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IN THE ISSUE

LOCALES - ACTUALIDAD - INMIGRACIÓN - TRABAJO - SALUD - CULTURA Y ENTRENIMIENTO

Brenda Wynn, longtime Davidson County Clerk, talks career and postretirement plans.

In this issue vendors write about Room In The Inn, People Loving Nashville, WeGo, ice cream and community.

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Día de Muertos y Halloween: dos tradiciones distintas que conviven en octubre

Cada año, al acercarse el final de octubre, aparecen calabazas, disfraces, altares, flores de cempasúchil y calaveras. Para muchas familias en Estados Unidos, especialmente en comunidades latinas, Halloween y el Por Yuri Cunza Editor In Chief Día de Muertos @LaNoticiaNews parecen convivir en el mismo calendario. Sin embargo, aunque comparten símbolos relacionados con la muerte y ocurren con pocos días de diferencia, no significan lo mismo ni nacieron de la misma tradición.

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En Estados Unidos, ambas celebraciones se han vuelto cada vez más visibles, especialmente en ciudades con importantes comunidades mexicanas y latinoamericanas. Esto también ha generado cierta confusión.

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No toda imagen de una calavera representa Halloween, y no toda decoración relacionada con la muerte pertenece al Día de Muertos. Las famosas “Catrinas”, por ejemplo, forman parte de una tradición cultural mexicana con su propia historia y significado. También es importante recordar que el Día de Muertos no representa de la misma manera a todos los países latinoamericanos. Aunque muchas culturas tienen tradiciones para honrar a los fallecidos, esta celebración, en su forma más reconocida internacionalmente, está especialmente ligada a México.

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En Estados Unidos, Halloween se convirtió principalmente en una fiesta comunitaria y comercial: disfraces, dulces, fiestas, casas decoradas y el conocido “trick or treat”. Para niños y

Day of the Dead and Halloween: Two Distinct Traditions That Share October

adultos, suele ser una ocasión para jugar con el miedo, la fantasía, lo sobrenatural y la imaginación.

época colonial española y las celebraciones católicas de Todos los Santos y los Fieles Difuntos.

El Día de Muertos, por otro lado, tiene profundas raíces mexicanas y combina tradiciones indígenas mesoamericanas con elementos introducidos durante la

La conmemoración se observa principalmente el 1 y 2 de noviembre, aunque los altares y preparativos pueden comenzar días antes. Su propósito no es asustar ni celebrar la muerte de manera macabra. Es, ante todo, una forma de recordar a quienes ya no están.

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Una de las ideas centrales del Día de Muertos es que las personas continúan viviendo mientras permanecen en la memoria de quienes las amaron. Por eso, la fecha puede ser emotiva, solemne, alegre y familiar al mismo tiempo.

Para algunas familias cristianas en Estados Unidos, las imágenes de esqueletos o altares pueden inicialmente resultar desconocidas. Sin embargo, entender el contexto cambia la percepción: el Día de Muertos está centrado en la memoria, la familia, el respeto por los antepasados y la continuidad del amor después de la muerte. Halloween y el Día de Muertos pueden coincidir en fechas y compartir ciertos símbolos visuales, pero cuentan historias diferentes. Uno juega con el miedo y la imaginación. El otro transforma el recuerdo en una celebración de amor. En una ciudad diversa como Nashville, conocer la diferencia también es una oportunidad para comprender mejor a nuestros vecinos, sus tradiciones y las distintas formas en que las familias recuerdan, celebran y mantienen viva su historia. Envíenos sus sugerencias por correo electrónico: news@hispanicpaper.com|615-582-3757

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N O N -T O X I C T H E O L O G Y

You Have the Body

What may Tennessee do in our name? BY REVEREND MOTHER JEANNIE ALEXANDER Since the attempted execution of Christa Pike, I have been thinking a great deal about the concept of habeas corpus, literally “you have the body.” From a legal perspective, a writ of habeas corpus requires a government authority to bring an imprisoned person to court and prove the legal basis for their detainment. Once the legal basis for detainment is proved, what then may be done to the body in our name, in the name of justice, in the name of retribution? After Christa Pike’s body was strapped down, the Tennessee Department of Correction spent more than an hour torturing her in an attempt to kill her. You have the body, what then may you do? In Tennessee you may ignore all arguments by medical experts that the state determined method of execution will likely result in torture and a prolonged death. You may take a woman who poses no threat and offers no resistance to her death and inject her over and over and over again, resulting in horrible and visible injuries. You have the body, what else may you do? You may tell emergency services, once called to intervene after the spectacle of prolonged torture for over an hour, that emergency services are not needed and deny any need for life saving first responders, and even deny that the calls were real — not once, twice, but three times. You have the body, what else may you do? Send her unrecovered injured body back to prison still under a sentence of death. One result of this nightmare is that Gov. Bill Lee issued a temporary halt to executions until the end of the year, stating: “Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the State’s most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective.” The statement should chill us to the bone. No mention of cruelty, torture or inhumane acts; no, just the statement that the people of Tennessee have the right to expect the execution to be effective. We live in a time of such government violence that our government systems do not even attempt to appeal to the humane because there is no longer a scandal attached to torture, and no shame in multiple attempts at state sanctioned homicide that fail. Only a promise to get it right the next time. This culture of death and sanctification of cruelty is fostered by our federal government, a government betting that after years of wholesale destruction of immigrant families, murder, and extraordinary rendition we will have become so desensitized to cruelty, so inured to death, that we will line up to witness the televised murder of a paraplegic prisoner in a wheelchair. And if we are willing to tolerate, and for some to gleefully embrace, this fallen state of our humanity, who will bother trying to stop the millions of silent deaths that result from the continued and increased closings of rural hospitals, reduction or elimination of SNAP benefits, the shrinking and even elimination of Medicaid, and the growing numbers of homeless neighbors? As the atrocities mount by the stroke of a pen and by the hands of professed Christian politicians, the question begs to be

Leather bible cover handmade by death row prisoner Bill Stevens for Rev. Alexander. Stevens died in 2016. PHOTO BY REVER-

END MOTHER JEANNIE ALEXANDER

asked, from what hellscape of a world does such a Christianity proceed? What sort of antichrist messiah are they worshipping that makes targets out of those the Beatitudes would lift up? You may ask, what of the victims and their families? Christa Pike is guilty of a heinous torturous murder, and Nidal Hasan is guilty of the mass murder of 13 soldiers. These actions were wrong, indeed evil, but we cannot allow murder to become the means through which we have no response to severe harm but retribution. Retribution is always a rush towards our worst selves, and any legal system predicated upon it is void of moral authority. Indeed, such a system revictimizes victims when it holds up their pain as a means to legalize and fetishize torture. Almost no one ever speaks of the trauma inflicted upon the employees of the prison system who are made to participate in these homicides. Employees who often know and even have positive relationships with the people they are charged to kill. And what of the trauma inflicted upon the spiritual advisors present during executions, and the lawyers and journalists who must witness these horrors — such actions are the stuff of war crimes. Politicians who render redemption meaningless and choose

to worship instead at the altar of retribution all while proclaiming their Christianity, do in fact have a role in the Christian story — they are sons and daughters of hell, and they make their converts to Christian nationalism twice as much a child of hell as they are. I know more than most and less than some about the costs of a system in which violence is legalized and trauma is perpetuated on a daily basis. I am the former head chaplain of Riverbend Maximum Security Institution where Christa Pike’s attempted execution took place on Sept. 30, and where 11 executions have taken place since 2018. I entered the prison in 2009 as a volunteer chaplain specifically to facilitate groups and work with the residents of death row. In 2011 I was hired as the head institutional chaplain. I applied for the position reluctantly, and only after strong encouragement by the men I served on death row. God’s ways are queer. I entered that prison as a known quantity. From the moment I set foot on prison grounds I was clear about the fact that I was a death penalty abolitionist. My experiences on the inside only confirmed my theological and moral convictions that God as revealed through Jesus condemns state sanctioned murder.

October 21 - November 4, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 3

There are instances where the gospel message is layered and sly as a fox, and other times when the message is as clear as a sacred well. When it comes to the death penalty, the message rings clear. The synoptic gospels tell the story of a Jesus who is on the move, always slipping out of town at the last minute and struggling to keep one step ahead of the authorities who constantly scheme to arrest him. Jesus knew the cost of announcing the Kingdom of God, knew the cost of resistance. His cousin was imprisoned and executed through beheading. And we know that after Jesus is arrested, tried and publicly tortured and executed, his friends and followers will face the same. Such a narrative is not essentializing, it is revealing of the fact that arrest, torture and execution are a throughline of the gospel narrative. It is no objection to this understanding of the gospel message, or a defense of the death penalty, to argue innocence on Jesus’ behalf. Jesus, his cousin and his followers were all guilty of apocalyptic messaging and outright resistance in proclaiming the fall of the powerful, and the reordering of society from the bottom up. The Kingdom of God breaking in on the world wasn’t good news for Caesar or the Sanhedrin, and it’s certainly not good news for oligarchs, tech bros or authoritarians. Given the opportunity, Jesus comforts those experiencing execution alongside him. When asked for his opinion regarding stoning a woman caught in the act of adultery — when asked for his opinion on the death penalty — Jesus looks at the ground, writes in the dirt, and finally stands upright and invites those who have not sinned to cast the first stone. He goes back to dirt scrawling, giving an opportunity for the accusers to fall away, and when he looks up he and the woman are all who remain. Arguably from a theological perspective Jesus had the right to cast the stone, but very specifically he does not condemn her. Simply tells her to sin no more. From antiquity St. Jerome speculates that Jesus is writing the names and sins of the accusers in the sand. The stones are too heavy for any of us to lift, and the sins of those who choose to cast them will be written and laid bare. The entire state government of Tennessee should take notice, and Governor Lee, you are ultimately responsible. Twice, the State’s attempts to carry out an execution have failed. Twice Governor Lee has been given a second chance to choose another way. If ever I have witnessed an angel with a flaming sword barring the way moment, this is it. You have the body. What will you do? The Reverend Mother Jeannie Alexander lives and works at Earthfire Abbey, an interfaith abbey and farm in southern Vermont. She can be reached at jeannie.earthfireabbey@gmail.com We’re now accepting submissions for Non-Toxic Theology, a column exploring faith and theology in ways that don’t suck — offering compassionate, thoughtful perspectives on homelessness and related issues. We welcome diverse voices and viewpoints, but reserve the right to publish only work that meets our editorial standards.

A FEW QUESTIONS

Q&A with Brenda Wynn

Longtime Davidson County Clerk Talks Career and Post-Retirement Plans BY JUDITH TACKET T borhood grow and thrive. When you look at what’s going on [in and around] 12th South now, we know that we have created communities where people want to be and want to live. They want to go there and spend time there. There are pros and cons to that. Again, Miss Jackie is a senior citizen. She’s 89 years old now, and because of the things that happen in our community with tax freezes and everything else, she can stay in the community, and her taxes aren’t such that she can’t afford them. But when something happens to her, I’m not sure that her family will be able to keep that house because the tax rate over in that community has just blown up. So we created great communities, great neighborhoods, but [now have] tax bases where you’re not sure that you can leave wealth in the hands of your family. And that’s our intent. I mean, I just believe our intent as a city ought to be to grow wealth in every segment of our community.

Brenda Wynn retired in September from her post as the Davidson County Clerk after serving in the role for more than a dozen years. Wynn’s 2012 win made history as she became the first African American woman to be elected to a constitutional office in Davidson County. Wynn worked for a number of years in the nonprofit sector before she went to work at Meharry Medical College to serve as assistant to the president at Meharry under Dr. David Satcher, who later moved on to lead the Centers for Disease Control. Rather than take a role and move with Satcher to Atlanta, Wynn said she chose to remain at Meharry and serve under Dr. John Maupin, Jr. In 1999, Mayor Bill Purcell tapped Wynn as the first director of the Office of Neighborhoods, where she remained until 2003 when Rep. Jim Cooper hired her as his community outreach coordinator. She worked for Cooper until her election as Davidson County Clerk in 2012. You were the first African American woman elected to the position in 2012. The thing that resonated the most with me about that election was that I got, I think, 148,000 votes in the county. The person who got more votes than me in the county was Jim Cooper. Barack Obama was at the top of the ticket, but I think I got more votes than Barack Obama (she laughs). So, to be able to ride the coattails of Jim Cooper in that election just spoke to me about the fact that people cared a whole awful lot about what they were electing me to do. What made you want to get the position as the Davidson County Clerk? Running for elected office and politics was never something that I aspired to do. There’s a scripture in the Message Bible, in Psalms, that says, “Is this any way to run a country? Is there an honest politician in the house?” So let me say that as a person of faith, why would I want to be a part of a profession that even the Bible calls out as being dishonest? And so I never aspired to run for elected office. (Editor’s Note: The Message Bible is a paraphrase of the Bible in modern English.) But at the time that it presented itself, as a person of color, I saw an opportunity for us to make inroads in a space where we hadn’t in the past been able to make those inroads. And so that’s why I did it. Again, I don’t like politics, still don’t like it to this day, mainly because of how we’re looked at as politicians. But I don’t count myself as a politician. I consider myself a public servant. I live to serve, and that’s what we’re called to do as people of faith. How do you explain to a stranger in an elevator what the Davidson County Clerk actually does? The County Clerk is the constitutional office that touches almost anybody in the county. If you want to drive a motor vehicle in the county, you’re touched by the County Clerk’s

Office because we have responsibility for registering and collecting county and state taxes related to motor vehicle services. If you want to get married, anybody who wants to get married in the county has to come by the County Clerk’s Office because we issue marriage licenses. If you want to run a business in the county, you’re affected by the County Clerk’s Office because we issue business licenses. Anybody who wants to serve as a notary public has to come through that office to get their notary commission. One other thing that we do that most people don’t know about is that we issue licenses for motor homes. If you want to have a motor home, you have to come through that office to get your motor home registered in the County Clerk’s Office. We also issue pawn broker licenses. And so because of what we do in the County Clerk’s Office, we touch almost every adult individual in the county. When you look at Nashville’s neighborhoods and Nashvillians’ needs, what are some of the most significant changes that you have observed since the early 2000s? The gentrification. The growth in neighborhoods. What Bill Purcell allowed me to do as head of the Office of Neighborhoods was to invest in neighborhoods and give people who lived in neighborhoods opportunities to do things that would build their communities. And they built some great communities that have grown by leaps and bounds. I tell people about a friend of mine named Miss Jackie; I won’t give her last name. But Miss Jackie bought a house [in the 12th South Neighborhood] in 1963. Miss Jackie is one of the few long-time neighbors in that community who is still there. She was part of neighborhood organizations, particularly the Sunnyside neighborhood group, that helped that neigh-

You have served on some of the most prominent nonprofit boards in our city, including, among many others, the Leadership Nashville Alumni Association, the League of Women Voters of Nashville, Nashville’s Agenda, United Way of Metropolitan Nashville and the Nashville Women’s Political Caucus. We hear a lot of criticism about silos and lack of coordination among nonprofits and governments. What are your thoughts about that? I think that we’ve talked about lack of cooperation for years, and we’ve tried to create opportunities for not-for-profits to coordinate their efforts. I’m not sure that we’ve gotten it. I’d love to see us get there. The one organization that you didn’t mention was the YWCA of Nashville. I’m proud of the affiliation that I had with the YW because of what the YW does for women in this community. There are others that work to prevent domestic violence. I would just love to see those partners get the kind of support from the not-for-profit community as well as the city of Nashville because when you think about what the YW and their other domestic violence organizations provide in terms of shelter and housing for women when they’re trying to leave a violent situation, it is a service that’s provided to the community that the city can’t do. I’d love to see us be able to partner together to make sure that any woman who is dealing with violence in her home has access to the services that she needs to make her life better. I would love to see the Office of Family Safety, the Mary Parish Center, and the YWCA get more support from the city to run the collaborative effort we need to ensure that women and children have safe environments to grow and thrive in. Looking back, what are you most proud of? My family. I always come back to home. I grew up in public housing. Most people don’t know this about me. From the time I was five

October 21 - November 4, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 4

years old until I was 18 years old, I lived in public housing. I had my first child at 18, and I lived in public housing at the time. I have three boys, and my first and second kids spent time in public housing. My youngest kid got daycare in that neighborhood, in that public housing, because I had friends there who took care of my kids while I worked. They’re great young men, great fathers, great pillars in the community. And so I am most proud of the family circle that I have. I have some wonderful sisters. My mom had five kids. My dad had a couple of other kids. We have this family bond, and we just love each other. My husband has a strong family bond as well. I love my in-laws. My husband has dementia now. We’re dealing with that. But the thing that I have learned is that we have all come together around him. I’ve got a good family support system. I’ve got great friends who are offering their help and support. And so it’s that family thing that I am most proud of. You grew up in public housing. What is your message to people — and especially young kids — who may feel stuck in poverty? Believe in yourself. Some of my family members said they knew we were poor. I never knew I was poor. My mom encouraged us. She supported us. She motivated us. She told me, “Baby, there’s nothing you can’t do if you set your mind to it. You can do anything.” And so I tell young people, don’t believe the naysayers. You can do and you can be anything you want to be. Set your mind to it, set about it, and just go get it done. Now that you are newly retired, what are your plans? I’m trying to catch my breath. As I said, my husband has dementia. And so, as much as I can, we’re going to try to do some traveling. Toward the end of my tenure, I was able to do a couple of international trips. Cruising is my favorite mode of vacation because everything is there. I don’t have to cook. I don’t have to clean. There’s entertainment. There are beaches. There are hot tubs. I’m not going to commit to doing a whole bunch of anything. Just want to enjoy the rest of this life God’s given me. I went to work at 14, and as of August of this year, I had worked 55 years, so I don’t plan to work too hard now. Is there anything else you’d like to add? I’d like to say thank you to the citizens of Nashville. I was successful in the Office of Neighborhoods and Jim Cooper’s Office and as County Clerk because people believed that we could get some things done, and because people believed it, I did too. So I say thank you to anybody who ever believed enough in me to support my efforts. Thank you. I thank God for the opportunity God has given me, and I just give all praise to a mighty God that I serve.

PIECES OF POETRY 88

Entertaining Angels

Remember Atlantis?

Written by Chris Scott Fieselman, Vendor #0015

There are things that can’t be understood, In a world that can’t be seen. Like de-ja-vu, you remember you, Once saw this in a dream. Things that can’t be recognized, When they’re right before your eyes. And that lost soul you showed kindness to, May be an angel in disguise.

We’ve got civilization, And United Nations, And death, And destruction, And devastation. We hold the world, In the palm of our hand, While we slowly but surely, Keep killing the planet.

Entertaining Angels, They stop by from time to time. God sends them to help us and, Make sure that we’re all right. When you do the best, you can, Treating strangers like old friends. Help your fellow man, You’re Entertaining Angels again. Now, you can doubt, And say, “It can’t be true,” Say, “It isn’t so.” It’s probably happened, Before to you, And you didn’t even know. Angels walking among us, And they’re closer than you think. I’ve seen my share of angels out there, But I never saw their wings. No, I never saw their wings. Entertaining Angels, They stop by from time to time. God sends them to help us and, Make sure that we’re all right. When you do the best, you can, Treating strangers like old friends. Help your fellow man, You’re Entertaining Angels again. Now, as sure as there are, Angels out there, Demons out there too. Trying to do their very best, To do their worst to you. The darkness fights, against the light, And the wrong is defeated, by the right. You can’t see the enemy, Or the Angel by your side. The Angel by your side?... Entertaining Angels, They stop by from time to time. God sends them to help us and, Make sure that we’re all right. When you do the best, you can, Treating strangers like old friends. Help your fellow man, You’re Entertaining Angels again.

Remember Atlantis? They were just like us, And how we are is how they were. Out of control and we keep on going, To the end of the world, we know. When you think about this? Remember Atlantis. Conspiracy theories, Behind closed doors. There’s nothing to fear, What we try to ignore. We’re poisoning the water, And the air we breathe, And we don’t even know, What’s in the food we eat. Doctors play with D.N.A. In search of an answer, Why everyone we know, Is dying of cancer. We can’t see the beginning, Of the end, When four - Nuclear-Power-Plants, Blow up in Japan. Remember Atlantis? They were just like us, And how we are is how they were. Out of control and we keep on going, To the end of the world, we know. When you think about this? Remember Atlantis. Every day somebody says, “The End is Near,” But they’ve been saying, That same old thing for years. Ignoring the warning, We don’t see it coming, Till it all just disappears, And where do we go from here? Remember Atlantis? They were just like us, And how we are is how they were. Out of control and we keep on going, To the end of the world, we know. When you think about this? Remember Atlantis.

THEME: BA SEBA LL ACROSS respectful and columns 1. Diver’s acronym 65. Large coffee pot 25. *Record holder for 6. *Bat wood 67. Habituate most career home runs 9. 1970s “pet” 68. Administer cere- 26. Farewell, in France 13. *High-flying fly ball monial oil 27. Edible cactus 14. *Tampa Bay player 69. Bird word 29. *One of five first 15. Round loaf, in Paris 70. Come in Hall of Fame inductees 16. Oak fruit 71. Magnifying glass 31. Blood vessel net17. Golf peg 72. Flow’s partner work 18. Investigative report 73. Classroom furni- 32. Repent 19. *Winningest World ture pieces 33. Short-trunked Series team ungulate 21. *How many feet DOWN 34. Exclude or omit between bases? 1. Fix a cat 36. Rave’s partner 23. Help 2. Kind of cola 38. Purse on red carpet 24. Queen of Hearts’ 3. “Once ____ a time...” 42. Swamp plant pastry 4. Muslim woman’s 45. Equestrian’s seat 25. *80-game restric- cover 49. Born, in bio tion, e.g. 5. Relating to apnea 51. Begrudged 28. Cecum, pl. 6. Crafts’ partner 54. Derive 30. Mr. Miyagi’s forte 7. Ed.’s request 56. Tubular pasta 35. Some soaps have 8. Laughing predator 57. *Third base ____ none 9. *Record holder for 58. Kitchen appliance 37. Mobile phone in most career hits 59. Pains Britain, slangily 10. Give a boot 60. Nose-in-the-air 39. Heat-conducting 11. Modeling material type solid 12. Piano’s E or G, e.g. 61. Bonkers 40. Australian palm 15. Small chicken 62. Hiker’s journey 41. Borders on variety 63. Not his 43. Large African 20. Organ swelling 64. *____ Ripken Jr. antelope 22. Rub the wrong way 66. *Umpire’s blown 44. Campus VIPs 24. Arranged in rows call 46. *Umpires: Men in ____ 47. Wednesday Addams’ roommate 48. *Babe Ruth, a.k.a. the ____ of Swat 50. Campaign worker 52. Before, old-fashioned 53. Buck or doe 55. GDP predecessor 57. *Grand slam:home run with bases ____ 60. *____-inning stretch 64. Courteous and

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EVENTS

CONTRIBUTOR COMMUNITY CALENDAR

As The Contributor works with partners across the city, the team often finds events and opportunities to build community among your vendors, staff and friends of the organization. In each issue, we plan to publish a few events, internal celebrations and community information to help keep our readers connected. The Contributor is out in the community weekly and we’d love to see you! Here where you can find us next: BY LINDSEY LONGORIA Downtown Presbyterian Church Browsing Room Art Show: November-December (154 Rep. John Lewis Way N., Nashville, TN 37219) The UnZine artist collective is being featured in the Browsing Room art gallery at Downtown Presbyterian Church in November and December. The Browsing Room will feature vendor and community creations and will be available for viewing during the Downtown Art Crawl as well as by individual/ group request. Please email lindsey@thecontributor. org to schedule a viewing. Ray Di Pietro “Balloons” Art Show: Thursday, Nov. 5 from 5-8 p.m. at 219 6th Ave. N., Nashville, TN, 37219 Local, highly-awarded photographer, Ray Di Pietro, has offered to include The Contributor on the list of non-profit beneficiaries for his upcoming show, “Balloons.” This event will feature Ray’s art for viewing and purchase, as well as a special program printed to

resemble The Contributor, which will also be available for purchase. Proceeds will go toward a variety of local non-profits addressing homelessness in Nashville. We hope you join us to celebrate and appreciate Ray’s work. Black Cat Poetry feat. The Contributor: Nov. 19 from 7-10 p.m. at Strega (1405 Gallatin Ave., Nashville, TN, 37206) The Contributor is grateful to be featured by Black Cat Poetry in November. Please join us to hear from our vendors, staff, and community members as they share their artistic writing and zines. Rise Up Resource Fair: Nov. 19 from noon to 3 p.m. at Proclamation Church (5000 Linbar Drive, Nashville, TN 37211) The Contributor will be joining this event along with other non-profits and community organizations that serve our unhoused neighbors. If you or someone

Give Thanks and Give Back! Join us for The Contributor x Poplar Point Blanket Night! BY LINDSEY LONGORIA Are you a craft-lover? A creative spirit? A generous person who can work a pair of scissors and follow directions? Then we have the event for you. On Friday, Nov. 6 from 5-8 p.m., we are partnering with Poplar Point at Marathon Village (1200 Clinton Street, Suite 15A, Nashville, TN, 37203) for their monthly First Friday event. At this event, led by Poplar Point Design Director and Owner, Jess Arnold, our community will come together to repurpose old t-shirts from The Contributor into blankets to be given out to our unhoused neighbors throughout the winter months. How do you fit into all of this? We need as many hands as possible and there is no experience necessary. We will gather at Poplar Point on November 5th to create a blanket-making assembly line. Here’s what we need: • Sewists with sewing machines • Irons and ironing boards with people ready to press fabric • Fabric scissors, rotary tools, or other sharp

scissors and people ready to cut fabric • Straight edges, rulers, yard sticks and people ready to hold them steady • All people who love our community and want to be of support in whatever way possible We would love to have you join you for this project! There will be a variety of other businesses at Marathon Village open that night who will be partnering with The Contributor and other non-profits addressing homelessness in Nashville. Parking is free for Davidson County residents. Not only is this a great way to give back to our community, it is a great opportunity to shop small this holiday season. If you are interested in joining us for this event and you plan to bring or donate equipment, please email lindsey@thecontributor.org so we can keep track of our supply count. However, you are welcome to just show up the night of and we will gladly accept the help. And as always, please share this opportunity with all your generous, crafty friends.

you know is looking for resources including: access to income, showers/laundry, transportation, wellness care, and more, we encourage you to attend this free event. Volunteer Opportunities at The Contributor Are you interested in serving our unhoused community? The Contributor is always looking for volunteers. Whether you have the capacity to serve in the vendor office overseeing newspaper sales, you are passionate about making breakfast for our community members every other Wednesday when we release a new issue, or you love driving and would enjoy helping move people into their new homes, there is a place for you here. If you want to discuss volunteering with us, please email our Director of Vending, Caroline Lindner, at caroline@ thecontributor.org. And if donating physical items is more your speed, you can check out our Amazon wishlist using the link on our social media pages or at https://a.co/08jwrhBd.

Thank You for Joining The Contributor Breakfast Club! Thanks to you and other donors, we officially exceeded the fundraising goal for The Contributor Breakfast Club! Over the course of three weeks, our community came together to raise $12,160! That’s over forty full breakfast services! It translates to over 4,000 individuals getting to walk through our doors every time we release a new issue of this paper and receive a hot, hearty meal, fresh produce, hot coffee and ice cold water. For most of us, breakfast is an unremarkable moment of the day. Half asleep, we pour ourselves a cup of coffee and a bowl of whatever cereal we chose to buy from the dozens of options lining our grocery store shelves. For our vendors and our unhoused community members, this is not always true. According to recent statistics shared by Feeding America, approximately 905,090 Tennesseans are considered food insecure. That is 13.3 percent of Tennessee’s population. These are our neighbors, our friends and family. And thanks to you, many of them now have forty guaranteed meals. Breakfast days are truly my favorite days at The Contributor. There is something so

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cathartic about cracking 100 eggs or whipping up gallons of sausage gravy knowing it will nourish our community. I love getting ideas for breakfast from vendors, whether it is making chorizo breakfast tacos for Pedro or gluten-free french toast for Lisa, or anything in between. And of course, there is nothing quite like getting to see so many of our vendors and community members come together to take an hour away from the element and the stress of everyday life, and just be with one another as we review the new issue of the paper, share community updates, train new vendors, meet with case managers and flex our creative skills through zine and poetry workshops. So from the bottom of my heart, and the hearts of everyone here at The Contributor, thank you for joining the breakfast club! Consider this your open invitation to breakfast! And if you are interested in continuing to support this work, you can donate today by sending a check to The Contributor at P.O. Box 332023, Nashville, TN 37203, or by visiting our website at www.thecontributor.org. Sincerely yours, The Contributor Breakfast Club

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Learn More About How the City Spent Federal ARPA Funds on Homelessness BY JUDITH TACKET T

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In October 2022, Metro Council approved four resolutions to allocate a total of $50 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to address homelessness and strengthen our local Housing Crisis Resolution System. The Office of Homeless Services (OHS) published preliminary “impact reports” in June 2026, which present an overwhelming amount of data points that are disjointed and focus on numbers of people served (which are outputs). In short, we do not know yet how effective the $50 million investment was, what the actual outcomes or impacts are, or whether the money was actually invested as originally presented to Metro Council. Homelessness has steadily and significantly increased since 2022, which raises the overall question: Is what we’re doing working? While OHS is finalizing its ARPA report and plans to have that done by the end of the year, I took another look at the initial four resolutions from 2022 and developed some questions I hope OHS will answer in their final report. $50 Million for Homelessness In October 2022, Metro Council passed four resolutions dedicating $50 million in ARPA funding to homelessness. Here is a summary of the resolutions: A) RS2022-1696: $25 million were allocated to provide low-cost loans to developers to create deeply affordable housing units for households with an income of 0-30% of the Area Median Income (AMI). B) RS2022-1697: $9 million to build capacity in Housing First case management services, including establishing Assertive Community Treatment teams. C) RS2022-1698: $9 million for temporary interim gap housing for households waiting for housing units and/or permanent housing subsidies. D) RS2022-1699: $7 million to fund Metro’s Low Barrier Housing Collective landlord engagement and incentive program ($3 million) as well as competitive grants for support services ($4 million). Questions for a Final Report from OHS So far OHS data has been overwhelming but not producing numbers that show: • Outcomes and the actual impact of these investments for people and the community; • Whether the output data produced counted unduplicated individuals; • How these individuals moved through the system to permanent housing; • How many remain permanently housed; or • How OHS intends to utilize its current $18.6-million budget to help sustain the efforts started by the $50-million investment. Specifically, I hope OHS will be able to

answer some of the questions I list below: A) RS2022-1696: $25 million to build deeply affordable units. The legislation requested, among other things, that “any un-obligated funds left in the Affordable Housing Gap Financing (AHGF) program as of December 31, 2023, shall be transferred to the Barnes Fund for Affordable Housing.” Scott Dietz, Communications and Community Engagement Coordinator of the Metro Planning Department, confirmed that per a substitute resolution (RS2024240), $7,551,528.78 in unobligated funds were transferred to the Barns Fund. “Barnes then issued a special funding round to make those funds available to nonprofits to create permanent supportive housing and ultimately awarded all funds to I Am NEXT, Inc, per RS2022-817,” Dietz said. The remaining millions were awarded to seven developers who took advantage of the loan program. However, I found that OHS wrongfully and repeatedly listed an allocation made to Shelby House 1, LP, in the amount of $2,8 million in their impact reports to Metro Council and the community even though that developer returned their award in full. Therefore, that impact ultimately ended up being zero. Demetris Chaney Perkins, OHS’ public information coordinator, said via email that the “$2.8 million returned by Shelby House was reallocated through Metro’s approved process to three priorities: Eviction Right to Counsel as a homelessness-prevention and diversion strategy, permanent funding for critical positions previously supported by ARPA within the Office of Homeless Services, and permanent funding for critical ARPA-supported positions within the Office of Family Safety. These investments preserved the infrastructure for housing-stability and public-safety

services consistent with the intended purpose of the original federal funding.” To me, that means that $2.8 million that were designated for the creation of deeply affordable housing units were not spent as originally intended per Metro Council’s resolution, and it would be appropriate to expect OHS to explain in their final report why that was the case. I also hope OHS will seek information from the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA), which managed the $25 million AHGF program, to find out whether this loan program has already generated any income, which, according to legislation, “will be dedicated to housing and/ or services for citizens experiencing homelessness.” In summary, the questions I hope OHS will answer include: Were the $25 million spent on the creation of deeply affordable housing units, and are 100 percent of these units occupied by people who have experienced homelessness? If not, why not? Was any income created through the AHGF program, and if so, how much of that income has been reinvested into housing and/or services so far? B) RS2022-1697: $9 million for intensive wraparound support services for permanent supportive housing. Councilmember Courtney Johnston, a member of the COVID-19 Financial Oversight Committee, took an avid interest in adding accountability measures to all four resolutions for the $50 million ARPA funding for homelessness. She proposed several amendments including one for RS2022-1697, which added a monthly reporting requirement to Metro Council outlining: • The number of people served by this program; • The demographics of the individuals served;

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The average length of time the individuals have been in housing; • Income and non-cash benefits; • Types of services provided; • Number and percent of individuals who returned to homelessness; • The number assessed, applied, and awarded as able to obtain SSI or disability; and • The percentage remaining housed. Of these requirements, OHS did not include all items in their monthly reporting. What was missing was the average length of time in housing, income and non-cash benefits, number and percent of individuals who returned to homelessness, the SSI/disability benefit outcomes and the percentage remaining in housing. This resolution and its addenda focused on providing comprehensive wraparound support services aligned with Housing First programs. However, it is unclear how funded programs collaborated to serve individuals in a seamless manner to move from homelessness to permanent supportive housing. In other words, if the six programs funded, each served a different group of people, was this truly a comprehensive and coordinated Housing First approach? In the end, output may be high, but if the money is not spent as intended to impact the most vulnerable people, did we really meet the intention of the resolution, and did it result in an actual reduction in overall homelessness for the group of people served? Other questions are: Was there an Assertive Community Treatment team that followed people from temporary housing to permanent housing? How many people were permanently housed in the end, and how many of them are still in housing? What is the sustainability plan to ensure they remain housed after the funds expired, and who is providing ongoing support services to keep people housed? C) RS2022-1698: $9 million for two separate temporary housing program models. The previous resolution that funded intensive wraparound services stated that those supports may start in temporary housing and follow people into permanent supportive housing, following a Housing First model. Neither OHS’ monthly reports to Metro Council nor their preliminary “impact” reports indicate that there was a strong coordinated effort by Metro to ensure that the people served in temporary housing were quickly moved to permanent supportive housing or how many providers actually followed people as they moved from temporary into permanent supportive housing. My questions that will help evaluate the effectiveness of temporary housing include: How long did people remain in temporary housing? How many people who entered temporary housing were ever able to access permanent housing? How much was spent on security and securing properties compared to intensive wraparound support services? What was the caseload for each worker?

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D) RS2022-1699: $7 million divided up between OHS and nonprofits. The resolution called for $4 million in innovative projects given to eight to 10 nonprofits. In the end, five nonprofits received funding for prevention, temporary housing, community education and training, permanent supportive housing, and street medicine and hospital discharge programming. The remaining $3 million managed by OHS was intended to be used for staff including a supervisor and 3-4 housing navigators. In the Metro budget process, Metro moved 15 full-time positions from ARPA funding to Metro general funding under OHS. The OHS director claims that they have the largest outreach team in the city, but that this team does not really have a caseload or provide direct services. So what were these 15 people actually doing? According to the director, they entered people living on the streets into the database. Data entry alone usually does not help people. OHS did provide monthly reports to Metro Council about the incentive program as outlined below: On June 16, 2026, OHS alerted all partner agencies that these incentives would no longer be available due to the expiration of the ARPA funds. When I asked OHS about the Low Barrier Housing Collective (LBHC) moving forward, I received the following response, “OHS recently filled a position for the program director who is in the early stages of strategic planning for LBHC and restructuring.” Considering that OHS knew that ARPA funds would expire and considering that OHS has received huge increases in Metro funding

in the past few years, I wonder why OHS did not proactively plan for ARPA funding to sunset. Last year’s OHS general fund budget was $11.6 million (currently it is $17.2 million) and staffing was sufficient to take a more proactive approach. My questions for the final report are: How were the $4 million in innovation grants used to supplement existing programs and fill gaps in the homelessness system? What is the sustainability plan for the $7 million moving forward? How many landlords that received incentives are actually still housing people that were placed in those units? Other ARPA Funding In their community report published in

June, OHS listed about $52 million in total ARPA investments. What were the additional $2 million intended for? When were they received? Were any ARPA funds used to run Metro’s permanent supportive housing structure called Strobel House that operates 90 units? What happened to the initial $1.5 million in ARPA allocations that Metro designated for various homelessness projects in response to COVID through RS2021-1207, including a four-member outreach team, to pay for cold weather emergency sheltering, to expand a SOAR (SSI Outreach, Access and Recovery) program managed by Park Center, to pay for sanitation stations (port a potties and handwashing stations for people living

Kid’s Corner Created by Mccollonough Ceili

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outdoors during COVID), and a landlord risk mitigation fund? There is no doubt that the millions in ARPA funding invested have helped a lot of people. However, Metro and OHS have shown little interest in full transparency, which is necessary for systems improvement. Their data is output-oriented, contains glaring mistakes, and is overall not useful for productive conversations to understand homelessness outcomes in Nashville. Rather, this city has focused so much on the messaging to pat themselves on the back that we seem to have forgotten the people we claim to serve. Accountability and oversight are clearly lacking. And the evident increase in overall homelessness is flippantly explained away without clear analysis of why we have seen at minimum a 20-percent increase in homelessness since 2022. Remember, 2022 is the year the millions of investments started, not only in ARPA funding but also in Metro dollars. We can do better and I hope OHS leaders come around and produce a solid ARPA report by the end of the year coupled with a clear outline of how they intend to spend their overall $18.5-million Metro budget ($17.5 in general funds, the rest in designated special program funds). A proactive approach would help the community have solid analytical discussions, move forward with targeted investments and turn the tide around. Judith Tackett is a longtime homelessness expert and advocate for housing-focused, person-centered solutions. Opinions in this column are her own.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHEEKWOOD ESTATE & GARDENS

Dia de Muertos Celebration at Nashville City Cemetery Centers Hispanic Experience BY AMANDA HAGGARD

This year Nashville will have its first free community Dia de Muertos celebration at the Nashville City Cemetery, which is the oldest continuously operated public cemetery in the city. The idea to host the celebration was a collaboration between Kaden Otte, a maintenance worker for the Metro Historical Commission who serves as an on-the-ground caretaker at the cemetery, and Council Members Terry Vo and Sandra Sepulveda. On Nov. 1 from 1-4 p.m., anyone in the community can come to the celebration at the cemetery. Vo says once they started talking about how to make the event happen, folks in the community stepped up with excitement to be involved in the event. In addition to Otte and Sepulveda, multiple other folks are involved in getting the inaugural event off the ground, including Chestnut Hill Neighborhood Association, the

Silent Book Club, La Mision ConArte and Live Nation. Vo says Live Nation felt a connection to the event as Harland Howard is buried there and they’ve named their latest venue The Truth, borrowing from his assessment of what makes a good song: “three chords and the truth.” The celebration will be both educational and filled with entertainment. Two ofrendas will be set up on site: one will honor community members’ family and loved ones and will be decorated traditionally. The other will be a community ofrenda to honor the late Dolly Parton. “Anyone in the community can come and honor loved ones, pets, family,” Vo said. “The Dolly ofrenda will be focused on items to honor her and will be separate, but nearby. We’re really looking for this to be a hands-on, education approach and we want to keep it all accessible and free.” In addition to the ofrendas, the event will

feature free face painting for children and adults, food trucks, storytelling and more. Children can paint their own sugar skulls to take home. A storyteller will be on deck for three shows highlighting history. The Master Gardeners of Davidson County, who help maintain the cemetery throughout the year, will be on deck to talk about the significance of marigolds in Hispanic culture, the varieties of marigolds in our area, and they will send some seeds home with folks. Vo said the event felt like a good way to represent the large population of Hispanic community members in Nashville. She and others wanted to lay the groundwork to make this an annual festival. There are many young families moving to the area, and she wants them to feel supported. “We want the kids that go to school near here and their families to know that the com-

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munity supports you,” Vo said. “These events should always represent the people who live in the area and we’re doing something that’s really been missing.” The Silent Book Club will have a place of reverence set up for book reading and learning more about hispanic culture. BookEm has also provided a number of books that will be on hand for folks to take home with them. There is free parking nearby at the Adventure Science Center as well as at 1001 6th Ave South, but Vo encourages anyone who can walk, bike or take the bus to do so. “My hope is that the Latino community will come out, they were the reason we wanted to put something like this together,” Vo said. “We want an event where they feel seen, where they are the center, and we really want them to feel comfortable being our neighbors and in our community.”

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHEEKWOOD ESTATE & GARDENS

Cheekwood Hosts 27th Dia de Los Muertos Celebration BY AMANDA HAGGARD

Cheekwood Estate & Gardens is slated to host two days of celebration in honor of El Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. This year marks the 27th year Cheekwood has put together the festival, which brings guests to the gardens the chance to experience the holiday that honors deceased loved ones and celebrates the bonds of family and community. This year, the two-day festival is slated for Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Each day has its own lineup of events, which features everything from

community ofrendas to large-scale murals created by Nashville-area middle and high school students, traditional food and artisan vendors, hands-on art activities and a stacked roster of dance and musical performances. “Day of the Dead at Cheekwood is a meaningful celebration that invites everyone to learn about, appreciate, and experience the rich cultural traditions of Mexico,” said Arcelia Vázquez, a member of the Advisory Committee for Día de los Muertos at Cheekwood.

El Día de los Muertos will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days and tickets are required for each day of the celebration. Cheekwood said in a release the celebration began in recognition of the growning Hispanic community in Nashville in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Throughout the event’s history, Cheekwood has collaborated with an Advisory Committee of members of the Hispanic community to help guide the festival and ensure it is presented with respect for the

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traditions it celebrates. “At its heart, this is a celebration of family, community, love, and remembrance. It honors the tradition of welcoming back, for a brief reunion, the souls of ancestors and loved ones who have passed away,” Vázquez said. “Through memories, stories, and shared traditions, we celebrate their lives and keep their spirits close. We invite everyone to join us in honoring loved ones and experiencing the beauty and enduring traditions of El Día de los Muertos.”

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DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS EVENTS

Middle Tennessee Día de Los Muertos Celebration Oct. 31 West Court Square Springfield, TN This festival in downtown Springfield will offer a space to learn about and celebrate Día de Los Muertos. It is presented by Multicultural Events of Middle Tennessee, and includes a parade, street fair, face painting and a live DJ.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSA RODRIGUEZ

Cheekwood Dia de Los Muertos Performer Honored to Take Part in Tradition BY AMANDA HAGGARD For the past five years, singer Rosa Rodriguez has been performing at Cheekwood’s annual Dia de Los Muertos Celebration. Over these years, she’s enjoyed how aligned the organization is with her and the community. Rodridguez answered a few questions ahead of the celebration about her experience with performing and with Dia de Los Muertos traditions. Tell me a bit about how you got involved with performing at Cheekwood. I love Cheekwood. I used to visit the gardens a lot. I love flowers, nature and how calm it is over there. You can breathe fresh air and just take it in. Have a snack and sit for a while. Then keep walking and seeing the beautiful sceneries. I think someone told me to apply to perform there via their website, and I’ve been so grateful to have received an invitation from the committee to perform every year there for Dia de Los Muertos since 2021. I also got to narrate the Spanish audio guide in the mansion, available there on site. Very honored to be part of Cheekwood through music and voice-over. The team there is always so kind. I know Dia de Muertos celebrations can vary quite a bit. What should folks expect at this celebration and from your performance? It’s wonderful to see how different Latin American countries honor their loved ones who have passed with their own traditions. In this celebration you get to see how we have similarities and differences. But at the core, you can feel the love and honor, the life that

transcends time and space. In my performance I try to include songs of remembrance, celebration, peace, encouragement in transitions, both originals and covers. We can expect to have fun together singing, dancing, enjoying nature, the festivities, trying food from all over the world, and checking out amazing vendors. The celebration has been going on at Cheekwood for 27 years this year. What does it mean to be part of this longtime celebration? Wow, that’s incredible. I’m very honored to be part of this celebration. I have felt very aligned with Cheekwood over the years, I also enjoy coming to Cheekwood Holiday lights with friends and their artistic exhibitions throughout the year. It’s beautiful and inspiring. Can you talk a bit about the rituals around Dia de Muertos that extend beyond the event? Absolutely. In Honduras, where I’m from, our tradition is more about just bringing them flowers. We call it “Dia de las Coronas” (Wreath Day). We place flower wreaths in their resting place. We say prayers to God, share memories about our loved ones with each other and have a quiet moment together. We don’t believe they visit us, but I believe in eternal life, and I think it’s so precious how in a way they stay with us through the food recipes they taught us, songs we sang together, poems, experiences shared together like trips or daily life, photos, our memories and in our hearts forever. October 21 - November 4, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 11

Día de los Muertos at Nashville Ballet Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 2026 TPAC’s The Martin Center for Nashville Ballet 3630 Redmon Street Nashville, TN 37209 This performance pulls inspiration from the paintings of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Choreographed by Maria A. Konrad, Día de los Muertos “bridges tradition with Nashville’s cultural landscape, promising an unforgettable journey into the heart of this beloved holiday,” according to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

Dia de los Muertos Night Oct. 21 from 6-7:30 p.m. St. Ann’s Catholic Church 5101 Charlotte Avenue Nashville, TN 37209 St. Ann’s Catholic Church is hosting a night to honor this tradition and to learn the meaning behind how Día de los Muertos connects to the Catholic faith and the way they remember and honor loved ones. The event will have activities, crafts and games.

VENDOR WRITING

From the Written Words to the Streets of Nashville STORY AND PHOTOS BY MAURICE B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

It’s best to watch what one puts down because exactly what one puts down can turn around and one day have motion. Franklin Web Printing nearing 50 years of age & The Contributor Inc nearing 20 years of age it’s an honor that the two have united to and for a positive impact. The Contributor Inc and its vendors along with Franklin Web Printing Co. have played an important role in work, dignity and opportunity. The relationship goes back to the very beginning. Franklin Webb printing has printed the Contributor since the newspaper’s first issue in 2007. The Contributor later recognized the company with an Editorial Ally Award, saying the newspaper would not be what it is without the printer’s consistent

work and commitment to the organization’s mission. It began with the ideas of Tasha French Lemley taking photos of homeless and former homeless people, Will Connelly wanting to hear stories of homeless and former homeless people and of course Steven Samar and Tom Wills played very strong parts as well. These four met with Lee Stringer, who was associated with Street News, a street newspaper in New York City. They eventually obtain a tool kit from the International Network of Street Papers (INSP). They used that model to establish their own newspaper, The Contributor. Because of those four advocates of homelessness there’s individuals that are homeless that have the ability to share our/their ideas,

our/their words and the ways that we/they see things in this world. So before a paper ever reaches that printing press, it begins with people “homeless & formerly homeless.” The Contributor’s editorial team works with the vendors at times to help bring out an individual’s writings or their art works which helps each individual to develop their contribution towards a better future. Once the stories, the pictures, the crosswords have been completed and designed and arranged, the newspaper is sent to Franklin Web Printing where those individual words, photographs and ideas become thousands of of printed newspapers. Franklin Web Printing has therefore occupied an important place in the process for nearly two decades. The finished newspaper

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then makes its way back to The Contributor’s vendor operating post at the Downtown Presbyterian Church. That’s where Tom Wills and his family have long been a part of. The next transformation is where vendors are able to become the entrepreneur that they are. We vendors are able to share our words, our voice and art in the the paper then come replenish our stock as we buy wholesale and sell retail, getting a job done. Every paper that is sold gives a vendor a better outlook at prosperity, and every paper that has been taken and read should give a customer satisfaction of the knowledge that’s within the Contributor community. So watch what you put down because life is a circle what you put down now just might end up having motion.

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FUN

HOBOSCOPES LIBRA

Every October the convenience store at the end of my block redecorates as a morality-play about the dangers of stealing from convenience stores. You walk in and there’s a scene of a kid stealing candy. You go to the next aisle and it’s the same kid only older, stealing sunglasses. Over the visit, you watch him progress into a hardened-criminal and in the last aisle he’s being arrested while his disappointed father points an accusing finger at him over by the allergy medicine. I think they lay it on a little heavy, Libra. Nobody’s journey is linear and justice isn’t usually very obvious. If you’re afraid your next step is inevitable, it’s probably not.

SCORPIO

Sometimes I think about Monstro the Whale. I wonder if he ever figured things out and got on with it. If you’ve forgotten, Scorpio, Monstro was the whale who swallowed Pinocchio and Gepetto. He was so angry back then, just chasing and eating everything in his path. Those two built a fire in his belly and he sneezed them out. But he was so furious, Scorpio. It seemed like he would have chased them forever. Anger feels like that, Scorpio. Like you could just keep raging in one direction forever. But you don’t have to. I hope Monstro has found a way to hold his resentments more loosely. Maybe taken some responsibility for his rampage. You can too, Scorpio..

SAGITTA R IUS

Horror movies these days are all like, “What if a robotaxi was haunted?” Picture it, Sagittarius, a tormented spirit possessing an autonomous cab that develops an unstoppable craving for human suffering? It drives on its own, disregarding traffic laws as well as the screams of its victims. But would you still use the app, Aquarius? I do have a lot of places to go and not a lot of patience for chatty drivers. And I mean, what technology isn’t already haunted on some level? My convenience is so often connected to a stranger’s pain. Don’t try to hold all that at once, but maybe think about where you’re willing to absorb inconvenience for somebody you’ll never meet.

CAPRICORN

AQUA RIUS

Somebody told me there’s a full documentary film crew following you around, Aquarius. Cameras, lights, invasive questions, long pauses — and they never leave you alone for even one second. And I wonder, Aquarius, why would you subject yourself to all that? I mean, sure, everybody wants to be understood. We all want to be known and loved for who we are. I just wonder if there’s a better way to get there. Maybe this week try going out with just one person. Sitting down with just one person. Makeup optional. Don’t document any of it. Just be as honest as you can and hope they do the same.

PISCES

There’s an enormous moth on my screen door. It looks almost identical to the leaves that fall off the tree out back, a deep yellow with brown spots and black edges. And I know it started as a caterpillar. It lived a whole caterpillar life, crawling and eating. And then that caterpillar life ended and something else emerged. And it’s a beautiful moth. But it had to go through all that to get to my screen door. And I think of what you’ve been through, Pisces. And I think of what you’ve become. And I think you’ve really arrived at something lately. Fly as far as you want.

ARIES

Did you ever read that book about that teenage girl who was raised in a really restrictive home and she has to go to an awful public school where she’s terribly bullied by all the girls in her gym class? I think they made a movie of it, too. If I remember it right, Aries, things get really bad but then she explains to her classmates that she doesn’t like being bullied, so everybody apologizes for the misunderstanding. They become great friends and then they all have a fantastic time at prom. Actually, maybe I never finished that book, Aries, but it does remind me that it’s always a good idea to ask for what you need before things get out of hand.

GEMINI

Everyone knows that if you get bitten by a werewolf, you become a werewolf. What nobody talks about is all the chewing. Ever since I got bit, I can’t stop gnawing on everything I see. This is the third pair of running shoes I’ve ripped to shreds this week and it’s still two weeks from the full moon. When I get off work, all I want to do is curl up in my crate and lazily maw some rawhide. Anyway, Gemini, you’re changing lately too. And some of it is amazing! But keep an eye out for habits you don’t really want to spend your time on. You have a choice.

CANCER

You’re alone at home. You’ve just finished microwaving a leftover burrito-bowl. You sit down in front of the TV and press “play” on the spooky movie you’re already halfway through. And, just then, the phone rings. Strange. Why was your ringer even on? It’s a number you don’t know but you answer anyway. A stranger’s voice asks a strange question. “Have you voted yet, Cancer?” You throw the phone across the room with a shudder. You forgot! It’s too late. You suddenly wake up in bed, drenched in sweat, your heart pounding. It was just a dream. There’s still time. Or is there?

LEO

I got one of those spooky flashing light bulbs to put out front so trick-or-treaters know I’ve got candy. But maybe I installed it too early because it’s been keeping me awake all week. It’s just so sporadic. It flashes for a few seconds, stays steady-on for most of a minute, turns off completely for a 5-count and then goes back to flashing. I can just barely see it through the window, but the lack of a pattern is too much to sleep through. Honestly, that’s how everything feels lately, Leo. We just never know what’s coming next. If the unexpected and the possible are keeping you awake, try getting some black-out-curtains for your brain. Whatever puts you back in the moment and keeps you out of fearing what’s next.

TAURUS

My neighbor moved out of her house a couple months ago. She couldn’t keep up with the place anymore so she moved in with her kids. And the house just sits there. Empty. Yesterday I saw a raccoon in the attic window. And I wonder if he’s just got free reign of the place. Maybe he’s down in the kitchen making a sandwich. Maybe he’s flipping channels on the big-screen. Maybe he’s just washing his little raccoon-hands in the sink for hours on end. Anyway, Capricorn, I hope you aren’t too lonely today. And if there’s not enough going on at your place, maybe you should get outside. Maybe rummage through something or meet up with some friends.

There was a time in America when every stage in every club had a ska band playing real American ska music. A bass player in a suit and tie adjusted his fedora while syncopated trumpet-blasts harmonized with no fewer than two trombones. And in this glorious past, there was always one man on stage unlike the others. He was dressed to the nines, but he had no horn, no guitar, and no microphone. He wasn’t there to be heard. He was there to skank. He would kick in rapid-fire while his long arms waved at his side. Smiling or dead-pan-serous, he never stopped moving till the music was over. Who in your life won’t stop skanking you back to the beat, Taurus? Thank them today..

VIRGO

Now I guess I know what they meant by Scream 7. This restaurant is always so noisy and the hostess keeps asking “How many are in your party?” and I keep gesturing back to my amateur astrology club and I assume this must be the plot of that movie because I’ve screamed “seven!” so many times that Dr. Conundra is about to walk out on this whole event and then I’ll just be screaming “six!” Anyway, Virgo, it’s great to get together with people. But if you want to deepen relationships, make sure to pick a venue where everybody can relax.

Mr. Mysterio is not a licensed astrologer, a registered Waymo driver, or a trained werewolf veterinarian. Want more? Visit mrmysterio.com Or just give him a call at 707-VHS-TAN1. October 21 - November 4, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 15

VENDOR WRITING

Fall

BY FREEPRESSGMA, CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR Invited to the most important ball of the year Rushing leaves, a traffic jam to the Grand soiree of rebirth, Swirls of joyous spirit in bright ballgowns

Fog

BY CARL D., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

citrus tangerine salmon orange sage yellow crimson celadine

You are like the fog, a think of beauty, yet shrouded in mystery for sometimes I can, then again I cannot, your beauty see. Moving slowly you will enfold me in your sweet arms caressing me until you know all of my many charms.

BY TONY D., GRATEFUL RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC ruby

perfect remnants of sunshine dance round and round each other, turning downward to the mysterious that awaits beneath. There, escorts await, dark, rich, formally attired. Hades at his most attractive. No one has told them of the painful transformation that will take place before rebirth.

Next time you will elude me, staying just out of reach as tho there is some message you are trying to teach Even when I try, no matter how hard I go at this time there is no way to reach you, this is sadly so.

Hug of Five

Back in High School, my best friend’s name was Jim, Jimmy Dean. (Not the sausage guy, by the way.) We both had little sisters who were six years younger than we were. They were very best friends. My little sister’s name was Lisa Dodson, and Jimmy’s little sister’s name was Gina Dean. We were all Christians. We made a pact. We agreed that when we all got to Heaven, that we’d have a five way hug with Jesus. This poem came to me miraculously on a stormy evening, just as I was falling asleep. I felt an overwhelming urge to rise and put pen to paper, and did so. That’s the inspiration behind this poem. I sincerely hope that it blesses your soul. “Hug of Five” In my bed, praying was I When Jesus pierced, a darkened sky

Yet I will continue to love and await the words I want to hear. Knowing like the fog, I may never hear, although I love you so my dear.

Let me tell you, just what I saw Not gripped with fear, I was in awe Lightning flashing all around Let me tell, about the sound Thunder rolling, from above Then I saw, the Lord of Love Yes I saw it, yes I’ve seen They were Dodson, they were Dean

The Person I Used To Be BY A.J.G., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

Tony, Lisa, Gina, Jim Four way hugging, praising Him

Misunderstood, mistreated, disrespected, knocked around a few times and left out in the cold, boy did that get old. Then heartbroken and shattered, scattered and fried and never appreciated and enjoyed — Exit light; Enter darkness. I hurt people who cared even though I didn’t understand their love and isolation became a thing and trying to express my love language became increasingly difficult. I internalized my pain and hurt about the things I couldn’t fix and found every toxic trait I hated about myself. BUT I. Still. Found. PEACE. Miss Independent herself came in and really showed me through her positivity, humility, kindness, love, light, spirituality, eagerness, wisdom with a bit of sassiness that life in a slower lane is what I needed. I will gladly, proudly, without a shadow of a doubt, love this woman and thank my lucky tars she saw in me what I just couldn’t’t see or find within myself. I figured out that through my darkness with her light I can be myself — not judged, belittled or unloved — more slower and still succeed! Oh, and when her brow curves and says you should pay? I sure do. Such wisdom. She divorces me at least three times a day but marries me every morning. The voice of an angel, spirit of a feather in the mid and the heart and soul of a new born. Until next time, mi amigos, stay blessed. Peace, Love, Light.

When we’re there, and all alive He’ll join with us, a Hug of Five We’re now here, now let’s go find The things we sought He’s gentle, He’s kind

“I Need Yah, Holy” - pen on paper. CARLI THARP, CONTRIBUTOR STAFF

Fun-Sized

BY STELLA S., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR My first Jack-o-lantern weighed seven pounds, eleven ounces! Wow! Such a butter-ball turkey I could just eat up! He was very stout and was so ready to see what all the fuss was about. He knew how to shine oh so bright! Lil toothless smile turned into a full set of pearly whites with every harvest. September was an exciting month for Mama Lantern. The three lil pumpkins shined their best pumpkins miles and filled Mama’s heart with chocolate kisses and white chocolate hugs and twizzlered her watermelon sweet tooth. Baby Jack told Baby Ruth that round was a shape and his mama wasn’t fat — she was fun-sized because his wee little arms could fit all around her as he hugged her tight. Oh Hallow’s Eve! What a fright. Good night.

October 21 - November 4, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 16

Here He comes! He’s still alive! Now we’ll have, our hug of five He gave a hug, a mighty one We just hugged, God’s only Son (Jesus) “I must go, to others now.” At his feet, we all did bow (Jesus) “Don’t you worry, I’ll be back. No pain up here, you’ll never lack.” (Jesus) “Don’t you worry, I’m still alive! We’ll have another, Hug of five.”

VENDOR WRITING

National Domestic Violence Awareness Month BY ANITA S., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

October 1987 was the first time domestic violence was recognized. Two years later Congress officially made it law. Well, from day to day those affected by domestic violence are not waiting for another October to roll around. I won’t go into all the statistics. A Google search could give you more than I could ever say in words on paper. One that struck out today in my search revealed that 20,800 domestic violence calls come through on an average each month to the National Domestic Violence Hotlines, and police receive a domestic violence abuse related call every 30 seconds. What’s not included in

those numbers are situations that are fatal and there is no paper trail or history of calls to the hotlines or the local authorities. Please tell somebody. Somewhere around the world, even in your neighborhood, domestic violence is taking place. Kids, family and friends are affected as well and perpetrators and those found guilty have left families and communities devastated. My exposure to domestic violence goes back to a very young age through my teenage years and well into my adulthood. I have experienced every form of domestic violence that can be seen on the power and control wheel

(please Google “Power and Control Wheel” and see all images of that chart). Growing up the grown folks knew what was going on in our family. I had no clue at such a young age. My younger brother and myself treated it like we won a prize when we were able to go to a relative’s home, which was over-crowded. This went on, back and forth, until our mom went back home. Many times people will say, “Don’t tell ya business,” or “What goes on in this house, stays in this house!” Threats and cover ups may actually be something that needs to be shared before it turns for the worst and could end up being detrimental.

You are not alone. Keep your faith in God and get the help. You don’t have to be put to shame nor be in hiding anymore. There are people and agencies that will help to create a safe plan for you. Families and friends should always be as supportive as possible. National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text “START” to 88788. YWCA Nashville and Middle Tennessee 24-hour Hotline: 1-800-334-4628 For more statistics, visit SafeHomes Domestic Violence Center at safehomesdv.org

S’Mores

BY L OR A V., CON T RIBU T OR VENDOR This is the time of year when I start thinking about s’mores. All you need is a little fire and some marshmallows on a stick. Put it near the fire and keep turning it. The marshmallow has got to be gooey. Let it cool a little. Then, put a little chocolate on top and put it in the middle of two graham crackers. Done and

ready to eat! It’s got be ooey and gooey. Now you can buy kits and even machines to make it. It’s even cleaner and no mess! But that’s no fun. I like it the messy way. Things and food don’t taste the same if you don’t make some kind of mess making it.

Relationships

BY ELEANOR S., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

Where I Am Today BY WILLIAM B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

When I was in my 20s, in the ‘70s, I met this girl and got married. She was a runaway, but I didn’t know it at the time. That’s also when I first experienced drugs. It was marijuana and popping pills. Things got bad. We got married. She got pregnant. She lied again to me and said it was mine. I didn’t find out until two weeks later before the baby was born that it wasn’t mine. Well then I done something stupid. I tried to hurt myself, well, I did hurt myself and I died on the table from an overdose. I went on with my life after that. I was paralyzed for two weeks after I took the overdose. I decided I wanted to be back home in Nashville and not stay up in Oregon with her. I went back three different times though to try and rekindle the love, but it just wasn’t there on her part. It was alive on my part because I was easy going and I fell in love easy. I just didn’t always know when to stop. So after that, she filed for divorced and we got divorced. We weren’t even married for a year. After that I came back home and years later in 1985 I met another lady. We were together for a year and then we got married. I caught her fooling around on me and I took another overdose and then got on crack cocaine. Crack cocaine was my downfall. It made me want to start playing poker machines and then I started loosing money. My ex wife didn’t like that, so she kept messing around on me,

so to keep my drug habit up, I would break into houses in the housing projects. One day I tried to sell an air conditioner I stole to a bar and the bar recognized me and told the lady whose air conditioner it was about it. We got evicted. So, we went to Knoxville with our one year old son and after a year in Knoxville we had a little girl. Things happened and she fooled around on me more. I was going to school and working and I didn’t know what to do. I eventually made her leave when I caught her with someone in our house. That event made me harm myself again, worse this time. I ended up in the hospital for a few days. When I got out my wife told me she didn’t love me anymore so we got a divorce. I’m still hoping to find another companion, but I don’t want another marriage. I don’t want to keep hurting my body. I want to go to heaven with all my heart. I believe in Jesus with all my heart and I have a wonderful church family. They love me and I love them. That’s a little bit about me. I hope you understand what I went through and where I am now in my life. I’m a Christian and a vendor of The Contributor and also a writer for The Contributor. I love The Contributor. I also love Room in The Inn. That’s where I went when I got off of drugs in 2007. I’m clean since September of 2007. I feel awful about a lot of stuff, but I feel good about that. God bless you all.

Everywhere we go to rest or sleep we always get run off by police or the rangers. You meet a lot of different people out here. Some are very nice. When you sell the newspapers you have to be very nice even though it’s very hard at times. I’m friends with mainly guys. There’s a few that think I want to be more and they get very jealous if I talk to other guys. I

keep telling them I just want to be friends. Wish they would understand. One even asked me to marry him and when I said no he got very upset. Others just want to have friends with benefits, which is not gonna happen. My heart is already taken by someone else but I know that’s not going to happen. I will just be single for the rest of my life.

Life

BY SHORT Y R., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR Life can be good and bad. It’s not always a bed of roses. When you’re going through a rough situation, pray on it. Think in your mind how to work through it and which way is the easiest for you. Take it one day at a time. This too will pass.

Enjoy life when it is easy. Just roll with it. Life don’t have to be serious all the time. When times are hard I sing, “One day at a time sweet Jesus is all I’m asking from you.” Life don’t have to be hard for you to pray and all on Jesus for help.

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 A man who made coffins was on his way to deliver one when his car broke down. Not wanting to be late, he lifted the coffin onto his head and continued on foot. Along the way, two police officers stopped him to question him. One asked, “Where are you taking that?” The other one asked him, “Do you have any documents or a receipt?” Without thinking the man replied, “I don’t like the place where I was buried so I decided to move to another place.” The tow cops disappeared within seconds.

October 21 - November 4, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 17

SUBSCRIBE ONLINE FOR $10 A MONTH AND GET YOUR VENDOR PAID AND THE PAPER DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOU. SIGN UP AT: THECONTRIBUTOR.ORG/ SUBSCRIBE-TODAY

ABBY R. RUBENFELD Attorney at Law

arubenfeldlaw.com

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

October 21 - November 4, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 18

MOVING PICTURES

Unabomber bombs on Netflix

Kaczynski origin story fumbles its radical truth BY JOE NOLAN, FILM CRITIC I’ve followed the story of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, since I bought the first printing of his political manifesto, Industrial Society and Its Future, when Jolly Roger Press published one of the first bound editions on Jan. 1, 1995. Most will know Kaczynski as a mathematician and domestic terrorist who killed three and injured 23 in a mail-bombing campaign lasting from 1978 to 1995. He infamously lived in a tiny shack in rural Montana, where he formulated his anti-technological worldview and wired the bombs he mailed to individuals he targeted as anti-nature technologists. Behind his blank stare and overgrown beard, Kaczynski was a mathematics prodigy who attended Harvard at 16. He tried out for a debate club as a freshman but soon found himself subjected to cruel psychological experimentation with shadowy ties to the military industrial complex. That’s the part of the Unabomber story that reminds us Kaczynski was another kind of victim before he became a monster in the woods.

Director Janus Metz (Borg vs McEnroe, All the Old Knives) and screenwriters Sam Chalsen and Nelson Greaves deliver a biographical thriller that focuses on how Ted Kaczynski became the Unabomber and also tells the story of the investigation that led to his capture. Unabomber essentially flips the script of the excellent Manhunt: Unabomber limited series (2017), which focused on the procedural details of the investigation while also highlighting Kaczynski’s disturbing experiences at Harvard. The film follows Kaczynski (Jacob Tremblay) from his teenage years through his transformation from Harvard prodigy into elusive domestic terrorist. At Harvard, Kaczynski experiences brutal psychological experiments run by Professor Henry Murray (Russell Crowe). Crowe is masterful as the charismatic but manipulative researcher systematically breaking down his young subjects’ identities and beliefs. Tremblay is also great, playing arrogant, immature, brilliant and insecure line by line just like an awkward genius ado-

lescent. Shailene Woodley plays Joanne Miller, a fictional composite FBI investigator representing the nearly two-decade investigation into the bombings. This is the broken part of the film. Jim Fitzgerald is the name of the brilliant agent who pioneered forensic linguistics and successfully profiled Kaczynski based on his letters and manifesto, the fascinating portrait at the heart of Manhunt: Unabomber. The creation of Joanne Miller and the near-total absence of forensic linguistics details is meant to streamline the investigation side of this tale and focus on the origin story. It’s a good instinct, but not strong enough. The filmmakers give such short shrift to the investigation that the film would’ve been better off abandoning it entirely and delivering a straight portrait of young Ted at Harvard. The experiments were real, and Kaczynski later cited them as pivotal to his radicalization. There’s considerable circumstantial evidence Kaczynski had been part of the MK-Ultra mind control program. Murray had worked with the

October 21 - November 4, 2026 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 19

Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor to today’s Central Intelligence Agency, during the war, developing personality tests for intelligence services and publishing an early criminal profile of Adolf Hitler. He also developed a test to see how well agents held up under interrogation, strapping subjects to a chair, shining a light in their face and demeaning them with personal attacks. This is exactly what he did to a 16-year-old Kaczynski. Unabomber’s storytelling fails on a structural level, but the 100-minute film doesn’t shy away from framing Kaczynski’s tale as a radicalization narrative about a young man made by institutions before he declared war on them. That’s the part of the story most people don’t know. Unabomber 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.

LOCALES - ACTUALIDAD - INMIGRACIÓN - TRABAJO - SALUD - CULTURA Y ENTRENIMIENTO

L a N t i cia 2026

GRATIS Octubre/2

Newspaper Nashville

www.lanoticianashville.com

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

Año 24 - No. 445

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Nashville, Tennessee

Día de Muertos y Halloween: dos tradiciones distintas que conviven en octubre

Halloween se celebra el 31 de octubre y tiene raíces europeas, particularmente vinculadas a antiguas costumbres celtas asociadas con Samhain, una festividad que marcaba el final de la cosecha y el comienzo del invierno. Con el paso de los siglos, distintas tradiciones religiosas y populares se mezclaron hasta dar origen a la celebración moderna. En Estados Unidos, Halloween se convirtió principalmente en una fiesta comunitaria y comercial: disfraces, dulces, fiestas, casas decoradas y el conocido “trick or treat”. Para niños y

Fotos: La Noticia Newspaper Nashville

adultos, suele ser una ocasión para jugar con el miedo, la fantasía, lo sobrenatural y la imaginación.

época colonial española y las celebraciones católicas de Todos los Santos y los Fieles Difuntos.

El Día de Muertos, por otro lado, tiene profundas raíces mexicanas y combina tradiciones indígenas mesoamericanas con elementos introducidos durante la

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Las familias colocan ofrendas con fotografías, flores, velas, alimentos, bebidas y objetos que fueron importantes para sus seres queridos. El cempasúchil, con su intenso color naranja y amarillo, se ha convertido en uno de los símbolos más reconocibles de la fecha. También aparecen las calaveras de azúcar, el pan de muerto y el papel picado. Una de las ideas centrales del Día de Muertos es que las personas continúan viviendo mientras permanecen en la memoria de quienes las amaron. Por eso, la fecha puede ser emotiva, solemne, alegre y familiar al mismo tiempo.

Dibujo y concepto: Oriana Sánchez Pérez