January 2022 Murfreesboro Pulse

INSIDE

MR. DEL LAWRENCE / ROLAND JUSTICE / ADULT AND TEEN CHALLENGE / TOM TAYLOR / JIMMY BOWEN / BARRED OWLS JANUARY 2022 / VOL. 17, ISSUE 1 / FREE

FOOD Middle Tennessee’s Source for Art, Entertainment and Culture News

Fried Tater Cafe Serves Southern Favorites at 200-Year-Old Store

LIVING

Petty Junkie Brady Seals brings Tom Petty tribute back to Hop Springs; former Little Texas member talks new book, God Blessed Texas & Me Too

Tennessee History Lovers Can Step Back in Time at Cades Cove

NEWS

Candidate Lehew Desires to See City Transition to Full-Time Mayor  WE SELL AIRPLANES!  FLIGHT TRAINING  PRIVATE PILOT  AIRLINE CAREERS  DISCOVERY FLIGHTS

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Contents

29

THE PETTY JUNKIES

10

FEATURES

20

IN EVERY ISSUE

8

5 Events

HOPE DEALER

Hip-hop artist Mr. Del is on a mission to bring local youth to Christ.

10

PETTY JUNKIE

Brady Seals brings cover band back to Hop Springs; discusses new book.

20

CALENDAR Polar Bear Plunge, Boots in the ’Boro, The Connection, Career Expo and more

Tennessee history lovers can step back in time at Cades Cove.

12

16 Reviews

ADULT AND TEEN CHALLENGE

Nonprofit on a mission to help men overcome drug and alcohol addiction.

24

Mayoral candidate Tony Lehew wants to transition city position to full-time.

ALBUMS Roland Justice Tom Taylor MOVIE Don't Look Up

18 Food

RESTAURANT The Fried Tater Cafe

Art Director: Sarah Mayo Copy Editor: Steve Morley Advertising: Nneka Sparks

28

Opinion RUTHERFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS Parent banned from schools after speaking out against forced masking.

NATURE NEWS Barred owls at Barfield Park

Contributors: Tiffany Boyd, Melissa Coker, Jennifer Durand, Delores Elliott, Bryce Harmon, Jacob Lambke, Tyler Larrabee, Laura Lindsay, Blaine Little, Ashleigh Newnes, Edwina Shannon, Jay Spight, Andrea Stockard

GARDENING Winter planning and pruning to maintain plant health FREE YOUR CHILDREN Are public schools safe?

BUSINESS BUZZ TN Golf Station, Munch, RHK Hibachi, Legacy Sports, Buc-ee’s, Krav Maga, SmartBank and more

Sounds

CONCERT CALENDAR

22

Publisher/Editor in Chief: Bracken Mayo

BUSINESS MOMENTUM Entrepreneurship students participate in business plan competition.

MUSIC NOTES Jimmy Bowen and Friends at Ridenour

CADES COVE

FULL-TIME MAYOR

22 News

FINANCIAL COACHING Understanding and investing in cryptocurrency LIVE . . . WELL Dedicating energy and efforts to healthy habits in the new year

33

Sports MTSU SPORTS Blue Raiders cap season with Bahamas Bowl victory.

FITNESS Motivation and planning for getting fit

Copyright © 2022, The Murfreesboro Pulse, 714 W. Main St., #208, Murfreesboro, TN 37129.

Proudly owned, operated and published the first Thursday of each month by the Mayo family; printed by Franklin Web Printing Co. The Pulse is a free publication funded by advertisers. Views expressed in the Pulse do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. ISSN: 1940-378X

714 W. Main St., Suite 208, Murfreesboro, TN 37129 615-796-6248 To carry the PULSE at your business, or to submit letters, stories and photography: bracken@boropulse.com SIGN UP for the Pulse Weekly Digital Newsletter at BOROPULSE.COM/NEWSLETTER FOLLOW:

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The Murfreesboro Pulse

HERE WE GO, into the fourth year of COVID. It turns out that many had good reason to be skeptical of the “two weeks to stop the spread” message so long ago: the idea that submitting to Fauci and the power structure, suspending business, staying at home, and abandoning free movement, travel and liberty for a brief time was going to do positive things for the future of the world.

The “pandemic” continues. World population grew by about 75 million people in 2021, by the way.

The COVID is not a significant threat to the world population in any drastic way. Clearly, though, some are more at-risk of death from this virus (and other illnesses). Stay safe. Live your life how you want and in a way that makes you feel secure. If you prefer not to cover your face or to get multiple doses of untested vaccines, you will probably be fine, and the Pulse supports your right to choose!

I hope Christmas was a nice time with your family, filled with cheer and merriment. As one grows older, Christmas becomes more a time to share with loved ones, sweetly reflecting on the memories of yore and observing the smiles of the children rather than being all about the gifts and the candy and the commercialization . . . still, thanks to Bracken Jr. for letting me shoot his sweet Nerf guns (taking target practice at the shepherds of a nativity scene while shoving my mouth full of cookies and wearing elf ears! Yahoo!).

Congrats to all of those who won some items and gift cards from the Pulse’s annual Christmas giveaway.

Enjoy. I encourage everyone to support the fine local businesses who participated in this project.

Stay tuned to WQJZ, Murfreesboro’s quiet jazz, 103.9, for the Pulse Radio Report, airing throughout each day. Thanks to the station for that partnership with your community publication.

May you accomplish all of your goals and resolutions in 2022—physical, financial, spiritual, reading, writing, painting, drawing, walking, running, biking, hiking, musical, professional, educational, philanthropic, travel or otherwise.

Over the past few years the Mayo family has made a habit of visiting waterfalls, state parks and natural areas within a day trip of Murfreesboro. We have found ourselves in some beautiful settings and gotten some free fresh air and exercise. Read more from this collection of outdoor and travel pieces at boropulse.com.

In December we made it out to Cades Cove, one of the many fantastic places in the great state of Tennessee to explore, take in beautiful natural scenery and learn more about history. This one is a little farther, but please don’t get bored or frustrated—many attractions await you that will not require medical records or facial coverings, or even a fee, to visit.

While we were out in that section of Tennessee, we also accomplished a very taxing hike up to Rainbow Falls. I was proud of all of us for that one. Perhaps a more detailed report of that waterfall and trail will come in a future issue.

It’s almost playoff time for the Titans! Is this the year?

Can they hit on all cylinders in January when the games really count? They have quite a team this season, and quite a story, using so many players.

May your cup overflow with peace, joy and blessings!

Peace, BRACKEN MAYO Publisher/Editor in Chief

EVENTS CALENDAR  JANUARY 2022  BY ANDREA STOCKARD JAN. 6

is one of the first opportunities in 2022 to take your business further, faster. Avoid past mistakes and equip yourselves with tools needed to be successful by getting advice from business experts. Organizer Blaine Little focuses on team building, Jon Cleaver and Wendy Stephenson will discuss finance, Dwight Dye will present on business structure and taxes, Bill McCleskey on sales and Sheri Traxler on getting (real) energy. For more information, visit momentrumseminars.com and find the Velocity Business Summit on Eventbrite.

CARMEN MAPLES BOOK SIGNING Linebaugh Public Library (105 W. Vine St.) hosts local author Carmen Maples for a book signing on Thursday, Jan. 6, from 10 a.m.–1 p.m. The author will be signing and selling copies of her book Gigi’s Little Dreamer, which highlights the relationship between a grandmother and her granddaughter. For this little girl, there is no greater joy than visiting her Grandma Gigi. It is a place where unforgettable memories are made and inspiring adventures are had. This charming rhyming picture book, paired with playful illustrations from Jasmine Mills, is the latest in a series of books written by Maples, a Memphis native who had a vision to create a children’s book after the birth of her daughter, Chloe. She recognized the lack of diversity in children’s books and wanted to share her story with others so that little brown-skinned kids could see people in books that looked like them. The Maples Corner book collection also includes Chloe’s ABCs and Chloe and Her New Farm Friends. The books are available for $11 each. For more information, call 615893-4131 or visit rclstn.org.

THROUGH JAN. 6 ARTS LAUREATES EXHIBIT: THE HOPE EFFECT The Cultural Arts Laureate Program is a notable honor for local artists, providing recipients with further opportunities to educate, advocate and represent the community through their own creative initiatives.

The Hope Effect, an exhibit at City Hall Rotunda (111 W. Vine St.), presents the work of the 2021 Murfreesboro laureates.

This exhibit features the organization’s first interactive video experience on the city’s new kiosk, featuring past performances presented by the laureates. City Hall is open weekdays from 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

For more information on the exhibit, contact lbrowning@murfreesborotn.gov.

JAN. 7 FIRST FRIDAYS WITH C.A.T. CHOREOGRAPHY C.A.T. Choreography offers hip-hop classes on Friday, Jan. 7, at no charge at

JAN. 13 CRAFTING AT CANNONSBURGH

JAN. 8

PHOTO BY JIM DAVIS/MURFREESBORO PARKS AND REC

POLAR BEAR PLUNGE Join the Arctic Adventure in the Sports*Com gym (2310 Memorial Blvd.) Saturday, Jan. 8, from 8:30–10:30 a.m. for games, inflatables, hot chocolate, coffee and doughnuts. Participate in a costume contest and introductions and then walk to the outdoor pool. Immediately after the jump into the outdoor pool, the indoor pool will open and remain available until 11:30 a.m. Joining the Polar Bear Plunge is free for all ages with either a canned food donation or a donation to Special Olympics. For more information, contact 615-895-5040.

Patterson Park Community Center (521 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.). Dancers aged 8 and up are welcome to bust a move from 4–5 p.m. and 5–6 p.m. every first Friday of the month. For more information, call 615-893-7439.

JAN. 10 AND 24 NASP MURFREESBORO NETWORKING EVENT The Nashville Association of Sales Professionals hosts its Murfreesboro networking event the second and fourth Monday of each month (Jan. 10 and 24) in the Burger Bar Restaurant in The Doubletree by Hilton (1850 Old Fort Pkwy.) with networking starting at 11 a.m. and the meeting at 11:30 a.m. NASP is a professional nonprofit organization that provides a positive forum for skill enhancement training and networking for career sales people. Learn how to become a more polished and successful sales professional by improving your presentation and enhancing your people skills.

Everyone from new sales professionals to

seasoned road warriors are invited to attend. For more information on NASP, visit nashville-nasp.org.

JAN. 10 AND 24 SNAKE FEEDING AT WILDERNESS STATION Learn all about snake adaptations and how they swallow their food whole with a live educational demonstration of the snakes being fed at Wilderness Station at Barfield Crescent Park (401 Volunteer Rd.) Mondays, Jan. 10 and 24, from 11–11:30 a.m.

There is no registration required or cost to attend. For more information on Wilderness Station programs, contact 615-2173017 or dthomas@murfreesborotn.gov.

JAN. 11 VELOCITY BUSINESS SUMMIT Set your business up to win in 2022 with Momentum Seminars on Tuesday, Jan. 11, from 9 a.m.–3 p.m. at Middle Tennessee Association of Realtors building (311 Butler Dr.). The Velocity Business Summit

Grab a friend or two and craft at Cannonsburgh Village (312 S. Front St.) Thursday, Jan. 13, from 1–2 p.m. Paint wooden spoon snowmen to take home or give as gifts. Admission is $15 per person.

Reservations are required. Ages 18 and up are welcome. Call 615-801-2606 or email mbnevills@murfreesborotn.gov for reservations.

JAN. 13 NATURE JOURNALING FOR KIDS Calling all nature lovers! Make your own nature journal at the Wilderness Station at Barfield Crescent Park (401 Volunteer Rd.) on Thursday, Jan. 13, from 3–4 p.m.

Afterwards, take a hike to explore and record your observations. The cost to join is $3 and ages 7 and up are welcome.

Pre-registration is required by calling 615-217-3017.

JAN. 15 FRIENDS OF LINEBAUGH VIRTUAL AFTERNOON WITH AN AUTHOR Author Jennie Fields is the 2022 featured author for the Friends of Linebaugh Library’s Virtual Afternoon With an Author, held on Zoom on Saturday, Jan. 15, at 2 p.m. Fields is the author of five novels, including historical fiction works The Age of Desire and Atomic Love. Fields speaks about Atomic Love, which is set in Chicago in 1950 and centers on allegations of Soviet espionage in the development CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 BOROPULSE.COM

* JANUARY 2022 * 5

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 of the atomic bomb. The main character, Rosalind Porter, is the only woman to have worked on the Manhattan Project.

Acclaimed area author Ann Patchett says the novel is “a novel of science, love, espionage, beautiful writing, and a heroine who carves a strong path in the world of men.” Email follauthorevent@gmail.com to request an Zoom invitation. Friends of Linebaugh Library is a nonprofit organization formed in 1981 to promote the library and its activities through exhibits, special programming and library materials beyond the regular resources of the library.

THROUGH JAN. 16 CHRISTMAS TREE DROP-OFF If you would like to recycle your live Christmas tree, please remove all decorations (including tinsel) and bring the tree to Lee Victory Recreation Park (100 Sam Ridley Parkway E., Smyrna) through Jan. 16.

Signage directs you to the area adjacent to Freedom Playground. For more information, visit townofsmyrna.org and search Christmas tree drop-off.

JAN. 17 MLK DAY OF SERVICE: PACK THE PACKS In recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s commitment to community service, Patterson Park Community Center (521 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) invites the public to its second annual MLK Day of Service: Pack the Packs Sort-a-thon on Monday, Jan. 17, from 1–3 p.m. This event benefits Murfreesboro City School children in need of after-school and weekend meals. If you would like to volunteer, register at unitedwayvolunteer.org. For more information, call 615-893-7439 ext. 6121 or email cellis@murfreesborotn.gov.

JAN. 18 LANYARD KEYCHAIN CRAFT AT WILDERNESS STATION Join Murfreesboro Parks and Rec to learn how to make a square knot and create your own lanyard keychain on Tuesday, Jan. 18, from 3–4 p.m. at Wilderness Station at Barfield Crescent Park (401 Volunteer Rd.). Use it for a key or to hang it on your backpack. Ages 9 and up are welcome and the cost to join is $5. Register by calling 615-217-3017.

JAN. 18 PREPARING FOR A DISASTER: EMERGENCY FOOD KITS It’s best to be prepared when a disaster strikes. Meet at Cannonsburgh Village (312 S. Front St.) from 10–11 a.m. on 6 * JANUARY 2022 * BOROPULSE.COM

Tuesday, Jan. 18, as UT-TSU Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Agent Misty Layne-Watkins shares why having an emergency food kit and a communication plan is a step in the right direction. Admission is free. Reservations are required by Tuesday, Jan. 11, by calling 615-801-2606 or emailing mbnevills@murfreesborotn.gov.

Ages 18 and over are welcome.

JAN. 20 MLK DAY OF SERVICE: CAREER EXPO Looking for a new career or extra income?

Meet at Patterson Park Community Center (521 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) from 9 a.m.–1 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 20, and network with over 25 hiring companies.

Learn interviewing skills and résumé writing and get to know representatives from area businesses. The event is free. For more information, call 615-893-7439 ext.

6121 or email cellis@murfreesborotn.gov.

JAN. 20 THE CONNECTION: BUSINESS NETWORKING AT CHAMPY’S Champy’s World Famous Fried Chicken will host the January 2022 installment of The Connection: An Evening of Professional Networking and Business Brainstorming from 5–7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 20. All Middle Tennessee entrepreneurs and professionals are welcome to attend this casual, free, noobligation event, where they can meet other small business owners and tap into one another’s experience and energy. Champy’s is located at 1290 NW Broad St.

JAN. 25 MLK DAY OF SERVICE: MAKE EVERY DOLLAR COUNT Ever wonder where all your money goes?

Want to move from financial chaos to financial confidence? Attend the Make Every Dollar Count workshop to get answers to your budget questions at Patterson Park Community Center (521 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) on Tuesday, Jan. 25, from 5:30–6:30 p.m. The workshop is free. For more information, contact 615-893-7439 ext. 6121 or cellis@murfreesborotn.gov.

JAN. 27 TODDLER ADVENTURES: WINTER WALK AND SNOWFLAKE CRAFT Get some outside time during a winter walk through Cannonsburgh Village (312 S. Front St.) on Thursday, Jan. 27, from 10–11 a.m. Kids can enjoy looking for ways to stay warm in several of the log cabins and participate in a snowflake craft and story time. Ages 5 and under are welcome,

and admission is $3 per person. Reservations are required by Thursday, Jan. 20, by calling 615-801-2606 or emailing mbnevills@murfreesborotn.gov.

JAN. 28–29 BOOTS IN THE ’BORO Tennessee Cattlemen’s Association’s Convention and Trade Show celebrates 37 years of serving the state’s cattle producers with its annual convention and trade show Jan. 28 and 29 at The Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro (1200 Conference Center Blvd.). Hear from top livestock industry speakers addressing topics like herd health, forage systems, sustainability and the current state of the beef business, with informational breakout sessions called “Cow Colleges.” Other topics to be covered include fence laws and liabilities, considerations for first-calf heifers, estate planning, multi-species grazing and agriculture’s future. Opening on Friday morning is the state’s largest beef-cattle trade show, where attendees can visit with more than 100 exhibitors. Network with fellow cattle producers and meet new friends at TCA’s awards luncheon honoring outstanding industry leaders while hearing from some of the state’s legislators.

Youths will have the opportunity to learn about livestock judging, animal care and beef cuts, and to participate in speech contests, photo contests, trainings, a quiz bowl, a county chase activity and a scavenger hunt. Attendees can register at tncattle.org/shop. For hotel reservations, visit murfreesboro.embassysuites.com or call 615-890-4464. For more information, visit tncattle.org/2022-convention.

MONDAYS CONNECT MURFREESBORO Join Connect Murfreesboro each Monday from 9–10 a.m. at BoomBozz Craft Pizza & Taphouse (2839 Medical Center Pkwy.) for a casual networking event designed to connect professionals, build relationships, drive referrals and help grow businesses. Organizers also host similar business networking events in other Middle Tennessee communities. For more information or directions, visit connectnashvillenetworking.com/events.

THURSDAYS AMERICAN VOICES PAST AND PRESENT Seniors ages 55 and up have the opportunity to improve their way of life as well as their mental health through life programs Thursdays in January from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. in the dining room of Patterson Park Community Center (521 Dr. Martin Luther King

Jr. Blvd.). Using gerontology, creative writing and visual arts, seniors share their life stories. The class is limited to 30 people and there is no cost to join. For more information, call 615-893-7439.

THURSDAYS RAPTOR RHAPSODY Have you ever looked an owl in the eye or checked out a falcon’s wings? This is your chance to meet the screech owl and American kestrel up-close and learn about these master predators of the sky at Wilderness Station at Barfield Crescent Park (401 Volunteer Rd.) Thursdays in January from 4–5 p.m. Registration is recommended by calling 615-217-3017. All ages are welcome, and admission is free. For more information on Raptor Rhapsody, contact dthomas@murfreesborotn.gov.

THROUGHOUT JANUARY SEVEN DECADES, FIVE CONTINENTS, ONE EYE View the Walter LeCroy: Seven Decades, Five Continents, One Eye art exhibit, presented by Cultural Arts Visualize Murfreesboro and the City of Murfreesboro at City Hall Rotunda (111 W. Vine St.) through Feb. 24, available to view on weekdays from 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

LeCroy’s interest in photography began at an early age and has remained a lifelong passion. In the mid-1940s, at about age 10, he began to develop his own film by making contact prints using a flashlight inside a ruby-colored water glass. As a teenager in Decatur, Alabama, his pictures of newsworthy happenings around the city appeared in the Decatur Daily and the Birmingham News, occasionally making the front page. Throughout his career, LeCroy traveled the world continuing to photograph everything that captured his imagination. He was an early adopter of then-new, and now pervasive, digital imaging techniques, first in printing and later in image capture. For more information, email lbrowning@murfreesborotn.gov or call 615-543-0952.

THROUGHOUT JANUARY SMYRNA PARKS & REC FLAG FOOTBALL SIGNUPS Signups continue for Smyrna Parks & Recreation Flag Football for boys and girls ages 7–13. To register or for more information, visit townofsmyrna.org or contact kyle. mooney@townofsmyrna.org. The cost to join the league is $75 per player (includes jersey & flag belt). Games are played at Lee Victory Recreation Park (110 Sam Ridley Pkwy E., Smyrna). Registration deadline is Feb. 6. Games begin Saturday, March 19.

 Send community event information to CONTACT@BOROPULSE.COM

Sounds

Read more about local music at

boropulse.com/category/music

HOPE DEALER Hip-Hop artist Mr. Del is on a mission to lead youth to Christ, detox from toxic relationships

D

BY TYLER LARRABEE

el Lawrence has an infectious air of confidence. Many who hear him speak, or have the chance to talk to him, are left with a tremendous sensation of hope and purpose.

Lawrence, also known in the hip-hop community as Mr. Del, credits the city of Memphis, Tennessee, for helping shape these characteristics. The 43-year-old hails from White Haven (just five minutes from Graceland) in an area surrounded by civil rights museums, Beale Street and a wealth of African-American culture.

“Memphis has had an ongoing impact on my life,” Mr. Del told the Pulse. “Memphis 8 * JANUARY 2022 * BOROPULSE.COM

feeds me my inspiration and my creativity.

It’s wonderfully complex.”

When Lawrence was seven years old, an older cousin visited from the East Coast bringing with him a Doug E. Fresh tape.

“I heard that and I was open from that moment on. I wanted everything that sounded like that. I played it over and over and fell in love with it,” says Del. He had always enjoyed poetry, and realized hip-hop was a new way to put poetry over beats. From then on you could find Del freestyling and practicing writing raps with his friends at school.

When he was 13, Del and his friends would sneak out late at night and go down-

town to surround themselves in the local Memphis music scene. It was at this point Mr. Del handed a demo to rap legend Juicy J. “For whatever reason he saw something in me. He became my mentor and I became a part of [Juicy J’s rap group] the Three 6 Mafia.” Lawrence would stay in the group for six years. “I studied under them in the studio. It’s where I paid my dues and learned the business of hip-hop.”

In 2000, Del had just gotten off tour and went to church to visit some family.

“My mother was religious so I went to church, but I never had a relationship with God. I was always around but never tapped into it,” says Lawrence. It was sitting in the back of that church service that God spoke to Del and showed him a vision of everything he was supposed to do, the artist said.

He knew he needed to take what he knew about hip-hop and use it to spread the word of Christ. Lawrence left Three 6 Mafia and started his own thing.

Over the next 20 years, Mr. Del’s solo music has spread Christianity and also brought him Grammy and Dove Award nominations. As the so-called godfather of Christian rap, the “hope dealer” has founded a record label, Dedicated Music Group, and has been working with and mentoring other Christian rappers.

He also hosts a speaking seminar called Soul Ties, based on two accompanying books he has authored to help repair relationships and heal people through Christ.

Lawrence wants to use these seminars as a way to eventually get to the kids.

Del believes building a healthy home life is the best way to give children a good foundation and ensure that kids stay off the streets.

“My main goal is to introduce the young generation to Christ so they can have a relationship with him and not with drugs. I’m going to do whatever I gotta do, whether it be sports or music or whatever,” says Del. “I saw a documentary on [deceased rapper] Lil Peep, and he was still dealing with old family issues even though he was so talented and successful, which led him to overdose. And the young kids get connected because they can relate to his music, but where are you gonna take them? If you’re dying, then that’s where they’re headed.

They can’t go farther than the leader.”

Mr. Del has focused his life on guidance— guiding kids and parents alike to healing through Christ, and guiding young musicians through the industry. That’s why he aims to open a new youth center called The Refuge in Murfreesboro.

“I think it was God that brought me to Murfreesboro. I didn’t know anything about the place until I came to do some Soul Ties seminars, and more and more people would come to see me,” he said. Lawrence prayed about it, and decided he wanted to focus on the area.

In 2022 he intends to lead a seminar in the ’Boro once a month for adults and also perform an all-ages concert every quarter.

The idea is to bring the community together and introduce them to the mission to generate interest in the planned youth center.

There are no concrete plans as to when the youth center might open, as Del still needs to see more interest and wants to find the right people to help run it. The Refuge would host concerts, games and ministry activities, and be a positive place where teens can hang out through the week.

The next Soul Ties Movement Soul Session in Murfreesboro will be at Ridenour Rehearsal Studios at 7 p.m. on Jan. 22.

Reserve tickets at thesoultiesmovement. com. Ridenour is located at 1203 Park Ave., Murfreesboro. To get involved in the mission to open the Murfreesboro youth center, call or text 901-503-2497. For more on Mr. Del, visit mrdel.com.

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Brady Seals Singer brings The Petty Junkies back to Hop Springs; former Little Texas member talks new book, God Blessed Texas & Me Too

BY MELISSA COKER

D

on’t judge his book by the curlyhaired cover—though in this case, judging by cover songs could be acceptable.

Brady Seals’ book God Blessed Texas & Me To o is serious business. Free fallin’ fresh off a gig at Nashville’s 3rd & Lindsley, Seals talks with the Pulse about local shows, family tradition and the splash he continues to make with his foray into storytelling.

The Petty Junkies band is made up of professional musicians and artists who have been very successful in their own right. Well over 300 hit songs have been penned, played on, sung or produced by Seals and its other members.

The Tom Petty tribute act will play Hop Springs this month.

“We play almost all of Petty’s hits along with one Traveling Wilburys song,” Seals says of The Petty Junkies junket. “[Bassist] Mark Hill and [drummer] Lonnie Wilson put the band together. I never met Tom. However, I have become good friends with [original Heartbreaker] Stan Lynch. We’ve written many songs together. You can find one on my independent album Play Time.”

The group’s official statement says The Petty Junkies are “just a bunch of pals who love Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers” and want to honor the memory of Tom and his art, but that they are not “impersonators or a band cashing in on a tragic loss.”

Aside from the Petty tribute act, Seals has quite a tale to tell, plus a persistently unfolding knack for making the most of it. A near mind-blowingly rich heritage of musicmaking relatives scratches the surface. The

legendary Dan Seals was his cousin, as is Jim Seals of Seals & Crofts. Brady is related to Johnny Duncan, who achieved duet success with Janie Fricke on country standards “It Couldn’t Have Been Any Better” and “Thinkin’ of a Rendezvous” as well as on other cuts.

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Troy Seals is Brady’s uncle. Troy wrote a few tunes you might have heard, including “Lost in the Fifties Tonight” (Ronnie Milsap), “If You Ever Have Forever in Mind” (Vince Gill), “I’ve Got a Rock ’n’ Roll Heart” (Eric Clapton), “Seven Spanish Angels,” a hit duet recorded by Ray Charles and Willie Nelson, and “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes?” (George Jones).

Brady, quite literally, had some big shoes to fill.

“There’s a bunch of us out there, for sure,” Brady enthusiastically relayed to fellow musician Jimmy Bowen during an appearance on a recent television taping in town for Bowen’s program, talking of the talented Seals family.

“When I was young I was pretty fearless,” he later tells the Pulse. “I just loved playing music. Growing up in Cincinnati I didn’t even know that Dan Seals and Jimmy Seals were cousins. All I knew was my uncle Troy. Last time I checked, he’s written over 40 No. 1 songs. I’m so proud of my heritage and I hope I do them proud.”

In the perpetual pursuit of doing just that, and by joining forces with Lua Crofts (Dash’s daughter), he’s even formed the duo Seals & Crofts 2.

“Lua and I will be touring a bunch this year and we will be recording some original material as well,” Seals said. “I plan on

For more information on Brady Seals, visit bradyseals.com; find God Blessed Texas & Me Too on Amazon.

THE PETTY JUNKIES

10 * JANUARY 2022 * BOROPULSE.COM

releasing my version of ‘I’d Really Love to See You Tonight.’ It’ll feature John Ford Coley and Lua Crofts. The Petty Junkies played on the track!”

Regarding Brady’s book, in addition to borrowing from the Little Texas hit song of the almost same name, it’s safe to say that inspiration also relied heavily on the Book.

“The title God Blessed Texas & Me Too came from out of the blue. It felt like it was a gift from God,” he says, smiling. “He was the common thread through my life stories. I was able to write down feelings I had stored up for years and it was very therapeutic for me,” says Seals, who went through a divorce in 2017 and remembers reading a lot of motivational books at the time. “I felt like my story could possibly help others going through their own heartbreaks and letdowns.

I started the book over 17 years ago, although most of it was written in 2017 and ’18. It was much harder to finish than I thought it’d be.

I’m so glad I did it, though,” says Seals, who dedicated the book to his son, Evan.

“Reading for the audiobook took forever and a day! Way longer than I anticipated,” he continued, regarding the publishing side of the process. “I wanted to do it, though, so if anything were to happen to me, my son could always have his dad’s voice available. I’ve had so many people tell me they’ve cried while reading it—both happy and sad tears.” Some readers, Seals reports, told him “they could feel the presence of the Lord. That means so much to me. The point of the book is to let everyone know that God is with you every step of the way. He’ll never leave your side.”

Brady adds that he has considered writing an additional book, a prequel, delving into his childhood.

“The current book starts in 1991, so it would be good to be able to explain how I got there,” he said.

Meanwhile, if you’re into the idea of runnin’ down a dream, workin’ on a mystery, why not see where it leads . . . especially if it leads to Hop Springs. The Petty Junkies play at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 15, at Hop Springs Beer Park, 6790 John Bragg Hwy. Tickets are $20 and available on Eventbrite.

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JIMMY BOWEN & FRIENDS BRINGS PLETHORA OF PERFORMERS FOR NEW SEASON OF MURFREESBORO-MADE VARIETY SHOW

WADE HAYES

MUSIC NOTE

CAROLYN DAWN JOHNSON

AND . . . ACTION! The made-in-Murfreesboro musical variety show Jimmy Bowen & Friends is coming in singing. A plethora of heavy-hitting performers will come in for the New Year and help begin 2022 with a bang. An all-new, musically varied assortment of award-winning artists are on the docket, ready to get up close and personal at Ridenour Rehearsal Studios for the program’s fourth-season taping task.

Among the talents ringing in the week will be country recording artist Wade Hayes, known for “Old Enough to Know Better,” “On a Good Night,” “The Day She Left Tulsa (In a Chevy)” and more. Hayes has recently taken new music to many a street—some as part of a recurring Hats Off To the 80s and 90s showcase, joining T. Graham Brown and Bryan White along with hit songwriter JIMMY BOWEN & and author Rory Feek FRIENDS SEASON 4 at his Homestead Hall TAPING SCHEDULE in Columbia—and also to JIMMY BOWEN PHOTO BY WAYNE COWAN kick off last month’s holiday MONDAY, JAN. 10 extravaganza in Lebanon.

5:30 p.m.

JIMMY BOWEN Dove-nominated and BillboardWade Hayes 7 p.m. charting gospel group the Jordan Family Rhonda Vincent Band lend exciting tradition (and workmanship, 8:30 p.m. which caught the attention of Grammy-nominated Jerry Salley Gordon Mote, who produced the group’s latest album) to the mix. Also set to join are recent Opry TUESDAY, JAN. 11 inductee (and longtime friend of Uncle Dave Macon 5:30 p.m.

Jordan Family Band Days) Rhonda Vincent, Statler Brothers stalwart 7 p.m.

Jimmy Fortune, Restless Heart’s Larry Stewart, hit Jimmy Fortune singer-songwriter Carolyn Dawn Johnson (“Compli8:30 p.m. cated,” “Single White Female,” “I Don’t Want You to Terry McBride Go”) and industry veteran Terry McBride (likely best known for his group McBride & the Ride).

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 12 5:30 p.m.

Johnson and McBride both have new projects RHONDA VINCENT Shane Owens to purvey, the latter touring widely with a Mc7 p.m.

Bride & the Ride reunion show. The ACM, CCMA Buddy Jewell and Juno award-winning Carolyn Dawn Johnson 8:30 p.m. has joined Martina McBride’s touring entourage Larry Stewart as a backup vocalist and has also lent her voice THURSDAY, JAN. 13 to charity endeavors in hopes of helping others 5:30 p.m. overcome loss; Johnson wrote the song “It’d Be Carolyn Dawn Johnson Christmas (If You Were Here)” after the loss of 7 p.m. her brother, and it has since been relevant for Minnie Murphy many more losses over the years.

8:30 p.m.

Jimmy Bowen & Friends Season 4 tapings take David Starr place Monday, Jan 10, through Thursday, Jan 14, at The Alley event space inside Ridenour Rehearsal Studios. It is free to attend, but be advised that space is limited. So get rolling!

Ridenour is located at 1203 Park Ave. in Murfreesboro. Reach them at 615-956-7413.

“Each episode of our show is 22 minutes, with about 7, maybe 8 minutes of talking.

The rest is focused on the music. I don’t want people to get bored. I want to leave them wanting more,” Bowen said.

The show airs/streams on numerous networks including Heartland TV, The Family Channel, The Country Network and others. For more information on how to watch, visit jimmybowen.com; episodes are also available via youtube.com/jimmybowenmusic.

— MELISSA COKER

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Reviews

ROLAND JUSTICE Monophonic Love

Nashville-area singer-songwriter/acoustic guitarists are plentiful, and Murfreesboro’s Cincinnati-area-transplant of “Nashville Cat”-ilk Roland Justice has added another straw to the camel’s back with his third full-length studio album, Monophonic Love, a solid production of 11 alternative-Americana originals that each get progressively better.

By the time listeners get to the eighth or ninth track, they may realize Murfreesboro’s John Salaway and other area songwriters have some friendly competition as area ears may embrace earworms like “Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine.”

Monophonic Love, composed over a four-year period, seems to draw from the usual Americana influences: The Band’s Rick Danko and Levon Helm (“Ghost,” “First of April”); Bruce Springsteen (“Paradise Road”); and Jeff Tweedy/ Wilco (“Homecoming”) to establish the album’s overall sentiment.

Alternatively, Justice blends fat saxes and Billy Gibbons blues riffs in the roadhouse mash “Built for Speed.” He gets a little carried away here though, screaming I feel like a motherless child, a tired cliche not unlike the current overuse of the term “cakewalk,” as time has “telephone gamed” the meaning of such phrases.

The album’s opener, “Come and Get Your Happiness,” plays with a dark, ethereal mood reminiscent of Neko Case.

16 * JANUARY 2022 * BOROPULSE.COM

ALBUMS

BY BRYCE HARMON

This can potentially bewilder listeners at the beginning, setting an expectation soon upended by the second track, the earthy and nostalgic “Homecoming.”

After a full listen to the album, however, “Come Get Your Happiness” reveals itself as simply one of many influence nuances that keep the flow of Monophonic Love ceaselessly interesting.

The album’s autobiographical lyrics tap into roots-level themes: a young man’s pursuit of an ambition to become a songwriter in Nashville, devout love progressing to marriage through country sweet-nothings, and the Americana staple of a nostalgic familial homestead, states away, where a beloved father makes the best influence.

Monophonic Love’s tracks are seemingly ordered by an increase of lyrical integrity and sentimental value. You can hear the difference when you get to “Ghost,” cowritten with fellow Cincinnatian Victor Shtrom. Then, the album just gets better, sweeter and more progressively thoughtful in familial sentiment through the remaining songs, solely written by Roland.

Perhaps, Shtrom lit a fire under Justice.

The only thing separating Roland from what Nashville wants in its Cats is a heavy accolade, such as a Grammy.

Fans of well-crafted and diverse rootsbased music will join me in thanking Justice for genuinely adding to Americana with such nuances as heard on Monophonic Love.

Find Roland Justice’s Monophonic Love at rolandjustice.com; hard copies of the album are available on CD and 12-inch vinyl.

TOM TAYLOR

Heart On My Sleeve

Contemporary Christian singer, songwriter and acoustic guitarist Tom Taylor leans on resolute faith in his tenth independently produced, full-length, solo album, Heart on My Sleeve, released November 2021. Taylor’s reliance on the cross since experiencing an above-ground-pool baptism in 2007 informs his body of work, from his 2008 self-titled debut through 2017’s I Will Trust.

Heart on My Sleeve chronicles the four and the half years since I Will Trust—a period that has riddled Taylor with a divorce, separation from his two sons, an uncertain move across the U.S., and then a failed hard drive containing the master copy of Heart on My Sleeve—all events capable of breaking a man. This rough-wrought faith is in evidence by the end of the latest album.

“I was able to transfer the album data from the hard drive, but in regard to the marriage, was unable to save it in an attempted reconciliation,” says Taylor.

The whole album is framed around the solo acoustic guitar music that can be heard in any of Taylor’s live performances, be they hyping faith for local Sunday sermons, prison performances or prime-time television appearances on Atlanta Live!

In the studio, Taylor and his team mix in a full band (or whatever form of accompaniment he wants) to the dominant strums—and sometimes proper finger-picking—of his acoustic guitar and typically pleasant vocals, including an interesting variety of lead guitars, organ

fills, a bowed upright bass, bold crash cymbal use with interesting tambourine and floor tom/snare rim combinations. Some initially questionable but somehow agreeable experimentation with effects make Jesus power ballads such as “Our God Most High,” roadhouse hallelujahs such as “Warrior” and a co-write with his son Liam (which even hints of Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust”) in “The Law of the Spirit of Life.”

Taylor pulls out some metal on “I Will Give My Life.” He closes in on a Honky Chateau-era Elton John in “Sometimes a Hero,” written in tribute to his late father.

Sometimes, it’s just Taylor song-birding to his strums, but definitely all about Jesus and his guiding comfort.

“Lift Me From This Place,” the best song on the collection, unexpectedly reminds of 311’s “I’ll Be Here for a While,” featuring picking and vocals countered with uplifting ’80s-style synth.

The artist seriously seeks escape in the hands of the Lord on Heart on My Sleeve, but they may have not yet reached down, as the last two songs—the tearing “Look at Me, Now” and “I’ll Be Here for You”— tell of a faithful man succumbing to a very real loneliness and, imaginably, the arrest of that marital reconciliation. And, Taylor only mentions Jesus once in each of those songs, which in no way equals the quota set by the rest of them.

Overall, Heart on My Sleeve maintains a warmth and optimism likened to Michael W. Smith’s whole career arc, and that’s a pretty sweet direction to be facing for a genuine Christian artist.

Find Tom Taylor’s Heart on My Sleeve at tomtaylorministries.net.

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The new film Don’t Look Up opens with the whistle of a boiling kettle. That whistle might be the last subtle metaphor in this so-called satire. Director Adam McKay has teamed up with some of America’s biggest stars to deliver this uneven, unfunny and uninspired mirror of American culture in a misguided attempt to slap Netflix subscribers awake to the dangers of climate change.

DiCaprio stars as a professor of astronomy and Lawrence his PhD student who discovers a comet heading towards earth that will cause an extinction level event. Alerting NASA, they are immediately flown to the White House to inform the president. President Orlean (Streep) and her Chief of Staff son (Jonah Hill) meet the news with jeers and derision as bad news of this nature would surely disrupt the mid-terms in three months.

McKay and story partner David Sirota may think they’re parodying or mocking real life, but they’re merely mimicking it. What follows is a predictable pattern of comet-denial, incompetence, avoidance, corruption, greed, inaction and disaster, all depicted in McKay’s flashy, fauxdocumentary style that worked well in The Big Short but becomes a cudgel for his message here.

What works in the film is limited to a running bit about free snacks, a touching dinner scene, and Mark Rylance’s sublimely weird performance as tech mogul Peter Isherwell. As a stand-in for Jobs, Bezos, Musk, etc., Isherwell is a truly off-putting alien of a person who sees himself as so above his fellow humans that they confuse bored disdain for quirky aloofness. He is one of the only unique, interesting characters that manages to truly mock its subject. — JAY SPIGHT

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fries—fries with a tasty seasoning coating n the old Versailles Grocery building, them. located in the Versailles community The Tater serves a very good patty melt, about 10 miles from downtown Murjuicy and cheesy, loaded with grilled onions freesboro, Melissa and Elijah Wright have and Thousand Island dressing. opened the Fried Tater Cafe.

“Best patty melt ever,” patron Jonathan With a vintage country store vibe, the Herrold said. small but comfortable eatery contains only This routine—serving sandwiches for six tables. The structure is so small, the lunch and then moving to meat and vegetaproprietors had to put a food truck out ble plates for dinner—seems to work well, back to serve as the kitchen. considering the business’ limited space, Still, the Fried Tater Cafe and its antique time and workforce, Melissa Wright said. atmosphere draw customers from near and “A good burger is hard to find,” Melissa far with its fried catfish, biscuits, chicken, said. “We became known meatloaf, veggies and, of for our burgers more course, fried taters. than fried taters, pinto However, know before beans and cornbread, you go: The Southern which was supposed to meat and 3 options are RESTAURANT be our style.” currently only available Fried Tater Cafe One customer, Kenon Wednesday, Thursday LOCATION neth Morphew, went so and Friday nights.

11088 Versailles Rd., far as to call his Fried So, don’t expect to go Rockvale, Tennessee Tater lunch the “best in for a lunch of meatPHONE burger I ever had in Tenloaf, chicken and dress615-722-1151 nessee.” ing, okra, fried taters and HOURS The cafe also sells beans.

Wed.–Fri.: 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; hand-breaded strips of During lunch hours Sat.–Sun.: 8 a.m.–2 p.m. chicken breast fried to a on Wednesday, Thursday PRICES crispy finish. and Friday, the establishPatty melt and fries: $11 Dinner starts at 4 p.m. ment serves sandwiches Fried catfish platter: these nights, when the and fries. These selec$10.99–$15.99 (depending on how many menu broadens to offer tions include burgers, a fillets and sides) other vegetables and Philly, a Reuben, grilled Banana pudding: $5 daily selections. cheese and a chicken Reuben and fries: $12 On Wednesday night, tenders basket.

Melissa can change the “The hamburger I had menu up from week to week, creating pasta was great. It covered the bun, which was and Italian dishes on occasion. also soft and tasty,” Ralph Parks said after Thursday is fried chicken night, and a recent meal. “My wife had the Philly Friday is fried catfish night. cheesesteak sandwich and it was also deliOn Saturdays and Sundays, from 8 a.m.– cious, juicy and tender. She said it melted 2 p.m., the Fried Tater serves breakfast. in her mouth.”

Trey King was quite pleased he could For lunch, the fried taters are french

The Dish

Fried Tater Cafe Country Cafe Serving Burgers, Catfish, Biscuits and Gravy, Banana Pudding and More STORY BY BRACKEN MAYO

18 * JANUARY 2022 * BOROPULSE.COM

PHOTOS BY SARAH MAYO

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Melissa had planned to open a restaurant with her father in 2015, but he lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in December of that year. She and her husband continued developing plans to launch a restaurant in honor of her father, as well as Elijah’s grandparents and other inspirational Southern cooks, and the Wrights signed the lease for the early-1800s building—just before the COVID pandemic.

But the Fried Tater has made it to 2022, and the owners are still experimenting with what works and what customers want.

Melissa said she plans to add a waffle station for weekend brunch and the cafe is also in the process of obtaining its beer permit.

Additionally, in late December Wright was surveying customers to gauge interest in the establishment adding pizza to its menu.

Whatever the time of day or the menu pattern, when the Fried Tater Cafe is open, it can be a “great place for a destination lunch or dinner,” as Todd Lake says. “Great food and atmosphere.”

The space has vintage items all over the place, not unlike a Cracker Barrel, but the nostalgic decor feels more justified in this place rather than in a modern, massive Cracker Barrel. A diner wonders if some of the items on the shelves were actually for sale in the store in the 1930s, or if the tools on the ceiling were used in the field outside generations ago.

And, to cap off a meal, don’t forget to try the excellent Fried Tater banana pudding.

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CADES COVE STORY BY BRACKEN MAYO

20 * JANUARY 2022 * BOROPULSE.COM

PHOTOS BY SARAH MAYO

E

ven before the State of Tennessee was established in 1794, a pioneer named Hugh Dunlap received 5,000 acres of land from the state of North Carolina in an area already known as Cades Cove.

Over the next few decades other families joined the community established here and settled in this valley surrounded by towering hills, which, as they have for centuries, still provide stunning views of beautiful, rugged Smoky Mountain vistas.

By the 1860s, the increasingly populated but isolated Tennessee community, very close to the North Carolina border, contained about 650 people.

A mill with a lengthy flume directing water to it from the creek, known as Cable Mill (built by John Cable), operated as both a corn and grain mill and a sawmill, serving the residents of Cades Cove. It still operates today during historical demonstrations. Multiple other mills once stood in Cades Cove, but Cable Mill is the last surviving one.

Cades Cove residents built three churches at various points throughout the area and established numerous homeplaces and farms, where families worked the land and lived the early American life in log cabins.

Over 80 of the historic buildings in the area still stand.

Today, accessing Cades Cove via a road that loops around the property with stops at various points of interest, travelers first come to the land formerly owned by Mr. John Oliver. After a short walk from the parking area, sightseers can go into a tiny cabin Oliver constructed in the 1820s to house his family.

Continuing on the roadway, a Methodist

church contains an ancient, out-of-tune, halfbroken piano, one which sounds beautifully appropriate when a respectful visitor plays some of the hymns of old. A cemetery outside of the church marks the resting places of many Cades Cove residents through the generations.

Driving onward on the 11-mile, one-way road through Cades Cove, those venturing to this piece of American history can glimpse deer, birds, squirrel, turkey, sometimes even bear and other wildlife in a huge, expansive grassy area lying flat in the midst of the striking peaks of the towering Appalachian hills surrounding the area.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park literature describes the importance of the chestnut tree to the way of life for those in 19thcentury Cades Cove. The nuts provided not only a valuable source of protein for humans and a valuable commodity to trade, but also lured a variety of game into the area. Wood from chestnut trees was also important to settlers here and throughout the forests of the eastern U.S., but in the 1930s a fungus devastated nearly all of the mighty American chestnut trees.

A day at Cades Cove can be a great way for anyone to learn more about the lives of those who populated the secluded hills of Tennessee in the 1800s.

If You Go CADES COVE

From Murfreesboro, it’s about a four-hour trek to the east. Take I-40 to Maryville and continue east on Highway 321.

For more on Cades Cove and other National Park attractions, visit nps.gov.

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News THIS YEAR MARKS THE 50TH anniversary of the founding of Heartland Adult and Teen Challenge, a nonprofit interdenominational faith-based mission group that helps men with drug and alcohol addictions.

With a Murfreesboro outreach center, as well as campuses in Clarksville and Memphis, the faith-based recovery support program assists those 18 years old and up with life control problems.

“The sole purpose of the program is not just getting them off drugs, but most important, teaching them a new frame of life,” said Rev. Gene Garcia, outreach director of Adult and Teen Challenge of Murfreesboro.

“If someone is looking for help, I really hope they reach out and contact me,” Garcia said. “Just call me at 615-624-7878. I want people to know that if they need help, there is help there and people can really get whole help with this program.”

The program is a year minimum, typically with an eight-month residential live-in phase followed by a four-month reentry phase. There is no waiting list to get into the program.

It costs $500 a month with a one-time $250 processing fee.

“But if there is someone who is really serious and really needs help and is struggling financially, we try to help bridge the gap so they can get the help they need,” Garcia said.

“We accept men with drug or alcohol addictions who are sincere about changing their lives. The program is highly structured and intensive. The men get one-onone advisement on addiction and other problems along with church and chapel services each week. And our program allows students to develop job retention skills, coping skills, education assistance including GED training and testing, job acquisition support and budget training.”

Garcia said they also work with various different detention centers so if someone who is incarcerated is approved for the program, they can actually be released to the program and get all the program’s benefits.

“It’s a great program—I know for a fact because I went through it myself a long time ago,” Garcia said. “I experienced it, I experienced what happens at the program, it showed me how I don’t need drugs to get through a day—all with the help of God. “I was addicted to opioids, heroin, you name it. I went through the program years 22 * JANUARY 2022 * BOROPULSE.COM

SPOTLIGHT ON NONPROFIT

Adult and Teen Challenge Helping men overcome drug and alcohol addiction

BY LAURA LINDSAY Rev. Gene Garcia, Outreach Director

ago, and I continued on with the ministry.”

Garcia said the chief operating officer and executive director was addicted to crack cocaine 20 years ago. He went through the program—now he has two master’s degrees and has served with the National Reserves for 18 years.

Evangel University’s Center for Compassion coordinated a survey that measured the effectiveness of the Adult & Teen Challenge program by assessing the well-being of graduates one year following program completion.

Results of the survey published in 2019 found that 78% of graduates from Adult & Teen Challenge centers remained sober and substance-free following graduation; 92.9% reported no new legal problems post-grad-

uation and 91% reported improved quality of relationships with family members.

A total of 74 Challenge centers participated in the study and 340 program graduates fully completed the survey.

“We tend to find someone who is ready and wanting help—those are the ones who really get the help. They are open to it and submitting to it,” Garcia said. “And, you know, we also believe in the power of prayer, and that God, the Bible says, what may be impossible for man is not impossible for God. We’ve seen that countless times with this mission.”

When someone applies for the program, there is an intake process to find out if they are a candidate, which is done to protect the population, Garcia said. Then they work

on getting the candidate into the program.

“In the program we teach them the Biblical principles and classes on life coping skills, and they learn their identity through Christ through principles in the Bible,” he said. “They learn that their past doesn’t define them, and their struggles don’t define them. If they’re having a bad day, that doesn’t define them. Just because they’re having a bad day, doesn’t mean they have to do bad things and be led by emotions.

Emotions are fleeting, they come and go and they’re misleading.”

Heartland Adult and Teen Challenge has campuses in Murfreesboro and Clarksville where people live and an outreach center in Murfreesboro.

During the program’s first eight months, Garcia said, the men live on campus. They need to overcome whatever is controlling them so they can be a functional part of society. They work for the ministry, have the one-on-one advisement, and take part in group activities and church and chapel services, but at the same time they are closely monitored by the staff that actually lives on campus with them.

Participants don’t make it to the next stage unless the staff finds that they are ready. The staff has meetings and discussions talking about students and their shortcomings and where they may need help and they confront them to help them.

During the last four months of the program, the students are slowly getting acclimated into society; at the same time, there are still random drug tests and nicotine tests, breathalyzers on campus, and random searches at times throughout the building, which, Garcia said, they do as a deterrent because we want to see these men succeed.

“This is so when they get those bad thoughts, they think to themselves, ‘you know what . . . before I do that, let me not do that.’ They know there’s negative consequences for their bad choices.”

During the last four months of the program, participants create a strategic plan for where they’re going to work and live, Garcia said. The program also involves the community, with the participants visiting different churches and taking part in various church events.

For more information or help, contact Rev. Gene Garcia at 615-624-7878 or atcofmurfreesboro@gmail.com or visit atctn.org.

BUSINESS MOMENTUM

BY BLAINE LITTLE

Entrepreneurship Students Face Real-World Business Questions in Business Plan Competition NOT ONLY IS MIDDLE TENNESSEE State University the largest university in the state, but it also has a very broad business program. The Jennings A. Jones College of Business offers business administration, marketing, accounting, finance, entrepreneurship, sales—the whole gamut of disciplines one would expect from a business program. Several of the professors have adjunct status, still running their own businesses while teaching part-time.

For the past decade, one of those educators has been Mr. Dennis Gupton, who owns North Meets South Catering in Clarksville. He teaches the class New Venture Creation; Are You the Person for This? It is an entrepreneurial course that asks the valid question of whether an individual is really ready to be a small business owner.

For the past four years, he has run a Shark Tank style of competition in which students present their ideas to a panel of judges. A brief presentation is made, and then the budding entrepreneurs will answer questions from the panel of experts.

And there’s money on the line, too! The intent is to create a real-world stress test to prepare the students for the anxiety of asking for a business loan.

“A passion of mine is in preparing students for what to expect,” Gupton said.

And participating in the competition can be a bit stressful for the participants. The panel is comprised of local commercial business lenders Ronnie Martin and Jamie Harrington from Pinnacle Financial Partners and Leroy Cunningham from First Bank.

The topics range from products to price and “what was your inspiration?” to “what profit do you expect next year?” No question is off the table and the students do not know what they will be asked in advance.

“This was an important skill for us to learn

because we want to be entrepreneurs in the future, and we are going to have to get investors to want to invest in our businesses,” said Amanda Little, one of the students competing, after the last of three rounds.

“It was an opportunity for us to present our businesses in front of real bankers and to be given positive criticism and things we need to improve upon. I am extremely grateful I was placed top-three because it really made me believe I could do it in the future.”

Everyone involved in the final round—six university students—received a cash award ranging from $100 to $1,200. The top prize winner was Billy Fryar. Unlike some of the presentations that were theoretical, Fryar’s business is already in existence.

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Where it may take weeks to get a handyman, Billy’s company can be at a disaster area and have form-fitted protection laid down in just a few days. It is indeed a novel idea that provides a solution for a common challenge.

A lot of people play with the idea of going into business for themselves one day, but not all actually do it. The big questions—“what do I need to know?” and “where do I begin?”—are the ones Dennis Gupton’s class for entrepreneurs is designed to answer.

Blaine Little is the founder and CEO of Momentum Seminars Training and Coaching, a veteran owned business, helping companies remain profitable by investing in their people.

Learn more at momentumseminars.com. Get his new book Managerial Mistakes, Missteps & Misunderstandings, available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle format. Check out his podcast at bit.ly/toastcaster143.

BOROPULSE.COM

* JANUARY 2022 * 23

News Murfreesboro Mayor Candidate Wants to Eliminate City Manager Position Tony Lehew desires to see city transition to a system with a full-time mayor

O

ne of the campaign issues 2022 Murfreesboro mayoral candidate Tony Lehew has already addressed is the desire to transition Murfreesboro city government from its longtime system of an elected part-time mayor and an appointed city manager position, moving instead to a system with a full-time mayor. Lehew, seeking the job after serving as a Murfreesboro firefighter for 35 years, expanded upon this idea.

MURFREESBORO PULSE: You say you would like Murfreesboro to move to having a full-time mayor.

What are the drawbacks to the current system, and how would the

change help the city as a whole and those who are employed by the city of Murfreesboro?

TONY LEHEW: There are over 150,000 citizens in the city of Murfreesboro; they deserve full-time representation. The charter for the city of Murfreesboro is around 100 years old, and we are still using that same outline to define our local government. At the time the charter was adopted, the population and the needs of the city were much smaller. The growth of this city requires someone whose full-time focus is on the needs of our growing city. In other words, we need someone at the helm who is accountable to the voters at all times.

A part-time mayor is exactly that: parttime. Our city would be much better served by someone whose full-time job is the welfare and betterment of Murfreesboro.

Under the current city charter, the mayor is not answerable to city employees, even if they live and vote in the city. All employee issues are addressed through the city manager, and without litigation or council hearings the manager’s word is law. This is not the best format for fair treatment of hundreds of city employees.

Removing this buffer between city workers, mayor and city council would greatly improve work relations and give employees a true say in their own careers.

What would this do to the Murfreesboro city manager position?

I am not a supporter of any high-powered, tax-funded leadership position that is not answerable to the general public. City manager is one of the highest-paid positions in the city. It is also a position that is appointed and not elected. As far as city affairs goes, the position acts as an unelected mayor and is not accountable to the voters of Murfreesboro; the position is only answerable to the city council. If the city of 24 * JANUARY 2022 * BOROPULSE.COM

Murfreesboro had a full-time mayor, there would not be a need for a city manager.

Do you intend to try and implement this during your term, if elected?

I have every intention to bring a full-time mayor to Murfreesboro as quickly as possible. The time has come for this change.

I would work with the city council to determine a time frame and plan of action to change the way the city is managed.

Don’t most cities the size of Murfreesboro have the model of a fulltime elected mayor, rather than the Murfreesboro model of a part-time elected mayor and a full-time appointed city manager?

Yes, in the exploratory research I’ve done, most cities, and many even smaller ones, have full-time mayors.

Have any of the current Murfreesboro City Council members brought up this issue?

I know that it has been discussed, and I can say for a fact I have discussed this issue with some of them and they are supportive of this fundamental and needed change. •

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AROUND TOWN

’BORO BUSINESS BUZZ

TN Golf Station, RHK Hibachi, Legacy Sports, Buc-ee’s, Krav Maga, Munch, SmartBank

MUNCH CAFE has opened a second Murfreesboro location at 120 Eleanor Way near Memorial Boulevard. The restaurant offers healthy and delicious meals, as well as meal prep. Some of the meals offered include tacos, salads, bowls and sandwiches. Munch also operates a restaurant at 810 Medical Center Pkwy., just off of Broad Street.

BY DELORES ELLIOTT The former Payless Shoes located at 1276 NW Broad St. will soon become an indoor golf simulation space called TN GOLF STATION. The golf station will offer three membership levels—Masters, Open and Rookie—all of which have a discounted price for the first 50 founding members, according to the business’ Facebook page. TN Golf Station will also offer golf merchandise, wings and other food and beverages. For more information, visit tngolfstation.com or facebook.com/tn.golfstation.

A new hibachi restaurant called RHK HIBACHI GRILL AND SEAFOOD is coming to Murfreesboro. The hibachi restaurant will be located in the former Station Grill location at 2053 Lascassas Pk., and plans to open in early January 2022.

A national sports and entertainment facility development company recently announced that Murfreesboro will host LEGACY SPORTS Tennessee’s new $350 million multi-use family sports and entertainment complex. Spanning more than 260 acres, the complex will feature state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor athletic facilities for recreational and professional sports.

Legacy Sports Tennessee will feature a 6,000-seat arena, an outdoor amphitheater for special events, a fitness and wellness center, ice arena, a gaming and arcade facility, an eSports gaming center, retail options, restaurants and more.

The property will host baseball, basketball, cheerleading, dance, eSports, family fitness, football, futsal (five-on-five indoor soccer), gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, obstacle course racing, pickleball, soccer, softball and volleyball.

The sports facility will be one of the largest sports and entertainment complexes in North America.

“I could not be more excited to welcome Legacy Sports Tennessee to the city of Murfreesboro, a community steeped in 26 * JANUARY 2022 * BOROPULSE.COM

sports and athletic facilities for all ages and abilities,” said Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland. “We are delighted that Legacy Sports Tennessee has committed to this substantial investment in our city with an enterprising vision, family-oriented philosophy and entertaining activities for all.”

The proposed site is adjacent to I-840 and runs along NW Broad Street. As of now, the company plans to break ground in the second half of 2022, and hopes to host its grand opening in 2024.

“After visiting numerous locations across Middle Tennessee during the last 12 months, Legacy Sports Tennessee found a home in Rutherford County, the sports capital of Tennessee,” said CEO of Legacy Sports USA Chad Miller. “This project would not be happening without the cooperation of the Hord family, who have owned this property for several generations.”

Legacy Sports Tennessee will be somewhat similar to the Bell Bank Park model in Mesa, Arizona, another Legacy Sports venture. For more information, visit legacysportsusa.com.

BUC-EE’S has its eyes on Murfreesboro for another Tennessee store.

The travel and convenience chain, known for its massive islands of fuel pumps, barbecue, and huge snack and drink selection, submitted initial plans to the Murfreesboro

Planning Commission in December.

After announcing stores in Crossville and Sevierville, Buc-ee’s now plans to construct another Tennessee location at Joe B. Jackson Parkway and Elam Road just off of I-24 in Murfreesboro.

GENERAL MILLS recently announced an investment in its Murfreesboro manufacturing facility, securing its continued growth in Rutherford County.

The company will invest $65 million in the facility with a focus on technology and equipment improvements. This investment will help the plant’s operations to become more efficient in order to meet increased consumer demand.

“We are proud to make beloved brands like Yoplait and Pillsbury for consumers across the U.S. right here in Rutherford County,” said General Mills Murfreesboro plant manager Dave Tincher. “Middle Tennessee, particularly Rutherford County, continues to partner with employers on programs that benefit existing companies as well as attract new companies to drive growth in the region. This investment will allow our Murfreesboro plant to remain competitive in the marketplace.”

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, General Mills generated fiscal 2021 net sales of $18 billion.

“With production facilities around the world, we are pleased that they chose to reinvest in Murfreesboro,” said Chairman of Destination Rutherford Bill Jones. “General Mills’ commitment will ensure that we will keep 1,000 well-paying jobs and the resulting tax revenue in our community.”

LEE COMPANY, a family-owned business dedicated to bettering the lives of those who require assistance with HVAC, plumbing, electrical and appliance repair, and construction projects, is building a new facility at 675 Middle Tennessee Blvd. The company works with homeowners throughout the area as well as clients in government, institutional, commercial, healthcare and industrial organizations. Lee Company maintains a team of nearly 1,500 employees.

SMARTBANK recently constructed a new Murfreesboro location, and will continue to grow its presence in Middle Tennessee.

SmartBank entered the Murfreesboro market in 2018 when it acquired Southern Community Bank and soon expanded with a second location. The new branch, located at 1605 Medical Center Pkwy., and SmartBank’s two existing locations will consolidate into the new and larger single office.

“This new location will allow our team to CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

The

in Rutherford County NASHVILLE KRAV MAGA plans to open a new martial arts facility in Murfreesboro in addition to its Franklin and Nashville locations. The new location will be on Broad Street by Roma Pizza in the Kroger shopping center at Northfield Boulevard. The martial arts facility will offer opportunities for students to improve in self-defense, fighting, fitness and team-building.

Krav Maga, a military self-defense and fighting system developed for the Israel Defense Forces, is derived from a combination of techniques including boxing, wrestling, judo, aikido and karate. The discipline focuses on preparing for real-world situations with efficiency. According to Nashville Krav Maga, it is dedicated to promoting awareness, strength, self-defense, and confidence. For more information, contact Nashville Krav Maga, part of Krav Maga Worldwide, at nashville-krav-maga.com or 629-236-6178. work more efficiently together and allow for future growth of our team. Our clients will continue to have a great experience and the location is ideal,” said SmartBank Regional President David Scott.

Tony Graves has joined the SmartBank team as senior vice president and commercial lender, and has over 30 years of lending experience. Before joining SmartBank, Graves was senior vice president at Reliant Bank.

Kent Stone joined the team as vice president and regional production manager, and Rachael Meurrier has joined SmartBank as senior vice president and Williamson County market executive, focusing on expanding the SmartBank brand into Williamson County with a new location in 2022. SmartBank has locations throughout the Florida panhandle, Alabama and East Tennessee.

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER has received approval from the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency to build a new 42-bed hospital in Murfreesboro. The new hospital will be on Veterans Parkway near Interstate 840. A similar application for a proposed Vanderbilt Rutherford Hospital was considered by the agency in August 2020, but was denied due to opposition from Saint Thomas Rutherford, StoneCrest Medical Center and Williamson Medical Center. The contested application was approved by the state agency in December 2021 with a vote of 5–1.

Dr. Kenneth Patric, who made the motion to approve, noted that Rutherford County

doesn’t necessarily need more hospital beds at the moment, but Vanderbilt provided figures for how many residents are currently driving to VUMC in Nashville to get care and bypassing Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford and TriStar Stonecrest.

The projected cost of the new Vanderbilt facility sits at $144 million.

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Opinion Murfreesboro Parent Banned from Schools After Speaking Out Against Forced Masking

BY KENDRA OHALLORAN for the Tennessee Conservative THE GENIUS OF OUR FOUNDING fathers was not just three co-equal branches of government, but their vision for a government “for the people and by the people.”

Their vision for citizen participation in government was to ensure those elected to public office are meeting the wants and needs of those they represent.

However, many parents across this country are finding significant opposition to this foundational principle, especially from those we have elected to educate our children. In one Murfreesboro parent’s case, this resulted in law enforcement intervention to prevent such participation.

Adam Williams, a father of a 7-year-old boy enrolled in Rutherford County Schools, found

himself in handcuffs on Nov. 4 for “persons improperly on school premises.” He had not a warrant for his arrest, due to the school mailing the certified letter to his ex-wife’s home, in which he has never lived. Therefore, Williams was completely unaware of the charges prior to Nov. 4 when he picked his son up from school. (Additionally, the letter he received from the school system did not note these charges for “persons improperly on school premises,” but rather aggravated trespassing charges, a felony.)

Williams had decided to home-school his son for the entire 2020 school year, due to the local mask mandates. This caused significant hardship on his family, as he and his wife both work full time. During the entire 2020

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school year, Williams was very vocal at the local school board meetings regarding the mask mandates.

With no mandates announced prior to the beginning of the 2021 school year, Williams re-enrolled his son into public school. About a month into the school year, Rutherford County reinstituted the mask mandate with an opt-out option, which the Williams’ chose and agreed to.

Within a few days of opting out of the mask wearing, a school nurse pulled the 7-year-old out of class due to “COVID symptoms.” A letter was sent home, requiring the student to be quarantined for 10 days, without the ability to attend school.

The problem, according to Williams, is that his son was not exhibiting any of the symptoms noted on the letter. He felt his son had been targeted due to the mask optout option. Williams initially gave the school the benefit of the doubt regarding their decision, but after attending several school board meetings and hearing similar stories from other parents, he was convinced that his family had likely been unjustly targeted.

On his son’s first day back to school, Williams requested to speak with the school nurse and the principal regarding this discrepancy and concerns over the inaccuracies. Especially due to the contact tracing measures sending hundreds of kids home during any given week, the learning loss seen across the state of Tennessee would continue to increase.

The principal then met Williams in the school lobby, in front of his 7-year-old son, and became so aggressive that Williams asked her to step backwards out of his personal space. Williams said at no point in this encounter did he become belligerent as this all played out in front of his son. He left and made a formal complaint against the principal to the Rutherford County director of schools. After six weeks since filing this complaint, Williams still has not received a 28 * JANUARY 2022 * BOROPULSE.COM

response from the director of schools.

Williams then decided to do a deep dive into the background of the director of schools and found some “uncomfortable” things about him, which he decided to list on a poster board to bring to the next scheduled school board meeting.

Any public servant whose salary is paid by the taxpayers of Rutherford County, including the director of schools and its principals, are subject to scrutiny, same as any other public official. But, as many conservatives have found these last two years, the authority structure we have put into place does not like to be challenged, and they seemingly loathe the idea of mass citizen participation.

After the school board meeting on Oct. 20, Williams picked his son up from the after-school program and passed his principal on the way out. He told her that he did move forward with a formal complaint. She then responded with “it doesn’t matter.”

Two weeks later, Williams was arrested for aggravated felony trespassing for picking up his son after school. He has not only been banned from the school campus, but banned from any functions, sporting events or offsite events related to his son’s school as well. Instead of increasing communication regarding such matters, the Rutherford County School board evidently chose to escalate via local law enforcement.

Unfortunately, our legislature in the great state of Tennessee has left it up to the parents to fight for parents’ rights. But this parent is not backing down and will be fighting for his parental rights in court.

As Abraham Lincoln once said, “Freedom is not the right to do what we want, but rather what we ought. Let us have faith that right makes might and, in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.” Williams hopes that many Tennesseans, especially parents, will rise to the occasion.

 NATURE NEWS

Gardening Education Series

BY EDWINA SHANNON

Barred Owls at Barfield Park Find them hunting near dusk during frosty months STORY AND PHOTOS BY ASHLEIGH NEWNES

THE BARRED OWL’S CALL, “WHO COOKS FOR YOU,” IS A FAVORITE of many nature lovers and arguably one of the most famous bird calls in North America.

Winter is one of the best times to hear these magnificent creatures. With the trees losing their leaves, the sound seems so much closer. They are mostly heard at night when they are most active, but can also sometimes be heard during the day.

The barred owl is a grayish-brown owl, most easily identified by the “bars” formed by its feather placement and its deep, black, soulful eyes. The barred owl is distributed throughout most of the Eastern and Central United States and parts of Southern Canada in old deciduous mixed forests, normally near water.

They hunt mostly at night but also can be seen to hunt during the day. Their diet consists mostly of small mammals; they enjoy eating smaller birds, amphibians, reptiles and insects, too.

Barred owls mate for life and usually choose a nesting site in a hollow of a tree or an old nest belonging to a hawk or squirrel, where they have a clutch of two to four eggs per year. Their average lifespan in the wild is 10 years, but they have been known to live much longer.

Unfortunately, most of their deaths result from man-made causes.

During hungry times in January, when food is harder to come by, we are likely to see more of the barred owl. They may appear in our yards and stay for days watching for careless feeder birds. We are also more likely to see an increase in barred owl roadkill, as the search for food becomes harder. There have already been many sightings of dead owls on the roads in Murfreesboro during December. If rodent numbers are low during the year, following a year of abundant rodent numbers, we can expect to see a lot more of the barred owl during the frostiest months of the year.

If you have never seen a barred owl in person, I suggest heading to Barfield Crescent Park. These pictures were taken there, near the river and at dusk. This is where visitors have most frequently spotted this owl. For some fun winter bird-watching, bundle up and head out for a brisk early evening winter walk at Barfield.

If you are interested in conservation and want to do your part for the barred owl, you can set up a nesting box in your yard. There are many DIY plans and resources online to help you build the correct size and add the necessary predator protection for the ideal nest box.

Plans and Intents Dream of next season’s garden during cold winter months PHOTO BY ANNA SHVETS/PEXELS

THE COLDEST PART OF WINTER is the perfect time to dream. No need to go anywhere when the roads are icy. Just use your fingers to surf the web or open catalogs. It is the time to collect ideas and select possibilities.

We can all dream big. But why? Let us recognize what we have and select possibilities that are achievable and realistic.

Are you planning hardscape changes by putting in a walkway or a deck, building a wall or securing a fence? Are there portions that can be done over several seasons, or is it necessary to do it all at once?

Nestle yourself amid catalogs from seed companies and books to start those creative juices. Dog-ear pages, make a list, or sketch the idea as you come across it.

Now get practical. Two main areas of concern are cost and space. Your budget will determine a lot. Where do you start? Is there an eyesore that needs attention or an area of the property where plantings will improve market value? Remember the UT Extension mantra of “Right plant in the right place.” Size, soil conditions, sun requirements and the need for supplemental water are just several of the plant properties that need to be assessed.

After the practical side has whittled down possibilities, have fun in selecting the colors, forms and plant combinations. Will any last more than a year? If so, how will their growth affect the selected area? Does it work? Or do you need to make a different plant choice?

I have a few items on my list this year.

I want to get vegetables growing in a new area. I have a 10-by-30-foot section that is in desperate need of help. I am hoping to amend the soil to support plant life and convert it to a productive area. I am considering small fruit trees and bushes.

I want to read John Forti’s Heirloom Gardener. I should replace some of the

annual garden work with perennial choices for returning productivity with less effort.

I want to take a ride to the Atlanta area and visit Gibb’s Garden. Traveling to visit this garden is worth the effort.

Finally, I need to inventory and then expand my herb garden.

An action item this month is to trim and prune bushes, woody ornamentals and trees. Be aware of the bloom cycle of the plant that you are trimming. Removing branches of spring flowering plants will greatly reduce or eliminate any blooms this year. Constrain your trimming zeal to the plants that bloom after July 1. When the spring flowering plants have finished their show this spring, then prune them.

Pruning is good for health and appearance. It should be part of the annual inspection of your trees and bushes. The UT Extension service has publication #1619, titled “Best Management Practices for Pruning Landscape Trees, Shrubs and Ground Covers.” It is a great resource on the topic and from which I quote, reasons to prune: 1. Maintain plant health. Remove dead, damaged or diseased plant tissue to maintain plant health and vigor.

2. Remove misshapen, crowded and rubbing branches and branches with narrow crotch angles. These pruning cuts eliminate problems before damage occurs.

3. Increase flowering and fruiting. More flower buds will be formed for the following season if old flowers are removed when they lose their attractiveness, a practice called dead-heading.

4. Train plants to a particular size or shape, including hedge and espalier forms.

5. Rejuvenate overgrown shrubs and restore plant density, shape and vigor.

Large-habit plants in the wrong place, like hollies and privet planted in front of windows, should be replaced.

BOROPULSE.COM

* JANUARY 2022 * 29

Opinion Public Schools: Are They Safe? the same. There is no “better” school system.

THIS MONTH I HAD PLANNED ON They are all cut from the same cloth. highlighting parents in our home-school The public is gravely misinformed if they community that were successfully home believe that government schools, a.k.a. public schooling despite difficult circumstances. schools, are a safe environment for their However, due to the arrest of a local educachildren. tor in our community, I Did you know that, legally, felt compelled to address schools are allowed to selfthe issue of abuse in the report? educational system.

“It is also important to Yvette Hampton and

BY TIFFANY BOYD understand that the lack of I addressed this topic a federal mandatory school crime reporting and many others on the Schoolhouse Rocked and tracking law for K–12 schools means that, podcast, which is set to air in early January (podcast.schoolhouserocked.com). Many people on a national level, no one actually knows in real numbers how many crimes occur on fail to understand this is not an anomaly.

K–12 school campuses nationwide. Federal Abuse occurs frequently across all sociostatistics grossly underestimate the extent economic demographics. The most recent of school crime and violence,” according to incident in particular was allegedly perpeschoolsecurity.org. trated by an individual who was employed Does this sound like an environment in by the school system that many people held which the safety of students is paramount? up as the golden standard of education in Furthermore, federal crime reporting requireMiddle Tennessee. I have warned parents for ments were established for colleges and years that school systems in general are all

#FREE YOUR

CHILDREN

universities in 1990 under the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990, later formally named the Clery Act. No such federal law exists for K–12 schools. And there is no indication that anyone in Congress or the education community plans to create such crime-reporting requirements for our nation’s elementary and secondary schools.

Why aren’t our politicians and representatives concerned about this?

Critical race theory, social and emotional learning, and Marxist indoctrination are all major talking points surrounding public schools. However, you rarely, if ever, hear anyone addressing the issue of reporting crimes that have been committed within schools.

Many parents I have spoken with know nothing about the Clery Act, nor are they aware of school crime reporting and underreporting.

Stop Educator Sexual Abuse Misconduct and Exploitation (SESAME) is an organization that describes itself as a national voice for prevention of abuse by educators and other school employees. It has compiled alarming statistics on the incidences of sexual abuse in schools nationwide, reporting that just under 500 educators were arrested in 2015.

Of children in 8th through 11th grade, about 3.5 million students (nearly 7 percent) surveyed reported having had physical sexual contact from an adult (most often a teacher or coach). The type of physical contact ranged from unwanted touching of their body, all the way up to sexual intercourse. This statistic increases to about 4.5 million children (10%) when it takes other types of sexual misconduct into consideration, such as being shown pornography or being subjected to sexually explicit language or exhibitionism. Very often, other teachers “thought there might be something going on,” but were afraid to report a fellow educator or thought there was a chance that they may be mistaken. They didn’t want to be responsible for “ruining a person’s life,” although that is exactly what they are doing to 30 * JANUARY 2022 * BOROPULSE.COM

the child if they don’t speak up, thus allowing the abuse to continue (according to The Children’s Center for Psychiatry, Psychology and Related Services).

This is egregious and needs to be addressed on a national level. The health, safety and welfare of our nation’s children are at stake.

If you are a parent reading this, please ask yourself if you believe that public schools truly ensure the safety of your child.

“Sexual harassment is common at every stage of education. Verbal and physical harassment begins in elementary school, and four out of five children experience some form of sexual harassment or bullying,” K12ademics.com reports. “Eight out of 10 will experience this at some point in their school lives, and roughly 25 percent will experience this often. Boys are more likely to physically harass and bully others, or to be physically bullied themselves. Girls are more likely to use, and experience, verbal and psychological harassment and bullying.

Six out of 10 students will experience some form of physical sexual harassment.”

A survey conducted by the American Association of University Women on 2,064 students in 8th through 11th grades noted: 83% of girls have been sexually harassed 78% of boys have been sexually harassed 38% of the students were harassed by teachers or school employees 36% of school employees or teachers were harassed by students 42% of school employees or teachers had been harassed by each other One of the purposes of Free YOUR Children has always been to inform parents about the reality of government schools. You can find this information and much more regarding the truth about public schools, and resources on home schooling, on the Free YOUR Children page on Facebook.

When we are armed with information, we can make educated decisions. Parents are responsible for the safety and welfare of their children. Government schools cannot and do not provide a safe environment for children. The statistics speak for themselves.

Tiffany Boyd is the founder of Free YOUR Children, a home school advocate, consultant, speaker and the founder and administrator of Middle Tennessee Christian Homeschool Connection. She holds a B.S. degree in interdisciplinary studies from MTSU. She is a wife of 30 years and mother to five children, grandmother to two. She is a former tenured public school teacher. She and her husband have home educated for 18 years. Contact her at freeyourchildren@gmail.com.

FINANCIAL COACHING

BY TONY BRADSHAW

Understanding Cryptocurrency Get started investing in cryptocurrencies

PHOTO BY DAVID McBEE/PEXELS

I’M STILL A LITTLE SURPRISED AT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE I MEET each day who know so little about cryptocurrency. But I guess I shouldn’t be, since Bitcoin has only been around for a little over 10 years. We’re still in the early adoption phase of cryptocurrency as a technology and financial system. But make no mistake, it’s here to stay.

For perspective, I first discovered the internet in 1993 when visiting a friend at college studying to get his masters degree. He said, “Have you heard of this thing called AOL [America Online]?” Then he introduced me to chat rooms where we met some fascinating people.

Fast forward eight years to March 2001, when I found myself working at Dave Ramsey’s company, developing his online businesses and products. The internet was just starting to hit the mainstream after 10 years in the public eye. Companies like Google and Amazon were beginning their run to dominance. Many people just continued going through their daily lives while others saw the opportunities and futures of Google, Amazon and the like. They made millions.

Here we are again at another technology convergence, but this time it is in the financial sector instead of the commerce sector.

EASY STEPS TO GET STARTED WITH CRYPTOCURRENCY: DEVELOP A SYSTEM to educate yourself on cryptocurrency. As with any investment, you should only invest at the level of competency you have. For example, if you’re not a well-educated, savvy investor in stocks, you probably shouldn’t be day trading. Safer investments would include mutual funds or investing inside your 401k.

However, if you take the time to educate yourself on different investing methodologies like swing trading, day trading or buy and hold, you can venture out beyond mutual funds investing in search of higher return. Just like learning to play a new sport, investing works the same way. You’re probably not going to be very good at it first, but if you keep learning, practicing and working with a good coach or team, you’ll get better.

For cryptocurrency news and information, read coindesk.com and cryptonews.com.

1

2

WATCH THE MARKET

There are over 8,000 cryptocurrencies.

Just like during the days of the .com era,

when everyone was investing in tech stocks, many of which imploded, not every cryptocurrency will make it to become part of the new financial system. So, how do you know which ones to buy? Watch the market. Check the market at least weekly.

Portfolio tools will allow you to watch your crypto portfolio’s value in real time.

Coinmarketcap.com tracks many of the available cryptocurrencies and provides information, news, links and where to buy specific cryptocurrencies.

3

SET UP YOUR ACCOUNTS

There are literally hundreds of places to buy cryptocurrencies. Everyone is trying to get in on the game at this stage of development, including PayPal, Venmo and others.

Realize that not every cryptocurrency is available on every exchange. In the same way that a stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, there are steps and a system to getting listed. For example: There are over 8,000 cryptocurrencies, but on Coinbase, one of the largest exchanges, less than 100 cryptocurrencies are available to trade. If you

want to trade the lesser-known cryptos, you’ll need accounts on different exchanges.

I recommend setting up several accounts to give you access to multiple trading platforms and a wide variety of cryptocurrencies.

Coinbase – easy to use and one of the most developed exchanges. Very easy for beginners. Limited to 50–100 cryptocurrencies. Known to have higher trading fees than other exchanges.

Kraken – great alternative exchange. Has a wide variety of cryptocurrencies for trading.

Kucoin – a wide variety of alt-coins if you are interested in buying cryptocurrencies that are just starting. These carry more risk but also may have a higher opportunity for exponential growth. The exchange interface will be a little confusing for beginners, so be sure to watch some videos on how to trade.

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DOWNLOAD A PORTFOLIO TOOL

to watch your investments more easily.

Once in the crypto investing world, you’ll want to get a portfolio management tool to keep track of your crypto portfolio as you may buy on several different exchanges. I have cryptocurrencies across five different exchanges, but I update my portfolio with each trade to keep track of my valuations in one place. It makes it super easy.

Blockfolio is my tool of choice. Download the app or visit blockfolio.com for more.

5

MAKE YOUR FIRST INVESTMENTS

If you’ve followed the steps above, you’re ready to buy some crypto, and honestly you’re probably better prepared than 90 percent of the people when they buy their first crypto.

My wife hadn’t done any of these steps and simply jumped on Venmo and started buying some crypto. She’s pretty bold.

I like to build my portfolio in a threestack method. As you are just getting started, you could start with the first stack and decide if you want to add the other two parts of the stack when you feel comfortable.

Stack 1 – Established crypto. In a manner similar to investing in established companies with a track record like IBM, Coca Cola, Apple or Amazon, you can buy more established cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

These coins could be valued anywhere from $50 up to Bitcoin’s $50,000. Expectations are that when everything shakes out, these coins will still have a place in the crypto economy.

Consider investing in the top 10 crypto currencies as your “established crypto” stack.

For example, four years ago, when I started investing in cryptocurrency, Bitcoin was at $6,500 (it’s now $41,000), Ethereum was $365 (it’s now $2,882), and Litecoin

was $65 (it’s now $156).

While the order of the top 10 coins may change, the likelihood of them still being around is significantly higher than coins further down the crypto pecking order.

Stack 2 – Developing coins. Developing coins have been around for less time than Bitcoin, Ethereum or Litecoin, but they have gotten through the early phase of development. They are now moving on to the next phase. I like coins in the $1 to $50 range for this stack. Cardano at $2–3 is picking up steam. Solano and Algorand also fall into this bucket even though Solano’s price is around $150. It is still a developing coin.

Stack 3 – Long shots. Typically these are newer coins with values less than $1 and sometimes less than $.01. I was fortunate to get into Cardano in 2018 at 11 cents. Now it’s trading from $2.50 to $3. That’s bordering on a 3,000 percent gain over three years!

I also picked up XRP in 2018 at 25 cents.

Unfortunately, I needed some cash and sold my XRP before it hit its big growth cycle.

XRP is now trading around $1.

When selecting any cryptocurrency as a possible investment, especially the less-developed ones, be sure to research the crypto. Look at the leadership team. What problem are they trying to solve? Do they have a roadmap? Who is their competition? Even if they have a viable crypto, can they gain market share?

If you choose to follow my stacking method, consider an investing model of 50–75 percent in stack 1, 10–25 percent in stack 2, and 10–25 percent in stack 3.

6

ALTERNATIVE TO DOING IT YOURSELF

While the crypto investing world is relatively new compared to Wall Street, some crypto funds have popped up. One such fund is Bitwise. If you’d prefer for someone else to manage your crypto investments in an index fund model rather than doing it yourself, Bitwise, currently the largest crypto fund with over $1,000,000,000 under management, may be a good option.

Cryptocurrency investing presents many new risks. Sometimes you could lose 90 percent of your investment, as a couple of my coins have done, but that’s why you diversify through a portfolio of multiple cryptocurrencies. With cryptocurrency, we are about to see the complete transformation of the financial world and methods of commerce.

Will you be sitting on the sidelines?

Tony Bradshaw is the founder and president of The Millionaire Choice. Learn more at themillionairechoice.com.

BOROPULSE.COM

* JANUARY 2022 * 31

Live Exceptionally...Well!

BY JENNIFER DURAND

Altering Up I BELIEVE WE CAN ALTER THE COURSE of our life at any moment. Every day holds thousands of moments that influence us to make choices, which produce outcomes, incomes, conundrums or even hum-drums. Over the last few weeks I have been exposed to a variety of moments, instances, visions, dreams, and examples of some choices that people made to change their state of being. Each one subtly charged an impetus within me to want to change things up in my own life.

I don’t necessarily subscribe to the “new year, new you” philosophy, but I do encourage it if it helps act as a catalyst for people to do an annual personal life evaluation. You can adopt this any time throughout the year if you feel stuck in areas of your life and know you need to make a change. It just so happened that my time to self-evaluate (powered by similar moments) came near the end of the year. Recently, over the course of a couple of weeks I felt a power emanating from several observations. They evoked a trigger within me that made me want to build on my own strengths and elevate areas I wanted to improve in.

“If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.”

Some of the moments included: • Watching the movie of the story of the Williams sisters—tennis champions. The daily dedication to always do their best, and not just in one area, was very humbling and inspiring. They studied hard, got good grades, were smart, respectful and determined to be the best at what they did.

• Another was a random video I saw of a young teenager who was skinny but was determined to build his muscles and transform his body. It took him two years to see significant changes. It was his personal determination to do this for himself that struck a chord. Incredible change.

• There was another young lady who sculpted her body over the last year and you could see the confidence she exuded because of her personal triumph.

• Another couple of friends finished books they had been working on for two years each. They took their thoughts and formulated them into a finished product that they could share with others. Leaving an impression in this life, with persistence and desire.

None of these examples happened overnight. The decision to head in a specific direction was made in a moment, but the fulfillment and outcome were incremental, accomplished over time. I also love and appreciate the stories that are told. We would scarcely be inspired to aim higher if it weren’t for the motivating forces of what others have done.

Examples can be powerful. So, do the things. Follow your plan. Write it down, blog it, video it. Share it.

32 * JANUARY 2022 * BOROPULSE.COM

There is a lot of content in the world these days, but you never know what you will see that will change your direction or what you do that someone else will witness that will change theirs.

“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.” — John F. Kennedy So, how can you alter your life upward? Start by paying attention to who you are. Some tricks to help you identify your strengths and areas you could improve or change (notice I’m not saying weaknesses) are: • Ask friends or associates to describe you. Ask them to be brutally honest.

• How would you write your own eulogy or press release for your personal bests?

• Identify what you’d like to have more of or less of.

• Do you like what you hear when you get the feedback? What would you like to hear said differently?

• What would you like to tell your 10-year-younger self ? Then, visualize yourself 5 or 10 years from now talking to your present self. What recommendations will you make?

I’ve always liked doing 90-day challenges. I’ve been able to stick to them every time I’ve committed. They’ve usually been giving something up for the duration of the challenge as an act of discipline. This time I have decided to give myself one full year to dedicating my energy and efforts to healthier habits with consistency. I’d like to see what that kind of dedication can do to improve my “form.” I have identified specific physical goals to target. Other personal goals include: • Improving my posture • Not hitting the snooze button when the alarm goes off • Not allowing food to go bad • Reading something non-work-related for a minimum of 45 minutes a day • Daily exercise/activity two times each day for at least 20 minutes each Remember, no one else can do it for you. Be known as the person you wish to be. Set the example and raise the bar. I believe you can do it!

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” — Rumi Jennifer Durand is the owner of The Nurture Nook, a certified qigong and breath empowerment instructor and is licensed in massage therapy, body work and somatic integration.

For more on finding your personal “ahh . . .”, visit nurturenook.com or call 615-896-7110.

Sports PHOTOS BY NATHAN WALLACH/MTSU SPORTS

Blue Raiders Cap Season With Bahamas Bowl Victory

BY SAM DOUGHTON and ANTHONY FIORELLA for MTSU Athletics MIDDLE TENNESSEE FOOTBALL battled back after trailing at halftime, outscoring Toledo in the second half to power past the Rockets 31–24 in the 2021 Bahamas Bowl on Dec. 17.

Nicholas Vattiato earned offensive player of the game honors after completing 23 of 35 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns, while D.Q. Thomas earned defensive player of the game honors, leading the Blue Raiders with eight tackles and helping to hold the Rockets to just 4 out of 15 attempts on third down in the afternoon.

The game marks Middle Tennessee’s first bowl win since triumphing over Arkansas State in the 2017 Camellia Bowl. The Bahamas Bowl victory improved MTSU’s record on the season to 7–6.

True freshman quarterback Vattiato, who was pressed into a starting role in the ninth game of the season after an injury to Chase Cunningham, came up huge at the Bahamas Bowl. His biggest play was a 59-yard touchdown pass to Jarrin Pierce that gave Middle Tennessee a 28–17 lead.

With under seven minutes left in the fourth quarter of the Bahamas Bowl, MTSU offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon sent the play to the huddle. The Blue Raiders

were hanging on to a 21–17 lead. Vattiato called the play and looked in the direction of senior wideout Pierce for a moment before the team broke the huddle.

Recognizing the coverage was exactly what he’d seen when they practiced this play, Vattiato’s mind raced before the ball was snapped. While the 18-year-old quarterback’s mind might’ve been racing, his even-keeled demeanor helped lead him and his team to this moment.

As the 2021 season began, Vattiato’s role was like most other true freshmen quarterbacks in the college football landscape.

He was relegated to the scout team, taking reps against the starters on defense while

doing his best in practice to help conduct the offense of the Blue Raiders’ opponent that week. With veterans Bailey Hockman, Chase Cunningham and Mike DiLiello in front of him, Vattiato was destined to be redshirted.

But following a loss to UTSA earlier in the season, Hockman left the program and Chase Cunningham took over as the starter.

MTSU found itself back to the .500 mark for the year after the eighth game of the season, a blowout win on homecoming against Southern Mississippi. That win, however, would come at a cost, as the Blue Raiders learned that the knee injury that Cunningham suffered in the game was season-ending. Vattiato and DiLiello

remained as the only quarterbacks on the roster that had taken any snaps during the year, with most of DiLiello’s coming from a wildcat package and Vattiato’s in a mop-up role at the end of games.

A day prior to the game at Western Kentucky, Dearmon told Vattiato that he would be the starting quarterback for Middle Tennessee.

It wasn’t the cleanest of games; Middle Tennessee fell to 4–5 with the 48–21 loss and Vattiato tossed five interceptions, but the Blue Raiders earned two more wins before the end of the regular season, good enough for a Bahamas Bowl bid against the Toledo Rockets.

The Blue Raiders got on the board first in the Bahamas, as Vattiato found Yusuf Ali on a quick hitch route, and the wide receiver lowered his shoulder into the end zone for a six-yard touchdown catch.

After a pair of touchdowns from the Rockets on explosive plays, MT responded with two spectacular catches of their own: a 23-yard, one-handed grab from Pierce and a 17-yard, high-point catch from Izaiah Gathings to place the ball at the Toledo 1, where Frank Peasant pounded the rock into the end zone, tying the game 14–14.

Toledo took a 17–14 lead into the locker room at halftime. The score would remain the same until the first play of the fourth quarter, when DiLiello came in and ran the QB option up the gut 17 yards to give MTSU a 21–17 lead.

A stalwart defensive stand gave the Blue Raiders the ball at their own 41. That’s when Pierce pulled out a double move on second down and sprinted past the secondary to glide under a pass from Vattiato and ease into the end zone for the 59-yard touchdown.

“It’s really kind of funny, because we ran the same play in practice all week and Jarrin was so wide open I missed him,” Vattiato said of the play, which turned out to be the longest play in MTSU bowl game history.

“When we got to the sidelines, I smiled and grabbed [Pierce] and told him ‘I wasn’t going to miss you that time,’” Vattiato said.

Shortly after, Zaylin Wood grabbed an MTSU interception after Jordan Ferguson struck Toledo quarterback Dequan Finn’s arm as he was passing. Wood tracked down the wobbly pass and four plays later MTSU added a field goal, going on to win the game by a final score of 31–24.

For more on MTSU athletics, visit goblueraiders.com.

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Think long-term, reverse-engineer, build strength to increase speed BY JACOB LEMBKE ARE WE THERE YET?

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Motivation for Getting Fit Rarely, if ever, has any great empire or significant piece of art been completed solely in a day, and the same goes for you and your journey to reach your fitness goals.

Shaping the human body—for performance, physique or daily function—simply does not happen overnight. Though you may quickly begin to feel physical results in strength, movement skills and flexibility, concrete change takes a minimum of six weeks of consistent training. When it comes to changing you, it takes long-term consistency to see measurable results.

As you begin to learn exercise movements and increase weight, your body will naturally begin the adaptation process, becoming stronger and more able with each added stimulus. Typically, once an individual starts strength and performance training, the first attribute to see improvement is their strength. As training progresses, improvement will also begin to appear in the areas of muscle growth, respiratory capacity and speed. But the one unifying factor of measurable improvement is time. The longer you spend consistently training at regular intervals, the larger the measurable changes will be.

It is not unusual for an athlete to have trained consistently for thousands of hours over a number of years to become competitive in their sport. Likewise, taying strong and capable well beyond age 65 is not something you need to start thinking about six weeks before your 65th birthday. This is not to say that starting training later in life cannot or should not be done, but it is easier to maintain strength and ability gained in youth than it is to develop those abilities as age becomes an obstacle. It is the consistency that will bring long-term results. Those who choose to spend their time and effort investing in their own health and abilities will reap the rewards as the years pass.

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Step back and look at the big picture. What is it that you are trying to achieve? What needs to happen for you to get there? What might be the stumbling blocks on the road to success? If you are looking to achieve something big in your life, whether it be in school, sports, work or anywhere else, these questions are a great place to start. They are part of a larger process of planning that needs to happen in order to have the best chance at achieving the goal you have set.

One of the best tools for breaking down a goal and creating a plan is called reverse engineering.

Simply put, you lay out whatever it is you are trying to achieve. Then you look at where you are at and what you are doing now. Once we have good definitions for each of those, we can begin to work backward from where we want to be to where we are.

34 * JANUARY 2022 * BOROPULSE.COM

The differences between where you want to be and what you need to be doing compared to where you are now and what you currently do can then be divided by the amount of time you have. This will give you an idea of how big your steps need to be to reach your goal.

While working out, look critically at each step of the process, how large each individual step needs to be, and what might trip you up along the way.

Stumbling blocks along the path can come in many forms, like injuries, sickness, local civil unrest or birthday cake. How can you address these issues when they arrive or avoid them through strategic planning? A cohesive plan needs to have contingencies in place in order for it to work.

Now that we have an idea of where we want to be versus where we are, the scale of the steps which separate the two, and a plan to conquer each stumbling block along the way, put the plan into action.

Achieving a goal is as easy as following the plan.

SPEED KILLS In nearly every competitive sport the athlete or team who has a speed advantage has a significant edge. The difference between scoring points or taking home a medal and coming away empty-handed can be as small as hundredths of a second. The question is: How does one go about getting faster?

It comes down to the development of multiple physical traits and abilities, followed by teaching the body how they all work together.

First and foremost is strength. A solid base of strength is crucial if you are looking to achieve your top speed, because it sets the groundwork for everything else. Through strength the body gains the ability to push the ground harder and faster, creating longer strides and covering distance more efficiently. Interestingly, for the body to apply this newfound strength to running at top speed there must be increased body tension and control in the right places, which comes with the development of strength if the programming is correct.

Beyond the development of strength comes the application of those new abilities. Training the body to apply force to the ground at greater speeds and teaching the body efficient patterns of movement both come together to produce the desired result. In most cases, these skills need to be taught and developed through careful training and specific practice before the teaching the body how they work in tandem.

Jacob Lembke is the owner and operator of Corax Strength and Performance. For help chasing your fitness goals, contact him at 615651-1408 or at coraxmurfreesboro.com.

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