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P H O T O C O UR T E S T Y O F NE W P O R T J A Z Z F E S T I VA L F O UND AT I O N

2026

La N ticia

Año 24 - No. 441

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

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ESCAPADE se prepara para tomar impulso rumbo a Marte

las Blue y Gold regresarán a las cercanías de la Tierra en noviembre para aprovechar la gravedad de nuestro planeta antes de iniciar su viaje interplanetario hacia Marte.

Ilustración: Rocket Lab / NASA

IN THE ISSUE Por Yuri Cunza Editor in Chief @LaNoticiaNews

ESCAPADE —siglas en inglés de Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers— fue lanzada el 13 de noviembre de 2025 desde Cabo Cañaveral, Florida, a bordo de un cohete New Glenn de Blue Origin. En lugar de viajar directamente a Marte, las dos pequeñas naves iniciaron una trayectoria poco convencional alrededor de una región cercana al punto de Lagrange 2 (L2) del sistema Sol-Tierra. Una ruta diferente hacia Marte

Normalmente, las misiones a Marte deben esperar una ventana de lanzamiento favorable, cuando la posición relativa de la Tierra y Marte permite realizar el viaje de manera eficiente. Esa alineación ocurre aproximadamente cada 26 meses.

NASA’s ESCAPADE mission prepares to gain momentum on its journey to Mars.

ESCAPADE está poniendo a prueba otra posibilidad: lanzar las naves antes y mantenerlas temporalmente en una extensa órbita de espera hasta que llegue el momento adecuado para partir hacia Marte. NASA considera que esta estrategia podría ayudar en el futuro a ofrecer mayor flexibilidad para misiones interplanetarias.

aprovecharán su velocidad, la gravedad terrestre y el encendido de sus motores para realizar la inyección hacia Marte. El diseño también utiliza el llamado efecto Oberth, mediante el cual un motor puede producir un cambio de energía más eficiente cuando la nave se desplaza a gran velocidad.

Blue y Gold siguen una órbita de aproximadamente un año que se extiende hacia L2, situado a unos 1.6 millones de kilómetros —un millón de millas— de la Tierra, en dirección opuesta al Sol. La trayectoria tiene una peculiar forma semejante a un frijol y también llevará a las sondas a través de una región distante de la “cola” de la magnetosfera terrestre que no había sido explorada anteriormente por una misión de este tipo.

Dos sondas para estudiar un planeta

En noviembre, las naves volverán a aproximarse a la Tierra. Allí

Una vez que lleguen a Marte en septiembre de 2027, Blue y Gold entrarán en órbita con pocos días de diferencia. Durante los meses siguientes ajustarán y sincronizarán cuidadosamente sus órbitas antes de comenzar la fase científica principal, prevista para 2028. Su objetivo será estudiar simultáneamente la magnetosfera y la atmósfera superior marcianas. A diferencia de la Tierra, Marte no posee actual-

mente un fuerte campo magnético global que proteja al planeta. ESCAPADE analizará cómo el viento solar —un flujo constante de partículas procedentes del Sol— interactúa con el entorno marciano y contribuye a que parte de su atmósfera escape al espacio.

Utilizar dos naves permitirá observar esas interacciones desde diferentes lugares al mismo tiempo, proporcionando una perspectiva tridimensional que una sola sonda no puede ofrecer. Los resultados podrían ayudar a explicar cómo Marte pasó de tener condiciones mucho más húmedas en su pasado remoto al mundo frío y árido que conocemos actualmente. La investigación también podría contribuir a comprender mejor las condiciones que enfrentarán futuras misiones humanas al planeta rojo. La misión es dirigida por el Laboratorio de Ciencias Espaciales de la Universidad de California, Berkeley, en colaboración con NASA y otros socios. Blue y Gold fueron construidas por Rocket Lab. Por ahora, las dos pequeñas exploradoras continúan su recorrido cerca de nuestro planeta. Si todo avanza según lo previsto, en noviembre la Tierra dejará de ser su punto de espera para convertirse en el trampolín que finalmente las impulse hacia Marte. La Noticia Newspaper Nashville | Información actualizada con datos de NASA y el Space Sciences Laboratory de UC Berkeley. Más información: NASA Ciencia — Misión ESCAPADE Envíenos sus sugerencias por correo electrónico: news@hispanicpaper.com|615-582-3757

Dibujo y concepto: Oriana Sánchez Pérez

Las naves geme-

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IN MEMORIAM

The Kindness Influencers

Content about helping people experiencing poverty and homelessness is trending on social media. But is that a good thing? BY VEERA VEHK ASALO “I feel like a horrible mom.” A young woman with a stroller wrapped in blankets is crying in the video. They are standing in front of a store on a street in Minnesota. It is winter. There is a one-year-old child in the stroller and neither of them has a home. A young man chats with the woman and gives her some food. The man asks her how she is and how she ended up on the street. Another man arrives on the scene. The first man asks, “What is your biggest prayer right now?” “Find somewhere for him safe to stay. Get a job so I can be able to take care of him,” the woman says, wiping tears from her eyes. In the end, the two men give the woman in the video a bundle of cash. The woman is touched, hugs them and perks up. She enthuses that she can go to a hotel for a while to sleep and to take a shower. Maybe even get a job interview once she has cleaned herself up. “We’re going to help you a lot further. We don’t want to post a video of you and just leave you,” says the other man. “And all the money will go to you. So that you can change your life because you deserve it.” The men are the social media influencers Joshua Liljenquist and Samuel Weidenhofer. They posted a video of the encounter on their social media accounts, set up a crowdfunding campaign and then the money flooded in. They raised more than a half a million dollars for the woman, Sheena, and her child. In the next video, they take Sheena to the house that they bought for her in Minnesota with the money and tell her that there are still hundreds of thousands of dollars for her. In this video, there’s a closeup of Sheena in tears. Liljenquist and Weidenhofer are socalled kindness influencers. They post videos of themselves doing good deeds and helping others, mainly people experiencing homelessness and poverty. They are hugely popular. In December, Liljenqvist (social media profile: joshlilj) had 6 million followers on Instagram and 10 million on TikTok, while Weidenhofer (itssozer) had 2.6 and 7.8 million followers on the same channels. They had even more followers on YouTube. At the moment, social media is bursting with this kind of “kindness content” — that is, videos about acts of kindness produced for social media by different influencers. Liljenqvist and Weidenhofer, as well as Jimmy Kellogg (Jimmy Darts) and Zachery Dereniowski (mdmotivator), who also have amassed millions of followers, film a large part of their videos in the United States, although they are not all from here. Sometimes the acts of kindness in the videos are just small acts: a hug for someone who needs one or a few kind words.

The videos often introduce people living on the street, who are given shoes, tents, clothes or whatever they might need at that moment. In one video, a young man is delighted to receive a heat pump on a freezing night. Someone in a neighbouring tent just froze to death, he says. Sometimes the acts are more generous, like an entire crowdfunding campaign to get a car, an apartment or other essentials. Some kindness influencers have large accounts, others are modest, but in general, the videos are engaging. The number of likes, shares and comments is huge in places. Sometimes, the amounts of money raised are also huge. In the autumn, Weidenhofer’s video about 88-year-old Ed Bambas raised $1.6 million for the man. All it took was a video of Weidenhofer getting to know Bambas at his workplace, casually approaching him as if in passing. After the old man tells his moving life story, the social media influencer gives him $400 and tells Bambas that he will set up a crowdfunding campaign so that the man can finally afford to retire. At the end of the video, the old man who has lost his wife cries, again in close-up. (In December, Zachery Dereniowski also made headlines in the Finnish media when a crowdfunding campaign for Ahmed Al-Ahmed, the man who stopped the shooters in the Bondi Beach attack in Australia, raised hundreds of thousands of euros.) “You are angels.” “There are still great people in this world!” “You are doing an excellent job!” Kindness content is popular. The comments posted on the content creators’ social media channels are, almost without exception, hearts or praise and thanks, like in the examples above. Many media outlets also praise the creators for making kindness popular again and helping people. However, this does not convince everyone. AP News calls kindness content “controversial”, and in one of its stories, British public broadcaster the BBC discusses why kindness influencers are often criticized. “Many influencers have a genuine desire to do good, to help people, and to use their influence in some positive way,” notes Hanna Reinikainen, a researcher of social media influencers at the University of Helsinki. She still takes a critical view of this kind of content. The videos produced by kindness influencers combine many things that work on social media, prank culture and content that tugs on the heart strings. This is exactly the kind of “sticky” content that works well on social media and keeps people glued to social media videos, Reinikainen says. Regardless of the motivations of the creators, the business logic of the commercial social media platforms is always present in the work. Reinikainen reminds

us that influencer marketing is fundamentally commercial and a means of getting visibility and attention. And all content is used to grow a personal brand and the influencer’s own commercial potential. Reinikainen estimates that creators with millions of followers earn big money through sponsorship agreements, visibility and advertising partnerships. Some social media platforms also pay their content creators based on the number of views and followers. What if the content and views are obtained by often filming unsuspecting people in their most difficult moments? Unexpectedly talking about life’s biggest traumas with a complete stranger? Getting someone up from their mattress and taking them to the store by the seat of their pants? Filming them crying? “Some pretty bizarre contradictions pop up quite quickly,” says Reinikainen. Although the videos highlight important experiences and the reality of homelessness, the discussion is quite superficial and focuses on the individual, she adds. Structural reasons are not discussed. For example, why is a one-year-old on the street, or how can an 88-year-old who has worked his entire life not afford to retire? “The videos show what life can be like for people experiencing homelessness or those who have limited means. But they don’t tell us about the structural reasons, or all the reasons people end up like this,” Reinikainen says. They tend to go no further than “individual sob stories,” as she puts it, and the idea that everything can be fixed by handing out large sums of money out of the blue. Erja Morottaja, communications manager at Vailla vakinaista asuntoa ry, a Finnish organization that monitors the interests of people experiencing homelessness, agrees that the mindset in the videos is fairly simplistic. “Money brings the solution. Quick videos, quick solutions, and onto the next one,” she summarizes. For example, simply having an apartment or a large amount of money is not always enough to end homelessness. Morottaja reminds us that many people need support with daily life or treatment for the underlying problems that cause homelessness. The videos often involve “pranks”, which are popular on social media. Someone secretly pays for another person’s purchases or surprises them with something fun while filming them. Or someone may ask a person who looks poor for help, like a couple of euros for a bus ticket or some other support. If the person helps and gives of the little they have, the content creator reveals that they are actually planning to give them money or something bigger. This is also related to the idea that help must be earned. Morottaja sees it as a positive that people

August 26 - September 9, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 3

are reminded of the importance of kindness. Something good can come from friendliness and helping others. “It is needed at this time. We have forgotten how to show compassion toward other human beings,” she says. At the same time, she thinks that the content is problematic, not only in terms of its solution models, but also from the viewpoint of intentions and power structures. Morottaja reminds us that a person who is indebted to an influencer may agree to the publication of a video, especially when something unexpected happens, but not everyone necessarily understands what they are agreeing to. Most major content creators don’t say at the start that they are filming the encounter but claim that they will ask permission to publish it afterwards. Even if that is the case, how many people would dare to refuse after receiving help? Or understand how much publicity a shopping spree at Target will get? Morottaja notes that privacy protection and dignity are often forgotten in these videos. For example, organisations usually have strict rules about how their visitors are presented on social or other media, especially where faces and names are concerned; they seldom publish anything that a severely intoxicated person says because the organisation may regret it later. Journalists also carefully consider what to publish about people in vulnerable situations, especially anything that can identify the person. There are no such limits on social media. The videos on many accounts introduce us to very intoxicated substance users, young people who grew up in orphanages, half-dressed people experiencing homelessness, or people who have just been woken up on the street. From time to time, there is even worse content on social media. Morottaja recalls the so-called “bumfights” that were trending in the early 2000s where people experiencing homelessness were encouraged to fight and the camera was rolling. Something like that would probably be censored to some degree by the major social media channels these days. But emotional clips about kindness are the perfect material for difficult times. When people who have suffered trauma are interviewed without preparation and in surprising situations, they easily say all sorts of things on camera. This provides the kind of social media material that will make anyone cry. And brings more views. But the videos leave you with a tacky feeling. And maybe a large sum of cash to one lucky person, while others are left on the streets.

Translated from Finnish via Translators Without Borders. Courtesy of Iso Numero / INSP.ngo

A FEW QUESTIONS

Q&A with the Unseen Nashville Tour Guides BY JUDITH TACKET T

There is the Nashville we all know and see — a premier tourist destination, the healthcare capital of the United States and a place where more and more businesses move their headquarters. And then there is the Unseen Nashville where people live on the streets, in shelters, and struggle to survive. That’s why The Contributor has launched a new one-mile walking tour in Downtown Nashville where participants can learn from our four trained vendors — Lisa Abell, Keith Doering, Shawn Lesley, and Pedro Lopez — about the Unseen Nashville. Participants will hear their personal stories, get an insight into what it feels like to have no place to go and also talk with our guides about policy issues that affect homelessness in our city and beyond. Unseen Nashville tickets are $20 per person and are available online at thecontributor. org/unseen-nashville-tours. Groups of eight people and more can email lindsey@thecontributor.org to arrange a date and group rate for their tour. What surprises people the most when they take the Unseen Nashville Tour? Shawn: The comment I get the most is that “You don’t look like or act like you were on the streets.” And I really was. And then I let them know that I came from prison to the street. Then it hits them, but they can’t believe that I was in prison. Lisa: Yeah, people can’t believe that someone as articulate as me, that’s a word I hear a lot, could have ever been homeless. And they don’t think about the amount of effort that it takes every day to just survive when you have nothing or very little. So on the Unseen Tour, I’m able to expostulate more on what exactly it was like to go through a day and not have the resources I needed. And how without the help of The Contributor I wouldn’t have been able to get out of the situation I was in. Why should people sign up for a tour? Pedro: To get more understanding of homelessness. A lot of people, maybe they live in a small area and there’s no homeless there. Then they come to the big city, and they see these homeless people and they don’t know their situation. If they knew their situation, they would have a better perspective of homelessness. Because they could be homeless one day in just a blink of an eye. Nobody knows until it happens, and it will happen to some people. Lisa: I think they should also go on the tour in order to get more comfortable with the idea of relating to everybody in their neighborhood and more comfortable with the idea of maybe picking out one person to be of help to. Keith: Basically what’s been said already and [to learn] how hard it is to exist out in the open without any resources. On my tours, I tell them about the noise. You can’t get away from it. You can’t get away from the heat or the cold. And you carry all your belongings all day long everywhere you go. At the end of the tour I want to have a backpack and bags for people to just lift up. And people will get an idea of just how hard it is. You don’t feel like doing nothing if you gotta exist all day long.

me 16 years on the street.

You can’t go looking for jobs because you’re existing and you’re dirty. Nobody will look at you when you go [to a job interview.] And where are you going to hide your stuff? Lisa: If your phone got stolen, how are you going to get a call back about a place to work? Each Unseen Nashville tour covers basic topics, but also gives participants the opportunity to learn about your specific experience. So each tour is targeted to your personal stories and who you are and what your experiences were. Keith: Yeah, because we’re all different. I was homeless downtown in the 1980s in Nashville. So that was different then. We’ve got a range of years between us. I remember the ‘80s downtown. Shawn became homeless in 2008. And Pedro was homeless at a different time. Lisa: I was during COVID. Keith: So we all got our different time and perspectives, and I think that’s interesting to the people, too. Asking each of you, what is your main perspective and takeaway that you want people to hear and learn from your story? Keith: That homelessness is very different now than it was 40 years ago. I wouldn’t be homeless downtown now. My last time when I was homeless briefly for about two months, about 15, 20 years ago, I was out away from downtown in the woods by myself. I could hide my stuff and go out all day. I left in the morning and came back at night. I wasn’t in and out of there all day drawing attention because it was near the population. It was on a wooded hill that nobody went around except for the coyotes and deer, which are gone now because they built an apartment complex on the spot I camped on. Pedro: It was hard, you know, being homeless and having children and being a single father.

I had to work every day to provide for them. And when I couldn’t, when my car broke down, I went to ask for help and they took the kids away. That was devastating. So I had to get that job, work every day and find housing. And then, I got hurt in a steel mill in Texas. I was making over $60,000 a year, then suddenly nothing. How devastating is that? So I came back to Nashville and went to the Mission and The Salvation Army, and I had to build myself back up. Lisa: I can point out that there were a lot of people who became homeless during COVID. [Initially] there was no help forthcoming for those who were already homeless, even though [President Joe] Biden got in there as soon as he could and put in a [moratorium where landlords were] not allowed to kick people out of their apartment because they couldn’t pay. But right before that, a whole bunch of people got dumped off onto the street. The other thing is, I lost community support because I supported a rape victim. So I had to turn to what friends were left in Nashville that I hadn’t seen in over 10 years. But there was no room for me anywhere, there was not a place for me to stay. I did have people who cared, but they didn’t have very much in the way of solutions for me. Lisa also spoke about feeling unsafe as a woman: It was that feeling of not just being vulnerable as a woman but being taken advantage of as a woman. Shawn: I got let out of prison with $75 to my name and nowhere to go. The first thing you think about is getting somewhere to eat trying to survive. But when it’s gone, you’re looking for a job. But not only did you have to have an ID [to get a job], which I didn’t, but you also had to have your social security card. Then they tell you, “Oh, well, you’re a felon. Can’t hire you.” It was a lot to take in when you knew you were a felon, but they wouldn’t even give you a second glance once you tell them that. I was being honest, but honest gave

August 26 - September 9, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 4

What on your tour gets a big reaction from participants? Keith: When I point out where I was actually homeless, because it’s on the way of the tour, and I can point exactly to where I had sweat outside at night. They like to hear about that, and they like to hear about when I got into a hotel; it was $49.95 a week to live downtown. But it wasn’t as hard in the ‘80s as it is now to be homeless downtown. I mean, you could go into the Capitol building and use the bathroom no matter who you were. I mean you could go anywhere in the city and there was a bathroom. You could use the bathroom because there weren’t that many homeless people. And there wasn’t drugs in the ‘80s. Drugs didn’t start until like 1990. It was all alcoholics. If you were homeless, people assumed you were an alcoholic. Will Connelly: I think homelessness [as we know it] started with [President Ronald] Reagan. It took a little while, but Reagan cut HUD funding dramatically. Shawn: I knew about homelessness back then (in the 1980s) because people stayed in the projects — they slept on porches, on the streets, all throughout the projects. I was raised in a house, but I would go to the projects just to play. If you could do one thing in Nashville to fill a gap what would that be? Pedro: The gap I’m talking about is the restrooms. We need to get with the city. They say they were going to help with the restrooms. I haven’t seen them yet, but they talk about it. Lisa: Benches. Benches is a big thing. Keith: Yes, tourists need to sit down too. And tourists need to go to the bathroom. You’re not just cutting the homeless people off when you take that stuff away. You’re cutting your income at the city. Treat your tourists good, too. If you’re helping the homeless, you’re also helping the tourists. Lisa spoke about having more designated, safe places to sleep: I mean, when you have to constantly search out your next place where you’re going to sleep, it doesn’t provide rest from your daily grunt. You can’t have a job and go get a place to sleep at the same time. So if you’ve managed to find a job, that means you’re sleeping outside that night or for many nights in a row because you cannot do both. You cannot provide for a place to sleep at night that asks you to be there at a certain time or stay in line for a place and have a job. Shawn: I just wish people would remember that everyone’s got a story to tell about being homeless. Lisa: I think what Nashville citizens are doing well is starting to ask the questions, how can we solve this for real? Keith: And it can be done. The Contributor’s Executive Director Will Connelly and freelancer and consultant Judith Tackett accompany tour guides on Unseen Nashville Tours to support them and help answer policy and data questions along the way.

PIECES OF POETRY 84

Cause and Effect

Written by Chris Scott Fieselman, Vendor #0015 Cause and Effect … Cause and Effect … And, what did you Expect? You ’de never guess what comes next? From … Cause and Effect … Cause and Effect …

Cause and Effect … Cause and Effect … And, what did you Expect? You ’de never guess what comes next? From … Cause and Effect … Cause and Effect …

KARMA can be a real cruel bitch, When she comes expecting you, To pay for it $ … Those things you chose to do selfishly? And those things you chose to neglect? I didn’t see that one coming? I’ve been there and done that, what’s next? Just Sing this Song to Anybody … To Anyone … The reason it was given? Was to inspire someone who’s living, To Live, to Serve and to Protect.

Words on a Page can be Dangerous? & There’s a big difference between, Famous and In-Famous. You can spend your time Complaining, Or spend your time Explaining. The two are not the same. But … I’m going to keep doing, What I’m supposed to keep doing, “Even If They Don’t Remember My Name” You wouldn’t believe the things that I’ve written? With all of Nashville, Music City, Tennessee, Listening to me sing? What only I could bring? Those Lyrics that were, so regularly Given?

Cause and Effect … Cause and Effect … And, what did you Expect? You ’de never guess what comes next? From … Cause and Effect … Cause and Effect … Standing up for one’s Principles, Does not make one a Very Bad Influence, But I Guarantee, if you’re hanging with me? You will eventually get dirty. When Everything Happens for a Reason, And all things have, A Time, & A Place, & A Season. Talking about the Work doesn’t get it done. Doing the Work gets it done. & Getting it done is Achieving. So? … Fight the Good Fight, And Look Like You’re Winning? & Sometimes Almost Look Like, You Know What You’re Doing? When the Long Way Around is, The Only Way You’ve Found? To Eventually Find a Way? To Get Through It? … Just Do It? … Cause and Effect … Cause and Effect … And, what did you Expect? You ’de never guess what comes next? From … Cause and Effect … Cause and Effect … They promise me that, they will pay me back? There’s a whole lot of what I can say, I’ve not got, But, Thank God, there’s so little I lack. Extravagance … Extravagance … And Lessons Learned from Experience, The Words of a Prophet that may be, Far better off, If they had never been penned. It’s got to be something Chris Scott said. Something that I remember I read, That I just can’t seem to forget. That now, seems to make Perfect Sense …

Cause and Effect … Cause and Effect … And, what did you Expect? You ’de never guess what comes next? From … Cause and Effect … Cause and Effect … They never can say, that they never have heard. There once was a day, that I spoke those words? Is it Necessary? … Is it Truthful? … Is it Kind? … Mix that with Rhythm, Reason and Rhyme … And then, leave something behind, For someone to eventually find? They say … “They Don’t Write Them Like That Anymore” And … “Just, Who In The Hell, Do You Think You Are?” Nashville needed a Hero, and I needed to look the part. “The Contributor” offered me, a Bi-weekly Opportunity, To share a small Piece of My Heart. & That’s a Start … Cause and Effect … Cause and Effect … And, what did you Expect? You ’de never guess what comes next? From … Cause and Effect … Cause and Effect … What does it take to lead the way? Live each and every single day, According to Christian principles? What does it take to be convincing? And get others to listen to what you say? The steps that I take, the moves that I make, All the regrets and all the mistakes, And a contentment that knows, How to bend and not break, Might not make much of a difference, But then again? It just may … Cause and Effect … Cause and Effect … And, what did you Expect? You ’de never guess what comes next? From … Cause and Effect … Cause and Effect …

THEME: FICTIONAL DETECTIVES ACROSS device 1. Invitation request, 56. Vietnam neighbor acr. 57. Bald eagle’s home 5. Workout unit 59. Bother 8. Prohibit 60. Highland tongue 11. Affirmative re61. Get checkmated sponse 62. Cribbage piece 12. Type of lure, pl. 63. Like certain nurse 13. Small silvery fish 64. Ginger cookie 15. Seed covering 16. Gumbo vegetable DOWN 17. Like Siberian win- 1. Shag rug ters 2. Lord’s worker 18. *”Murder, She 3. Colorado skiing Wrote” amateur sleuth destination 20. Descartes’s “there- 4. Mucus in lungs fore” 5. Adherents of Sikh21. *Apparition investi- ism gated in a Scooby-Doo 6. Wading bird cartoon 7. Russia’s 1917 abdi22. ____ Air in L.A. cator 23. *Arthur Conan 8. Titanic’s inanimate Doyle’s detective foe 26. Deposit, in Paris 9. “The Sun is ____ a 30. “Wheel of Fortune” Star” purchase (2 words) 10. Unknown power 31. Always, in Rome 12. Humorous 34. “She ____ blue 13. Blind followers velvet...” 14. *Raymond Chan35. From then on dler’s hardboiled 37. Am is to I as ____ detective is to we 19. Not those 38. Prison-related 22. Quilting gathering 39. International Civil Aviation Organization 40. Window-shop 42. “He ____ and drank the precious words...” 43. Announce 45. *Agatha Christie’s Hercule 47. Ryder Cup participant 48. Fern leaf 50. Charitable contribution 52. *”The Pink Panther” Inspector 55. Diver’s breathing

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23. Orthodox Judaism adherent 24. Chilled (2 words) 25. Cancer-treating machine, acr. 26. *Carolyn Keene’s amateur sleuth 27. Navigational aid 28. Inspiration for poets and musicians 29. Get a new tenant 32. Stud’s companion 33. Trained instructor at a country club 36. *Peter Falk’s Lieutenant 38. Lowly workers 40. Lingerie item 41. *Nick to Nora in The Thin Man series 44. Analyze 46. Paragons 48. Bell-bottoms bottom 49. Fowl perch 50. Skin problem 51. Miner’s black one 52. Ball of yarn 53. Same as eon 54. Major one in the sky 55. Tree juice 58. Casual affirmative

OPINION

Who Will Ask the Question?

Why Nashville’s homelessness response needs recent lived experience at the decision-making table BY JAMIE VILLEGAS Now that both the Nashville-Davidson County Continuum of Care’s general membership and the Mayor’s Office have completed their selections, the composition of the next Homelessness Planning Council has been determined. I respect the decisions of both the general membership and the Mayor’s Office. This editorial is not an appeal to reconsider those decisions, nor is it an argument that I was entitled to another term. My three years of elected service on that council have concluded, and I remain grateful for the opportunity I was given. My concern is not about the loss of a title. It is about the loss of a particular voice at the decision-making table. Nashville’s Continuum of Care Governance Charter requires that no fewer than five members of the Homelessness Planning Council have current or past lived experience of homelessness. The council satisfies that requirement. But compliance with the letter of a representation requirement is not necessarily the same as fulfilling its purpose. To my knowledge, almost none of the council members who satisfy that requirement have personally experienced homelessness within the past five years. Their experiences remain real, valuable and deserving of respect. The passage of time does not erase what they endured or diminish the wisdom they bring. But recent lived experience provides something different. Nashville’s rental market, shelter system, Coordinated Entry process, encampment response, transportation network, service providers, documentation requirements and pathways into housing continue to change. Someone who navigated homelessness many years ago may deeply understand its trauma and indignity while not having encountered the particular systems and barriers confronting someone sleeping outside or entering shelter today. Historical lived experience brings wisdom, perspective and an understanding of how systems have evolved. Recent lived experience brings immediacy, operational knowledge and direct familiarity with the systems people must navigate now. A strong Homelessness Planning Council needs both. During my three years on the Council, I did not view my responsibility as simply satisfying a lived-experience requirement. I believed my responsibility was to speak directly for people experiencing homelessness, especially when a difficult question needed to be asked. One of my earliest experiences demonstrated why that matters. At my second council meeting in August 2023, I raised concerns about the Tennessee Department of Transportation displacing people living on property within its jurisdiction. I saw people were being uprooted from the places they called home without ad-

“Historical lived experience brings wisdom, perspective and an understanding of how systems have evolved. Recent lived experience brings immediacy, operational knowledge and direct familiarity with the systems people must navigate now. A strong Homelessness Planning Council needs both.” equate time for outreach workers to provide wraparound services or help them prepare. I described those displacements as disturbing and appalling. I asked Office of Homeless Services Director April Calvin whether our local homelessness response system knew when those removals were occurring and whether we were working with TDOT to connect the people being displaced with services. Director Calvin explained that the Mayor’s Office had also expressed concern and said the Office of Homeless Services would communicate the council’s grave concerns to the state. After the meeting, Councilmember Erin Evans, Wendell Segroves, and Pastor Stephen Handy approached me and thanked me for raising the issue. They told me they had wanted the same question asked but had not felt comfortable asking it themselves. That moment stayed with me. I had only recently joined the council. I did not know every custom, relationship, or political boundary in the room. What I did know was that people’s homes were being destroyed and their lives disrupted. To someone removed from homelessness, an encampment displacement may appear to be an administrative action involving state property. To me, the people being displaced were my brothers and sisters. They mattered more than my comfort in the room. My third council meeting, in September 2023, reinforced that lesson. The meeting was held at a police precinct in Madison because our normal meeting locations were unavailable. I arrived late as Calvin was finishing her report and asked to be recognized. In the weeks before that meeting, I had spoken with people staying at Nashville’s interim housing facility in the former Rodeway Inn on Wallace Road. Many of those residents were people I had previously lived alongside at Brookmeade Park. They were not anonymous program participants to me. They were friends, neighbors and family. Residents described troubling conditions and uncertainty about their futures. Some still lacked documents needed to complete the process of obtaining the housing assis-

tance they had been promised. They feared that they might be forced out when their original 12-month period ended, even though many had not yet received the resources necessary to move into permanent housing. I had also observed an environment that felt more institutional than residential. Visitors were required to provide a resident’s full name and room number, check in with security, and be escorted through the property. Residents raised concerns about the physical condition of rooms, the conduct of security personnel and staff, and restrictions affecting trusted community organizations. Colby’s Army — an organization that had played an important role in helping many of us survive at Brookmeade — had reportedly been discouraged from returning to the site. I asked a basic question: what were we doing to ensure that these residents received the documentation, services, housing assistance and humane treatment they had been promised? The question led to an extended public discussion. Calvin addressed the documentation delays and acknowledged that people should not have remained outside for so long without obtaining the basic documents needed to move through the housing system. Most importantly, she publicly committed that residents would not simply be removed from the facility because their original 12-month period had elapsed. They would be allowed to remain as long as necessary while work toward permanent housing continued. That public commitment gave residents a measure of reassurance at a time when many feared they would again be left outside. The discussion also changed the course of my council service. I was invited to speak at a biweekly meeting of service providers about the importance of earning and maintaining the trust of people with lived experience. I spoke about why programs must be designed not merely to deliver services, but to build relationships with people who have often been disappointed or harmed by the very systems that promised to help them. Fox 17 News subsequently interviewed me about my concerns regarding the interim housing facility. I was later quoted again in

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coverage of the closure of the Hermitage encampment. Soon afterward, then-Chair Jaha Martin appointed me to one of the two at-large seats on the Council’s Executive Committee, where I served alongside my colleague Alex Smith. We were both members with lived experience, and we worked to ensure that the perspective of people experiencing homelessness was considered when agendas were developed and decisions came before the Council. That September meeting did not matter because it generated media attention or led to an appointment. It mattered because people living at the interim housing facility needed someone to ask publicly whether the system was keeping its promises to them. That is what recent lived experience can bring to governance. It turns an abstraction into a living picture. It recognizes that a delay in obtaining identification is not merely an incomplete performance measure. It may be the reason someone remains homeless. It recognizes that an encampment closure is not merely the clearing of public property. It is the destruction of someone’s shelter, possessions, support network, and sense of relative safety. It recognizes that an interim housing facility is not successful simply because people are indoors. Residents must also be treated with dignity, given accurate information, protected from mistreatment, and provided a realistic path into permanent housing. People with recent lived experience often know which questions must be asked because they understand the consequences when no one asks them. During my tenure, I also had the privilege of serving as the inaugural Chair of the Housing Opportunities Committee, and I continue serving as one of its Co-Chairs. One initiative that remains especially important to me is the proposal to establish a public housing preference for households and individuals experiencing literal homelessness. The idea did not originate with the Mayor’s Unified Housing Strategy. The Housing Opportunities Committee had already considered and unanimously approved the proposal before the strategy was released. When the Mayor’s Office later issued the Unified Housing Strategy, it included the same basic policy concept: expanding access to permanent housing for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness through formal collaboration between the Office of Homeless Services and the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency. That sequence matters. The committee’s work preceded the report, while the Unified Housing Strategy provided broader recognition and support for the policy direction we had already advanced. The proposal has not yet been adopted by the full Homelessness Planning Council or implemented by the Metropolitan Develop-

FEATURE

ment and Housing Agency. It is expected to return to the Housing Opportunities Committee for a third time before finally being considered by the full council this year. The proposal reflects a straightforward principle: people experiencing the greatest housing instability should receive meaningful consideration for public housing resources capable of ending their homelessness. It also illustrates the difference between merely having lived experience represented and allowing lived experience to drive policy. Representation should not mean inviting someone to recount a painful story after a proposal has already been written. It should mean giving people with lived experience the authority to identify problems, develop proposals, shape agendas, question officials, vote on decisions and hold institutions accountable. I was not on the council to fulfill a checkbox. I was there to make lived experience actionable. Nashville has taken meaningful steps

toward including lived expertise in its homelessness response. The Continuum created a Consumer Advisory Board. People with lived experience have participated in committees and assumed leadership roles. I continue serving as a senior member of the Consumer Advisory Board’s lived-experience cohort. But progress is not self-sustaining. A governing body can satisfy a numerical representation requirement while gradually losing the immediacy that made the requirement necessary in the first place. Nashville should consider ensuring that at least one of the council positions designated for lived experience is held by someone who has experienced homelessness within the previous five years. That person should receive the practical support necessary to participate fully, including help with transportation, technology, scheduling, preparation and leadership development when needed. Nor can one person represent every form of homelessness. The experiences of a young adult leaving foster care, a family staying in a

motel, a survivor fleeing domestic violence, a veteran living in an encampment and a person entering permanent supportive housing may differ substantially. That is an argument for broader representation, not less. My service as an elected member of the Homelessness Planning Council has ended, but my commitment to this work has not. I continue serving through the Housing Opportunities Committee and the Consumer Advisory Board, and I remain prepared to support the council, the Office of Homeless Services, service providers, advocates, and people experiencing homelessness wherever my contribution is useful. I respect the selections made by the Continuum’s general membership and the Mayor’s Office. The question now is not whether those decisions should be reversed. The question is what the newly constituted council will do to keep itself connected to people navigating homelessness today. Who will ask the question that others in

the room want asked but do not feel comfortable asking? Who will recognize when a process that once worked no longer reflects current conditions? Who will know which shelter rules, transportation barriers, documentation requirements, housing searches and service gaps are confronting people right now? Who will ask whether a policy can actually be followed by someone without housing, reliable transportation, secure document storage, consistent access to technology or confidence that the system will keep its promises? And who will speak directly to power without fear when people’s homes, dignity, safety and lives are at stake? People who have experienced homelessness often understand what it means to have nothing left to lose and everything to gain. That perspective should not frighten a governing body. It should strengthen it. The best homelessness policy is not merely written for people experiencing homelessness. It is written — and governed — with them.

On Chaos Gardening BY LINDSEY LONGORIA

Sometimes I wonder, if when other people say they “love chaos gardening,” we have the same definition, or if somewhere along the way, I’ve lost the plot. I wonder if they, too, are on all fours in their garden beds settling territory disputes between potatoes and pumpkins. If their yard is covered in rogue tomato plants growing amongst the poke weeds, or vice versa? Do everyone’s ancestors refuse to leave them alone, because they planted marigolds for el Día de los Muertos one time, and now a third of every year is painted orange and yellow from their self-seeding prowess? If when their Mexican predecessors came to this land and were tasked with picking the white man’s crops, they ever envisioned a day when their offspring would do this as a way to “relax.” I don’t weed often, so I cannot clip cilantro without enduring a dozen mosquito bites and

paper wasp jump scares. Most of my tomatoes are consumed by my dog whose favorite part of every day is running to snatch them right off the vine. I share freely, so sometimes I look out the window and find my neighbors in my yard foraging. Nothing is sacred here. Perhaps, everything is sacred here. Perhaps fried okra and pickled peppers are the keys to the kingdom. Perhaps I’m not reinventing the wheel of neighborliness, but at least I’m co-laboring against a disconnected world. When I see the self-appointed mayor of our street taking a stroll, I trust he’s looking out for me and my jungle, rather than promoting surveillance in a world that too often prioritizes data centers over delicata squash. My other neighbor once invited me to join the Tennessee Master Gardeners’ Program. To

the surprise of no one who knows me, I missed the application deadline. I also missed the ideal planting window for every seed I decided to sow this year. Don’t tell them though. They haven’t let it deter them. And I wonder if wisdom is passed down from those who are experts in their fields, those who came before me, those who call me their own and maybe even the dirt itself. The dirt which doesn’t mind that I am constantly digging out pieces of plastic from it because I lined my beds with cardboard boxes and didn’t diligently remove the tape and labels like I know I should. The dirt which remains caked under my nails and on the soles of my feet, because when you stand on holy ground, there is no better way to express your gratitude than by removing your shoes.

I wonder if milkweed and honeysuckle are my offerings to the divine. If the crows I’ve befriended know I can see the entire galaxy in the way the light reflects from their glossy black coats. If this is chaos, then I wish it for everyone. If this is chaos, perhaps we have been too safely ordered. We have stayed in our own lanes, rather than meandering along wherever we can reach, like the thriving pumpkin vine I once thought was compost. Maybe in the chaos, we are reborn, able to see what we couldn’t see before. May we all live in a chaos garden world — where zucchini stems are flutes, the thump of a ready watermelon provides the bass, and the way the wind whistles through the overgrown weeds reminds us that maybe perfection isn’t a proper measure for a life well lived.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT

S O UR C E : UR B A N IN S T I T U T E ’ S UP WA R D M O B IL I T Y F R A ME W O R K

Learn More About Upward Mobility BY JUDITH TACKET T

I like to observe people’s faces when one of our Unseen Nashville tour guides (see page 4) explains that most of us are just one paycheck away from homelessness. Unfailingly, the reaction is incredulity. People usually do not believe that homelessness would ever happen to them. Until it does. “With 57 percent of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, the reality for many is that one unexpected crisis can lead to homelessness,” writes Cheryl Hamilton-Hill in a recent article by the Better Magazine, a publication of the Make It Better Foundation. The younger generations, including Millennials and Gen Z, are more likely to live paycheck to paycheck. Specifically, 72 percent of Gen Z and 65 percent of Millennials reported that they fit into this category, based on an article in Moneywise. In another article published in USA TODAY in early August, Daniel de Visé reported that 47 percent of American workers doubt they will ever be able to fully retire. People still don’t think homelessness could happen to them largely because of the image we have of homelessness. We still think of people on the streets and in shelters as homeless — the proverbial man pushing a shopping cart down the street. With that

image in our heads, too many of us truly think that we will never go from our home to living on the streets. But homelessness is often not linear. People first tend to find places with family and with friends — that’s what we call doubled-up situations where individuals or families don’t hold their own lease. They may stay in a motel for a time, go back to sleep on someone’s couch, and so on. Shelter and streets are the place for people who have lost those connections to family and friends who no longer can help them. Upward Mobility Thinking more about how upward mobility can help truly focus on homelessness prevention. In the homelessness field, the struggle has been to help people obtain and maintain housing long-term. With limited resources and political pressure, homelessness resources largely have been invested on getting people off the streets by all means. In short, this makes homelessness invisible. In that race to make homelessness unseen, we overlook what it means to truly invest in people to ensure they have the tools to move up before they are ever seen on the streets of

our neighborhoods or in shelters. Upward mobility is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the capacity or facility for rising to a higher social or economic position.” One perspective on upward mobility focuses on the effort to help individuals and families’ move up from extreme poverty, and the second perspective examines the conditions that local leaders can put in place to measure and improve upward mobility as part of building a healthy community. One program, Economic Mobility Pathways, also known as EMPath, is a Boston-based nonprofit that has developed tools to disrupt poverty and focus on upward mobility. Their approach is built on a strong mentorship model. As part of that, they created a tool called Bridge to Self-Sufficiency ®, a visual, printed one-page grid that allows participants to make decisions across different areas in their lives and set goals for themselves, while it simultaneously helps mentors to assess where a family or individual stands in their upward mobility process. For example, a single mom may understand that in order to increase her income, she needs to go back to school. But going back to school is hard if she is suffering from

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depression, her child needs special attention, and she is forced to move to a shelter. EMPath argues that “all problems are interconnected, and none can be remediated without attending to the others.” The Bridge to Self-Sufficiency® takes that interconnectedness into account and is based on five pillars that cover the essential areas of everyone’s life to ensure well-being. Those five pillars are: Family Stability (housing and family); Health & Well-Being (physical & mental health and networks), Financial Management (debts and savings), Education & Training and Employment & Career. As people work on their own goals, they build each pillar and strengthen the overall bridge to success and self-sufficiency. Having this outlined on a single piece of paper helps guide the conversations between people and their mentors. The key to a successful mentoring process is that participants set their own goals. EMPath believes that everyone knows their own strengths and their life circumstances better than the mentors (or anyone else for that matter) do. Plus it increases self-motivation when people are able to outline their own path forward. The mentor helps them

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think through the decision-making process to ensure they don’t take too big of a bite out of the problem they try to solve and choke on it, so to speak. Mentors help prioritize, strategize around barriers, and think through potential resources to tap into. They also refocus people when challenges occur and help them redirect when a decision did not work as intended. If people do not reach their own goals within the timeframe they outline, there are no punitive consequences. Instead, together the individual or family reflect with their mentor on what happened and how to move forward in a different way. Ultimately, the goal is to set goals under each of the five pillars to break their cycle of poverty and move to a higher level in the upward mobility process. Ultimately, the Bridge to Self-Sufficiency ® aims to help individuals and families be able to: • Pay for their own housing; • Fully engage in work, school, and family life; • Rely on networks to provide useful advice, guidance, and support; • Have no debt other than mortgage, and/ or car loans; • Have savings to cover at least three months’ expenses; • Have a bachelor’s or higher degree; and • Have a job with earnings that are equal to or greater than the area’s living wage. Learn more at empathways.org. Now I’d like to shift to the Urban Institute’s Upward Mobility Framework, which outlines ways that local leaders can influence upward mobility for all people, “especially those his-

“People still don’t think homelessness could happen to them largely because of the image we have of homelessness. We still think of people on the streets and in shelters as homeless — the proverbial man pushing a shopping cart down the street. With that image in our heads, too many of us truly think that we will never go from our home to living on the streets.” torically excluded from prosperity” (https:// upward-mobility.urban.org/framework). In this framework, upward mobility is defined through the interconnectedness between: • Dignity and belonging, which stems from the ability of people to be able to contribute to their family, work, and community so that they feel valued; • Economic success, that allows for an adequate income; and • Power and autonomy, which ensure people have control over their own lives that allows them to have choices. The Upward Mobility Framework also recognizes that when community leaders want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to move upwards, we need to confront longstanding and ongoing racism that is “built into policies,

processes, institutions and culture,” according to the Urban Institute. If we do not address racial inequities, we will continue to create barriers that “block people’s economic success, power and autonomy, and dignity and belonging.” What can policy makers, nonprofits and other civic organizations do to increase upward mobility? The National Conference of State Legislatures published an article by Heather Wilson in 2023 that offers some ideas for state legislatures to address economic security and mobility. States, for example, can implement policies to reduce benefits cliffs. A benefits cliff describes the moment when a family earns a higher wage and due to the increase in pay, they abruptly lose their public benefits all at once, leaving them with a net

Kid’s Corner Created by Mccollonough Ceili

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loss of household income. Therefore, benefits cliffs can cause workers to turn down promotions or overtime work and essentially disincentivize upward mobility of families. States can create policies and rules to ameliorate benefits cliff by extending public benefits and adjusting them whenever possible. Tenant protection measures can help avoid housing loss and when coupled with proactive support services to help stabilize families in their housing as outlined in the approach that EMPath uses with their mobility mentoring approach utilizing their Bridge to Self-Sufficiency ® model. Research has also shown that creating mixed-income neighborhoods supports upward mobility in that children from low-income families have shown to be more likely to earn more as adults and escape poverty when they grow up in economically diverse communities. And a final example I’d like to share is that states can ensure quality education is affordable and accessible for more people, which would significantly increase their ability to get a college education, leading to potential increases in earned incomes. Upward mobility is on life support and governments at all levels, nonprofits and the business community would do well to think in collaborative and interconnected ways that don’t shy away from tearing down and rebuilding our current systems that are clearly designed to increase the gap between rich and poor rather than ensure equal opportunities for people willing and wanting to learn, work and thrive.

COVER STORY

Patr ons at the Club Del Mor occo. COURTESY OF COUNTRY MUSIC HALL OF FAME ® AND MUSEUM

2417 Jefferson Street Open Again The Band Concurrence Shows How Music Can Transcend Destruction B Y E M I LY S T E I N H I L B E R On the Harbor Stage at the 2026 Newport Jazz Festival on July 31, bassist Greg Bryant and pianist Paul Horton of Concurrence were playing their way through the history of North Nashville: the clubs and communities that once surrounded Jefferson Street, the construction of Interstate 40 through them and the musical possibilities that disappeared with the physical places that had sustained them. The pair were showing that what is gone can still have life in music. Halfway through the duo’s Newport Jazz Festival debut set, Bryant asked the audience to consider where they were standing. Fort Adams had served as a summer White House during Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidency, which meant that 70 years after Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, a Black bassist from Nashville was standing on grounds associated with his presidency, performing music about what happened when the interstate system reached North Nashville. The historical symmetry is almost indecently tidy. The actual history was not. There was another chronology folded into the coincidence: the Newport Jazz Festival had already begun. George Wein established the festival in 1954, two years before Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act and several years before the federal government approved Nashville’s proposed I-40 route through North Nashville. Jazz was becoming institutionally important enough to gather around, present and preserve at Newport while, during the same historical period, the physical geography supporting Black musical life elsewhere could still be treated as expendable.

The contradiction is difficult to ignore: America was learning how to commemorate Black music while remaining perfectly capable of building through the places that made it. Eisenhower did not personally draw I-40 through Jefferson Street, and blaming one presidential signature would obscure the state and local decisions that determined where Nashville’s concrete actually went. Federal legislation enabled a national interstate system; planners chose its local path through a city already structured by segregation and unequal political power. In North Nashville, that path cut through a Black commercial, residential, educational and cultural district generations had built around institutions including Fisk University, Tennessee State University and Meharry Medical College. And at 2417 Jefferson Street, The Del Morocco opened in 1935 under Theodore “Uncle Teddy” Acklen and operated for more than three decades. Students from Fisk, Tennessee State and Meharry were among its patrons; Jimi Hendrix and Billy Cox passed through with the King Kasuals. People came to drink, dance, socialize, hear bands and participate in the ordinary nighttime life through which a musical culture becomes a musical culture. Acklen’s son later described the Jefferson Street interstate exit as running through the place where the Del Morocco’s front door once stood, a detail that changes the scale of the history. The New Era Club survived differently. William “Soo” Bridgeforth opened it in 1939 and eventually operated at 11th and Charlotte, where Etta James recorded Etta James Rocks

the House over two nights in September 1963. Interstate construction displaced that location too, and Bridgeforth moved the club again. That intersection carried an uncomfortable familiarity for me. I had lived in Nashville for years and worked in talent booking, moving through that part of the city without knowing Etta James had recorded a live album there, but that personal ignorance turned out to be considerably less interesting than the system capable of producing it. “The people in Nashville didn’t even know,” Bryant told me later, describing what he encountered while researching Concurrence’s 2024 release Indivisible: musicians who knew little about what had happened and others who carried pieces of the history without understanding its scale. Here the story becomes more uncomfortable: Nashville, in fact, is exceptionally good at remembering music. The city’s cultural identity and a substantial part of its tourism economy depend upon the proposition that musical geography matters: rooms, studios, stages and addresses can acquire significance because somebody recorded something there, played something there, wrote something there or stood behind a microphone there decades ago. Nashville does not need to be convinced that something cool happening at some random spot can make a place sacred. Or historic. Or anything really. The question is of the places allowed to remain unavoidable. Jefferson Street was not vacant land awaiting useful infrastructure. It belonged to someone.

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A larger Black commercial, educational, residential and cultural district shaped partly by the restrictions segregation imposed on where Black Nashvillians could live, shop, study, socialize and hear music. Businesses, churches, homes and clubs grew there because people built a community within — and despite — the boundaries imposed around them. When I-40 was constructed through North Nashville, more than 600 homes, 27 apartment buildings and six churches were demolished; streets were severed and residents separated from businesses, schools and one another. Nashville’s own public-health work has since acknowledged the lasting institutional harm highway construction caused the city’s African American community. The highway did not go through nothing; it went through something people had spent generations building. Once Bryant and Horton understood more fully what had occupied that geography, Indivisible began reaching beyond what an archive could recover. They started asking a stranger question: what would these places sound like if they had continued? “I tried to put myself in the place of the band playing, [and] the patrons,” one of them told me when we sat down behind the meeting tent after the Newport set. An archive can establish that the Del Morocco stood at 2417 Jefferson Street; it can preserve photographs and advertisements, recover names, document ownership and tell us who played there. But an archive cannot tell Paul Horton what the band would be playing at the Del Morocco tonight. There is no tonight there.

COVER STORY

P H O T O C O UR T E S T Y O F NE W P O R T J A Z Z F E S T I VA L F O UND AT I O N Concurrence composes directly and entirely into that absence. “Groovin at the Del Morocco” moves into “Last Call at the New Era,” and then, just when the listener has settled in, the highway gets built. You can hear the plan as day, dear reader: the sequence matters because Bryant and Horton build the clubs audibly before destroying them compositionally, first letting us enter the rooms and enjoy the melodic ease of a place functioning as a place, people gathering, the band playing, the night underway. The Del Morocco gets to groove; the New Era gets a last call. Suddenly, “I-40 Was a Razor” changes the physical character of the music. The arrangement grows denser and more confrontational; percussion builds pressure, cymbals crash through the musical field and rhythmic figures continue pushing forward as sounds accumulate and collide. By then Concurrence has established a social world around the Del Morocco and New Era, giving the composition something to interrupt — and the listener something to lose. The title is brutally precise: a razor need not destroy everything around it to cause damage; its function is separation, cutting through something that had previously been connected. That was what made Bryant’s request at Newport — to consider where we were standing — more than a clever piece of stage banter. Newport is exceptionally conscious of its own ground. Jazz history accumulates everywhere at Fort Adams through artists, debuts, anniversaries, stages, stories and generations returning to a place where previous generations played. Horton mentioned during our conversation that Charles Lloyd had made his Newport debut as a leader 60 years earlier, precisely the

kind of continuity central to Newport’s cultural power: an artist plays here, people remember, another generation arrives, and the history remains attached to the ground. Nashville understands the principle perfectly well. The South is famously invested in memory, inheritance, tradition, preservation and the authority of the past; Black musical history deserves that same reverence. Historians, musicians, residents and institutions have spent decades documenting Nashville’s Black music history, and that work continues. The criticism is not that nobody remembered Jefferson Street — plenty of people did — but that Nashville already understands the cultural, civic and economic power of making musical history impossible to miss. Imagine Jefferson Street receiving that same sustained civic imagination: not simply a marker explaining what disappeared, but investment, programming and stages where another generation could encounter Black Nashville’s musical history as part of the city’s living culture. Forgetting is not always the absence of information. Put information beneath concrete long enough and eventually ignorance begins to look like inevitability. Indivisible listens in the other direction and, fantastically, composes into the silence. “If I did it right, then people would know a lot more about what went down in North Nashville than people knew,” Bryant said. He was talking about playing bass: composition through bass notes, through an instrument whose very job is so often to ground everything happening around it. For Horton, that movement through time comes partly through the blues, which he described not as a historical artifact but as a musical language capable of communicating backward and forward at once.

“If you can tap into the blues, then you’re making music that’s gonna connect with everybody,” Horton said. He continued: “It reaches back and communicates something that you’re not familiar with because it’s reaching so far back in time, but it’s also sending and communicating with the future in a very weird way that you can’t really put into words.” The past and future do not remain neatly separated in music: when a musical room disappears, we lose what happened there; when a community is interrupted along with it, we also lose what would have happened next. Collaborations of musicians who never met there, sounds that never developed inside that particular room, audiences that never gathered again. Traditions that never had the opportunity to mutate, misbehave, age, modernize, reject themselves or begin again. How many other American musical futures were interrupted this way, and what are we still not hearing because the rooms, neighborhoods and relationships necessary to produce them were dismantled before their possibilities could become sound? And yet here was Concurrence at Newport Jazz festival 2026, playing toward them. In conversation, the group told me that listeners approached them, including people who had not known the history beneath Indivisible. One woman, they recalled, learned what the album concerned and told them she could not get it out of her mind. “That’s mission accomplished, I guess.” Bryant said. Near the end of our conversation, the two presented the idea at the center of the project. “Music, [as a] living organism, it is a living

August 26 - September 9, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 11

memorial to those places, to those ancestors who were there,” they explained. “We don’t need, you know, [a] … placard in the ground — that’s not what this is — this is [music] a static situation.” Horton continues: “This is a song that we have [now], a living memorial.” A living memorial. The phrase continues the history with music. Indivisible is not a substitute for justice in any sense, justifying the poetry maybe but that’s for later. Poetic justice is sweet and slow and awful. Music cannot return property. It definitely cannot change an interstate highway. What music can do is refuse that destruction equates to silence. A monument asks us to look at what survived. Indivisible asks us to listen to what did not. And “what did not” includes more than the Del Morocco and New Era; it includes their unrealized living rooms, a child’s tomorrows. The concrete of a highway begins to look inevitable with time; while the homes, businesses, churches, stages, front doors and ordinary evenings that preceded it become harder to imagine. Bryant and Horton refuse that. The north Nashville imagery and composition move the audience from an address into a world building composition of musical brilliance and storytelling. In fact, this audible expression of North Nashville traveled hundreds of miles to Newport, Rhode Island. A historic moment — and iconic festival — audiences gathered on loaded soil to consider the ground beneath its own feet. And suddenly 2417 Jefferson Street has a tonight. The future becomes audible beside a past it was never allowed to have. For the length of Indivisible, 70 years into the future, Concurrence puts the address back on the marquee. In fact, band’s playing. Come on in.

UPCOMING

EVENTS Saturday, August 8 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Timothy Johnson

Demetria Kaladimos

Robert Neyland The West Point Engineer Who Built Tennessee Football

Wednesday, August 12 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Music for Seniors

Free Daytime Concert with Wineland & Friends

Thursday, August 20 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Jeff Sellers

Stories in Stone:

African American Contributions to the Construction of the Tennessee State Capitol

Saturday, September 12 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Joe Pagetta

Katie Peterson

The Apostle of Tennessee: The Indefatigable Life and Ministry of Father Aloysius Orengo

August 26 - September 9, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 12

VENDOR WRITING

September 10

PAINTING AND STORY BY BILL B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR This year will mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks of 2001. No doubt that day will be befittingly marked by nationwide remembrance, public ceremonies and acts of service honoring victims and first responders. But to me what is equally important is the day before. September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day. This is a day that was established in 2003 to emphasize that suicide is preventable through awareness, compassion and coordinated action. According to the latest numbers, 1,271 Tennesseans died by suicide in 2023. If any of you have ever been affected by this, you can testify that hindsight is not always 20/20, but it will bring a lifetime of regret. Those coulda, woulda, shoulda moments will be replayed in your head for a lifetime.

Montana Joe Stevens, Part 2 BY ELEANOR S., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

Like I wrote before, it wasn’t the heart condition that killed my daughter, Montana Joe Stevens. She and her boyfriend were living in a van that she got two months before everything happened. They had just got a motel for the night and decided to go out drinking. They were already high on meth and alcohol. They were headed to the bar. He was driving and arguing with her. There was four people in the van altogether. He was speeding. She was the only one who didn’t have a seatbelt because it didn’t work.

He ended up hitting four cars and flipping over and landing in a parking lot. She was the only who who got killed. I went to court a year later because he was on the run. They finally caught him. He only got 14 years for killing my daughter. I keep having to let them know not to let him out on probation. I found out later on he was related to some of the lawyers that were on his side. So tell me this? Is that a mistrial? It will be four years on January 4 next year. She had just turned 22 when she got killed. She would have been 26 on December 9.

A Nation Founded on Christianity? BY MARK N., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

In 1985, my neighborhood was a safe haven. Children could play outside and parents would not worry about their wellbeing. Two years later crack came from out of the sky, supposedly. What was this strange drug? In the 1970s marijuana was the hardest drug around with side effects being the munchies. Who delivered this nightmare to a quiet neighborhood where youth could ride bikes all night long? Look it up. It was the government turning people into crackheads, but why? Was this a good idea? I know it’s not but who I’m I? Just a

person watching my neighborhood turn into a hood. Then, if that wasn’t enough, doctors started prescribing opioids to people knowing opioids are very addictive. In conclusion, and my opinion, this is the work of Satan. I wonder how many other countries have delivered poison to its communities. Peter said it best, 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walkers about, seeking whom he may devour.” What do you think? Is it good governing? I guess you have to read in between the lines.

Joke of the Issue

S U B M I T T E D B Y H O W A R D P. , C O N T R I B U T O R V E N D O R On the first day God created the dog. God said, “Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. I will give you a life span of twenty years.” The dog said, “That’s too long to be barking. Give me ten years and I’ll give you back the other ten.” So God agreed. On the second day God created the mon-

key. God said, “Entertain people, do monkey tricks and make them laugh. I’ll give you a twenty-year life span.” The monkey said, “Monkey tricks for twenty years? I don’t think so. Dog gave you back ten, so that’s what I’ll do too, okay?” And God agreed. On the third day God created the cow. “You must go to the field with the farmer

With all this being said, here’s my challenge for everyone. A few days before the 10th, get out a pad and pencil and make a list of the important people in your life that you’ve not spoken to in a while. This could be distant relatives, an old college friend, maybe even your next-door neighbor. On the 10th, simply give them a call or pop by for a visit. Tell them, “Hey we haven’t spoken in a while, and I was wondering what you’ve been up to.” If you ask them, “How are you doing?” I guarantee you they will respond with the preprogramed response of “fine.” (I’m the world’s worst at that.) Instead, ask them open-ended questions like, “What did you grow in the garden this year?” Or, “How old are your kids now?” Get in their business and make them talk to you. If they open up to you, let them talk and most importantly, listen. If they have bad

news, then validate their feelings, tell them, “I’m sorry to hear that” or “oh no, that’s awful.” Statements like that show that you understand the gravity of the situation. Don’t minimize their situation by saying “it’s not a big deal” or “stuff happens.” Remember stress is stress. What might not seem like a big deal to you could be huge for someone else. Ask them what you can do to help. Let them know they’re not alone. Like I said, the most important thing is to listen. Make sure before you hang up the phone that they know you care and are available to them. Anyway, there’s your challenge. And I want to close by offering my apologies for the utterly depressing picture I painted to accompany this article. I tried to paint something that represented depression, and well … I succeeded.

County Fairs

BY SHORT Y R., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR I like the little farm area where they teach you where your vegetables are grown. They have little barrel cows and horses you can ride on. They have cut outs where you can put your face through and you can be Mr. and Mrs. Farmer. The shows at the grand stands are so cool. My favorites are the horse shows, the tractor pulls the motorcycle races and the beauty shows. There are also a lot of rides. I can’t do the rides no more, but it’s cool to watch my grandkids ride. I enjoy all the lights and the music. For me it is better if they play

old rock or the golden oldies. All the food smells good, but is too expensive. I usually eat at the house. I usually just get one drink. The games for prizes are too high. They trick you into spending way too much money for a little prize they got for maybe a dollar. I like the grist mill where you can make cornmeal. The little building where you register for free prizes and can get free pens, fans, etc. When you go to the fair, leave all your money at home so you don’t spend it.

Hated Chores

BY L OR A V., CON T RIBU T OR VENDOR Do you have any chores you hate? The ones you put off as long as you can? I hate cleaning out my closet, washing the windows and cleaning out the fridge. To get through these chores I listen to music. That gets me up and going. If you can’t listen to music just hum your favorite song. Another thing you can do is daydream you’re on a beach with a good looking man serving you cool adult drinks. Or think about the grand kids you love very much

all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves, and give milk to support the farmer. I will give you a life span of sixty years.” The cow said, “That’s kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. Let me have twenty and I’ll give back the other forty.” And God agreed again. On the fourth day God created man. God said, “Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. I’ll give you twenty years.” Man said, “What? Only twenty years? Tell you what, I’ll take my twenty, and the forty

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and miss every day. Even being homeless you have chores. If you sleep outside you have to pick up all your things you sleep with like pillows and blanket! You’ve got to pick up all your trash. When you’re homeless you got the chore of always down sizing your bags and the stuff you have collected. You have to be able to carry your stuff up and down the street and in and out of buildings. Believe me, it ain’t no fun! I did it before.

the cow gave back, and the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back, that makes eighty, okay?” Okay,” said God, “You’ve got a deal.” So that is why the first twenty years we eat, sleep, play, and enjoy ourselves; the next forty years we toil in the sun to support our family; the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren; and the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone. Life has now been explained to you.

Over 75 Years of Combined Experience.

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406 11th Avenue North, Suite 200, Nashville, TN 37203 visit BartDurham.com • call 615.242.9000 August 26 - September 9, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 14

FUN

HOBOSCOPES VIRGO

It’s still too hot, but something feels different. Better? Like, maybe my nervous system knows that this can’t last much longer. The days are a little shorter and the nights are a little cooler. The leaves across the street are turning a little yellow and blowing off when the wind gusts. It’s still hard to trust it, Virgo. And the sweat on my back reminds me that it isn’t over. But maybe things are letting up a little bit. When you get that feeling, go ahead and lean in. Let the relief be just as real now as the dread was before. You don’t have to deny where you’ve been to appreciate where you’re going.

LIBRA

I’m amazed at how quickly we can get used to change, Libra. Like, when my boss told me that our shop was getting a mechanical bull, I thought he’d gone crazy. Sure, people love the combination of VHS rental and tanning beds that our store provides, but adding a mechanical bull to the mix just seemed insane. And yet, here we are, six months later and I can’t really remember life without it. Still, Libra, I recognize that this tendency can go either way. It’s nice to notice that we can deal with changes, but it may be good to ask yourself if all the things you’ve learned to accept are actually things that are helpful. If not, maybe you could try replacing them. Have you considered a mechanical bull?

SCORPIO

My doctor says I need to make some changes. Of course, I left the room before she could tell me what they are (no spoilers!), but I already have a few ideas. I think first I’m gonna get one of those personalized license plates that says, like, A5TRLGR and start honking my horn and waving at strangers at stoplights. Maybe I’ll finally get that tattoo I’ve been talking about that’s a map of the constellations but incorporating all the moles on my back. And then I could get my own T-shirt cannon and start shooting T-shirts with my logo into local sporting events. What changes do you think you need to make, Scorpio. We can talk about it more after I take this phone call from my doctor.

SAGITTA R IUS

CAPRICORN

My boss got those new glasses that have cameras on the sides and show him updated information about everything he looks at. He said he got them to help keep track of workouts and reminders and that there’s some games he likes. I’m not a big fan, but I’m trying to be nice about it, because I’m pretty sure he’s always recording and I’m not sure if the glasses like me or not. Anyway, Capricorn, I hope you can feel like yourself today around people you trust and care about. I hope you never have to pretend you’re anybody you’re not. And I hope he’s not standing behind me right now.

You know those little “do not eat” packets that come in vitamin bottles and beef jerky and shoes? I think they’re supposed to absorb moisture or something. Well, Taurus, I keep one of those in my pocket all the time. Not because I want to eat it, Taurus, but precisely because I don’t. It reminds me that every moment is an opportunity to make another good decision. When I doubt myself and my ability to organize my time and point my life in the right directions, I just hold that little packet between my thumb and forefinger and remember that if I can decide not to eat that little thing, then I can probably do anything else required of me in this moment.

AQUA RIUS

I don’t really know what I think about reincarnation, Aquarius. But I know that if I’m ever given the option, I’d prefer not to be reincarnated as a male babirusa. The babirusa, as you know, is an Indonesian forest pig that spends its adulthood growing tusks that pierce through the skin above the nose and curve back toward the eyes and forehead. No offence to anybody who is currently a male babirusa, Aquarius, I’m sure there are some enriching things about it. I’ve heard Indonesia is lovely. I just couldn’t personally handle the tusk-thing. It does make me think, though, that not everybody had the opportunities you did, Aquarius. And what can we offer each other but grace (and perhaps a good veterinary dentist)?

PISCES

I’m sorry, Pisces, did you have some questions about my milkshake? Well, it’s strawberry, but you may be surprised to learn that I don’t make it with strawberry ice cream. I take vanilla ice cream and add fresh strawberries and then a little bit of strawberry syrup (OK, more than a little bit) and top with a sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs. And, sure, it’s delicious. But the problem with this and all milkshakes is that by the time you’re done explaining them, they’re nearly gone. It’s just too easy to drink these things too fast! Sometimes you have to decide if you’d rather be understood or enjoy the sensory experience of your own life. I’m gonna go make another one.

ARIES

The television shows I watched in my youth led me to believe adulthood involved a lot of grabbing one’s subordinates by their shirt collars and shouting “I want answers!” Come to think of it, Sagittarius, I’ve still never ended up on either side of that particular situation. But I do realize lately that maybe I’ve become resigned to the notion that I’m not going to get answers. There are so many things now in my brainpile of designated unanswerables. Maybe in the absence of adequate collar-shaking, I’ve given up on getting any answers at all. I think it may be, Sagittarius, that this is a good season for talking through those unanswerables with people you like and respect. You can even just wear a T-shirt if it feels too risky.

TAURUS

In the first sentence, a ping-pong ball will roll across a table and land in a tiny basket. In the second sentence, the weight of the ping-pong ball will lower the basket which raises a lever. In the third sentence, the lever will push a small ball-bearing onto a track and it will follow the track back and forth through a series of turns and loops. In the fourth sentence the ball bearing will knock over a domino which is positioned next to another domino and another. In the fifth sentence the hundreds of dominoes will fall to reveal a sixth sentence: “It’s not your fault, Aries.” In the seventh sentence, the last domino nudges a wind-up toy soldier who lowers a bayonet with a banner that reads “you forgive you.” And in the final sentence, you do.

GEMINI

I used to think I was so different from my parents, Gemini. And it’s true that I’ve had some different experiences and made some difference. choices. But sometimes lately when I’m telling a story or laughing at a joke I feel my face become my father’s face. I doubt anybody else could even see it. He arrives suddenly in the creases between my eyes or the corners of my mouth. And it’s not always comfortable to find him there, but it always tells me something about myself and how I’m responding to the moment I’m in. Who do you find in your own expressions, Gemini? What do they remind you about yourself?

CANCER

You there, Cancer! What day is today? Did I miss it? Did they already pack up the fair? Surely there’s still a few rickety-rides left! There must be a few wandering barkers who will let me throw 3 darts at a wall of balloons for $26! Maybe they haven’t packed-up the last of the petting zoo goats or the final award-winning chicken. Well, if they haven’t, I think we should go. It’s a good day to get out there and see your community from a different angle. Meet me at the first funnel-cake stand after the entrance. You need a change of perspective and an hour in the community-art tent might be just the place to get one.

LEO

Didn’t all this scrolling used to make me feel better? It seems like every third or fourth flick of my finger used to reveal something that would make me laugh or something that would make me feel smarter or something that I’d want to send to you, Leo. But now every other tap is just ads for online marketing courses or slimming shirts or pharmaceuticals. And the rest just makes me feel angry and insecure. Is it possible, Leo, that we could take a step away from all this? Is it possible we were more connected before we were so connected? I’m not sure, but I do know we’re allowed to practice. Take five minutes. Take 10. Don’t even set a timer on that little anxiety machine. Sit still till your finger stops twitching to flick at the air. See how you feel.

Mr. Mysterio is not a licensed astrologer, a registered silica gel handler, or a trained t-shirt cannon operator. Want more? Visit mrmysterio.com Or just give him a call at 707-VHS-TAN1. August 26 - September 9, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 15

VENDOR WRITING

Blessed, but Still Stressed

The Tree

Calls From The Past

BY S. LESTER, CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

BY STELLA S., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

BY TONY D. (GREATFUL RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC)

With everything in this Life, there is a give and a take. Some days I go out and spend, Others, I go out to make. Overlooked, in the midst, is the Man who’s at stake. I’ve been blessed y’all, but I’m still stressed out!

“Hello, Mom?” Are you there? Please answer. “Dad, I got an A in geometry. Are you proud of me?” “Mom, can we go to Grandma’s house?” Calls from the past Will always last My memory remains And no one can take that away. Stay awhile and relax. “Mom, I love you.” “Dad, I miss you?” “Grandma, I’m on my way.” “Honey, how was your day?” Calls from the past. What a blast. I love to remember. It makes my heart full. Full of love, peace and laughter.

*Preface* In the book of Genesis, two trees are mentioned - the Tree of Life, and the tree of the knowledge of evil. Some time back, I came to a crossroads in my life. I was forced to make a critical decision. I was aimlessly wondering down the road that would eventually lead me to death, destruction, and eternal damnation. It lead directly to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was a long, hard, painful road. The other fork in the lane lead to the Tree of Life and eternity in Heaven. That’s the inspiration behind this poem. I sincerely hope it blesses your soul.

I’ve got to cook every day, just to make sure I eat. Tonight it’s rice and beans — since the price of the meat! In the grocery store aisle, I use the EBT. I’ve been blessed y’all, but I’m still stressed out! I’m doing dishes again, Oh Lord, Woe is me! They are piled up as high as the eye can see! Well, at least, where I live, the water’s always free. I’ve been blessed y’all, but I’m still stressed out! I walk to places I go; I get to no where fast! Got to dodge the cars and hope the light will last. When I’m in need of a ride, I use my free Bus Pass! I’ve been blessed y’all, but I’m still stressed out! Every woman I meet seems to be some type of nurse. This here could be a gift, and this here could be a curse. Though, before I pay my bill, Medicare pays first! I’ve been blessed y’all, but I’m still stressed out! They say He won’t add more to you than a man can bear. What they don’t say is: There’s plenty wear and tear! Well now, I cannot complain, yet see it still ain’t fair. I’ve been blessed y’all, but I’m still stressed out! HUUH!

Forks in the Road

BY S. LESTER, CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

Turning left, turning right, making circles untold. How do You behave at forks in the road? Do you do what you feel? Do you follow your nose? Wherever you’re led, It’s the path that You chose. This is what I believe way, way down in my heart: With all of these forks, someone’s been playing Darts! They stick in real deep without leaving a groove. Seems like God must’ve had something to prove!

I’m on a road, I seek a Tree The Tree I seek, shall I see? I see a fork, in this lane One finds freedom, the other, finds pain Should I go left, or should I go right? I seek a Tree, an inner fight Should I go right, or should I go left? The hopeless me has great bereft I took a left, a great mistake My Lord right then, I did forsake I traveled that road, oh so far My soul received, the deepest scar I turned around, and walked away To live again, another day Not left I’ll go, I must go right The Tree I seek, is in my sight It’s straight ahead, I’m almost there! My sky was black, but now it’s fair I’ll have a seat, beneath this Tree Now I’ll tell you, just who I see I see my Lord, He stands right here! I’m peaceful now, I have no fear The Spirit here, cuts like a knife As I sit beneath, the Tree of Life!!!

One thing’s for sure; Any hungry soul knows, that where there are forks there will be spoons and bowls! So, slow down a bit. It won’t hurt to be late. You will still get to dinner, and won’t be on the plate!

Purrfect Pals

BY STELLA S., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

One kitten was smitten and wore mittens. One kitten was lazy like Susan in the kitchen. Two tails swirling and twirling in the night. They’re about to take flight. Purrfect Pals Purrfect Friends Purrfect until the end Swinging and swaying in the rafters. I think they are their furever afters. Laughter and love in the night, oh, what a sight. Felines with feelings and green eyes beaming, seeming to be gleaming and steaming from ear to ear.

“The Tree”

When you Meet People BY DAVID O., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

When you meet people, and they’ve been down and out, think about that song, “I don’t know where my home is.” I don’t know where my phone is. Well, I couldn’t tell if you’re having your usual good day or not, but all I can say for sure is you are special and I know what God has for you. Peace out.

August 26 - September 9, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 16

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda BY A.J. G., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

Shoulda been born in a house. Coulda been born to a stranger. Woulda been born in danger. Shoulda known my father. Coulda known my father. Would I want to know him? Shoulda been a twin. Coulda been a still born. Would I have eaten her? Shoulda been born a hater. Coulda been born a cure for cancer. Would I have really cared? Shoulda just smiled, said hi or no thank you. Instaead, you coulda just been nice but that woulda been too hard for you.

VENDOR WRITING

Project Love Strong

STORY AND PHOTO BY K ATHY C., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR I attended the Project Love Strong Summer Outreach that was held at the New Springs Church parking lot on Gallatin pike on July 18. I wanted to give a very grateful and thankful shout out to all the participants for taking the time out of their weekend to help the people experiencing homelessness with essential items like hygiene products, clothing, food, housing resources, community resources and even hair cuts. But most of all, they shared their love and concern and their time. For me it was an event that really touched

my heart and showed me that there are people that truly care. It gave me hope because being homeless on the streets you see so much meanness and judgmental people. But this event showed me hope and gave me a lot to be grateful for and I really had a great time. Some of the ladies from Project Love Song played music and were line dancing. It was so much more than an outreach, it was filled with hot food, music, dancing, free hair cuts, but most of all love and kindness regardless of what your background was or where you came from.

The Drifter: Honest Work

Brad's Brain Busting Book Cipher

BY BRADLEY B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

After several weeks at the shelter, Merik decided it was time to look for work. He borrowed a clean shirt from the donation room, shaved, and carefully filled out a stack of job applications. The first manager barely glanced at him. “We’re not hiring.” Merik noticed the “Help Wanted” sign hanging in the window as he walked away. The second interview went better until the manager asked for Merik’s address. “I ... I’m staying at the Hope Shelter for now.” The manager’s smile faded. “We’ll call you.” The call never came. Day after day, the pattern repeated. Employers praised his willingness to work, but the moment they learned he was homeless, their attitude changed. Some were polite, but short. Some immediately ended the interview. A few

assumed he would steal or quit without notice. Each rejection chipped away at the confidence he had begun rebuilding. One rainy afternoon, Merik sat outside a hardware store, staring at another rejection letter. An older man pushing a cart of lumber stopped beside him. “Tough day?” Merik let out a tired laugh. “More like a tough month.” The man introduced himself as Walter, the store’s owner. “I’ve been watching you,” Walter said. “You’ve applied here three times.” Merik nodded. “I figured maybe someone would finally give me a chance.” Walter studied him for a moment. “My father was homeless after returning from the war. Nobody would hire him either, until one man finally did, and he worked there for thirty years.” Walter smiled. “That one chance changed his life.” Walter handed Merik a work apron.

“You start today.” Merik stared at it. “You ... you’re hiring me?” Walter nodded. “I’m hiring the man who kept showing up after every rejection. That tells me more about your character than your circumstances.” For the first time in years, Merik earned a paycheck. He swept floors, stocked shelves, and helped customers load heavy supplies into their trucks. The work was hard, but honest. Before long, regular customers greeted him by name. As he locked the store one evening, Walter placed a hand on his shoulder. “People are more than the worst chapter of their lives,” he said. Walking back to the shelter, Merik realized how close he had come to giving up. Sometimes all a person needs isn’t a miracle, it’s just one person willing to believe they could begin again. And sometimes, a single second chance is enough to change the rest of a life.

So I want to give special thanks to New Springs Church for letting them hold the event there and Project Love Strong for making it happen along with Narcotics Anonymous, Support and Feed, All Handzhome, Metro Nashville Police Outreach, Safe Haven, Combs for Kombs, Second Harvest, In God’s Hands, The Hope Bus and Three Star Villains for a very blessed and fun filled day and all y’alls time and effort. It was a very memorable experience for me. But most of all, thank God for all the creations He made.

CREATED BY BRADLE Y B.

Solve the cypher by using "The Drifter" to the left of this puzzle. Solution will be in next week's issue!

“19:3:1 1:6:2 2:1:3 / 2:2:1 17:18:2 18:8:4 18:14:4 19:5:7 10:7:4 / 18:3:6 10:7:4 3:4:4 10:5:4 16:2:1 1:17:8 2:2:4 / 5:9:2 12:6:6 / 19:1:1 19:31:2 11:5:1 10:10:1 / 17:10:3 9:1:1 15:5:3 / 4:12:2 3:2:2 / 1:31:2 4:2:4 10:5:5 7:4:2 9:2:5 . ” — / 2:7:3 17:6:3 16:20:2 9:3:1 15:2:2 17:7:1 12:12:3 / 6:2:5 10:4:1 16:21:4 12:7:5 15:7:1 12:1:4

Last Issue Solution: “Asking for help does not mean you are weak. It means you are wise enough to know you cannot do everything alone.” — Popular modern proverb

Community #5 {The Core} BY MAURICE B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

It’s human nature to become overwhelmed with different religious perspectives, and because of that we can become blind to the similarities of the prophets and their messages. The central message is, 1. Worship Allah/God alone without associating partners with Him. 2. Obey the messenger sent to your people. 3. Live righteously by being honest, just, merciful and faithful. 4. Prepare for the day of judgment, when every person will be held accountable, and that comes from a line of prophethood (Adam, Idris, Nuh (Noah), Hud, Salish, Ibrahim (Abraham), Lut (Lot), lsmail (Ishmael), Ishaq (Isaac), Yaqub (Jacob), Yusuf (Joseph), Shuayb, Ayyub (Job), Dhul-Kifl, Musa (Moses), Harun (Aaron), Dawud (David), Sulayman (Solomon), IIyas (Elijah), Alyasa (Elisha), Yunus (Jonah), Zakariyya (Zechariah), Yahya (John the Baptist), Isa (Jesus) and Muhammad. There are different communities that were

given different laws and ways of living life, while the foundation of faith still remain the same. Picture a mountain with many paths leading upward. At the base of the mountain, the paths look very different. Each has his own language, customs, rituals, clothing, prayers, sacred text and history. As the paths climb higher, they passed through similar landscapes were traditions encourage compassion, honesty, justice, humanity, charity, forgiveness, self discipline and hope. The dividing line is the point where shared moral principles meet distinct theological beliefs. On one side of the line are common human values like kindness, mercy, truthfulness and concern for others. On the other side are the beliefs that distinguish religion, including teachings about God, prophets and ministers, sacred scriptures in the paths to salvation or spiritual fulfillment. To illustrate this, imagine many lamps shining in a dark room. Each lamp has a different design representing a different religion. The

light from each lamp represents virtues that help people live better lives. The lamps differ in appearance, but the light they emit can appear similar. Whether all religions ultimately lead to the same destination is a matter of belief rather than established facts. Different religions answer that question differently. Some teach that their path is uniquely true while others are more open to the idea that truth can be approached in multiple ways. In overall facts, the imaginary final line is that a religion often shares ethical teachings even if they differ in their claims about ultimate truth, the nature of God, religion and the path to salvation or spiritual fulfillment. Today, the consistency of wrong actions have resulted in drawing away from Allah/God’s will and have shown more of our own will in which people struggle. (“Struggle” defined as being locked-up mentally and physically.) The easiest way to solve this is by dealing with our emotions instead of firmly using our intellect. As the social environment of humanity has

August 26 - September 9, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 17

evolved, the structure of focusing on the return to Allah/God has become the last thing in our minds. We overlook the fact that Allah/God does not charge a soul except within its capacity. It will have the consequence of what good it has gained, and it will bear the consequence of what evil it has earned. Each individual’s belief is valid even if it’s only valid to and for their own personal reasonings. That’s what makes us all a whole conscious community, a collective community of good, bad and ugly, a community that thrives, strives and even struggles to achieve to accomplish what LOVE is. Yeah it’s a surprising fact that the actual form of “love” is defined by the actions thereof: compassion, empathy, kindness, and tough as well. Loving from a distance is a part of the cipher, but love is mainly defined by how we perceive the relationship between ourselves and Allah/God and His will. The realization is firmly set that there’s no compulsion within “religion” in which religion is no more than a mere way of living life.

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ABBY R. RUBENFELD Attorney at Law

arubenfeldlaw.com

810 Dominican Drive, Suite 215 Nashville, Tennessee 37228 Telephone: (615) 386-9077 Facsimile: (615) 386-3897

August 26 - September 9, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 18

MOVING PICTURES

Julian Schnabel’s Dante Alighieri film is less than divine BY JOE NOLAN, FILM CRITIC On paper, 2026 looked like an amazing year at the movies. We’re more than halfway through the calendar and not everything has panned out: The Bride — Maggie Gyllenhaal’s 1930s Chicago gangland retelling of The Bride of Frankenstein — should be annulled; Disclosure Day looked more like the Roswell crash, and no one is more surprised than I am that Spider-Man: Brand New Day is my top movie of the year so far. Another highly anticipated 2026 picture was Julian Schnabel’s return to filmmaking with his adaptation of the Nick Tosches novel In the Hand of Dante. Julian Schnabel is one of the most outsized personalities in contemporary art. The painter helped define the Neo-Expressionist movement that gave rise to New York City’s booming art market of the 1980s. As a filmmaker, his biographical portraits of artists like Basquiat (1996) and Vincent van Gogh (At Eternity’s Gate, 2018) established Schnabel as an auteur behind the cam-

era. After nearly a decade away from directing, Schnabel’s In the Hand of Dante delivers a sprawling 153-minute epic streaming on Netflix. The movie scored Schnabel the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award at the Venice Film Festival, given to filmmakers who have made “a particularly original contribution to the contemporary film industry.” In the Hand of Dante is nothing if not ambitiously original. Oscar Isaac pulls double duty in the lead roles, playing Nick Tosches — a 21st-century version of the author of the book the film is based on (Tosches himself passed away in 2019) — and the 14th-century Florentine poet Dante Alighieri. In the contemporary storyline, Tosches is hired by New York mob boss Joe Black (John Malkovich) to confirm the authenticity of and steal a priceless handwritten manuscript believed to be Dante’s original Divine Comedy. As Nick sinks deeper into the criminal underworld, the film travels back and forth

through time to follow Dante himself agonizing over his masterpiece. One of the highlights of the film is its A-list cast. Gal Gadot appears in dual roles as Dante’s muse and wife across both timelines. Al Pacino plays Nick’s Uncle Carmine. Gerard Butler also does double duty as Louie the hitman and Pope Bonifacio VIII. Jason Momoa and Martin Scorsese round out the ensemble, and keep your eyes peeled for a cameo by Spaghetti Western legend Franco Nero. Isaac carries the film with a strong pair of performances, and Pacino and Malkovich both deliver the goods. Even Gadot finds her limited range well showcased by Schnabel and his sometimes-inspired script, co-written with Louise Kugelberg. The film moves between crime thriller, costume drama, and metaphysical odyssey, with themes of greed, faith and eternal love as well as Benjamin Clementine’s score helping to connect the film’s parallel stories. Don’t be surprised if Ro-

August 26 - September 9, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 19

man Vasyanov’s cinematography catches some awards-season buzz alongside Paki Meduri’s production design. Vasyanov’s lensing of Meduri’s built worlds gives viewers some of the best images and most inspired handheld photography of this year at the movies. In the Hand of Dante is one of those films that swings for the fences, but falls short of the bleachers. Strong performances, great lines and gorgeous images are sprinkled throughout. However, they never add up to a coherent whole and they’re not fragmented enough to be truly poetic. There is so much good stuff here that I’m convinced a great edit of this film exists somewhere, but that might be the greatest mystery of them all. In the Hand of Dante is streaming on Netflix. 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 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.

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Año 24 - No. 441

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Nashville, Tennessee

ESCAPADE se prepara para tomar impulso rumbo a Marte

las Blue y Gold regresarán a las cercanías de la Tierra en noviembre para aprovechar la gravedad de nuestro planeta antes de iniciar su viaje interplanetario hacia Marte.

Ilustración: Rocket Lab / NASA

Por Yuri Cunza Editor in Chief @LaNoticiaNews

A casi nueve meses de su lanzamiento, las naves gemelas Blue y Gold de la misión ESCAPADE de la NASA continúan preparándose para una de las etapas más importantes de su recorrido. En noviembre de 2026 regresarán a las cercanías de la Tierra para realizar una maniobra que aprovechará la gravedad de nuestro planeta y las colocará finalmente en ruta hacia Marte. Su llegada al planeta rojo está prevista para septiembre de 2027. ESCAPADE —siglas en inglés de Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers— fue lanzada el 13 de noviembre de 2025 desde Cabo Cañaveral, Florida, a bordo de un cohete New Glenn de Blue Origin. En lugar de viajar directamente a Marte, las dos pequeñas naves iniciaron una trayectoria poco convencional alrededor de una región cercana al punto de Lagrange 2 (L2) del sistema Sol-Tierra. Una ruta diferente hacia Marte Normalmente, las misiones a Marte deben esperar una ventana de lanzamiento favorable, cuando la posición relativa de la Tierra y Marte permite realizar el viaje de manera eficiente. Esa alineación ocurre aproximadamente cada 26 meses.

NASA’s ESCAPADE mission prepares to gain momentum on its journey to Mars.

Dos sondas para estudiar un planeta

En noviembre, las naves volverán a aproximarse a la Tierra. Allí

Dibujo y concepto: Oriana Sánchez Pérez

Las naves geme-