaven were alone in that knowledge.

Pascal: Pensées.

THE perfection of our knowledge is Christ; the perfection of our knowledge in, or touching Christ, is the knowledge of Christ's piercing. This is the chief sight; nay, in this sight are all sights; so that know this, and know all.

Lancelot Andrewes: Sermon on Good Friday, 1597.

THE tree upon which were fixed the members of Him dying was even the chair of the Master teaching.

St. Augustine: Lectures on St. John.

EVERY mystery of Christ's assumed mortality was fulfilled and his immortality alone remained.

St. Ambrose, quoted by St. Thomas Aquinas: Catena Aurea.

Sponsored by Matthew Carver, publisher

PAGE 4 | April 1 - 15, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

ALL things have become light, never again to set, and the setting has believed in the rising. This is the new creation.

St. Clement: Address to the Greeks.

Easter Week Monday IN the kingdom of the Son the Father also reigns; and in the kingdom of the Father the Son also reigns: for the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father; and in whomsoever the Son dwells, in him also the Father; and in whomsoever the Father dwells, in him also the Son dwells, as it is written: "Both I am My Father will come to Him, and make Our abode with Him." Thus as there is one dwelling, so also there is one kingdom. Yea, and so far is the kingdom of the Father and of the Son but one, that the Father receives what the Son delivers, and the Son does not lose what the Father receives.

St. Ambrose: On the Faith.

Easter Week Tuesday . . . WHEREAS now their souls (of just men) be only in heaven, at the day of judgement this further increase of joy shall they have, that their bodies also shall be partakers of eternal bliss, and they shall in their flesh receive joy.

St. Gregory the Great: Dialogues.

WHEN the glorious and holy flesh shall clothe us again, our whole persons shall be more admirable by being more complete.

Dante: Paradise.

NOW was I come up in spirit through the flaming sword into the Paradise of God. All things were new: and all the creation gave another smell unto me than before, beyond what words can utter.

George Fox: Journal.

TO it (the pure soul) all creatures are pure to enjoy; for it enjoyeth all creatures in God and God in all creatures.

Eckhart: Sermons.

A BOUT US

Letter from ‘The Contributor’ B Y A M A ND A H A GG A RD & L IND A B A IL E Y, C ON T RIBU T OR C O -E DI T OR S Housing saves lives. There’s absolutely no denying it. Advocates and service providers around the city have been pushing for years to help people on the streets find housing, to otherwise find spaces for them to exist during the day, to work with them to find healthcare and food and more.

The coronavirus pandemic has turned working with people experiencing homelessness and the outreach involved in meeting people where they are completely on its head. What happens if you have the virus, meet with someone to fill out some paperwork, meet with another person to help them sign up for food stamps, pick someone up to give them a ride to their campsite?

Not doing any of those things feels wrong, but the chance of spreading the virus to someone already vulnerable feels worse. Much of it feels like an impossible choice.

Many, if not most, nonprofits were spread thin before the pandemic — and many are operating on skeleton

crews now. The city has made strides in working with service providers to set up temporary shelters in places that will allow for more distance between people, though some people on the streets may not be able to get to a new temporary shelter. Group housing like the Nashville Rescue Mission or Room In The Inn doesn’t exactly work if people aren’t supposed to be in groups. A playbook for how to handle this situation, with an already broken system that was not working for the poor and most vulnerable, is being written on the f ly.

Metro has added 14 sanitation stations with portable restrooms around the city to encourage people to stay in their camps. They’re organizing food box drop offs to camps as many of the large weekly meals have been forced to close. Outreach workers are educating people on how to practice social distancing and what to do if they think they are sick, and helping people find ways to charge their phones. But there is still so much that needs to happen

in Nashville to make sure people experiencing homenessles — who already have an average lifespan 20 years lower than someone with housing — can stay safe through this pandemic, which of course allows everyone to stay safe during this pandemic.

We must find a solution in Nashville that puts people into individual spaces. Many other cities are putting people experiencing homelessness into hotels, closed down nursing home facilities, and other spaces that can act as temporary housing. Advocates have been saying for years that housing is healthcare, and this situation only emphasizes this point.

A vendor for The Contributor recently told us she had ventured out of her home in public housing for the first time in three weeks to pay her rent and medical bills. She didn’t want to be late — hadn’t made a late payment in eight years, but she was fearful to leave.

“I didn’t feel brave,” she said. “I felt more like the wife from The Road.”

April 1 - 15, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 5

In Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road, the wife is unable to face the brutal post-apocalyptic world. To put it extremely lightly, she doesn’t have many options to go on and her journey ends most sadly. Her very real fear makes it impossible for her to move on. Plenty of people say that f lattening the curve and helping to stop the spread of the virus is as easy as staying home. That’s true, but there’s fear in the invisible threat for many people when they do have to go out.

As those of us who are housed stay home to keep ourselves and others safe, we must remember to advocate for others to have access to stable housing. It’s something that’s true whether a pandemic is happening or not, but the need is now more acute than ever. Removing barriers of any kind to keep people safe and healthy should be our priority.

Shelter in place because you should, but use your voice however you can to advocate for those who don’t have a place to.

NEWS

HOW ‘THE CONTRIBUTOR’ AND OTHER STREET PAPERS ARE RESPONDING TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

BY AMANDA HAGGARD As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts nearly every facet of life, The Contributor is attempting to soften the blow to the hardworking newspaper vendors who sell the paper.

The Contributor has started a Vendor Relief Fund, which will support every vendor with direct financial assistance to help with food, medicine, transportation and rent, as well as provide stipends for new vendor mentorship and leadership roles.

Vendors who choose to stay out selling as members of the media, and will still stay six feet apart, won’t block entrances and should be selling the paper in areas where people are in their vehicles. Paper vendors also have the option of selling mailed paper subscriptions for $99 a year — vendors will still keep all of the profit from the sale. Readers can still purchase the paper through Venmo as well.

The Contributor is also working on creating signs to tack up in vendors’ selling spots for vendors who are confined to their homes for health reasons.

“We’re looking at any and all options that could help buoy our vendors through this difficult time,” said Cathy Jennings, executive director of The Contributor. “We want our vendors to be safe, healthy and to be able to make the best choices for themselves in this environment.”

As of press time, the United States as a whole had not issued a mandatory directive for its citizens to stay home.

Some states have taken that action and several cities within Tennessee have as well, though Gov. Bill Lee has been wishy-washy on whether and when he’ll issue a statewide lockdown.

Street papers are attempting to come up with creative ways to continue facilitating vendors to earn an income, including selling online versions of their usually printed magazine, and engaging in other social projects that they run parallel with the publication.

The effect of the outbreak for street papers is two-fold: on an organizational and sales level and in terms of protecting vendors.

Other street papers in the U.S. In the United States, street papers and their staff have begun to take measures to help the most vulnerable people in society, especially as the official response to the outbreak has been criticised.

It is on the west coast of the country where coronavirus is making its presence most felt. INSP spoke to several street paper staff members in that part

of the U.S. for an update on how it is affecting them and those living on the streets. The homelessness crisis in the western U.S. is particularly fraught and visible.

“Here, we are as yet unaffected [by the virus], but homeless encampment sweeps are continuing unabated,” said Quiver Watts, editor of San Francisco street paper Street Sheet. “Our big service fair [an event, run by Project Homeless Connect, that centralizes services for unhoused people to easily access for a day] was canceled to prevent any possible transmission, so folks are needing extra support.”

In a city where over 1,000 people are on a waiting list for shelter, and during a declared State of Emergency, it is unacceptable, Watts says, for city officials to continue disrupting homeless people as they go to great lengths to adapt their behaviour to safeguard against infection.

“Given the crisis we are facing, we need an immediate moratorium on sweeps so that people in encampments can stay in touch with health outreach workers, have consistent access to hygiene stations, not be forcibly deprived of medications and survival gear that protect people, and can get enough sleep to keep their immune systems up.”

Street Sheet put together a thorough resource titled ‘What if you can’t stay home?’ outlining steps that homeless organisations can take to help those who need it and making demands of local government in San Francisco to do more.

Paula Lomazzi, director of Sacramento street paper Homeward Street

Journal, explained to INSP how the transactional nature of their services and selling street papers is making everyone second guess their behaviour.

“As the virus spreads more widely, breaking the quarantine measures, I have concerns about it entering the homeless population and spreading throughout areas such as community meals and shelters,” she said. “Of concern to our office will be contact with money that is exchanged between staff and vendors [and vendors and customers]. You can’t fist bump money.”

Portland’s Street Roots has been engaging its vendors to inform and facilitate them in hurdling all obstacles that the virus may pose.

“We talked about bringing hand sanitizer with them, and using it each time after handling money,” said Kaia Sand, executive director of Street Roots. “But also, using the hand sanitizer ostentatiously to visually assure customers.”

Sand said there had been no marked difference in sales, but they have been telling vendors that a change in circumstances in the area could mean a dip. They are also working with local partners to come up with other ways to ensure the health of vendors.

“We are creating health packets for vendors to have and share with other people on the streets. We have been coordinating with a local group of volunteer physicians called ‘Portland Street Medicine’ too. Our effort is to get people accurate information and other supplies (particularly hand sanitizer and soap). Because of the shortage of hand sanitizer we have crowd sourced

alcohol and aloe vera, and our volunteers are making a ‘home brew’.”

In Washington state, with streets and buildings half-empty, and public health officials recommending that the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions stay inside and people work from home if possible, it is expected it will have an effect on Seattle-based street paper Real Change.

“Different vendors are so far having different experiences,” said the street paper’s founding director Tim Harris.

“Some are fortunately unaffected, while others, like those selling in a now empty downtown area are having a tough time.”

In Italy The Italian government decided to place the entire country into lockdown, effectively quarantining all of its citizens. This worsens an already precarious situation for Milan-based street paper Scarp de’ tenis, which distributes in several cities across the country.

Updating INSP about the situation, the magazine’s editor Stefano Lampertico, who is working from home along with all other Scarp de’ tenis staff, explained that vendors are no longer able to sell the magazine. There have been no sales in March, and they have decided not to print their April issue.

“The impact of the virus is terrible,” he said. “This week, all services are closed. The number of sick people is increasing day by day. We are all living in the red zone. We can’t move. We can’t travel. We are all staying at home.”

In more hopeful news, Lampertico added that Scarp de’ tenis was able to

PAGE 6 | April 1 - 15, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

raise 5,000 euros from online sales, and have been distributing that money to vendors — though even doing this has proven tricky amidst the shutdown.

Staff – who are all healthy — continue to work on other projects that will benefit those who work as street paper vendors in the meantime. Though the Italian government says the restrictions will only last until April 3, there is no real sense of how long the current situation will go on for.

Meanwhile, in the far northern Italian region of South Tyrol, where the street paper zebra is based, the shutdown is having a similar impact. Lisa Frei, the magazine’s editor, told INSP that streets are bare, as the normally bustling area is no longer teeming with tourists. Schools have been closed, nixing an opportunity for zebra’s recently printed annual school edition to be presented to its target audience.

“We are working on and want to start a solidarity campaign and call for donations towards vendors via local media,” said Frei. “We have 13,000 magazines that cannot now be sold, but we hope that the situation will calm down soon so we can sell them in April. So far, no one in our region has died due to the virus, and all vendors are doing well.”

In the UK As INSP reported last week, via The Big Issue (UK), now that COVID-19 is being taken seriously in western countries, attention has turned to how rough sleepers, and other people experiencing homelessness, may be disproportionately affected by the safeguards being put in place and the medical advice being dished out by health boards and governments.

People living on the street, many of whom make up street paper vendor numbers, are not able to easily access bathrooms or hygiene products, and others have no choice but to live in homeless encampments and shelters, making self-isolation – the ideal method of preventing spread and contamination of the virus – extremely difficult.

Carrying out the seemingly simple task of thorough hand washing, as has been advised, is not a given for many living in this situation. In the UK, with members of the general public panic-buying products like hand wash, poorer families are being pushed out, if not priced out.

Additional reporting by Jenna Minser, Tony Inglish with INSP and further reporting taken from articles published

by Street Sheet. Courtesy of INSP.ngo

NEWS

HOMELESS SERVICE PROVIDERS RE-STRATEGIZE

BY HANNAH HERNER

HAND WASHING STATIONS, RESTROOMS SET UP TO HELP PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS DURING THE PANDEMIC

BY HANNAH HERNER Part of surviving on the streets is knowing where to get the resources one needs — a meal, a restroom, a place to clean up.

With dining areas of friendly local restaurants and public spaces like libraries closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, people living on the streets have to find new places to use the restroom and wash their hands. Metro government stepped in to set up 14 stations with port-a-potties and hand washing sinks throughout Nashville.

It’s important for a person experiencing homelessness to have a place they can go where they won’t be met with resistance, says Susan Adcock, outreach worker for Open Table Nashville. Adcock says she’s gotten a positive response from her clients who did use the stations.

“The port-a-johns have helped tremendously,” Adcock says. “I feel like they should have always had more access to toilets, not only for their benefit but for everybody, a public health benefit.”

Adcock says it took longer for her clients to realize the scope of COVID-19 because they often don’t have access to the news via a smartphone or a TV. Even with

much of the city shut down, Adcock is still passing out resources to her clients — the latest news on the virus along with some travel-sized donated bottles of hand sanitizer and some reassurance. She printed out several fliers with information from nashvillehomeless.com to include, too.

“It’s not a lot, but it’s comforting to people to at least give them a little something to feel like they’re in control,” Adcock says.

Metro Homeless Impact Division is working with community partners to identify locations for the sanitizing stations. They are not currently taking requests for locations.

See a list of locations below.

1. Central: Riverfront Park (near 100 1st Ave N.) 2. Central: Outside the Downtown Public Library (700 Church St) 3. South: Soccer field parking lot by Wentworth-Caldwell Park (4905 Edmondson Pike) 4. North: Jefferson Street Bridge

(near 1082 First Ave North) 5. East: Loaves and Fishes parking lot

by Holy Name 6. West: Charlotte Pike behind the Bojangles at the entrance to Brookmeade Greenway.

7. Madison: Madison Library (610 Gallatin Pike South, Madison) 8. Goodlettsville: Goodlettsville Library branch, (205 Rivergate Parkway) 9. South: At the bottom of Athens Road (off Hermitage) 10. Central: Outside of Room In The Inn (705 Drexel) 11. South: Adventure Science Center by the picnic area (800 Fort Negley) 12. West: Centennial Park by the Pavilion 13. South: The corner of Nolensville and Moore (close to the fairgrounds right where the Nolensville turns to 2nd ave) 14. North: Cement Plant Road (the greenway next to the Cumberland River right in the middle, in the gravel parking lot)

April 1 - 15, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 7

As the spread of COVID-19 began to ramp up in Tennessee and homeless service providers had to change their services, phones blew up with updates — calls, texts and the dreaded group email threads.

That’s why Judith Tackett, director of Metro’s Homeless Impact Division, created a separate website, nashvillehomeless.com, just for updates on how providers are changing their services in the wake of the virus.

“It’s really hard to follow emails right now, especially when they come en masse,” Tackett says. “It’s much easier to have a landing page where people can go and see regularly what is new.”

Service providers are encouraged to submit information about their services through the yellow highlighted “submit updates” form in the upper right of the page.

Because of COVID-19, the M.O. for service providers has had to change.

Typically, social workers would check in regularly with clients, in person. Now they’re switching over to phone calls as much as possible, Tackett says. Some meal and shower providers have reduced the frequency of service, and some have reduced how many can access service at the same time — in an effort to obey social distancing.

Social distancing also means that providers are working with the bare bones number of volunteers and staff, Tackett says. She says the best way to support these folks is through money and resources.

One of the priorities under Mayor John Cooper’s “Safer at Home” order is those who live in encampments.

“Our community outreach groups are partnering with local ministries to set up a food box delivery for encampments,” Tacket says. “We would like to ensure that people in encampments can practice the Safer at Home and remain as much in their encampment as possible.”

Items for the emergency food boxes can be dropped off at Glencliff United Methodist Church, 2901 Glencliff Road, Monday through Friday from 10 am to 3 pm.

Nashvillehomeless.com is a resource for people experiencing homelessness and service providers alike.

“I think the most common question from service providers has been, ‘how can I be helpful?’ Everybody still wants to do the most that they can do in a safe way for their staff and especially for the people that they serve,” Tackett says.

Questions? Email judith.tackett@ nashville.gov

INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS

INSP NORTH AMERICA DIRECTOR ISRAEL BAYER: “FOR THOSE ON THE FRONT LINES OF HOMELESSNESS, COVID-19 REPRESENTS A REALITY THAT PEOPLE ALREADY LIVE WITH EVERY SINGLE DAY”

BY ISRAEL BAYER The global respiratory disease known as COVID-19, often referred to as the coronavirus, is sweeping its way around the world.

The United States is no different. Officials in many regions of the country have already announced a state of emergency — hoping to curb and stop the spread of the virus.

Already the virus has taken the lives of thousands of people around the globe and will surely take more with each passing day.

Sadly, the American government, health care systems and overall society is woefully underprepared for such an event. The lack of testing kits and communication about how to get tested in the United States remains a major challenge for health officials. It’s created a perfect storm of unknowns.

What we do know is that American’s homeless population is extremely vulnerable. The virus poses a grave threat to both people with existing medical conditions and the elderly. It’s a recipe for disaster among American’s mass homeless population, many of whom are ageing and oftentimes living with a range of already existing health complications.

On any given night there are hundreds of thousands of people experiencing homelessness in America. More than 500,000 to be exact, according to government figures.

Nearly 200,000 are families with children.

Every year, it’s estimated that more than a million individuals and families will access an emergency shelter and experience homelessness.

More so, tens of millions of low-wage workers are on edge wondering what the future may hold if they can’t access an income.

It’s not a cliché to say people are just one or two paychecks away from homelessness in America.

Currently, both local and federal officials are developing ongoing ways to work with and support people on the streets. This includes offering guidelines and educational tools for non-profits, outreach workers and first responders to support people surviving outside and in emergency shelters.

Many of the guidelines outline information about the virus, steps to take to avoid contact with sick people and what to do if people fall ill. That’s a tall order

given the fact that the flu and pneumonia are both common occurrences among the homeless population, especially during the winter months. Being able to differentiate between these realities and what to do about COVID-19 won’t be easy for first responders and health officials, especially given the volume of people living on the streets and limited testing capacity.

Some communities are being proactive.

San Francisco announced an emergency $5 million to support expanding emergency shelters hours, increased cleaning in shelters and non-profits and hand washing stations throughout the city. The mayor of San Jose, California called a halt to all evictions and homeless sweeps until the public health crisis is over. In Detroit, the city restored water for people who had their utilities turned off and residents can now sign-up for water services at a reduced rate.

Nashville has taken some, but not all, of the same actions.

Unfortunately, not every community around the country has the resources and/ or political will to prioritize the homeless population and the poor. This leaves many people experiencing homelessness to fend for themselves.

The sad reality is nobody actually knows what would happen given a mass outbreak of COVID-19 among American’s homeless population. If our current federal policies and history serve as an example, most likely many people on the streets will be left to their own devices unless something drastic changes.

During the past decade more than 10,000 people have died without a safe place to call home on the West Coast of America, according to medical examiners reports. Since 2013, more than 5,000 people have died homeless in Los Angeles County alone. Thousands more die homeless every year on the streets nationwide — a portion of which die from natural causes, including the flu and pneumonia.

It’s more than a tragedy. There’s no reason to believe things will be different given the current circumstances.

What can we do?

Experts have called for a variety of rec-

ommendations at federal, state and local government levels. A sampling of these recommendations includes: • Create a public plan for disseminating information to people experiencing homelessness, including outreach to encampments, shelters and transitional housing to share information about hygiene stations, testing facilities and health care options for people.

• Increase/develop mobile hygiene stations, including hand washing stations made publicly available in local communities.

• Enact a moratorium on all evictions and home foreclosures.

• Create an emergency assistance fund to support people facing evictions during the public health crisis.

• Enact a moratorium on homeless sweeps, including towing vehicles where people reside.

• Address utilities (water, gas, electricity): A no shut off policy for individuals and families who may not have the resources.

• Increase medical support and testing for people inside local and county jails — knowing many people in experiencing homelessness and/or mental health reside in country jails.

• Increase emergency funds for non-profits and organizations working to support people experiencing homelessness.

• Increase support for the production of housing at a local, state and federal level.

We know that the homeless and housing crisis in America today is a direct result of the lack of living wage jobs, access to adequate healthcare and the lack of housing for millions of individuals and families living on a fixed income, or no income at all.

During the past four decades the federal government has disinvested tens of billions of dollars for housing for our most vulnerable citizens — resulting in mass homelessness and an ongoing series of makeshift, complex, and underfunded emergency response plans — operating

PAGE 8 | April 1 - 15, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

in a constant state of triage.

For many people living and working on the front lines of homelessness, COVID-19 represents the deadly serious reality that people already live with every single day.

It’s also yet another reminder of the gross inequities that already exist on the homeless and housing front.

There is no other option for people on the front lines of homelessness but to carry on, including street papers who are working tirelessly to provide the safest environment possible for people on the streets and the public-at-large.

At the end of the day, it’s up to all of us to rise above. That means remaining educated on the issue, and yes, washing our hands. It means keeping an eye out for the people around you. It means finding empathy for others in the larger community, including people on the streets. It means coming together and working to make our world a better place, regardless of circumstance. We must fight on.

Israel Bayer is director of INSP North America. Courtesy of INSP.ngo

LA NOTICIA “The Contributor” está trabajando con uno de los principales periódicos en español La Noticia para llevar contenido a más lectores en Middle Tennessee. Nuestros vendedores de periódicos han pedido durante mucho tiempo que nuestra publicación incluya contenido que apele al interés de residentes de habla hispana en nuestra comunidad.

“The Contributor” is working with one of the leading Spanish-language newspapers La Noticia to bring content to more readers in Middle Tennessee. Our newspaper vendors have long requested that our publication include content that appeals to the interest of Spanish-speaking residents in our community.

LOCALES - POLÍTICA - INMIGRACIÓN - TRABAJOS - SALUD - ESPECTÁCULOS - DEPORTES Y MÁS...

2020

L a N ticia

Año 18 - No. 302

“DONDE OCURREN LOS HECHOS QUE IMPORTAN, SIEMPRE PRIMERO... ANTES”

GRATIS

April

Escanee esta imagen para ver La Noticia newspaper edición bilingüe digital

w w w. h i s p a n i c p a p e r. c o m

Nashville, Tennessee

Coronavirus: Lo Que Todos Debemos Saber y Hacer (Pt.2)

Vamos perdiendo la guerra contra el #coronavirus liderando. Es la triste situación en la que nos encontramos por una respuesta preventiva tardía de parte de nuestros líderes a nivel nacional y un equivocado sentido de confianza e intocabiliYuri Cunza dad. Con 526,044 La Por Noticia Newspaper casos en 175 paises, Editor in Chief un total de 23,709 muertos y con los Estados Unidos ahora con 83,097 infectados, como el país de mayor cantidad de casos mundialmente, sobrepasando a China, todos somos perdedores. Las epidemias no discriminan y tanto pobres como ricos podemos ser devastados por un escenario inesperado de lucha por la sobrevivencia. No es la especie más fuerte la que sobrevive, ni la más inteligente. Es el que más se adapta al cambio quien logra sobrevivir. Y ese cambio, de acuerdo a que tan pronto lo implementemos, nos ayudará a reconstruir el mundo que vemos desaparecer frente a nuestros narices a través de los medios diariamente.

Lo más sensato en este momento es quedarse seguro en casa. No importa si su preocupacion es el de perder su trabajo o no cumplir con algún compromiso. Su salud y la salud colectiva es lo más importante a largo plazo. Por suerte nuestros líderes locales han recomendado exactamente esto.

Quédese “Más Seguro En Casa”, es la iniciativa y recomendación firme de nuestro alcalde John Cooper para asi “Flatten the Curve” (Aplanar la Curva) creciente de casos y disminuir la propagación del mortal virus COVID-19. A continuación le ofrecemos algunos detalles y reglas publicadas en covid19.nashville.gov Para combatir aún más la propagación de COVID-19, el Departamento de Salud Pública del Metro ha emitido la Orden de Más Seguro en Casa, que ordena a todos los residentes de Nashville y el Condado de Davidson que permanezcan dentro de sus hogares, e inmediatamente limiten toda sa-

1. ¿Cuál es la situación mundial?

China / Japón / Corea del Sur: no hay nuevos casos, las empresas están abiertas, ¡la gente TODAVÍA sigue usando máscaras! Hasta el momento 523,163 casos en el mundo, 23,639 muertos en 175 países.

Italia: lo peor puede haber pasado, la muerte diaria parece estar disminuyendo; EE. UU: 83,097, M 1,151 TN: 1098 M 3 2. ¿Dónde estamos como nación en este proceso?

Estamos delante de China, lo que no se esperaba hasta en 4-6 semanas, dejando atrás a Italia que aumentó a 80,589.

China está saliendo de eso, lo peor de Italia es incierto, por lo que es probable que EE. UU. empeore en las próximas 2 semanas, alcanzando su punto máximo a principios o mediados de abril.

3. Si la mayoría de nosotros eventualmente se va a infectar por dicho virus, entonces, ¿por qué aislarnos ahora?

lida más allá de lo que es absolutamente necesario para atender lo esencial.

Los residentes de Nashville están obligados a permanecer dentro de sus hogares a menos que se dediquen a ciertas «actividades esenciales». Si lo hace manténgase al menos a seis pies de distancia de los demás.

USTED PUEDE… • Ir a la tienda de comestibles, o almacén • Ir a la farmacia para recoger medicamentos y otras necesidades de atención médica • Ir a las citas médicas (consulte primero con su médico o proveedor) • Ir a un restaurante para llevar, o entregar • Cuidar o apoyar a un amigo o familiar • Dar un paseo, montar bicicleta, trotar y salir a la naturaleza paraejercicitarse, manténgase seis pies entre usted y los demás.

• Pasear con sus mascotas y llévarlas al veterinario si es necesario • Ayudar a alguien a obtener los suministros necesarios

• Recibir entregas de cualquier negocio que entregue USTED NO DEBE …

• Ir a trabajar a menos que esté proporcionando servicios esenciales según lo definido por esta orden • Visitar a amigos y familiares si no hay necesidad urgente • Mantenerse a menos de 6 pies de distancia de los demás cuando salga • Visitar a sus seres queridos en el hospital, residencia de ancianos, centro de enfermería especializada u otro centro de atención residencial, excepto por excepciones limitadas según lo dispuesto en los sitios web de la instalación. ¿Es obligatoria esta Orden? ¿Qué pasa si no cumplo?

Sí. Esta es una orden legalmente exigible.

Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com

- Hoy tenemos 83,097 infectados como nación. Si no nos aislamos, entonces, cuando EE. UU. alcance su pico a principios de Abril, alcanzaremos 100,000 infectados, convirtiéndonos en la nación más infectada y posiblemente la de mayor cantidad de vidas perdidas.

- Si todos nos quedamos en casa y nos aislamos ahora, es probable que nos detengamos, con suerte, alrededor de 80,000, y sin nuevos casos cada día eventualmente en semanas (como lo logran ahora la mayoría de los países asiáticos, China, Japón y Corea del Sur).

Entonces, el plan es: si podemos mantener el virus contenido y no propagarse, el 99.9% de nosotros no estaremos infectados pero aún somos vulnerables. Por aislamiento, COMPRAMOS el tiempo, hasta que el clima se calienta (el virus es menos virulento a altas temperaturas) y hasta que una vacuna esté disponible (a fines de 2020 o principios de 2021), para que todos podamos inmunizarnos.

Con información del Doctor Ming Wang, M.D., Ph.D. Harvard & MIT (MD, magna cum laude); PhD (laser physics).

Conoce tus derechos: ¿Que hacer en caso de una redada?

1. Mantenerse callado 2. Sólo dar nombre y apellido 3. No mentir 4. Nunca acepte/lleve documentos falsos 5. No revelar su situación migratoria 6. No llevar documentación de otro país 7. En caso de ser arrestado, mostrarla Tarjeta Miranda (llámenos si necesita una)

por

Basados en la Quinta Enmienda de la Constitución, los derechos de guardar silencio y contar con un abogado fueron denominados Derechos Miranda luego de la decisión de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de Estados Unidos en el caso Miranda vs. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, de 1966.

w w w . j u a n e s e . c o m

April 1 - 15, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 9

Dibujo y concepto: John Yandall

COVER STORY

Silent Reading

IF HG

A collection of books to help divert your eyes from the endless scrolling The Contributor normally puts out a Summer Reading List at the beginning of, well, the summer. Right around when schools let out, we spend some time thinking about what you might read in a chair on your back porch, while relaxing on the beach or while hidden away in a dark corner of your house trying to escape your children.

Summer hasn’t exactly come early, but many people are homebound, attempting to be socially distant to help flatten the curve during the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve rounded up a few books that might help you pass some time — or at the very least keep you from staring at your phone in horror all day long.

The Sympathizer

By Viet Thanh Nguyen The narrator in Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sympathizer is a man of two worlds. As a Franco-Vietnamese communist agent, he’s been embedded in the South Vietnamese forces for years as an aide-de-camp to a prominent general. The novel follows his escape from Saigon to his life as a refugee in Los Angeles, a stint consulting on an Apocalypse Now-esque film, and his bungling attempt to protect the life of his best friend. All the while, he guides us through the contradictions inherent in independence, friendship, love and patriotism.

Nguyen’s prose is acrobatic, mesmerizing and transportive — an escape that’s smart and socially conscious. ERICA CICCARONE

Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them

By Jennifer Wright A lot of people are plunging right into the bleak underbelly of apocalyptic stories right now.

I’m not one of them, yet I find 2017’s Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them comforting. Jennifer Wright takes a sociological view of pandemics, mapping out how societies reacted to the likes of cholera, tuberculosis, polio, the Spanish flu and more.

She emphasizes government failures as well individual triumphs, be they scientific, medical or in simply offering radical compassion to neighbors.

It’s an absolute riot to read — sharp, voicey and surprisingly hilarious, but never at the expense of others. Get Well Soon offers evidence that we’ll get through this. ERICA CICCARONE

My Autobiography of Carson McCullers

By Jenn Shapland A typical autobiography is about the author, not another person — but My Autobiography of Carson McCullers is not a typical book. It tells the story of author Jenn Shapland’s obsessive, years-long investigation into the personal life of one America’s greatest novelists. Along the way, Shaplands gets to know herself — as an academic, author and lesbian — and is struck by how McCullers’ sexuality has been erased and whitewashed by history books. It’s a meditative, healing read that asks us how we want our stories to be told, and encourages us to proudly tell them ourselves. ERICA CICCARONE

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Little Weirds

By Jenny Slate After watching her Netflix special, I was an automatic fan of Jenny Slate. Reading this book is like reading Slate’s winding, sometimes spiraling daydreams. Each bite-sized chapter is a new surprise. Some read like a memoir excerpt, some read like a comedic essay, others are like a meditation. Slate analyzes the heaviness of life, while also ruminating on sources of light that I never thought of. As you too look for new and different sources of light, she’ll give you some inspiration. HANNAH HERNER

COVER STORY

Ties That Bind: Stories of Love and Gratitude from the First Ten Years of StoryCorps

By Dave Isay A copy of this book cost me only 75 cents at McKay’s a while back, which honestly offended me once I read it, because the stories are so affecting. There’s just something special that happens when two people who already know each other well take the time to slow down and ask deeper questions. There’s little fanfare or explanation, just a book of conversations — and some monologues — directly transcribed and cut down into the most powerful snippets. In the back of the book there is a list of StoryCorps favorite questions. Now is a great time to call someone you love and use them. HANNAH HERNER

Shakespeare Beyond Doubt? Exposing an Industry in Denial Ed. John Shahan and Alexander Waugh Look, I would usually keep it cool in the reading recommendations, but in these times of upheaval and solitude, I think that folks might be ready to delve into my secret bailiwick — the Shakespeare authorship controversy! In a quiet war, entrenched interests in the British tourism industry and in English departments around the world have duked it out with a loose coalition of historians, attorneys and actors who question the orthodox biography of William Shakespeare, an illiterate wool merchant from Stratford who is purported to have written some of the greatest literary works in human history. I won’t stake any claims here, but will instead offer up this intriguing collection of essays as a primer on the dubious historicity of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust’s often surreally absurd dogma. If you enjoy that one, I encourage you to delve deeper with Diana Price’s Shakespeare’s Unorthodox Biography. LAURA BIRDSALL

Late Migrations

By Margaret Renkl Margaret Renkl’s Late Migrations is an accurate representation of the life I’m living right now: small, lovely snippets of nature intercut with sharp, biting realizations about loss and love and what it means to be a human. It’s the kind of book you can devour: short, sometimes one page, chapters, each one memorable. Renkl doesn’t hit you over the head with lessons: In her book of essays, she’s showing you the life she lived through stories about trees, birds, mothers, fathers and more. AMANDA HAGGARD

Jubilee Hitchhiker: The Life and Times of Richard Brautigan

By William Hjortsberg Richard Brautigan is emblematic of a generation of post-Beat-Generation poets who embodied the druggy surrealism of the West Coast in the 1960s. In classic titles like Trout Fishing in America and A Confederate General at Big Sur, Brautigan blurred the line between short story, poetry and personal essay, creating works that were as touching and illuminating as they were original and askew. This exhaustive biography can bring you the story of the man behind the wire-rimmed granny glasses just in time for April’s National Poetry Month celebration. And Jubilee Hitchhiker’s 878 pages might last you all the way through 2020. JOE NOLAN

I Miss You When I Blink

By Mary Laura Philpott Mary Laura Philpott is a damn delight. If you follow her on Twitter, you know she’s provided some bright spots in the nonstop deluge of very, very bad news. If you’re a woman who is always trying to do it all, her memoir I Miss You When I Blink is an extremely relatable read that will leave you feeling like you can finally breathe. When you’re done with the book, sign up for Philpott’s newsletter, where she gives book recommendations, shares cute animal videos and more. AMANDA HAGGARD

Black Is the Body: Stories from My Grandmother’s Time, My Mother’s Time, and Mine

By Emily Bernard This book begins with a stabbing — it’s a jarring entrance into Emily Bernard’s life. In 12 essays, she lays out, with brutal honesty, her experiences growing up black in the Nashville area, marrying a white man, adopting two Ethiopian children and more. From the small moments to the big, she writes her stories in a way that makes you feel everything. AMANDA HAGGARD

April 1 - 15, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 11

The Longest Silence: A Life in Fishing

By Thomas McGuane I’ve read a lot of books about fishing, but nobody writes about our finely-finned friends and the people obsessed with catching them like Thomas McGuane. If quarantine life has put a kink in your springtime angling, this book can help to scratch that itch. The Longest Silence is the best book about fishing you’re ever likely to read, and McGuane — whose great novels include Ninety-two in the Shade and To Skin a Cat — is such an amazing wordsmith that this one can be enjoyed by anyone who loves the outdoors and wonders at the beauty of the natural world. JOE NOLAN

Miles: The Autobiography

By Miles Davis Miles Davis’ autobiography is one of the wildest, most profane books you’ll ever read. Davis strings blue language together nearly as well as he strings blues notes together with his legendary trumpet playing. And a life full of late nights in jazz clubs, studios, limousines and in the thrall of drug addiction and alcoholism gave him countless stories which he fearlessly shares here. This one is necessary reading for fans of the documentary Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, which is great, and currently streaming on Netflix. JOE NOLAN

MOVING PICTURES

Available Now ‘SHOOTING HEROIN’ IS AN EARNEST DRAMA DISGUISED AS A VIGILANTE REVENGE

BY JOE NOLAN Film Critic The new opioid crisis drama, Shooting Heroin, was supposed to open in limited release in about 100 theaters around the country on April 3. Following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of public movie theaters, the film’s distributors adroitly pivoted to digital and on-demand platforms.

The movie caught my eye because of its jarringly direct title and because it was the first movie on my radar to effortlessly glide from theater releases to streaming in the manner that has become the new normal for film premiers. Shooting Heroin is a sign of the times because of the manner in which we’ll watch it, but it’s also a sign of the times in its subject matter which fleshes-out the epidemic America was already in the middle of long before most American’s had ever heard of the Wuhan Province.

Shooting Heroin is written and directed by Spencer T. Folmar — it’s based on real events in his hometown and it features a fantastic cast of character

actors including Sherilyn Fenn (Twin Peaks), Alan Powell (Quantico), Garry Pastore (HBO’s The Deuce), Nicholas Turturro (SVU), Cathy Moriarty (Raging Bull), and Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs (Cooley High). The movie pictures a small town community that unites to fight back against the spread of drugs and the body count they’ve exacted. The townsfolk take justice into their own hands to ensure they won’t lose another generation to addiction and overdose.

Folmar opens his film with a title montage that presents the small rural Pennsylvania town alongside a television report about an eighth grader dying from an overdose. For the characters in Shooting Heroin the opioid crisis, drug trafficking, easily available painkillers, and illegal narcotics define their lives as much as their close community ties, the bonds of manual labor and military service, and the love of family. It’s a heavy setting, and it’s also one that movies often render as a cliché — an Americana caricature of a place packed with predictable, but thin-

ly drawn characters. Shooting Heroin is better than that. Folmar keeps his story moving, but he takes time introducing these people and this place. The dialog and the performances are well wrought, but minimal — offhand seeming and

What to Watch 8 FILMS AND SHOWS TO HELP YOU IN LEAN IN OR AWAY FROM BEING STUCK INSIDE DURING A PANDEMIC

BY SANDRA AMSTUTZ The Fits (2015) — Amazon Prime Many film watchers are flocking to films like Contagion as a way to dive deeper into stories about a fast-spreading virus. The Fits can provide a similar spooky tale about infection with a milder approach. A mysterious outbreak of seizures begins affecting girls on a local dance team right as Toni, an 11-year-old tomboy, starts her tryouts. It’s a hypnotic look at one girl’s reckoning with belonging, adolescence and womanhood.

Never Goin’ Back (2018) — Amazon Prime Are you in dire need of a big laugh? Never Goin’ Back takes you on a raunchy, hilarious journey with two teen girls who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Angela and Jessie are waitresses who are

desperate for rent money, and their attempts to earn it are continually thwarted by sexist pigs, doofus roommates and the girls’ inability to avoid having a blast with each other. Come for the unabashedly feminine gross-out comedy, stay for the delightful bond between best friends.

Please Like Me (2013-2016) — Hulu Some TV shows feel like hanging out with your closest friends even when you’re stuck all alone in your house. Please Like Me is a sweet Australian comedy that provides the kind of charm and comfort we could all use right now. Creator and star Josh Thomas allows us to spend time with his family and friends as they cook, dance, fall in love and learn how to deal with mental illness realistically.

realistic. The production design is grimy and grim in all the right ways, and John Honoré’s no-frills, handheld camerawork captures it all with immediate intimacy.

All this realistic grounding is im-

Leaning Into The Wind (2017) — Hulu After a stressful day of being stuck indoors, a soothing film about nature’s inherent beauty might be the perfect way to wind down.

However, Leaning Into The Wind is not your typical nature documentary. It follows artist Andy Goldsworthy as he creates one of a kind sculptures and transient performance pieces using only the natural elements. This film has almost no plot or structure, but instead has a bounty of enchanting visuals.

Free Solo (2018) — Hulu & Disney Plus Are you missing sports? Perhaps you’d be interested in watching someone attempt one of the greatest athletic achievements in the world.

Alex Honnold is a free solo mountain climber (meaning he doesn’t use any ropes or harnesses), and his dream is to be the first person to free solo El Capitan, a 3,000-foot vertical rock formation in Yosemite Valley. This documentary depicts Honnold’s intense preparation while also giving us an insight into the type of person who seeks perfection with life or death stakes.

Succession (2018-2019) — HBO If you’re a fan of the wicked humor in Veep, the destructive relationships in Mad Men or

PAGE 12 | April 1 - 15, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

portant because after one overdose too many claims the life of another young woman, the families and friends who are left behind decide they’ve had enough. The well-meaning but overworked police sheriff is no match for the hydra-headed epidemic that’s devouring the town so a form of “redneck justice” — one part pain and one part desperate rage – finally boils over in local bars, around deer hunt campfires, at a Sunday morning mass.

Shooting Heroin is just over 90 minutes long and within that period of time, it simplifies the complexities of America’s opioid epidemic. But, just when the movie threatens to turn into a revenge film parody, Folmar rips hard on the reigns. The director stays focused on his characters, who are caught in a struggle between illegal drugs and those who profit off of them, and the laws, regulations and pharmaceutical industry that continually make the problem seemingly impossible to solve.

The film best embodies the dichotomies of the opioid scourge in its third act when a candle-lit “parade for peace” is contrasted with a torch carrying mob that’s out for blood — a montage of the two processions reads like a scene out of the Coppola filmography. And the film’s final twist honors the weight and complexity of its desperate subject matter instead of satisfying the expectations of the less ambitious genre fare that this film rises above.

Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.

the ever-changing power struggles in Game of Thrones, you’ll love following the ups and downs of the elite Roy family in HBO’s Succession.

Now is the time to catch up on its two seasons before it becomes the show that everyone you know is watching.

About Time (2013) — Netflix Sometimes when filled with anxiety, you just need to watch a movie that you know will produce a good cry. It’s OK, we all need help releasing emotions. On its face, About Time is a delightful romantic comedy about a young man who learns he can travel back in his past to correct any of his mistakes. But at its heart, it is a tearjerker that reminds us to live in the moment and cherish the people we love.

The One I Love (2014) — Netflix The One I Love is an eerie romance film about a couple stuck in a house dealing with marital issues. Perhaps some will find this premise very relatable these days? As Ethan (Mark Duplass) and Sophie (Elisabeth Moss) attempt to mend their marriage, they must also work together to figure out the reality-bending rules of their weekend vacation home. Watch this movie when you want to lean into the madness.

FUN

HOBOSCOPES ARIES

Unlock the door, Aries. Sanitize the doorknob. Wash your hands. Place your keys in a bucket of bleach. Unload the grocery bags. Wipe down each item and place on a sanitized surface. Wash your hands. Put your clothes in the washing machine. Burn the grocery bags. Shower thoroughly in 135 degree water. Wash your hands.

Put perishables on a clean shelf in the refrigerator.

Push your car into the swamp. Boil your phone in gasoline. Wash your hands. Clearly label your home “condemned.” Wander into the wilderness naked.

Wash your hands. Now you’ve got groceries, Aries!

Maybe take the rest of the day to just relax.

I clocked-in for my night shift at Wandering Hills Super Video and Tan at 10:30 last Tuesday. Then on Wednesday morning the Mayor asked that we all shelter in place. So I’m still here.

Just sheltering in place on my continuing shift at Wandering Hills. Haven’t really seen any customers, but I’ve alphabetized all the VHS in the Fitness section and eaten most of the Takis. It’s pretty lonely in here, Leo. I hope you’re somewhere with people you like. But if you’re alone, don’t forget that you can call. Call me or your brother or your coworker or your friend. It’s an easy way to remember that you’re not really alone if we’re all alone together.

VIRGO

TAURUS

The Council for Health Among Amateur Astrology Professionals (CHAAAP) has recently issued a statement strongly encouraging all amateur astrologers to take utmost precautions when predicting anything that might encourage persons to be in overclose proximity to one another. For instance, normally your horoscope might read, “You will meet a tall, dark stranger.” This week it’s been recommended that I predict “You will meet a tall, dark stranger at a distance of at least six feet.” Things are changing fast, Taurus, even the future. Stay flexible.

GEMINI

If you’ve started to wonder, the plural of “apocalypse” is simply “apocalypses.”

Nothing too linguistically fancy there.

I see people talk about apocalypses like they’re the end of absolutely everything. But the word actually originates from the greek for “revelation.” So if you feel another apocalypse coming on, just remember that as scary as things might get, it may also be a time when things that have been covered up for too long are revealed. Apocalypses can get pretty dark, but they shine a light on what’s been hidden. What’s being revealed in yours?

CANCER

LEO

In an attempt to stop the spread of tuberculosis, New York city banned public spitting in 1896. When the signs went up, people were furious. A $500 fine for spitting in the street! Ridiculous! And, yes, the ban was, largely, unenforceable. But, over time, the idea soaked into the culture. Public spitting slowed and became increasingly taboo. Tuberculosis cases decreased too.

You may think the new rules are outlandish, but if you find you’re the only person left who’s still hawking loogies in the stairwell, you may want to reassess your response.

There’s been a good bit of snark floating around lately about my chosen field. “Didn’t you astrologers see this coming? Why didn’t you warn us?” The truth is, Virgo, that I didn’t see this coming. But still, it’s been in the stars all along. What The Stars know and what they always tell us, is that all of this is fleeting. The light from any star has travelled so far and for so long that every twinkle is a reminder that everything is always changing. Planets come and go.

Galaxies collide. Things are not what you expect them to be. So you have to live like your life is of the utmost importance, because it’s temporary, and it only happens once, and it is the most important life you will ever have.

LIBRA

How’s it going to end, Libra? In some of the greatest stories the tension just builds and builds until you can’t stand it and then it builds some more until you did stand it and then there’s a big finale and you know it’s over and you cry and clap and cheer. Most stories in real life, though, don’t have such a clear ending. Will we even know when it’s over? How do we know when to cry? How do we know when to cheer? Instead of waiting for the ending today, Libra, you’re allowed to just respond. If you want to scream, do it. If you need to laugh, find a way. I don’t know when the credits will roll, but you don’t have to wait. You can feel how you feel right now.

SCORPIO

I like to think that I respond to data and not just raw emotion. But sometimes the data doesn’t do what I want it to do, Scorpio. Sometimes I think human brains just aren’t meant to accept data that makes it look like we can’t win. Human beings are amazing that way. We won’t acknowledge failures until they’re in the past. We’re not made to accept them in advance. That’s what keeps us going, Scorpio. But that doesn’t mean we can’t change our behaviour to get to a better way of losing. My humanity tells me all is not lost! My logic tells me you’ve got to make some changes even if it’s just to lose in the best way possible.

SAGITTA R IUS

You’ve heard it said, Sagittarius, that you must be kind, because everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. And, even in the best of times, that can be hard. Because I have to go around imagining that everybody lives some life in the background that deserves my kindness. Lately, Sagittarius, it’s a little more obvious. It takes a little less imagination right now to see that we’re all fighting the same battle.

And we may have different challenges and different parts to play, but for all of us, one of those parts is kindness to everyone you meet. We’re all on the same team this time.

CAPRICORN

As I reach day 11 of sheltering-in-place on my longest-yet shift working at Wandering Hills Super Video and Tan, I’m realizing I may have made some mistakes along the way. First of all, I ate most of the Takis before I noticed we still had an unopened can of nacho cheese from when we did that new-release promotion for El Mariachi. I could have been dipping in that the whole time! What I’m realizing, Capricorn, is that it’s never too late to recalculate your assets. What do you have going for you that you haven’t used yet? Is it a can opener? Because I’d love to borrow a can opener.

AQUA RIUS

Everything has so many more steps now, Aquarius. Every surface must be sanitized.

Every hand must be washed. Every social interaction must be distanced. And people like to talk about how limitations breed creativity and how time away from offices and bars will be the foundation of great art. But I’m mostly just finding that I’m exhausted. Even simple tasks have so many extra steps that by the time I get to the end of the day all I want to do is slump in a chair and watch Star Trek. If you’re anything like me, Aquarius, then I’m officially giving you permission to slump. Put those creative demands on the burner furthest back and play the next episode.

PISCES

My friend invited me to a virtual watch party! I was almost done polishing up my water-resistant Casio with alarm chronograph and G-Shock protection, when I found out what a watch party is. Honestly, Pisces, my internet connection can’t handle streaming a movie and Zooming with pals at the same time. But you know, stargazing is the original watch party. And when I look up, I feel like I can see more of them now. Maybe fewer neon lights left on. Maybe less exhaust in the air. Come out with me tonight, Pisces.

You in your yard and me in mine. We’ll count the stars and wait. It’s the best way to see what the future brings.

Mr. Mysterio is not a licensed astrologer, a trained statistician, or a certified prophet. Mr. Mysterio is, however, a budding intermediate podcaster! Check out The Mr. Mysterio Podcast. Season 2 is now playing at mrmysterio.com. Got a question, just give Mr. M a call at 707-VHS-TAN1

April 1 - 15, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 13

NASHVILLE HISTORY CORNER

INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC OF 1918

BY RIDLEY WILLS II The influenza epidemic that began in 1918 was considered the deadliest in modern history, infecting an estimated 500 million people worldwide — about one-third of the population of the planet — and killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million victims, including some 675,000 Americans.

It was caused by an H1N1 influenza virus with genes of avian origin. A myth was that it originated in Spain, and those who believed this called it the “Spanish Flu Epidemic,” though there was nothing to suggest that it came from Spain at all.

The epidemic, which came in three waves, first hit Europe. The flu infected 25% of American troops during World War I, killing more than 1 million men. More than one half of the casualties from The Great War were caused by the epidemic. There were no drugs or vaccines to treat it. When the influenza hit, doctors were hard pressed to help their patients.

The Influenza Epidemic of 1918 impacted my family as well: Early in 1918, my grandfather, Dr. Matt Buckner, was practicing medicine

with his good friend, Dr. Thomas Shadrach Weaver, in the Jackson Building on the corner of Church Street and Fifth Avenue North.

Early that summer, Buckner, 47, and with three daughters still at home, volunteered to go to the U.S. Army. He received a commission in the U. S. Army Medical Corps as a Captain and assigned to Camp McClellan, outside Anniston, Ala. There he was named head of the Department of Sanitation, a temporary assignment as, at that point, there was not enough work in the wards to put him there.

The situation changed dramatically the first week in October, 1918, when the McClellan Hospital was getting loads of influenza and pneumonia patients. By Oct. 13, there were 3,836 patients in hospital rooms and along covered boardwalks.

Matt’s ward was Pneumonia Ward #17.

That day, he wrote his wife, Elizabeth, telling her that he had “never seen so many desperately sick men in my whole life as I have seen in the past two weeks.” The same day, he learned of Tom Weaver’s death

at Fort Oglethorpe of influenza. He also worried about his oldest daughter, Mary Harding, who, as a volunteer, was riding out to Old Hickory every day from Union Station to work in the Black Powder plant.

In his letter of Oct. 13 to his wife, Buckner wrote we treat, “all our influenza patients with iron, quinine and strychnine.” By Oct. 16, the hospital’s patent load topped 4,000 as the influenza swept across the country.

On Oct. 21, Matt wrote home that he had 40 pneumonia cases in his ward as the inf lux of new cases had decreased over the past three days. By the end of October, the situation continued to lighten up.

The hospital was discharging about 1,000 patients a month and taking in between 20 or 30 a day. They were losing about six patients a day. Mostly the fatalities came when men, already weakened by influenza, caught pneumonia. On Oct. 27, Matt had 27 men in his ward. He was weary and hoped to be home by Christmas.

On Dec. 6, Buckner was given responsi-

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bility for all the wards on the west side of the hospital as well as the isolation ward.

He did get Christmas leave and spent it at home with his wife and daughters. There, he enjoyed scotch stew and waffles for breakfast.

Buckner returned to Fort McClellan in late December, where he remained until March 10, 1919, when he received orders to report at the Embarkation Hospital at Camp Stewart, Va., three miles from Newport News.

This hospital was still busy taking care of sick soldiers coming home from Europe.

He was finally released from service on June 27, 1919, when he left Norfolk at 10:50 a.m. on a Southern Railroad train. He arrived in Nashville on Saturday morning. He was officially discharged at Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville on July 13, 1919, exactly one year after he entered the service.

Tom Weaver’s son, Thomas S. Weaver Jr. also became a physician. He was a pediatrician for Irene and my children. Our youngest son, Thomas Weaver Wills, who co-founded The Contributor, was named for him.

April 1 - 15, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 15

VENDOR WRITING

Hadley Park Towers (and COVID-19)

BY VICK Y B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR The usual hustle and bustle of the Hadley Park Towers has come to a complete stand still. The once vibrant and social place has become a ghost town. When taking my dog Faith out we usually encounter four or five people we say hello, but today it’s been solitude. The lobby, once filled with residents talking and sharing the latest gossip, is bare and quiet. The community room that plays a TV with ladies playing cards on Monday nights are no more. The occasional clanking of the pool balls down the hall is dark. If you’re lucky enough to see someone, you’re practicing social distancing.

Today all residents were made aware of a lock down to protect the mostly 62 and over, disabled residents. Today at 4 p.m., until further notice, no more visitors are allowed unless they are medical.

No family and no grand kids running around.

Quiet. Solitude. On the opposite side of the flyer was a caring and compassionate letter from the

T H E M E : ACROSS 1. Bookie’s number 5. Parents org.

8. Slang for microwave 11. Time distortion 12. One with biggest share?

13. Like a case of appendicitis, possibly 15. Decanter 16. Knowing about 17. Mister in Madrid 18. *Usually served on ice, 2 words 20. Barber’s sound 21. Accepted truth 22. Took a load off 23. Artist’s office 26. Excites passions, 2 words 30. Comic book cry of horror 31. Rude or sarcastic 34. Chips, perhaps 35. Roleplay 37. Chinese “way” 38. Ice floaters 39. 100 centavos 40. Merry 42. Table scrap

C O F F E E

A N D

43. Breastbone 45. *Double shot of espresso 47. Feather’s partner 48. Not here 50. Nickname for Putin?

52. *Revolutionary event 55. *”Tea is the only simple pleasure left to us,” he wrote 56. Research facil.

57. Typically used in the fairway 59. Goodbye to amiga 60. Plenty 61. Why not 62. *Black tea, in China 63. Bard’s “before” 64. Pay close attention

DOWN 1. Be in the red 2. Crows’ cousins 3. Actress Barrymore 4. More like rumors 5. ‘70s Ford model

T E A

6. Native American emblem 7. Dwarf buffalo 8. Pueblo tribesman 9. On top 10. For each 12. Cosmetic cabinet staple 13. Allegro ____ in music, Italian 14. *____ Perk from “Friends” 19. Exit plus s 22. Eye infection 23. Oozes 24. Article of faith 25. Romanov’s edict 26. *A ____ of tea, in U.K. 27. Prowl around 28. Embryo cradles 29. Green pasta sauce 32. One on the list 33. Faux one 36. *Equal parts espresso and warm milk 38. Fauna’s partner 40. Hudson’s Bay Company original ware 41. Experts 44. Nose channels 46. Kick the bucket 48. Between countertenor and baritone 49. Make this, not waste 50. Affected by the moon 51. Went down a slippery slope 52. Kitchen flooring choice 53. Tried follower 54. Bygone era 55. *The Revolutionary one followed #52 Across 58. The Simpsons’s neighbor

Director of MDHA, James Harbison. Thank you MDHA for doing what needed to be done, for caring enough about the residents to make some hard and I’m sure unpopular decisions. Resource flyers in the elevators are much needed assistance to an elderly and poor community.

Even though we’ve been preparing for this with technology for years, it’s odd to finally put it to use — those who can. We have video conferences, broadcast from our homes, shop online and have groceries delivered to our homes. Facebook and Twitter are where we chat with friends, so we don’t need to go out anywhere. Everything is as close as your keyboard.

It’s lonely and sometimes scary wondering if you’ve been infected during every cough and every sniffle. I have to remind myself that allergies are bad in Nashville, so I divert my thinking to that instead of COVID-19.

So Happy to be One of the Top Sellers JAMIE W., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR Well what can I say. I’m so happy and so proud of myself to be one of the top sellers of 2019. I can’t believe this is my forth year in a row to get this award. In August I will be doing this for nine years and I’m so grateful and thankful for each and every one of my customers. God bless all of my customers. I’m also so grateful for my husband Tommy for encouraging me to get out there and do what I do. I will say if this paper is still around and if I live to see 90 and as long as I’m able, I will

be selling these papers. I love doing this and I will say this is the longest I’ve held down a job. There are some people tell me to get a “real job” and I tell them, “hey, this is my job.”

But I feel so honored to get this award for the fourth year in a row and God Bless everyone at The Contributor. If it was not for this paper I would not have a job. I love talking to all kinds of people and I’m so happy to know and get to know all of my customers. They are very great and amazing people.

The Atlantic Ocean

BY JASON T., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR The Atlantic Ocean is a vast expanse of water which divides the continents of Europe and Africa from North and South America. This great sea extends from the Arctic to the Antarctic and has a serious share in both polar seas of ice. The North Atlantic section has more island and a greater variety of a coastline than some of the southern portions. The Atlantic is much longer from north to south that it is from east to west.

The total surface has actually been affixed at 106.4 million square kilometers or 2/km.

More great rivers empty into the Atlantic than any onto any other sea. The deepest spot discovered in the Atlantic is the Nares Deep, north of Haiti and Puerto Rico, at a depth of approximately 8,526 meters.

PAGE 16 | April 1 - 15, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

The Atlantic, on the surface at least, is the saltiest of the great oceans. It has been tested on and in some locations as high as 37.5 percent salt, the lowest measurement being an even 3 percent salt.

One of the famous sections of the Atlantic Ocean is the Gulf of Mexico. It is separated from the outer coastline of Florida and the island groups which actually carries a cold waterfall from the south, northward into Newfoundland. From whence, the water is distributed into smaller currents each of which, river or stream, affects a different country, either giving that country a milder or hotter environment or climate than they should expect.

Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, and the Azores, we are all affected. Be kind and rewind.

VENDOR WRITING

Doing What Others Say You Can’t

BY NORMA B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR While writing another story about what I would say to my 18-year-old self, I made the comment, “There will be many people who will tell you what you can’t do.

Don’t listen to them. Go the extra mile and prove them all wrong!”

When asked to expand on that and give an example my earliest memory of doing that, I remembered something from shortly after having surgery at the Shriners Hospital in Lexington, Ky. I was five years old.

Waking up after surgery, I was surrounded by strangers — doctors and nurses in white coats and uniforms and a lot of men and funny hats with stones that looked like diamonds.

I remember feeling helpless, sick, scared and alone.

My mom and her family were back in Tennessee. My dad was in Illinois. Back then, there were no facilities for parents to stay while children were undergoing treatment, and even if there had been I’m not sure my mom could’ve afforded to stay. She was the sole breadwinner for our family, and add to that she had health problems of her own to deal with at the time.

As the strangers in my hospital room were all huddled around my bed, I heard them talking amongst themselves how I probably wouldn’t walk again.

What? How can that be? I walked in here and I am walking out eventually. I could see why it would seem unlikely though since I had to be

rotated every two hours (it was like being in a rotisserie) probably to prevent bedsores and blood clots and things like that.

Eventually I was given some freedom in the form of a wheelchair. I discovered I had a real knack for running over and through things that got in my way. Now that was fun! Unfortunately, Mrs. Z (Zimmerman was hard for a lot of us to say), the head nurse on my floor, did not share my enthusiasm. She did however become one of the greatest advocates for getting me out of that chair as soon as possible.

That’s where the physical therapy came in.

My physical therapist was a small older lady (but when you’re five everyone seems old, don’t they?) who spoke with a thick accent.

Looking back, the physical therapy room looked more like a torture chamber or something out of a horror movie — chains, bands, bars, bracing of all sorts of things to get and keep you on your feet. I must say it was quite intimidating to a little kid.

Then, there was the stairs: A small set of wooden stairs that might as well have been Mt. Everest to me at the time. Still, I had to start somewhere, otherwise I would never make it out of the chair.

First things first, I had to learn to stand. Every time I even thought about whining or crying (which let’s face it, is a rite of passage for a kid even in the best of circumstances) my physical therapist would say

something like, “Do you want to get out of that chair or not?” Boy, she knew exactly how to motivate me!

I soon found myself spending every moment I could in the therapy room with her. In a relatively short time (though it felt like an eternity to me) I did stand and eventually took a few steps on my own without all those contraptions to help me.

I tried out walkers and crutches along the way, but neither of them were a good fit for me. Finally, they gave me something I was very familiar with — braces. I’d worn them 24/7 for as long as I could remember. With them I knew I could tackle those dreaded stairs.

To be sure, there were lots of falls and face-plants along the way. And let me tell you, tile floors and wooden stairs are very unforgiving.

Still, in the end I came off victorious! After two to two and a half months I did walk out the hospital on my own (with my braces). In case you’re wondering how I got through all this, I had a lot of help!

There were lots of cards and letters from family and friends back home. (My favorites were the ones that were so big they wouldn’t fit into the box I made to hold them all.)

My kindergarten class each made me cards with colorful construction paper and tissue paper cut in the shape of flower petals.

My mom and dad each visited once (though not together). It wasn’t long enough for me, but I guess something’s better than nothing, right?

The Shriners visited regularly (at least twice a week). Sometimes they brought balloons or coloring books and crayons, all kinds of goodies to cheer us up, and there were always plenty of hugs and encouragement to go around. They even made me a “Junior Shriner” with a hat and everything (although mine didn’t have all the sparkles…).

Even the doctors who had once been so doubtful about my recovery proved to be a source of encouragement.

By age 9, I was able to shed my braces permanently. I went back a few times a year for them to monitor my progress. They took good care of me for many years.

On my final visit, no longer with my mother, instead with my husband by my side — The Shriners will treat you until you’re 21 — I proudly showed him around this place that had played such a vital role in shaping who I’d become.

It’s funny, even though so much time had passed, and some things were modernized, for me the place was essentially the same especially the physical therapy room.

In the corner was a small set of wooden stairs. Three up and three down, just like I remembered. I walked over to take a closer look.

Now with my husband holding my hand, what once proved to be so difficult for me was reduced to one step up and one step down.

In that moment, how far I’d come.

As I get older, I find walking gets

to be more and more difficult, but it’s still worth the effort. And I must admit, I’m in my wheelchair far more than I’d like to be. (But any at all is more than I’d like.)

The bottom line is this: I had 40+ years of walking unassisted — no cane, no wheelchair, nothing!

If I had listened to the doctors initially, (which may have been tempting and definitely would’ve been easier) I wouldn’t have gotten to experience any of that. My life would’ve been totally different (not saying it would’ve been bad, just different).

I guess you could say I got to experience the best of both worlds! *Fun fact: Did you know your local Contributor vendor is not the only one who sells an informative newspaper?

Each year, the Shriners have an annual paper sale. In 2020, it will be held on the first weekend in May, (that is if it’s not postponed or canceled due to the Coronavirus. If it is, you can always go online to donate.)

So if you’re out and about and you see those guys in their funny hats please show them some love for me, Norma B. They helped me throughout my young life in so many ways. I guess you could say they were really there for me at a time when I felt no one else was, providing far more than just the orthopedic care and countless pairs of braces my mom could’ve never afforded on her own all free of charge.

Surely that’s gotta be worth something, I know it meant everything to me!

Love for ‘The Contributor’

BY MARY B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR Back a couple of years ago, the board at The Contributor decided to switch from a street newspaper (we sold for $2) over to a magazine (we would sell for $5). I guess they saw how sales were up, so they figured the magazine would bring up sales even more, and it would also put more money in vendors’ pockets as well. They were hoping it would help us vendors stay in housing or even get into housing.

Well, boy oh boy were they wrong!

Sales dropped drastically. No one wanted to pay $5 for the magazine.

Our customers said, “it was too much.”

With them paying $2 for the newspaper, they were able to keep two vendors. And with them paying $5,they were only able to keep one vendor.

With the switch to the magazine, sales were dropping drastically. This was something the board wasn’t expecting. With sales dropping, the board was wanting to pull out and shut down The Contributor. So on the next paper release, they would be announcing that The Contributor would be closing their doors and hundreds of vendors would be out of a job. With that happening, a lot of them would be homeless again.

Thank God that Cathy Jennings, a longtime volunteer and teacher at Belmont college here in Nashville was on the board. Cathy asked the board to give it one more chance.

Let’s bring back the newspaper, and no one would be paid. Meaning, anyone working at The Contributor would strictly be there on a volunteer basis and Cathy would be overseeing The Contributor.

Well, sure enough, one on the board agreed. Tom Wills came back. Linda Bailey and Amanda Haggard came back as the editors.

Even though they had full-time roles (Linda at Open Table Nashville and Amanda at the Nashville Scene). They were more than willing to spend their time to help to help The Contributor because of their love for the The Contributor and they believed in the paper, not to mention the love they had for the vendors.

It has been over a year now and The Contributor is going strong. Our sales are up and rising every week. Everyday, we have a new vendor signing up. With that being said, I want to say thank you Cathy Jennings for believing in (us) The

April 1 - 15, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 17

Contributor, and asking the board to switch back over to the newspaper and giving us another shot. Cathy, thanks to you, hundreds of vendors still have a job and at least four vendors, including myself, are now in housing and off the streets.

Once again, thank you Cathy Jennings for believing in us. Because of your love for The Contributor, hundreds of vendors, including myself, have a job.

On behalf of the vendors at The Contributor, we love you Cathy Jennings.

VENDOR WRITING

GOING THROUGH

SICK GENOCIDE

HE’LL STAND BEHIND YOU

Whatever you’re going through

Corona 19

Everyday, God gives me a word of love to lay on your heart

Stop going and be through

You know what I mean?

I get out a pencil and pad, many times don’t know where to start

Whatever you’re going through

It’s more than a flu

If he speak to me daily, I’m sure he speak to you too

Just pray and wait, God will hear you

You can get it, that’s true

I guess what’s important is what we do

TYRONE M.

WILD BILL

JOHN H.

So we’ll pay the price Whatever you’re going through

To cure it’s alright

After the conversation, do we decide to share?

Be obedient to the word and resist that devil

It’s a national pandemic

Or do we sit, look at walls, as if God was unfair

God will finally hear you

Gotta get your back in it

If we read and meditate, we see what he said was true

We’ll find a cure

Then we self examine ourselves and see the problem is you

Whatever you’re going through

I know it’s quite sure

Be it pain of the same ole (simple thing)

No shakin hands

The problem (you), he can fix

Stay on the word, God will come to your rescue

It’s part of God’s plan

If that’s so. Why aren’t you in the mix

Just to let you know

Don’t be afraid to speak to a person or a friend

Look’ whatever you’re going through

I love you so

That’s why America undoubtedly has bad trends

Start praying and resist that devil

Not gonna push or shove you

And sooner or later he’ll be through

You see I’m just one man

You get afraid because of what people may think

So let’s make a stand

God say, tell ‘em anyway, maybe your hearts will link

COVID-19

You say to yourself, what if my friend don’t agree As long as it’s his word, he’ll stand behind you, ya see

PAGE 18 | April 1 - 15, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

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April 1 - 15, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 19