The simple things

He goes by the nickname of John John and lives in the small town of Shelbyville, TN. He was standing near the gas pumps when he approached me, “Sir, could you buy me a Coca-Cola?” I smiled and said, “Sure.” Then, “Could you buy me something to eat?” I laughed and responded, “Sure, pick out something here.”

The gas station clerk looked at the man and said, “John John, we are out of your favorite popcorn.” She told me, “He likes the cheddar popcorn, but we run out quick because he buys all of them when we get them in.” Apparently, the small filling station only gets five of the cheddar popcorn’s in as John John seems to be the only customer for them.

While paying, “Sir, could you take me to Burger King and get me a burger?” I chuckled, “How about this candy bar and chips?” He quietly said, “Okay, that is good.”

He then walked away into the darkness. He lives in a small trailer park in Shelbyville and hangs out at the filling station when not at work.

"What's fulfilling is being happy and being able to help other people. The simple things." - James Arthur, British singer-songwriter

“What’s fulfilling is being happy and being able to help other people. The simple things.”

— James Arthur, British singer-songwriter

Living in a Small Town

Knocking on random doors in small town America is always interesting... Just aiming to capture life unexpected is the goal.

She has lived in Shelbyville, TN for nearly 50 years… She said, “Ever since ’69.” When I talked to her about others who live in Shelbyville she stated, “ I don’t socialize with nobody too much, so I guess it’s good – I don’t have nothing else.”

I asked her son to describe Shelbyville and he simply said, “It’s a’ight, it’s alright.” When I spoke of crime in the quiet southern community he responded, “I don’t know nothing about no crime around here”

“This is a small town, so everyone talks. Ironic, isn’t it—so few people, so many opinions?”

— Katarina Bivald, "The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend"

Looking back to 2017, Standing Up

Looking back to October of 2017: During a protest held in both Murfreesboro and Shelbyville, TN, those against anyone of color or foreign background showed up in fairly large numbers. I should add, they showed up in Shelbyville, but failed to show up in Murfreesboro after learning the police presence was larger than expected.

Outside of the local square in Murfreesboro, TN some were armed with loudspeakers and were preaching their version of truth. The two women standing in front of the man on the speaker disagreed with what he had to say and they were not timid about standing up against him.

“Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself and then stand up for somebody else.”

— Maya Angelou

A day filled with hate, not love

Today in Murfreesboro I witnessed so many things, most of which I found sad. 

Some people like this man speaking into a microphone connected to a speaker, was using words from the Bible to hurt, anger or tear down others. I witnessed the rage that stared down the Bible scriptures, which is inconsistent with what Christianity is about. 

Today, I saw young men literally pick fights with older men because they disagreed with an opinion. 

Today, I saw a father who brought his son to the rally in Murfreesboro. The young boy, not knowing what was happening, was simply sitting on the ground playing with a toy as his father watched the crowd in anticipation of a fight. 

Today, I saw where a young black woman was not told she was entering the gates on the wrong side of the protest and she could not cross over once inside… surrounded by angered white supremacist she bravely snapped a photo on her phone and I said, “Be careful over here.” As I walked away she quietly said, “Don’t leave.” 

Today I spoke to a white supremacist and asked why he came to Shelbyville, TN today and he turned his head and said no comment. 

Today I witnessed those who suggested they were on the Murfreesboro square to show love while holding signs that sounded sweet… only to hear them spew words of hate towards those standing on the opposite side of a fence. 

Below is a soundclip of the above man preaching into a loudspeaker: 

“I shall allow no man to belittle my soul by making me hate him.” - Booker T. Washington

The Old City Dam in Shelbyville, TN

The Old City Dam in Shelbyville, TN along the Duck River has seen its share of floods over the years. The question now is, will the old power house remain or will it be torn down?

The Tennessee Preservation Trust continues to call the old red brick building on the edge of the waterway an endangered historic site, yet little has been done to preserve it.

The building was constructed in 1915 to generate electricity for the community of about 2,800 residents. Today, closer to 21,000 residents from a variety of backgrounds call Shelbyville home.

The power generating facility was sold to the Tennessee Electric Power Company in 1929 and later to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1939. The TVA stopped using the site in 1948 and sold it to the City of Shelbyville in 1950. It has now been unused for 68 years.

As for the Duck River, it is the longest river in Tennessee. The 284 mile stretch of water is also home to more than 50 freshwater mussels and 151 different species of fish. While it may be hard to believe, the Duck River is the most biologically diverse river in all of North America. 

From Shelbyville, Tennessee

“Sir, welcome to Nashville – where are you from and are you a Christian,” he said to me in a slightly panicked voice as if he were afraid I’d walk away before he could finish his question. I smiled, “Yes… are you?”

He then said to me, “If you saw someone who was homeless who hasn’t eaten in days, would you help them?” I told him that I would and then asked him to point that person out to me.

“Could I please have a dollar,” he asked. “Here’s a dollar, where are you from,” I inquired with curiosity as it seems as if no one is actually from Nashville. He told me, “Shelbyville, Tennessee – about two hours from here.”