The Contributor: August 14, 2024

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Vo l u m e 1 8 | N u m b e r 1 7 | A u g u s t 14 - 2 8 , 2 0 2 4

CAUTION

STUDENT HOMELESSNESS

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I N T HLEa NI S ticia SUE

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

2024

L a N ticia

Año 22 - No. 399

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

GRATIS

Agosto

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Nashville, Tennessee

Julión Álvarez Se Adueña De Ciudad Del Carmen

Julión Álvarez c o n t i n ú a demostrando su influencia en la escena musical. La noche del sábado 20 de julio será una fecha que Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche y el intérprete no olvidarán, pues llegó para presentar su espectacular show a más de 35,000 personas.

La carrera de Julión Álvarez sigue en ascenso, y su capacidad para llenar recintos y cautivar a miles de personas es prueba de su talento y dedicación. Con cada presentación, “El Rey de la Taquilla” reafirma su lugar en el corazón de sus seguidores y en la historia de la música mexicana.

Con más de 15 millones de oyentes mensuales en Spotify, Julión Álvarez continúa consolidándose como uno de los artistas más influyentes de su género. Su capacidad para adaptarse a los tiempos y seguir siendo relevante es un testimonio de su talento y visión artística.

Por Yuri Cunza Editor-In-Chief @yuricunza

Conocido como “El Rey de la Taquilla”, Julión Álvarez ha dejado una huella imborrable en la música regional mexicana. La “Concha Acústica” vibró con cada uno de sus éxitos, permitiendo que el artista conectara de inmediato con sus fanáticos y demostrando así que sigue coronándose en cada rincón de México.

Vendor Spotlight “You’re gonna find yourself in despair. But don’t let it discourage you," says vendor Thomas P.

Newspaper Nashville

Escanee esta imagen para ver La Noticia newspaper edición bilingüe digital

Vendor Writing

La noche comenzó con una explosión de emociones mientras Julión interpretaba sus grandes éxitos. Temas como “Regalo de Dios” y “Lo tienes todo” cautivaron a los miles de asistentes, quienes coreaban cada palabra con entusiasmo. La voz potente y carismática del cantante llenó el recinto, creando un ambiente de celebración y unión.

Foto: JULIÓN ÁLVAREZ

La Noticia + The Contributor "The King of the Box Office" - Julión Álvarez's career continues to rise.

Julión Álvarez, originario de La Concordia, Chiapas, ha sabido consolidarse como uno de los cantantes más reconocidos de México. Su carrera está llena de múltiples logros y éxitos, desde conciertos abarrotados hasta millones de seguidores en sus redes sociales. En la plataforma de Spotify, Julión acumula más de 15 millones de oyentes mensuales, lo que confirma su popularidad y el impacto de su música en una audiencia global.

luces, sonido y emoción, donde cada canción era recibida con aplausos y ovaciones. La entrega y pasión de Julión en el escenario hicieron de la noche del 20 de julio un evento inolvidable para todos los presentes.

Rey de la Taquilla” no solo se Contributor vendors write “El LatalentoNoticia, destaca por su musical, sino one of the Más tarde, cuando sonaron las notas también por su capacidad para conec“El bombón” y “La María”, el tar con su público. Cada presentación in this issuedepúblico about family, leading Spanish-language Álvarez es una experiencia no pudo resistirse y se puso de Julión de pie para dar comienzo a una ani- única, donde el cantante no solo interpreta sus canciones, sino que también sesión de baile. La energía con- comparte momentos de cercanía y in the nation, communitymada healthcare newspapers tagiosa de Julión Álvarez se propagó complicidad con sus fans. entre los asistentes, haciendo que cada rincón de la “Concha Acústica” En Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, no and 13 years of selling brings Spanish content to vibrara con la música y el entusiasmo fue diferente.

Los asistentes pudieron disfrutar de un espectáculo lleno de de los presentes. the paper..

The Contributor.

El concierto en Ciudad del Carmen fue, sin duda, una muestra más del impacto y la grandeza de Julión Álvarez, un artista que sigue brillando con luz propia y dejando una marca indeleble en cada escenario que pisa.

Moving Pictures

Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com ó 615-582-3757

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is streaming now on Hulu and our film expert Joe Nolan says it's a hit!

Foto: JULIÓN ÁLVAREZ

Cathy Jennings • Demetria Kalodimos • O. Wade Nelson, Jr. • Robin KimbroughHayes • Jim Shulman • Tom Wills • Drew Morris

Contributors This Issue Alvine • Norma B. • Vicky B. • William B. • Linda Bailey • Yuri Cunza • Chris Scott Fieselman • Amanda Haggard • Mr. Mysterio • Joe Nolan • Judith Tackett • Jamie W. • Justin Wagner • Ridley Wills II

Contributor Volunteers Christine Doeg • Andy Shapiro • Michael Reilly • Ann Bourland • Laura Birdsall • Matthew Murrow • Tyler Samuel • Jamie Dore

Amanda Haggard & Linda Bailey Co-Editors

El intérprete logró reunir a más de 35 mil personas en la "Concha Acústica"

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)

Jesse Call Operations Consultant Ree Cheers SOAR Manager

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.

por

www.juanese.com

Holly Bowman Director of Development

Will Connelly Executive Director

juanese@gmail.com

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| The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

Gracie Rule SOAR Coordinator Andrew Terry IV SOAR Referral Specialist Carli Tharp Housing Stability Guide Justin Wagner Housing Stability Guide & Reporter Tom Wills Senior Advisor/ Data Manager Barbara Womack Advertising Manager 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.

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VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

Thomas P. talks about overcoming despair

BY JUSTIN WAGNER

“You’re gonna find yourself in despair. But don’t let it discourage you.”

Contributor vendor Thomas P. has grown alongside Nashville the last 50 years he’s lived here; he’s watched the city go from a modest hub with a rich musical legacy to the sprawling metropolis it is today.

“Things were different back then. Everything was different,” he said. “Things were a lot less expensive. Work was a lot easier to find.

People were a lot more decent. Now they’ve got more like a northern attitude, like they don’t want to speak when you speak to them. Used to be some southern hospitality down here.

Ain’t no hospitality no more; seldom you find anybody that’s got any.”

Various biases inform people’s perception of the poor and homeless, and Thomas has his share of stories about how these biases can spoil an otherwise mundane interaction. Selling the paper is a lot about making connections with people, Thomas said, but people won’t always act in good faith.

“I go out there and I try to sell my personality to them, but there’s some people you’re not gonna be able to sell your personality to because they don’t like you. Whatever reason they have in that dungeon they call a mind, they just don’t like you. When I say, ‘How you doing, sir?’ and he acts like he doesn’t hear me, I’ll make sure that you do hear me,” Thomas said. “I don’t want to talk to anyone that doesn’t want to talk to me. I’m a man just like you. I’m an adult just like you. I’m just in a different situation than you. But you’re not gonna discourage me. I’m gonna keep focused, I’m gonna stay vigilant, I’m gonna get my ass up out of this situation, no matter what you think about me.

Thomas’s reason for selling is ultimately that he had run out of options, and it was a way he could make money on his own terms.

“I became homeless,” Thomas said. “I didn’t have nothing better to do, I didn’t want to just hang out on the streets doing nothing … If I’m gonna be homeless, if I’m gonna be on the streets, I might as well have this badge on, and these papers, and sit out there in a spot where people are constantly coming by. And maybe, just maybe, somebody decides to buy a paper; I’m putting money in my pocket. I’m prospering.”

PHOTO BY JUSTIN WAGNER Thomas was housed permanently within the past couple years at a low-income apartment that specifically assists the elderly and disabled, or so it seemed; after a medical scare that kept him hospitalized for months, he returned to no apartment at all. When he most needed to rest and recover with a roof overhead, Thomas was sent back to the streets with few job prospects and lengthy waitlists walling off every low-income bed in the city.

“Well, I went in the hospital, I come out, I had an eviction notice on my door,” he said. “I was in there for diabetes; I didn’t know I was a diabetic and my sugar was around 1200. In other words, I was about to go into a diabetic coma. So they kept me for quite awhile. When I come out, there was the notice on my door: eviction notice. I told ‘em, ‘You do know I was in the hospital, right?’ They said, ‘Yeah, we know.’”

“I said, ‘Well, I guess y’all just don’t care.’”

August 14 - 28, 2024 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 3

With no recourse and nowhere to go, Thomas returned to sleeping outside and selling the paper; though it was more precarious this time, as statewide law had mandated public camping was illegal, severely limiting the places Thomas can safely sleep. It’s only after a months-long search involving numerous organizations and housing applications that Thomas finally moved into a new apartment again last month.

The new apartment will give Thomas a chance to recuperate physically, and finally enjoy some of the things he can’t while living outside, he said.

“It feels damn good,” he said. “I don’t have to be scratchin’ all the darn time, things crawling on you while you’re sleeping. Things are a little bit better. It’s gonna be better … I like to cook. I watch cooking shows, something inspires me, that’s what I like to cook.”

He said the rarity of this sort of opportunity wasn’t lost on him, and that some unhoused people have had so many similar chances at housing elude them that it’s drained all their hope.

“Some of these people don’t have any hope, man. They don’t have any hope. I knew a woman who had a daughter, and she’s got a big old house and wants her to come live with her, and she’d rather stay out here in the damn streets. I don’t want that. I want to be able to turn on the heat when it gets cold, turn on the air when it gets hot, have a roof over my head when it rains or snows. Wake up when I want to, sleep when I’m ready. Eat what I like. You can’t do that out in the streets.”

Thomas is grateful to God for it all, and has a word of advice for anyone trying to get off the streets: stay on a righteous path, and don’t let despair keep you from chasing your aspirations.

“The Lord is a righteous God, you can’t get away from him. He’s a righteous God, he’s gonna do the righteous thing. He shows favor on those who he chooses to show favor to. All I can tell anyone is just keep vigilant, man. Do the right thing. Don’t be no fool for nobody, just stay focused … we used to say, ‘keep your eye on that sparrow.’ The road to damnation is wide, but the road to salvation is very, very narrow. Stay on the path.”

FREE ADMISSION 1000 Rosa L. Parks Blvd. in Nashville 615.741.2692 TNMuseum.org

PAGE 4 | August 14 - 28, 2024

| The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

HISTORY CORNER

Etowah – What Caused the Downturn: “Rest of The Story”

BY MERRILL OSBORNE

The Etowah Depot and the town of Etowah began when the Louisville & Nashville railroad planned a new more direct route in 1902, between Cincinnati and Atlanta, thus bypassing the Hiwassee River Gorge and the Great Hiwassee Loop.

There was a need for a terminal for crew changes to service steam engines and to serve as the Atlanta Division Headquarters.

1454 acres were set aside for the depot, shops and the proposed township to support the railroad workforce. The 15 room, yellow pine, Victorian structure was the first permanent building in the planned township of Etowah, Tennessee.

The land was purchased for $10 to $20 per acre by L&N Railroad creating a major rail center in the town of Etowah.

After the 25 acres chosen for the terminal and yard were drained and raised over 3 feet, the first building to be constructed was the L&N Depot at a cost of $13,000. The totally electrified railroad complex and shops, tracks and grounds cost the L&N railroad $200,000 at the close of 1906. In 1916 the Portico room, on the front of the building, was added to provide more office space for the engineering department. By 1927 there were over 2,000 men working in the shops and 250 more working the 14 passenger trains that moved through Etowah daily.

During the early 1920s, the Etowah complex was active and thriving, but in 1928 the L&N began replacing the wooden "rolling stock" with steel freight and passenger cars, which forced the lay-off of 200 shopmen in Etowah. The same year the Atlanta and Knoxville division was combined and the Etowah offices were moved to Knoxville.

By 1931, the Etowah shop force had shrunk from 2,100 to 80 workers.

Etowah's population in 1920 was 2,516 almost identical to Athens at 2,580.

Train cars at the time had wooden sides and a wooden floor with the steel wheels bolted to the floor. The doors and all the moving parts were designed to rock as the train moved. I've ridden one in Nevada in the town of Virginia City not far from the Ponderosa where “Hoss n Little Joe” hung out. Etowah was a “Perfect Place” to repair these cars. Plenty of hardwood nearby. The rail line going through Etowah had plenty of traffic so any cars that needed to be refurbished could easily be re-routed or added to another train that was already going by Etowah and the cars in need of repair dropped off. The ones finished could be picked up and added and dropped off at a main Hub. This Etowah route much the same as Highway 411 shaved off 50 miles on the trip if you were traveling from Knoxville To Atlanta instead of going through Chat-

tanooga on the way to Atlanta. A win-win for L&N and Etowah.

The “Rest of The Story” as Paul Harvey would say happened in Nashville. Now you wondering what could happen 250 miles away that would sound the death knell for a town in East Tennessee.

On July 9, 1918, near Nashville, Tennessee, in an area known as Dutchman's Curve, two trains collided head-on, creating such a frightful noise that many claimed it could be “heard for miles.” It was 7 a.m. on a warm summer morning and both trains on the Nashville, Chattanooga and the St. Louis lines were running late.

The westbound or outbound passenger train to Memphis had just pulled out of Nashville’s Union Station is packed with passengers. The eastbound train was heading inbound to the Nashville station from Memphis. Both veteran engineers had orders. The inbound train had the right of way on the curve’s one-way track. The outbound train would have to wait at the double tracks just outside of the station for the other train to pass. But something went horribly wrong.

A green light was given to the outbound train to proceed, meaning someone had seen or heard the incoming train pass. But when the tower operator checked his papers, there was no record of the Nashville-bound train coming through.

In reality, the inbound train was running nearly 35 minutes behind schedule.

One of the trains was pulling the newer “steel” passenger cars while the other was pulling the older wooden ones and had more passengers then the train with steel passenger cars.

The operator frantically telegraphed the dispatcher who immediately sent an urgent message back. “Stop him,” was his order. But how? At the time, there was no direct communication with the engineers in either train. Only a warning whistle was used for emergencies. The whistle blared, but the outbound train was too far along for anyone to hear it. By this time, the inbound train was chugging to the curve.

Both trains were moving at top speeds of 60 mph. Then a moment of sheer terror.

The engineer of the outbound train caught a glimpse of the other train coming around the bend, directly in his path. He pulled the emergency brake, but there wasn’t enough time. Then that sound that could be heard for miles.

“The ground quaked and the waters of nearby Richland Creek trembled,” one writer later described. “The wooden cars crumbled and hurled sideways, hanging over the embankment. One train telescoped the other.”

August 14 - 28, 2024 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 5

LEARN MORE ABOUT

Learn More about the Effectiveness of Encampment Closures

BY JUDITH TACKET T

Homelessness has become a highly politicized issue. With the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June and the consequent executive order California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued in late July, closing encampments continues to be the focus nationwide.

In City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, SCOTUS determine that it was “not cruel and unusual to ticket, fine, or otherwise punish unsheltered people for sleeping outside, even if there are no shelter beds available,” as reported by Barbara DiPietro (see The Contributor, Volume 18, Number 15, July 17-23, 2024). But they essentially also stated that local jurisdictions have the flexibility of how to address homelessness. In other words, while it seemingly became easier to criminalize homelessness, it is still up to local authorities whether they choose to do so.

Gov. Newsom, who used to be the mayor of San Francisco and was long seen as a staunch supporter of homelessness solutions, has issued an executive order that directs his state agencies to start clearing encampments on California state property.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness quickly responded, saying that, “this Executive Order uplifts the deeply flawed approach used by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). This model requires only 48 hours of notice to providers and encampment residents, and sometimes less. It also allows for encampment evictions to occur regardless of whether there is an adequate supply of available and accessible shelter and housing resources.”

While this executive order has clearly no direct impact on Nashville, it serves as a warning and a reminder to our local politicians that Tennessee has already implemented a law that makes camping on public property a felony. Furthermore, language in the executive order and also the Supreme Court decision make it look like we’re doing people a favor if we shut down their encampment, even if there is no shelter or housing available for them.

Nashville is not immune to this trend of touting success in utilizing encampment closures — but while the city has claimed a 90 percent success rate, the data shows fewer than half of the people the city moved out of encampments over the past 18 months or so are in permanent housing.

In many neighborhoods, including in Nashville, local politicians receive the most complaints from neighbors and businesses impacted by outdoor homelessness and call for quick fixes.

And government agencies find themselves under pressure and have a hard time explaining how complex systems work while demonstrating progress, which seems too slow.

The resulting frustration feeds a never-ending cycle that focuses on reducing visible homelessness as fast as possible. The way to do it fast, it seems, is by reducing encampments.

However, I argue that rather than caving in to the political pressure, public officials, nonprofits, churches and neighborhoods need to find the courage to stand behind the fact that we simply need more accessible low-income housing before we can even begin to truly tackle homelessness in a sustainable manner. It will take time, and there are no shortcuts to making permanent housing available to all people. Research supports this argument.

Simply put, closing encampments without

building a pipeline with direct access to a variety of permanent housing options coupled with individualized support services, is not effective — no matter how much local, state, and federal departments want to convince politicians that this is a viable solution.

District 16 Councilmember Ginny Welsch shared with me a recent statement made by the executive director of the Office of Homeless Services. That statement read, “In the last 12 months, we closed 4 camps, successfully housing people in permanent housing, temp housing, recovery options or family reunification. This was achieved with a successful 90 percent retention rate, demonstrating the effectiveness of our encampment strategy.”

The 90 percent retention rate would mean that the strategy was successful, but we need to go a level deeper to examine the Office of Homelessness’ report to Metro Council about the encampment closures on which this statement was based. In that report, only 41 percent of people who lived in these encampments were in permanent places 18 months after the closures started.

If we are a Housing First city, then permanent placements are what we need to consider when we look at success or retention rates. Temporary placements do not count as part of the solution.

While a Housing First-oriented system should offer temporary housing options to people on their path to permanent housing with the right support services, it should remain an option for people, not a mandate that they go into shelter first before they are offered permanent housing.

The reason is that transitioning between different programs to permanency is always disruptive to people. That’s why Housing First principles call for the most direct access to permanent housing as possible. Again, and I cannot stress this enough, there are different paths to housing and people should have a choice. I have met plenty of folks who felt they wanted to be in a transitional housing program first to receive more intensive services — especially those who wanted to address their addictions before signing their own lease to an apartment.

The data OHS presented to the Metro CounPAGE 6 | August 14 - 28, 2024

cil in its monthly report for the month of June is below; this data was chosen because it was closest to the date OHS stated their 90 percent retention rate.

In the top chart you see the four encampments that were closed in this order starting in December 2022: Brookmeade in West Nashville; Wentworth Caldwell Park on Edmondson Pike near the intersection of Nolensville Pike and Harding Place; the former encampment behind the TA Truck stop on First Street near Downtown; and the Hermitage encampment behind the Exxon station off Old Hickory Boulevard.

There were a total of 188 people who were registered as living in those encampments and eligible for housing placements through the community’s Coordinated Entry process. However, when you go to the lower chart, which lists the destination of where people were in June of 2024, the total only adds up to 176 people. Thus, 12 people are missing, which may mean they either chose to move on their own or theoretically, they could have also moved into permanent housing.

That's not totally clear within the data.s.

When we take the 176 people that ended up in temporary places and deduct the 17 people who are listed as “returned to homelessness,” we will get to the 90 percent retention rate.

Housing First means permanent housing is the definition for success. This does not include temporary housing such as shelters, gap housing or any places where people cannot stay independently and indefinitely if they choose to do so — basically permanency most often means that people hold their own lease. The family reunification they listed in the report says (temporary), thus, those would not count as permanent housing.

Based on the OHS’ report: 71 out of 188 were permanently housed, which is 38 percent.

If we add people who are deceased to the permanent solution: 77 out of 188, which is 41 percent.

A recent report by Rand Corp. found that, “homeless encampment cleanups including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' Inside Safe program that moves people into motels and hotels have no long-term effect on the number of people living on the streets,” as written in an article by Doug Smith

| The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

for the Los Angeles Times. While this longitudinal study is limited and not necessarily applicable to other cities, it still captured my attention because based on statements made by a former consultant who helped develop the local encampment closure strategy, Nashville was watching the Inside Safe program and its outcomes.

While I may not agree with the statement that the city accomplished a 90-percent success rate, there is positive news in that I expect people to be able to finally move out of temporary housing to permanent supportive housing (PSH) with the right support. More than 350 new PSH units are coming on board this year, including Metro’s 90-unit Strobel House. If we continue on this trajectory, we are heading in the right direction.

As for the current Metro encampment closure plan, I’m not totally on board with where we are right now. For years, our encampment and outdoor plans centered on access to permanent housing, and I encourage Metro to build on that.

There is a difference between an encampment closure plan (which actually is 100 percent successful right now considering that all four camps are gone) and an outdoor housing plan that actually ends people’s homelessness status. Once the overall outdoor population shrinks, encampment numbers naturally will go down. That’s when Metro needs to move in with transparent and collaborative efforts to close and clean up encampments.

With the focus shifting to the development of Wharf Park near Downtown Nashville — a property that houses the largest encampment in Nashville, OHS will be pressured to lead a transparent and collaborative approach.

Councilmember Welsch said she would continue to push for more transparency.

“When we are only receiving messaging that shows us how great everything is going here in Nashville, we are unable to truly evaluate the need and identify opportunities for improvement,” Welsch said. “I sometimes question whether we are implementing solutions that work for [the] government rather than the people who are unhoused and need our attention and help.”

August 14 - 28, 2024 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 7

VENDOR WRITING

Health Care for Everyone Haikus WRITTEN BY NORMA B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR 1.) What is empathy?

It is your pain in my heart How do you show it?

2.) What is a true friend?

Someone who’s there for others In their time of need 3.) Turbulent waters Difficult times stress and strain Who will stop the rain?

4.) To make a true friend Be the friend you’d like to have Be kind and listen 5.) Happy, average, sad Emotions run high daily Leaves you feeling drained 6.) Pediatricians Care for our children and teens Until age 18 7.) Unbelievable Life situations can be Exhilarating

BY VICK Y B., FORMER CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

Neighborhood Health started with one single office 40 years ago basically to aid the homeless. A lot has changed since it’s opening in the late 70s. The need was greater, they found out, and they extended their services to the poor and even the working poor. Today they have 13 locations scattered throughout Davidson County, Lebanon and Hartsville. The downtown Nashville location has been dubbed “The Homeless Clinic” and it's well deserved. After multiliple noncompliance findings by federal auditors, Metro asked Neighborhood Health to fully assume responsibility for the Downtown location in 2008. Since then they have helped over five thousand homeless individuals. The clinic is located next door to Room In The Inn and a block away from the Nashville Rescue Mission. It is a much-needed welcome to the community. I first discovered the clinic

after several trips to a local ER and referrals that were worthless without insurance. I was finally able to receive medical care after my stroke. No receptionist loudly calling to her coworkers that I didn’t have insurance.

I received a paper to fill out and a smile. A top-notch doctor, Dr. Kelly, and prescriptions that they filled for me right there at the clinic. They were my lifeline until I finally got insurance through disability and Medicare.

I found out after getting insurance that I could stay with Neighborhood Health. A relationship of trust was built long before and made me more comfortable with stick-

ing with them. Did you know that if you have insurance and go to one of the clinics it’ll help those without insurance? How can that be? Neighborhood Health is a nonprofit and every time someone with insurance comes in the fees, they collect from the insurance company goes to help pay for those without insurance. What a wonderful way to give back to those less fortunate.

Clinics are staffed with physicians, nurse practitioners, midwives, psychiatric nurse practitioners, dentists, and hygienists. They have mental health services and quite a list of people ready to help you no matter your ability to pay. As the community’s needs have grown, so has Neighborhood Health. It all starts with a call to (615) 227-3000. Choose which clinic location is convenient for you and set that appointment.

13 Years with The Contributor

BY JAMIE W., FORMER CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

On August 3, I've been selling The Contributor for 13 years. I love it.

On September 3, I'm having surgery on my leg and I don't know when I'll be back to sell the paper. It's been a year since my accident and since the doctors messed up my first surgery. If it was not for my husband, I don't know what I would do. I pray about better days. We're

8.) Discrimination

struggling like crazy and I hope and pray my customers will come through. I'm worried about everything. My bills need to be paid. I want all of my customers to know I'm greatful for all of you. I'm just worried about everything.

I don't know when I will be back, but I will be back. May God bless everyone of my customers and everyone at The Con-

tributor. I look forward to when I can see my customers again. Everyone keep me in your prayers. My husband says everything will work out. I'm greatful for everyone at The Contributor. If it was not for The Contributor, I would not have a job.

I'm grateful and blessed to know people that look forward to everything. I'm worried about everything.

Family Reunion

Is detrimental to ALL Affected by it

BY WILLIAM B., FORMER CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR 9.) Individuals Stand out as one of a kind A community 10.) Intimidating A scary situation Feeling all alone 11.) Representative Someone who speaks for others Giving them a voice 12.) Sophisticated Elegant, refined, fancy Not regular folks 13.) Irresistible Desire that won’t fade away With each passing day 14.) Appreciated Recognized for what we do Rare in today’s world

My son saved my life back when he was eight years old. I got pinned under a car and I was screaming. I had it sitting on blocks because I was taking out the drive shaft to get to the transmission. When I did that it went out of gear and drug me down an alley.

I was screaming the whole time and my son heard me from the house on the second floor. He got people out there quick with two big jacks. We had to use them both so I could slide out. I wanted out quick! My son saved my life that day when he heard me screaming and struggling. He’s also saved my life another time.

Once we were out at night and he seen someone behind us with a knife. He said, “Daddy that man has a knife.” It was a big dude, but I was able to get us out of there.

So he’s actually saved my life twice.

This past Saturday, he came to see me. I hadn’t seen him since he was nine because he was taken from me and his mother. My drug addiction caused me to lose him. My wife was being charged with severe abuse on my kids and neglect because she wasn’t keeping up with them. When he came to see me we had a good father and son reunion.

He’s 35 now. It was a total surprise. He called me and told me he was in Nashville.

PAGE 8 | August 14 - 28, 2024

We had a great reunion.

We have talked over the years, but I hadn’t seen him in person since he was 9 years old. When I saw him I said, “WOW.” He said, “What’s wrong Daddy?” I said, “You look just like me!” He agreed. He’s really super smart. I taught him how to play the spoons when he was a kid, but he don’t play anymore.

We talked about everything: his sister and his mama and how everything has changed. We both talk a lot! We don’t know when to quit. We have to interrupt each other when we want to say some-

| The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

thing. That’s something he inherited from me. He’s fidgety like me too (probably the ADHD). He did not get all of my medical problems thankfully. We prayed that he stays cancer free, unlike me.

He asked me to sing him a gospel song.

He was struggling. I told him not to give up.

This was a real big thing in my life. It’s like that song back in the 60s, “My Heart Went Bing-A-Ling.” I didn’t want my son to leave, but he had to drive back. It lit up my life so strongly. I prayed so strongly about it after that we could be stronger and closer.

I’m gonna call him tonight.

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...

L a N ticia 2024

GRATIS

Agosto

Newspaper Nashville

Año 22 - No. 399

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

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

Nashville, Tennessee

Julión Álvarez Se Adueña De Ciudad Del Carmen

Julión Álvarez c o n t i n ú a demostrando su influencia en la escena musical. La noche del sábado 20 de julio será una fecha que Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche y el intérprete no olvidarán, pues llegó para presentar su espectacular show a más de 35,000 personas.

La carrera de Julión Álvarez sigue en ascenso, y su capacidad para llenar recintos y cautivar a miles de personas es prueba de su talento y dedicación. Con cada presentación, “El Rey de la Taquilla” reafirma su lugar en el corazón de sus seguidores y en la historia de la música mexicana.

Con más de 15 millones de oyentes mensuales en Spotify, Julión Álvarez continúa consolidándose como uno de los artistas más influyentes de su género. Su capacidad para adaptarse a los tiempos y seguir siendo relevante es un testimonio de su talento y visión artística.

Por Yuri Cunza Editor-In-Chief @yuricunza

Conocido como “El Rey de la Taquilla”, Julión Álvarez ha dejado una huella imborrable en la música regional mexicana. La “Concha Acústica” vibró con cada uno de sus éxitos, permitiendo que el artista conectara de inmediato con sus fanáticos y demostrando así que sigue coronándose en cada rincón de México.

La noche comenzó con una explosión de emociones mientras Julión interpretaba sus grandes éxitos. Temas como “Regalo de Dios” y “Lo tienes todo” cautivaron a los miles de asistentes, quienes coreaban cada palabra con entusiasmo. La voz potente y carismática del cantante llenó el recinto, creando un ambiente de celebración y unión.

Más tarde, cuando sonaron las notas de “El bombón” y “La María”, el público no pudo resistirse y se puso de pie para dar comienzo a una animada sesión de baile. La energía contagiosa de Julión Álvarez se propagó entre los asistentes, haciendo que cada rincón de la “Concha Acústica” vibrara con la música y el entusiasmo de los presentes.

Foto: JULIÓN ÁLVAREZ

"The King of the Box Office" - Julión Álvarez's career continues to rise.

Julión Álvarez, originario de La Concordia, Chiapas, ha sabido consolidarse como uno de los cantantes más reconocidos de México. Su carrera está llena de múltiples logros y éxitos, desde conciertos abarrotados hasta millones de seguidores en sus redes sociales. En la plataforma de Spotify, Julión acumula más de 15 millones de oyentes mensuales, lo que confirma su popularidad y el impacto de su música en una audiencia global.

luces, sonido y emoción, donde cada canción era recibida con aplausos y ovaciones. La entrega y pasión de Julión en el escenario hicieron de la noche del 20 de julio un evento inolvidable para todos los presentes.

Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com ó 615-582-3757

“El Rey de la Taquilla” no solo se destaca por su talento musical, sino también por su capacidad para conectar con su público. Cada presentación de Julión Álvarez es una experiencia única, donde el cantante no solo interpreta sus canciones, sino que también comparte momentos de cercanía y complicidad con sus fans.

En Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, no fue diferente. Los asistentes pudieron disfrutar de un espectáculo lleno de

Foto: JULIÓN ÁLVAREZ

El intérprete logró reunir a más de 35 mil personas en la "Concha Acústica"

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) 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.

por

www.juanese.com

El concierto en Ciudad del Carmen fue, sin duda, una muestra más del impacto y la grandeza de Julión Álvarez, un artista que sigue brillando con luz propia y dejando una marca indeleble en cada escenario que pisa.

juanese@gmail.com

August 14 - 28, 2024 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 9

COVER STORY

CAUTION: STUDENT HOMELESSNESS Q&A with Catherine Knowles

BY JUDITH TACKETT On the first day of classes at Metro Nashville Public Schools, the Director of the Homeless Education Program for the district said they had already processed paperwork for 757 students who were considered homeless this school year.

Catherine Knowles has served in her role as director for 26 years, and she’s a nationally recognized expert among homelessness providers and advocates. In her time with the district, she’s seen students and their families who experience homelessness grow from 200 students a year to close to 4,500 this past school year (2023-2024), which showed a 27 percent increase over the prior school year.

“We used to see about 800 students in the first month of the school year, and now we go from zero to 1,200 students in the first month,” Knowles said.

In 2019, Knowles was recognized as The Homeless Liaison of the Year by the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. She serves on Metro’s Homelessness Planning Council and was appointed by the governor to sit on three statewide councils to represent the concerns of families who are experiencing

homelessness. In her job with MNPS, she oversees the Homeless Education Resource Office (HERO) program, which is a federally funded program through the McKinney Vento Act that provides support for students who lack a fixed regular and adequate nighttime residence.

How do you count MNPS’ homeless population? And who qualifies for your programs?

Any student who fits that broad McKinney Vento definition, who lacks a fixed and adequate nighttime residence, qualifies. The majority of the verification occurs when families register for school because they will present to the school [administrators], and if they don’t have a lease in their name, then that triggers a different set of paperwork that asks questions about where they’re staying, are they staying in a temporary place, how long they’ve been there, etc. And then we get referrals that way.

We also receive referrals throughout the year from school staff, social workers, counselors, bus drivers, directly from families and from community providers.

PAGE 10 | August 14 - 28, 2024

In the past few years, you have moved the HERO program offices out of a trailer that was sitting next to the MNPS headquarters on Bransford Avenue to the former Buena Vista Elementary School in North Nashville. You have also expanded your team. Tell us about those changes.

We have moved into that vacant school space, and we now have the entire former school library that has been converted into a clothing store for families experiencing homelessness. We also have a food pantry where we offer hotel-friendly meals, which can be heated up in a microwave. We also have winter coats to ensure kids waiting at the bus stop are warm. And household items so when people go into housing they have a few things to start out.

We now have a team of six people.

Prior to COVID we were a team of three, then during COVID we had special federal funding through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act that allowed us to temporarily have a team of nine people. So, for a threeyear period we had extra funding that then expired, and now we are back to six folks.

We have one full-time person who is fo-

| The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

cused on special transportation; we have two folks working directly with families and they have split the city in sectors [each working with families in their sector]; some folks work on community partnerships; we have someone who does the processing and eligibility work; and then myself.

What else would you like to see happening, so you are able to serve MNPS students who live in a housing crisis even more efficiently?

I would like to see better integration and quick communication among school staff and the various community providers. I am thinking about something that goes beyond the coordinated entry process, so when school staff have some of the kids staying at their office at the end of the school day, they have a phone number they can call that will quickly connect the family with a shelter for the evening. But it’s hard to get that immediate response for a variety of reasons. So, a quick and immediate response to connect families in a crisis with support, that would be nice.

COVER STORY

You have been doing this work for many years. How has homelessness changed in Nashville in your opinion?

In the last two years, we have seen a significant increase in the number of long-term, low-income renters who are forced into homelessness due to gentrification, loss of Section 8 vouchers, and loss of affordable housing options. In my opinion, we see far more employed people. We see the working poor who are priced out of the housing market. We have seen the loss of affordable housing in Davidson County.

I think in the last five years, families have been forced to move out of the county altogether.

And even with that displacement you see numbers of homeless students going up here in Davidson County?

Yes, for sure.

With all the data improvements in how we count the different unhoused populations, what are we, as a community, still missing? In other words, what populations are we mostly overlooking?

There is a big gap between the federal education definition of homelessness, which includes the families who are doubled up or those who are staying in motels that they are paying for on their own, and that narrower HUD definition.

When we look at those staying in motels who are working and are paying a high

weekly rate, but we have a [homelessness response system] where they do not qualify to be connected to service providers or someone to help them navigate them getting back into a place of their own. So, we essentially leave a lot of people to struggle on their own, and we’re not serving those children very well.

Can you briefly explain the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) definition of homelessness?

That is the very narrow definition of literal homelessness that includes folks who are in a shelter or on the street. And those are the only folks that the HUD definition covers.

About how many families are doubled-up, stay in motels, or in emergency shelters?

Right now, we see about 88 percent of families we serve that are doubled-up. (Editor’s note: Doubled- up is an informal term that is covered by the definition of homelessness that education departments use. It refers to families that share a living arrangement with family, friends, or others mostly due to hardship. They generally do not hold their own lease and can be asked to leave by the leaseholder at any time.)

Nationwide that regular number is between 78 and 90 percent. Then, we have about eight percent who stay in motels, and

the rest (four percent) are in emergency shelters. The shelter population is the smallest percentage of our families.

In fact, when the homeless service providers talk about families they serve, they are not counting the vast majority of the families we’re serving in the school system.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I would like to see a shift in the conversation where we are not only thinking of the individuals out on the street corners as experiencing homelessness but rise to the challenge of meeting the needs of all people in our community who are unstably housed.

When we talk to our families who are doubled-up, we see how they bounce around.

One week they live here, the next they stay there. I think it’s difficult for a lot of people to stop and recognize the challenges and frustrations that leave these families who truly have no place of their own in complicated situations where there are really no resources, and they are told they don’t qualify for services.

Occasionally I have families who tell me they’re not the right kind of homeless.

In a sense, we have a system that is set up to force people into shelter situations [to access resources]. But that isn’t exactly the solution for all of our families. Then after going into that shelter system, they still

August 14 - 28, 2024 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 11

cannot get the resources they need to get back into housing.

I have heard from providers that they are starting to see the children of families they served come back as parents. Do you see the same?

Oh yes. I’ve been doing this for 26 years, and I will never forget, back in the old family shelter in the late 90s, we had a family of an elementary school child who 15 years later came back as a parent. Housing insecurity has a long-term impact on kids who have not been raised in affordable, stable housing.

And then, there is always the great community call of engaging landlords, raising awareness, engaging for-profits, nonprofits, and all kinds of community partners — really anyone who can lean into the work. I think that’s desperately needed.

I invite anybody to think about family homelessness. it doesn’t get the press that encampments do, but it is certainly something that people can get behind if they have a better understanding of it.

How can people support your work?

Anybody who wants to donate or volunteer, they can contact me via email at catherine.knowles@mnps.org We love volunteer manpower to help us pack clothes, sort through shoes and do all these things to get school items out to the kids.

LOCAL ACTIVISM

Lifelong Activist Reflects on 67 Years of Social Justice Work PHOTOS BY ALVINE

At 87 years old, Karl Meyer’s commitment to social justice is unwavering. For nearly seven decades, Meyer has been on the front lines of countless movements, advocating for the rights of a broad cross-section of communities. His journey as an activist began in New York City when he was just 20 years old. Inspired by the Catholic Worker Movement and Mahatma Gandhi, his first act of civil disobedience led to his arrest during a protest against compulsory nuclear air raid drills in 1957.

“Dorothy Day and Ammon Hennacy of The Catholic Worker were my strongest living mentors after my parents and after [Mahatma] Gandhi, who I started reading about the year he was assassinated,” Meyer said.

On Aug. 1, Meyer set out to test the response to breaking a Tennessee state law barring camping on state public property by setting up to rest on the Capitol lawn. While the state law went into place two years ago, Meyer wanted to see how officials would react after the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Grants vs. Johnson Pass said it is legal to punish someone for sleeping outside. Meyer was arrested by Tennessee State Troopers the morning after he slept on the lawn and

|

STORY BY AMANDA HAGGARD

given a misdemeanor citation for criminal trespassing and one for disorderly conduct.

He’s slated for an Aug. 23 hearing in Judge Aaron Holt’s courtroom downtown.

“I have a very strong sense of empathy with people who are poor, homeless, underpaid, disabled,” Meyer said during a second effort to sleep on the lawn on Aug. 7. “So that’s why I do this; the real activists are the folks who have to do this every single night.”

This sense of needing to raise the issue to the surface has been the driving force behind Meyer’s work, particularly in his advocacy for the homeless and those in need of affordable housing.

Over the course of his 67 years of activism, Meyer has been arrested numerous times.

“When I slept outdoors here with just a drop cloth and an old blanket, it really aroused my sense of empathy,” Meyer said. “I think about people who have to do that 365 days a year, and it drives me to keep going.”

In 1997, Meyer moved to Nashville, where he initially planned to focus on urban gardening. However, the city’s growing housing crisis soon caught his attention, and he shifted his efforts toward restoring vacant houses for low-income residents.

PAGE 12 | August 14 - 28, 2024

“We invested whatever money we had to buy vacant houses in North Nashville. I’m a carpenter by trade, and we restored these houses,” Meyer said on Aug. 7. “We’ve always had low-income people and friends from the Catholic Worker Movement, and others living with us in any spare room that we had so this is about that kind of sustained action.”

Meyer participated in a 71-day sit-in at the Tennessee State Capitol in 2005. Alongside other activists, Meyer protested against Gov. Phil Bredesen’s cuts to TennCare, which left hundreds of thousands of people without health insurance.

“It was insane that people were losing their healthcare because they couldn't get private insurance due to preexisting conditions,” Meyer said.

The sit-in, which involved camping out and sleeping in the Capitol’s corridors, drew significant media attention and highlighted the human cost of the TennCare cuts.

“We were arrested, but it was worth it,” he said.

Meyer points to a need for an intersectional view of advocacy. He has also been a vocal advocate for disability rights, participating in protests organized by the group

| The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

ADAPT, a national grassroots community that organizes disability rights activists.

Meyer describes one particularly impactful action in which he and other activists blocked the exits of the Legislative Plaza in Nashville, preventing lawmakers from leaving the Capitol.

“I’ve never done activism with a more courageous group of people than ADAPT,” Meyer said, recounting a day spent in the pouring rain alongside activists in wheelchairs and others with disabilities. “It was drizzling rain almost the whole day, but those people were determined. They’re some of the bravest people I’ve ever worked with.”

Meyer, who is planning continued action over the next few weeks, is hoping to garner an audience with Gov. Bill Lee through this nonviolent approach.

“I've been active not only in advocating for just and decent and compassionate social policy, which Dorothy Day really strongly believed in, as many of my mentors do and did, but I've also been active in direct service and direct cooperation with homeless people and with low income people who need affordable housing,” Meyer said. “There is a need for both.”

LOCAL ACTIVISM

Left and bottom right: Karl Meyer engaged in an anti-war and anti-nuclear weapon protest at the Estes Kefauver Federal Building in 2001. Top right: Meyer in 2005 when several activists and others staged a sit-in in the Gov. Phil Bredesen's office and subsequently occupied the capitol for over two months in opposition to TennCare cuts.

Meyer has engaged in various housing actions over the years. Here is photographed with longtime activist Jane Hussain.

In 2006, Meyer protested alongside ADAPT's national organization, who was in town in support of the Americans with Disabilities Act. There was a die-in on the street just off the State Supreme Court Building.

August 14 - 28, 2024 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 13

PIECES OF POETRY - 31

The Cure for Cancer

Special Thanks to healthwyze.org and their video documentary “The Cancer Report.”

Which provided the bulk of historical and scientific research material contained in this work.

WRITTEN BY CHRIS SCOTT FIESELMAN, VENDOR #0015 They’re killing off the people of,

Let’s figure out how to send it back to hell.

This Great Nation,

That low blood oxygen acidity,

Attempting to prevent over population.

Is what makes our bodies the place to be?

Malnutrition and toxins and radiation,

Cancer gets its nourishment from fermentation,

Is turning us all into Cancer patients.

Surviving in oxygen deprivation.

I cried and I cried when my father died.

Your P.H. balance is part of the key,

They said it was the Cancer that took his life.

Because Cancer can’t stand alkalinity.

But I can’t deny that everything they tried,

But don’t say you heard it from me.

Was treatment that no human being, Can survive.

Hiding the truth - They’re lying to you.

They found the answer - The Cure for Cancer.

Hiding the truth - They’re lying to you.

They found the answer - The Cure for Cancer.

A world without Cancer may not be a dream.

The cure may lie in Vitamin B17.

THEME: BACK TO SCHOOL Sisters" director 62. Say "No!" ACROSS 26. End of line 63. Animal's nose 1. Soothing concoction 5. *The Magic School ride 64. Perceives with an eye 27. Yogurt-based dip 28. *Opposite side over 8. Mama's husband hypotenuse, pl.

12. Dwarf buffalo 29. Bald symbol 13. Moneyed one 32. *____ monitor DOWN 14. "M*A*S*H" extra 33. Bigheadedness 15. Soon, to Shakespeare 1. Jezebel's idol 36. *All-school get-to2. Beheaded Boleyn 16. Sheltered, nautically gether 3. Plunder 17. *Abacus user, e.g.

38. Giuseppe ____ of 18. *School jacket-wearer 4. Certain rays opera fame 5. Plural of #1 Across 20. TV classic "Happy 40. Temporary craze 6. Part of an eye, pl. ____" 41. Parthenogenetic 7. Witnessed 21. What hoarders do 44. Recant or retract 8. *Field of education 22. Speech-preventing 9. ____ Walker, American 46. *English homework, measure pl.

Girl doll 23. *Pencil end 10. *Inspiration for circu- 48. *Circle, e.g.

26. Deep regret 49. Paparazzi's target lar charts, pl.

30. Indian restaurant 50. Remote control option 11. Acronym, abbr. staple 51. Middle Eastern sul13. Zimbabwe's capital 31. What cobblers often tanate 14. Address to a woman do 52. "Follow me!"

19. Nail salon file 34. Mother Earth, to 53. Genealogy plant 22. Toothpaste type Ancient Greeks 54. Agitate 23. *Marks in English 35. Embedded design 55. Puppy barks 24. Hindu queen 37. ___ Khan 56. Antonym of keep 25. "Hannah and Her 38. Contending 39. *Don't forget to cross them 40. Plural of flora 42. Rolodex abbr.

43. Sultry or carnal 45. *Rydell High School movie 47. Defensive one on the gridiron 48. Oodles 50. *Some PTA members?

52. *It involves elements 56. Cuban dance 57. Burkina Faso neighbor 58. Opera solo 59. Boot-shaped European country 60. Oil org.

61. Review a service PAGE 14 | August 14 - 28, 2024

The American Medical Association,

A simple, inexpensive, un-obtainable pill.

Spends millions on,

The government banned nutrient,

Misleading Mis-Information.

Named: Laetrile.

The American Cancer Society’s,

A couple brilliant scientists, a father and son,

In bed with pharmaceutical companies.

Discovered its existence in bitter almonds.

The F.D.A. may have changed their name,

Eradicate the species in ’95 and from now on,

But their mission and their loyalties,

All our almonds must be pasteurized.

Are still the same.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise.

Not too many people know they used to be,

Kind of makes you wonder why?

The Division then The Bureau of Chemistry.

Let me see if I can put it into words.

Hiding the truth - They’re lying to you.

They found the answer - The Cure for Cancer.

Explain how it happens and how it works.

A Laetrile molecule holds deep inside, A tiny tightly bound amount of Cyanide.

Now, the findings and the facts,

An enzyme caused reaction,

And undeniable proof,

That can only take place,

By the doctors they call quacks,

In the presence of Beta-Glucosidase.

Who discover the truth.

You’ll only find that enzyme made by,

With a Nobel winning prize in medicine.

Cancer cells and the Cyanide has no effect,

I think it might be wise to listen to them.

On anything else.

Everybody knows a little Vitamin C, Promotes a strong and healthy immunity.

Hiding the truth - They’re lying to you.

And sunlight provides us with Vitamin D,

They found the answer - The Cure for Cancer.

A Cancer cell’s albatross and enemy.

But they tell us,

A Cancer cell starts by destroying in part,

“Don’t go out without sun-screen on.”

To keep from destroying the whole.

Absorbing the poison, that’s causing us harm.

It’s a body’s self-defense mechanism,

Doctors recommend a mammogram,

That ends up getting out of control.

But what’s that radiation been doing to them?

Not enough of this and too much of that, And you bring it upon yourself.

Hiding the truth - They’re lying to you.

Now you know the fiction from the fact,

They found the answer - The Cure for Cancer.

And I hope that what I told you helps.

The final little tid-bit for you from me is,

Now, it’s a pretty big risk I’m willing to take,

You’ll find B17 in apricot seeds.

With forbidden information and lives at stake.

Pissing off the powerful and rattle their cage,

Hiding the truth - They’re lying to you.

And make myself an enemy of the state.

They found the answer - The Cure for Cancer.

Oh well, no problem. O.K. Let’s take a good look at a Cancer cell.

| The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

FUN

HOBOSCOPES LEO

When I was a kid I liked going to where my dad worked. Partly because it wasn’t home and it wasn’t school. But mostly because the receptionist at the front office had a little bowl with strawberry candies in it. “Just take one,” he’d say. But I’d always sneak an extra for later.

Maybe that’s when I stopped saying what I wanted and just sneaking what I thought I could have. And maybe, Leo, if we could trust that we’ll get enough we can start saying out loud what we want and need.

Take all the candies you want right now, Leo. There will be more when you need them.

VIRGO

Do you think we’ve passed it yet or is it still coming up? I just don’t know if I can really make any more plans until I know, Virgo. Has the hottest day of the summer already hit or will it be next week? Or maybe the one after that? It just seems like this heat is dragging on a little longer than usual. And it makes me not want to get started. There are always factors we can’t predict, Virgo, but that’s an even better reason to get moving on things today.

LIBRA

It’s a good time to plant trees, Libra, these next few months. The heat will be dwindling soon but we’ve got a good stretch where the ground is still warm, enough for those roots to stretch out and grow. So much has to happen underneath before real growth starts on top.

What have you been waiting to start working on, Libra? This might be the season. Go ahead and dig a hole, put something you love down there and water it.

Don’t worry about flourishing, just focus on the start.

Give those roots room to spread and this time next year you’ll be amazed at what you’ve got.

SCORPIO

Wowch! That spot on my thumb is still puffy and sore! It’s a little warm and seems to be oozing something sinister.

I was sure it would get better by now. It’s been a week since I pulled out the splinter. But when I push around on it, I can still feel..yeah I think there’s still some wood in there. A little piece broke off and…mmff…I think I can dig it out. Yep, yep, that’s a whole other splinter in there. Sometimes when the healing won’t happen, you’ve got to go back in and dig around. Maybe there’s something you left unextracted, Scorpio.

Don’t let it fester too long.

SAGITTA R IUS

Remember a couple of weeks ago when you were suddenly very into Olympic badminton?

You were explaining to me how it was the fastest racket sport in the world and how it's been played for over 2,000 years. You knew the names of all the players and their rankings and now you never even want to talk about badminton at all. It’s OK, Sagittarius, you don’t have to be a lifetime badminton aficionado. (Although I did get you a gift subscription to Badminton Aficionado Magazine.) I just wanted to remind you that you can still get interested in new things. You’ve got a lot of attention to give and I think you should give it to things that excite you.

CAPRICORN

How many fingers am I holding up, Capricorn? I know it’s hard to tell at this distance, since we’re not in the same room and you’re reading this at some point after now when I’m writing it.

But I want you to focus on the question and give your best answer. I want you to hold up the same number of fingers you think I’m holding up. Go ahead. That’s incredible, Capricorn! You got it right! That seems impossible, but you guessed the exact right number! What else can you get right today with just a little focus?

AQUA RIUS

I’m not sure how well you keep up with amateur astrology news, Aquarius, but things are getting pretty exciting. Dr. Wayne Conundra just announced he’s stepping down as head of the School For The Future, and his replacement will be Chairman Denise Melchior-Gloss from the Astral Aurora Academy. Of course, it’s a huge deal because last year the AAA officially denounced Dr. Conundra’s position on Vedic Synastry and so the SFTF cut funding for their joint Apotelesma program which everybody assumes Melchior-Gloss will reinstate. I’m sorry, Aquarius, I can really get going on this stuff. Keep in mind this week that the most important stories in your world may not be the most important stories in the world.

PISCES

When I find myself in times of trouble, Pisces, I usually wait for some gentle reassurance from the universe. And, if I’m being honest, it often doesn’t come at all. No word from a long-lost friend. No inquisitive bird on the windowsill.

No overheard words of wisdom from the next table over.

And the longer I wait, the lonelier and more off track I start to feel. If that’s where you’re at today, Pisces, try not to let it be too long. Throw out a line. Show up and tell somebody how hard it is.

ARIES

Sometimes I try to make it a competition for myself. Just how many screens can I be on at the same time. I’m already flipping through my phone while watching TV. Why not get out the laptop? Maybe I can get my watch involved. I could even try to reset the oven clock while I’m skimming and scanning and switching. And if I can do that for five minutes straight, maybe I’ll earn a break from all of it. Maybe we can put down every single screen and just look at the room we’re in, Aries. Maybe we’ll even notice who else is around. Or who’s missing.

TAURUS

They say our rituals tell us who we are. That’s why every morning I wake up at the sound of my alarm and take a calm, slow, deep breath.

Then I roll over, fall back asleep and wake up again 25 minutes later panicking. Then I throw on clothes, push a tiny bit of toothpaste around my mouth with my finger, dive into my car and realize my shoes don’t match. This ritual really helps set my expectations for the day and keeps me centered throughout the week. What do your daily rituals tell you about yourself, Taurus? Do you like the ones you’ve got?

GEMINI

I got my old bike out just like I’ve been promising to do all summer. I put air on the tires and a little oil on the chain and took it out front and hopped on. It was great for the first ¾ of a rotation but then the front wheel stopped cold and I nearly fell frontwise over the handlebars. I couldn’t get the brakes to let go of the tire. It was just stopped in place. If your forward momentum seems to be ending before you’ve even gotten out of the driveway.

Gemini, you may find that it’s a simple adjustment.

Get your tire on straight. Adjust that front brake. And if that doesn’t work it may be a better day for a walk.

CANCER

How am I this tired at the end of every work day, Cancer? Is it the heat? Is it the looming threat of civilizational collapse? Is it the family-size Stauffer’s lasagna that I’ve been bringing in for lunch every day this week? (I got a great deal on a 12-pack!) It’s hard to locate the many causes of our multiple exhaustions, Cancer. But the best cure I’ve found is twofold. Before you check-out on your futon watching political videos on your phone, do these two things. Take a walk around the block. It doesn’t matter how short the walk is, but try to do it undistracted. Next, reach out to somebody who makes you feel less lonely. A text is fine.

Just check-in before you check-out.

Mr. Mysterio is not a licensed astrologer, a trained cyclist, or a registered arborist.

Listen to the Mr. Mysterio podcast at mrmysterio.com Or just give him a call at 707-VHS-TAN1

August 14 - 28, 2024 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 15

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—but he was arguably the most precocious and well-read of this eminent and intellectually fertile group. He was also known to have influenced Dorothy Sayers, T. S. Eliot and W. H. Auden.

Lacking a proper degree unlike his fellow Inklings, this genius Cockney-speaking author, editor, critic, and playwright was eminently well-versed in both philosophical and theological writings of the remote past as of the present day (the mid-20th century) and used this familiarity to good effect in his poetry, supernatural fiction and his lesser-known devotional selections designed for the spiritual benefit of the faithful in the Church of England. 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, beginning with Advent (i.e., December) and ending in November, and reaches far beyond the pale of the philosophical and theological discussions of his day. It was under his hand, for instance, that some of the first translations of Kierkegaard were made available to the wider public. 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

12th Thursday after Trinity

WE naturalize ourselves, to the employment of eternity.

Benjamin Whichcote: Aphorisms.

WE repeat the Scriptures with our mouth, and we go though the Psalms of David in our service, but that which God requireth, and which is necessary, we have not, that is to say, a good word for each other.

The Paradise of the Fathers.

DO not despise or think lightly of him that standeth before thee, for thou knowest not whether the Spirit of God is in thee or in him, though thou callest him who standeth before thee him that ministereth unto thee.

The Paradise of the Fathers.

12th Friday after Trinity WHILE thou still wishest better to thine own person than to that man whom thou hast never seen thou art beside the mark, nor hast thou even for an instant seen into this simple ground.

Eckhart: Sermons and Collations.

A HOLY man once bethought himself how painful it must have been to God to have been seen by his enemies when he was taken prisoner. Our Lord answered him: "My enemies appeared unto Me in my presence as friends, who wished to help me in carrying out the sweetest and most desirable work that I ever worked in my life."

Tauler: Sermons.

12th Saturday after Trinity WE pray God that his, "will be done on earth," in us, "as it is in heaven," in God himself. A man of this sort is so one, so one-willed with God that he wills exactly what God wills and in the way God wills it.

Eckhart: The Book of Benedictus.

NO knowledge, therefore, and no conceptions in this mortal life can serve as proximate means of this high union of the love of God. All that the understanding can comprehend; all that the will may be satisfied with; and all that the imagination may conceive, is most unlike unto God, and most disproportionate to Him. St John of the Cross: Ascent of Mount Carmel.

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity LOVE is a grace that loves God for Himself, and our neighbors for God. The consideration of God's goodness and bounty, the experience of those profitable and excellent emanations from Him, may be and most commonly are, the first motive of our love; but when we are once entered, and have tasted the goodness of God, we loved the spring for its own excellency, passing from passion to reason, from thanksgiving to adoring, from sense to spirit, from considering ourselves to an union with God: and this is the image and little representation of heaven; it is beatitude in picture, or rather the infancy and beginnings of glory.

Jeremy Taylor: Holy Living.

13th Monday after Trinity I LIVE in Meshech which they say signifies Prolonging, in Kedar which signifies Blackness; yet the Lord forsaketh me not. Though he do prolong, yet he will, I trust, bring me to his tabernacle, his resting-place. My soul is with the congregation of the first-born, my body rests in hope, and if here I may honour my God, either by doing or suffering, I shall be most glad.

Oliver Cromwell: Letters.

13th Tuesday after Trinity DIDST thou ever decry a glorious eternity in a winged moment of Time? Didst thou ever see a bright Infinite in the narrow point of an Object? Then thou knowest what Spirit means—that spire-top whither all things ascend harmoniously, where they meet and sit connected in an unfathomed Depth of Life.

Peter Sterry: Rise, Race, and Royalty of the Kingdom of God. GOD giveth a man the opportunity to repent as long as he wisheth to do, and in proportion as he wisheth.

The Paradise of the Fathers.

13th Wednesday after Trinity WONDERFUL is the depth of thy words, whose surface, see, is before us, gently leading on the little ones: and yet a wonderful deepness, O my God, a wonderful deepness. It is awe to look into it; even an awfulness of honour, and a trembling of love.

St Augustine: Confessions.

IT is imperfection in Religion to drudge in it, and every man drudges in Religion if he takes it up as a task and carries it as a burden.

Benjamin Whichcote: Discourses.

13th Thursday after Trinity THE things of God are not made ours, by a mere notion and speculation; but when they become in us a vital principle, when they establish in us a state or temper, when the things of God are grounds and principles of suitable operations.

Benjamin Whichcote: Works.

RELIGION makes us live like men.

Benjamin Whichcote: Aphorisms.

13th Friday after Trinity LET us, at all times, take each the burden of the other, and let us suffer for each other even as our Lord suffered for us; but let us examine our souls unceasingly.

The Paradise of the Fathers.

AS a man raises himself towards Heaven, so his view of the spiritual world becomes simplified and his words fewer.

Dionysius the Areopagite: Mystical Theology.

THOU, O God, canst never forsake me so long as I am capable of Thee.

Nicholas de Susa: The Vision of God.

The Feast of St Bartholomew NATURAL religion, if you understand it rightly, is a most excellent thing, it is a right sentiment of heart, it is so much goodness in the heart, it is its sensibility both of its separation from its relation to God; and therefore it shows itself in nothing but in a penitential sentiment of the weight of its sins, and in an humble recourse by faith to the mercy of God. Call but this the religion of nature and then the more you esteem it, the better; for you cannot wish well to it without bringing it to the Gospel state of perfection.

For the religion of the Gospel is this religion of penitence and faith in the mercy of God, brought forth into its full perfection. For the Gospel calls you to nothing but to know and understand and practise a full and real penitence, and to

PAGE 16 | August 14 - 28, 2024

know by faith such heights and depths of the divine mercy towards you, as the religion of nature had only some little uncertain glimmerings of.

William Law: A Demonstration.

13th Saturday after Trinity NEITHER Creator nor creature can be without love, but if this love is turned aside to evil, then the creature goes against the creator . . . A man may love evil by willing evil to his neighbors in three ways: For first, he may hope to be prosperous through his neighbor's degradation; and again, he may himself fear to lose power, grace, honour, or reputation because of his neighbour's advancement, and may therefore be miserable at that advancement; and again, he may feel himself injured by his neighbour, and wish to be revenged, so that he sets himself to seek out the other's hurt.

Dante: Purgatory.

Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity SILENCE is not God, nor speaking is not God: fasting is not God nor eating is not God; onliness is not God nor company is not God; nor yet any of all the other two such quantities. He is hid between them, and may not be bound by any work of thy soul, but all only by love of thine heart. He may not be known by reason, He may not be gotten by thought, nor concluded by understanding; but he may be loved and chosen with the true lovely will of thine heart.

An Epistle of Discretion.

SAY with Christ "Cross, cross," and there is no cross. For the cross is no more a cross once you say joyously: "Blessed cross, there is no tree like thee."

Luther: Letters.

14th Monday after Trinity WITH this sight of the blessed Passion, with the Godhead that I saw in mine understanding, I knew well that it was strength enough for me, yea, and for all creatures living, against all the fiends of hell and ghostly temptation.

Juliana of Norwich: Revelations of Divine Love.

SHE cried again, "O Love, no more sins! no more sins!”

And her hatred of herself was more than she could endure.

St Catherine of Genoa: Life.

14th Tuesday after Trinity THINK no further of thyself than I bid thee do of thy God, so that thou be one with him in spirit as thus, without any separating and scattering of mind. For he is thy being, and in him thou art what thou art, not only by cause and by being, but also he is in thee both thy cause and thy being.

And therefore think of God in thy work as thou dost on thyself, and on thyself as thou dost on God: that he is as he is and thou art as thou art; so that thy though be not scattered nor separated, oned in him that is all, evermore saving this difference betwixt thee and him, that he is thy being and thy not his.

The Epistle of Privy Counsel.

OUR spirits are comfortable (praised be the Lord!), though our present condition is as it is.

Oliver Cromwell: Letters.

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MOVING PICTURES

Talking Monkeys ‘KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES’ REIGNS ON HULU

BY JOE NOLAN, FILM CRITIC When the latest reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise kicked off with Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) it was the rarest of modern cinema treats: a new take on a classic that respected the original material while also building a bridge to contemporary audiences.

The film provided a compelling, alternative origin story to the 1968 Charlton Heston movie, which finds astronauts crash landing on a planet where apes have assumed the evolutionary apex and humans are feral mutes, domesticated as pets and slaves. Rod Serling wrote the film’s screenplay based on Pierre Boulle’s French science fiction novel, but Serling added his own famous twist ending (spoiler alert): the planet is Earth in the year 2673. In Serling’s script, civilization was destroyed by nuclear

war before the apes left the jungles to claim the place for themselves.

In Rise of the Planet of the Apes, a viral-based Alzheimer’s disease therapy creates a global pandemic.

The Simian Flu outbreak kills-off most of humanity while genetically enhancing the apes. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is one of the best science fiction movies of this century, and its sequels — Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) — have won new, loyal audiences to the ‘Apes-verse while collecting strong reviews and awards for their deep characters, sophisticated stories, technical achievements, and actor Andy Serkis’s pioneering motion-capture performances as Caesar the chimpanzee.

The new Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes begins where War’ ends, with Caesar dying after lead-

ing the apes to a safe new oasis.

The film then fast forwards “many generations later” for a standalone story that takes place 300 years after the events of War. Noa (Owen Teague) is an adolescent chimp living with his ape clan in a village where his family is known for their falconry skills and his father is the “Master of Birds.”

The apes live an idyllic life in a natural paradise, and sightings of humans have become so scarce that the simians refer to people as “echoes,” and reports of human encounters sound like Bigfoot stories. Noa and his teen chimp pals, Anaya (Travis Jeffrey) and Soona (Lydia Peckham), spot a human woman while they are collecting wild eagle’s eggs just in time for a coming-of-age ceremony. The woman also catches the eye of a coastal band of violent apes. Noa

and the woman (Mae, played by Freya Allan) become unlikely traveling companions, each with their own agendas and loyalties.

Caesar has become a legend, and almost a deity, in the three centuries since his death. He is still revered for his leadership and character, but not every ape is up to the task of philosopher king-ing.

People have been reduced to primitive non-verbal bipeds while the apes are still reckoning with the legacies of the old human world.

This iteration is another movie that nails the winning tone of the best Apes films, seriously grappling with moral questions and political intrigues so that you forget all about the rubber masks in the original movies and the digital magic in these new ones.

This new film admirably adds a new chapter to the Apes saga

August 14 - 28, 2024 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 19

without Serkis and his Caesar to do the heavy lifting. The last act of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has been criticized for paralleling some of the plot points of the showdown in War for the Planet of the Apes. There are similarities, but this new film flips the script with an ape nemesis instead of a human one. It sets up intriguing, morally ambiguous tensions that’ll have viewers questioning their loyalties in ways that they might not expect from a movie about talking monkeys.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is streaming on Hulu --Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/songwriter based in East Nashville.

Find out more about his projects at www. joenolan.com.