LIFE: He grew up in Murfreesboro and has always called it home.
He has never been married... did he ever find that true love? He has never had children... but did he want any?
He was kind and enjoyed our brief conversation. He talked about his school days at McFadden and later Central High School, which is now Central Magnet School.
His brothers... he spoke highly of. He smiled, "Are you taking pictures for a class," he asked me. I then explained to him that I simply photograph people and tell their story.
Next time I see Mr. Haley, I will ask more questions. He has stories to tell and the luxury of time to tell them.
"Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify." - Henry David Thoreau
Fake weed or Synthetics are deadly in Middle Tennessee
A number of years ago, synthetic drugs sold under a variety of names at local gas stations were outlawed in Tennessee. Much of the push to outlaw such items that were labeled as “Incense” or “Bath Salts” came from Rutherford County State Representative Mike Sparks, who lives in Smyrna, Tennessee.
State Representative Sparks knows the problem exists better than most, which is one reason he is so tough of synthetics. Sparks opened up to multiple media outlets in 2012 confirming that synthetics have been a problem in his family noting that one of his sons, 19 at the time, started using synthetics and it almost ruined his sons life.
Despite his efforts to see the drugs outlawed, they are still widely available today. However, they are not openly sold in gas stations and convenient stores. Instead, they are sold on the streets or in some cases, behind the counter at certain stores.
Today, the synthetic drugs that are often called “Fake Weed” are much more dangerous and potent than they originally were.
A woman named Nikki who has been clean from synthetics for about 4 weeks said the drug is a tough habit to break (8 MIN and 45 SEC) below….
A former user of fake weed in Murfreesboro by the name of Michael said that some convenient stores in Nashville will let you trade a food stamp card for synthetics that are sold behind the counter. Listen to what he says (3 MIN and 8 SEC) below…
Unlike real marijuana, withdrawals from synthetic weed include not only the inability to control bodily functions, but also dehydration caused by sweating profusely with the users core body temperature increasing greatly which can lead to kidney and liver failure.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse claims that synthetic forms of marijuana are the second most widely used drugs among high school students. The number one most used drug is real marijuana.
Sarah needs a new kidney
Life can throw us curve balls at times that we often don’t know how to cope with. At other times, life throws us fast pitches that are altogether too fast to catch and we feel as if everything is out of control. But not Sarah Baker, even though she is going through a lot, she seems to be taking it all in stride and with a smile.
Sarah, who lives in Smyrna, Tennessee, undergoes about four hours of dialysis three times per week. She has held onto that schedule for the past two years or longer. She needs a new kidney and she is on the list to receive one, but it takes time – a lot of it.
Listen to this 8 minute and 15 second interview of what it’s like to undergo dialysis treatment three times weekly as she waits for good news.
Of course, you could help her with that good news by calling the Vanderbilt Kidney Donation Center and volunteering to donate your kidney.
If you would like to learn how you can donate or to see if you are a match, CLICK HERE today. You can also call the Vanderbilt Kidney Transplant Center at 615-936-0695.
By the way, the costs for the donor are fully covered.
I met with a Keeper of Time
In year 1900 the Coleman Company was first introduced to the world after they incorporated, but not as a camping and sporting goods manufacture. Instead, the company opened under the name of the Hydro-Carbon Light Company, manufacturing lanterns that were later named after W.C. Coleman.
It wasn’t until 1909 that the first and famous Coleman Lantern was introduced. The company went on to manufacture everything from cooking stoves to canoes, like the one you see on this Jeep belonging to Brian Burgess.
Burgess, who is an archaeologist, totes his 1958 Coleman canoe with him on a regular basis. The day I ran into him, he was about to load it into the Tennessee River in Chattanooga.
Such canoes made out of aluminum were manufactured for the first time directly after World War II. Many outdoor enthusiast switched over from wood canoes to aluminum during that time period because they were so low maintenance and quite durable.
While digging for gold may sound more glorious, Burgess prefers to dig for history. He has searched the country far and wide for interesting finds. “Anywhere that there is high ground and walking distance to water, there has been man,” he told me while basically suggesting that history can be nearly anywhere.
Originally from the Lone Star State Burgess said that his grandfather, who is 100 years old today, sparked his search for treasures. He said that his grandfather took him exploring as a kid when he was only 4 or 5 years old. “We’re keepers of time,” he stated while talking about the importance of archaeologist.
“I also collect dinosaur bones,” he said while talking about how the bones will wash up along the banks of the Brazos River in Texas. The Brazos is the 11th longest river in the United States, which means it passes through lots of history. The Brazos was also where a scene from the battle between the Texas Navy and Mexican Navy during the Texas Revolution took place. It was also an important navigational voyage during the American Civil War. So, depending on where you are on the river, you may just be lucky enough to come across something interesting.
Not everything Burgess comes across is for keeps. In fact, he has given valuable artifacts to multiple museums. He suggested that history sometimes finds him, so he passes it along to allow others to share in the find.
“We’re keepers of time.” – Brian Burgess, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Never Again
Hands of a domestic violence survivor - Middle Tennessee.
"Just tell the nurse you slipped and fell
It starts to sting as it starts to swell
She looks at you, she wants the truth
It's right out there in the waiting room with those hands
Lookin' just as sweet as he can, never again"
-Nickelback, Never Again
She grows plants
She lives in a small North Carolina town with a population of 910 residents. She makes her living selling plants in front of her home that she once shared with her husband who passed away 14 years ago. “He put in that window,” she told me pointing at a window on the front of her home next to her small greenhouse made of plywood. Looking a bit annoyed she said, “Our town is mostly quiet if it weren’t for the fire station.”
She grows flowers, cabbage and tomatoes.
“The earth laughs in flowers.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
What is an open door?
An open door is not always an invitation to where you want to be.
“There are so many doors to open. I am impatient to begin." --Charlie Gordan” ― Daniel Keyes, Flowers for Algernon (1959)
I shot this photo in a quiet area of North Carolina on the outskirts of the Pisgah National Forest. This photo is inside an old and deserted motel that sits on the edge of a creek. The motel is slowing caving in and mother nature is winning the battle.
Traveling to the tune of music
“Where are you guys headed,” I curiously asked because I am always way curious about everybody. She continued to pick the guitar and he enthusiastically responded, “New Orleans… We just got back from Nashville.”
“Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.” - Ludwig van Beethoven
The Teacher
She is a lifetime teacher…
“I used to teach in Santa Cruz and later the Venice Beach area of California,” she recalled. I would imagine that she was no ordinary teacher in her time, but instead a great teacher, “I’m originally from California and I would take the students to the beach and we would write in the sand.”
In Asheville, North Carolina where she lives today, she taught at several charter schools before retiring. "I've been blessed, very blessed," she said to me.
While retired she helps people to realize their dreams and then chase them so that dreams can become reality.
Before I walked away her words to me, "Let me give you a hug, everyone needs a grandma hug!"
“There are two kinds of teachers: the kind that fill you with so much quail shot that you can't move, and the kind that just gives you a little prod behind and you jump to the skies.” ― Robert Frost
He is Homeward Bound
James is currently homeless, but on the way to housing within the next few weeks thanks to a nonprofit in Asheville, North Carolina called Homeward Bound.
I asked him why he is homeless and he took a breath of cool March air while sitting in the sunshine on a street corner and said, “I have made lots of mistakes in my life – I have no one to blame but myself.” He then explained how he has tried just about every drug known to man, other than shooting up heroin.
“I am laying everything with God – he can figure it out,” he said while looking at the sky. “The way I see it, I came here with nothing and I’ll leave here with nothing. Some people don’t understand that,” he told me.
With a relaxed look he told me, “I’m gonna be getting a place here soon and I can’t wait – I can pay for it myself with my disability check.”
Originally from Polk County, North Carolina, James moved to Asheville because it was a larger city that offers more services and help to those who are homeless. Polk County has a population of about 20,000 residents while Asheville has a population of 87,000.
As I walked away he stopped me to give me an address. "Mail me those pictures," he told me with a slight chuckle.
He said he was a Jesus Freak
Asheville, North Carolina: While I usually photograph people in their natural state, I had to capture this man’s sense of humor and joy. The second he saw my camera he started making faces and laughing.
“I was ordained a minister the year after I graduated from high school by the Church of God Jesus Freaks,” he told me. “That was in 1971,” he said with a smile.
For those who remember the 1970’s, the Jesus Movement was something that started on the West Coast and made its way across America. Members of the movement were often called “Jesus People” or “Jesus Freaks.”
The so called freaks were an effective Christian force in times of major change between the mid 1960’s and into the 70’s. The young adults that were part of the movement had the ability and love of life to mix with a variety of crowds, some of whom were on LSD, following the likes of Charles Manson and more. In other words, the “Jesus Freaks” were able to grab a hold of misguided youth and help them turn their lives around before the drugs overtook them.
A Time magazine article in 1971 suggested, “Their love seems more sincere than a slogan, deeper than the fast-fading sentiments of the flower children.”
Despite the movement breaking apart in the late 1980’s, it did lead to some major changes in churches that can still be seen today. The movement led to new music in churches and what some call today the “Christian Right” and the “Christian Left.”