Sometimes, hate tries to be disguised as love while holding a megaphone and wearing a "Jesus Saves" shirt.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Jimmy + Kathy
Jimmy and Kathy: They have been together for 15 years. Some of those years spent in motels and other years an apartment. Some of their time has been in hospitals while other times have been on the streets. A few ups and a few downs. 15 years.
This photo was taken just two days before Jimmy passed away.
Today I received a phone call from Mrs. Kathy... Jimmy died.
You may recall the photo I posted of the two kissing just two days ago. I took that picture not realizing that would be the last motel they ever check into together.
Shortly after Jimmy died today (2/5/18), I gave that photo to Kathy and she said that she would talk to it tonight while asking if he has really passed away.
While in her motel room Charlie Jenkins from Medical Necessities pulled up and Kathy looked out her window and said, "I called about getting Jimmy's oxygen delivered this morning." I met the man outside their room and told him the news. He asked, "Do you mind if I talk to her?" I invited him inside.
As Charlie entered the room he told her how sorry he was for her loss and then put his hand on her shoulder. She started crying and he said, "I will pray for you." He then said it again, "I will pray for you."
The words that followed were unexpected. He said to Kathy, "I understand what you're going through - loss is hard... " He then told her about the loss of his 7 year old daughter due to cancer.
All loss is sad, but you never know what someone is going through... ever.
“A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love. ”
Mom and the boys together for Christmas
While mom is not always there… when she is you know it. Her sons see past her homeless appearance and go straight to her heart. Thank you to those who helped make this happen, this mother and her two boys are together at Christmas.
She joked with them on the food that was donated, “What are you guys going to eat over the next five days – this is all mine.” The kids would laugh, “Nu-uhh mom – those are my Christmas Cakes (Little Debbie Christmas Trees).” The mom would then start laughing with a smile that could light the moon followed by the boys laughter.
Again, thank you to everyone who helped to put this homeless mother in a local hotel to be with her two boys. A huge thank you to Mrs. Carol Cooper Schroer's class at Siegel Elementary and Andrea Hyde Nelson and her small group for all the gifts, food and gift cards. Needless to say, this mom pictured and her boys are set for the next week for sure!
The kids, ages 10 and 11, are some of the smartest, funniest, playful boys I have ever met. They are polite and outgoing. They live in The Good Shepard’s Home, which is a great place.
"A simplified Christmas isn't about circumstances as much as it is about focus." - Ann Voskamp, author of the New York Times Bestseller, One Thousand Gifts: "A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are"
Who is your Superman?
Who is your Superman? For this young man, I would venture to guess his grandfather who will always be there for him.
"I can't unfeel your pain
I can't undo what's done
I can't stand back the rain
But if I could I would
My love, my arms are open"
"So when you feel like you can't
take another round of being broken
My arms are open
And when you're losing faith
and every door around you keeps on closing
My arms are open"
-ARMS OPEN by THE SCRIPT
Love is all you need
Nashville: Some pictures of “LOVE” need not be explained.
“There's nothing you can do that can't be done. Nothing you can sing that can't be sung. Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game. It's easy…
Nothing you can make that can't be made. No one you can save that can't be saved. Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time. It's easy…
All you need is love”
-Written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney in 1967. Producers of a television program called "Our World" asked the Beetles to come up with a song that contained a message that could easily be understood by everyone. The band took on the project and later released, "All you need is love."
The Drifter
He was sitting on his bike outside of a bar in downtown Nashville. "LOVE" and "HATE" tattooed to his fingers... He looked like the type who drifted into town with the thought of one night, but likely turned into two and later three.
By ten that evening, he was laying down on his ride with his feet hanging over the rear tire – his head on his handlebars. It was as if he owned the street and if he was told to move on, with a spit he’d say no and sit tight.
The type most would not approach in fear of not being able to walk away, he sat alone as the traffic around him blurred past.
"Got no strings to tie me down
Got no cause to hang around
What difference does it make which way I go
Got an empty feelin' down inside
Still I need to stay alive
Who can tell what waits beyond this road
I'm a drifter, lonesome drifter"
- Johnny Cash, “I'm A Drifter” (Version 2)
It can be dark
It is dark, but darkness is sometimes on the inside of those we meet, but sometimes we don't know.
His knuckles had the words tattooed in faded ink, “HATE” and “LOVE.” He told me, "I could feel it against the bone as he did it."
The word "HATE" was written backwards as "ETAH" and I have seen that before on tattoos. Some have told me they did that so they could read their tattoo themselves, which is commonly called "mirror writing." It is often the sign of a deteriorating brain.
It is not dyslexia, it is instead dysgraphia. The medical definition of dysgraphia is, “The impairment of the ability to write caused by brain damage,” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It can be a symptom of brain disease.
But why such a contrasting tattoo of love and hate?
I asked the man who was in his late sixties “Why?” He then went back to a time when he was behind bars… “It was a prison tattoo in the 70’s – I figured it would fade away in a year or so. But, it’s still here over 40-years later.”
I couldn’t settle for such an answer so I pressed on. “But why,” I asked him again. “I liked to fight back then and I liked the idea of the tattoo on my fingers, so I did it,” he said quietly as cars passed by on a busy Nashville street.
Still, not the in depth answer I was looking for. I wanted to hear about his inner fight of being good verses being evil. His response to such nonsense, “Back then I was young and dumb – Today I am old and foolish.”
In the 1953 novel by David Grubb entitled “The Night of the Hunter,” the fictional character Reverend Harry Powell had Love and Hate tattooed on his fingers. The character was a known con-artist in the story and also a serial killer. Perhaps it was that novel that spurred others to get such tattoos?
In the book, the character of Reverend Powell gives a sermon on the struggles between good and evil while using his inked knuckles as an example while preaching. On one hand you have love, on the other you have hate.
The story was set in the 1930’s and the Reverend spread the word of God while befriending rich widows and later killing them while gaining their fortunes. In other words, the good was the spreading of the word followed by his bad acts of murder.
The tattoos were later made clearer when the novel became a movie in 1955. In fact, the “LOVE” and “HATE” is one of the most iconic images in film history still today, all because of the movie. Since the 50’s, multiple characters have had similar or the same tattoos.
Rev. Powell in “The Night of the Hunter” was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Perhaps a scary combination that is seen in multiple serial killers throughout history. In 1955 the film was far from popular. No one wanted to see a traveling preacher who was also capable of such evil. No one wanted to be reminded that evil was so vivid, clever and charming at the same time.
While I am not suggesting the hands pictured belong to someone of evil doings, it does make me think twice when I see such tattoos. It is almost a caution sign to remind me that some people battle with true inner evil that is extreme to the point where they have it tattooed onto their body as a reminder.
The hands pictured did prison time for robbery, but perhaps more before being caught – which is why I wanted to focus on the hands as opposed to the face in this photo.
It is a reminder for all of us, because we all have such battles. However, some are much more extreme.
“When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide
Don’t get too close
It’s dark inside
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide”
-Imagine Dragons, Demons