September 2019 Murfreesboro Pulse by The Murfreesboro Pulse

IN MUSIC

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Middle Tennesseeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Source for Art, Entertainment and Culture News

COMMUNITY REMEMBERS THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES ON SEPT. 11

GREENWAY ART FEST RETURNS TO OLD FORT PARK, SEPT. 21

Musical Merit Set to perform September show at The Caverns, Cory Younts discusses time at MTSU, performing with Old Crow Medicine Show and others

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Contents

I ENCOURAGE YOU to take in some of the natural magic of Tennessee state parks in the fall, and observe the glorious fire of oranges and yellows on the trees in the parks and elsewhere in the hills and valleys of Tennessee. Many, many festivals, events and outdoor shows are set for the Murfreesboro area for September. Turn the pages to learn more. Surely you can find something you’d like to involve yourself in. The Greenway Art Fest returns to Old Fort Park. This is generally a nice time in the park for families to discover some new artwork and for artists to network. Otherwise, the Murfreesboro Parks crew will host all sorts of educational and athletic programming this month— animals, night hikes, yoga, kayaking, Chinese musician volleyball and archery. Benming Zhou with It was a good Meet Murfreesboro event Pulse Publisher the last week of August. The Pulse and other Bracken Mayo local restaurants, stores, churches, fitness centers and organizations set up information tables on the FEATURES IN EVERY ISSUE MTSU campus for a few days early in the 2019 semester Second Harvest and to welcome some of the incoming students to the area and other local charities. to get reacquainted with some of the students and faculty OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW who may have been there for a while. CALENDAR MURAL Band member Cory Younts RCSO 9/11 Memorial, Ryan Frizzell and The roaring ’20s are right around the corner. Crazy. discusses time at MTSU and his Puppy Plunge, Autumn Meagan Armes BUSINESS BUZZ Life keeps on rolling along in Murfreesboro—plenty of career in the music industry. at the Alley, Wings of Morning Brew, Seafood THEATER those fine apartments and mixed-use developments keep Freedom and more! Sensation, Slick Pig The Secret Garden; on springing up, restaurants come, restaurants go, the Smyrna and more Smokes and Jokes Stones River continues reliably flowing through town as THE CHINA CONNECTION BUSINESS POETRY walkers, runners and cyclists travel alongside it on the Investment and dialogue increase MOMENTUM Show up to support MUSIC NOTES Greenway and a few new murals pop up here and there. between China and the U.S.; Girlfriday: Because local creative writers. Sidewalk Prophets, Creative people continue to make efforts to present Chinese factories and organizations every professional Tennessee Philharmoncome to Middle Tennessee. needs an assistant. their art, acting, music, comedy, poetry, writing, custom ic Orchestra, Bucket City Punx, Pilgrimage car work, cake decorating, magic, water skiing tricks or Fest, The Mavericks whatever it is that they are passionate about to others in CONCERTS MOVIE various venues around the area. WINE AROUND THE SQUARE SPORTS TALK Tom Petty Tribute, Ready or Not Annual downtown wine sampling Titans open new season. Fundraisers for Special Kids, Greenhouse Ministries, Jeremy Pinell, benefit supports breast cancer patients. GAME Saint Thomas Rutherford Foundation, Second Harvest Shane Douglas, King Wolfenstein: Youngblood Food Bank, Amelia’s Closet, Habitat for Humanity, Loand the Rebel, Zone NEW RELEASES cally Owned Murfreesboro, Tree of Life Animal SanctuStatus and more Hustlers, Rambo: Last ary, Candle Wishes, Alzheimer’s Association and other HERBIE VORE THE DINOSAUR ALBUM REVIEWS PHIL VALENTINE Blood, Downton Abbey, Colorful storybooks featuring Herbie, local organizations and ministries will occur in SeptemThem Fixes, Trump encourages U.S. Ad Astra, Judy Carnie and their pals teach young DJ Lil Stuart ber. Get involved where you can. companies to pull out of and more! children good habits. China. I had some interesting conversations and learned a bit about the relationships and interactions between LIVE . . . WELL! Unusual de-stressing the businesses and governments of the U.S. and China GARDENING EVENT 219 MIXED CUISINE It’s not over: What to over the past month. Perhaps there is a way to raise READING Annual Charity Broad St. restaurant offers sushi, do in the garden Ecce Deus the standard of living of the Chinese people, and others Chopped benefits pizza, Thai, burgers, salads and more. this month across the world, while still maintaining the standard of those in the U.S. Copyright © 2019, The Murfreesboro Pulse, Advertising: Contributors: The Train Daddy Mafia, the best fantasy football 10 N. Public Square, Murfreesboro, TN 37130. Don Clark, Melissa Coker, Jennifer Durand, Jordan Hall, Proudly owned, operated and published the first Leslie Russell-Yost league in the world, is set for the 2019 NFL season. Who Luke Kautzky, Laura Lindsay, Blaine Little, Thursday of each month by the Mayo family; Art Director: printed by Franklin Web Printing Co. The Pulse is will claim that prestigious trophy? Angela Loupe, Rick Malone, Zach Maxfield, Sarah Mayo a free publication funded by advertisers. Views Edwina Shannon, Jay Spight, Andrea Stockard, Be mindful of yourself, control yourself, stick to your expressed in the Pulse do not necessarily reflect Copy Editor: Phil Valentine, Kory Wells, Michelle Willard Publisher/Editor in Chief: Bracken Mayo the views of the publishers. ISSN: 1940-378X Steve Morley goals and values, but also be mindful of the situations around you. “As ye have done it unto one of the least of 10 N. Public Square, Murfreesboro, TN 37130 • 615-796-6248 these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Enjoy the fall—and, occasionally, be still and know. To carry the PULSE at your business, or to submit letters, stories and photography: bracken@boropulse.com

ON THE COVER: Old Crow Medicine Show photo by Crackerfarm

4 Events

8 Sounds

24 Art

Reviews

41 Sports 42

Opinion

18 Living 36 Food

38 News

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Peace, BRACKEN MAYO Publisher/Editor in Chief

Events SEPT. 6 FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE Main Street Murfreesboro/Rutherford County presents the final Friday Night Live Concert of 2019 on Friday, Sept. 6. Murfreesboro’s own The Pilots will perform a variety of rock from the ’50s to the ’90s from 6:30–9:30 p.m. on the Murfreesboro Public Square. The show is free and family-friendly.

SEPT. 7 HUMMINGBIRD FESTIVAL Bring the family out for the Hummingbird Festival on Saturday, Sept. 7, at Barfield Crescent Park (697 Veterans Pkwy.) to celebrate amazing creatures readying to embark on a grand journey. Guest speaker and master hummingbird bander Cyndi Routledge of Southeastern Avian Research (SEAR) shares her experience. The event features children’s activities, hummingbird merchandise and more. Admission is free. SEAR bands hummingbirds from 8–10 a.m. and 3–5 p.m. Bird banding is a valuable tool in the education and conservation of a species. For more information, visit southeasternavianresearch.org.

SEPT. 7 CARDBOARD BOAT REGATTA Ages 13 and up can join in the fun with their own cardboard boat or spend the day at the park watching captains and their crews race across the pool before springing a leak. Some sink, and others ﬂoat. Cardboard boat regatta teams consist of one to four people who must be in the boat at all times. Admission is free. The event is held at Boro Beach at Sports*Com (2310 Memorial Blvd.) on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 10 a.m. For more information, contact 615895-5040 or csaffel@murfreesborotn.gov.

SEPT. 7 YOGA AT THE ISLAND Meet on Saturday, Sept. 7, at the beautiful Gateway Island (1875 W. College St.) at 9 a.m. for a yoga class. Admission is free and the class is for beginning and intermediate levels. For more information, contact bjohnson@murfreesborotn.gov.

SEPT. 7 RECOVERY FESTIVAL The Rutherford County Recovery Fest is fun for all and September is National 4 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM

CALENDAR / SEPTEMBER 2019

BY ANDREA STOCKARD

Recovery Month. Help celebrate recovery with door prizes, bounce houses, speakers and music as local organizations present information on their services at Patterson Park from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7. For more information, find Rutherford Recovery Fest on Facebook.

SEPT. 7 GRANDPARENTS DAY Join Generation for Creation in celebrating Grandparents Day with speaker June LaGreen and a talent contest performed by grandchildren and hosted by Lynnette Cole, the first Miss USA from Tennessee, along with co-host Braxton Cole. Enjoy door prizes, grandparent recognition and dedication from grandchildren, an information booth and support for grandparents raising grandchildren. For more information, visit gfckidz.org.

SEPT. 7 BORO PRIDE Boro Pride, held on the Murfreesboro Public Square from 5–10 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7, celebrates the LGBTQ community. The free event features musical acts including Flummox, Sisters Mann, The Hardin Draw and The Dead Deads, as well as community information and vendors. Boro Pride is a program of Tennessee Equality Project. For more information, contact boroprideevent@gmail.com.

SEPT. 7, 14 & 21 POSTURE REPAIR Dr. Jen Dickens Massie, DPT, teaches an introductory workshop focusing on posture repair, core strength and stability and body mechanics. Learn how to decrease back and neck pain, improve mood and energy levels, improve efficiency of movement, improve confidence and decrease risk for injury. All fitness levels are welcome, and exercises are based on student needs. Classes are at the Walnut House (116 N. Walnut St.) from 9–10 a.m. and are $15. For more information, contact jenergyforlife@gmail.com.

SEPT. 9 ANNUAL GAME DAY 2019 Middle Tennessee Expo Center (1660 Middle Tennessee Blvd.) hosts the Greenhouse Ministries donors and volunteers who help provide relational ministries

SEPT. 11 NEVER FORGET: COMMUNITY REMEMBERS VICTIMS OF SEPTEMBER 11 AT RCSO 9/11 MEMORIAL Ask anyone who is old enough to remember the September 11 attacks on our nation where they were when it happened and, 18 years later, you will still receive a vivid and detailed description. We all still remember. We remember where we were, what we were doing, and who we were with. In the true American Spirit of triumph, it is with great pride and reverence that the community will continue to remember what happened in New York City, on Sept. 11, 2001, those who gave their lives, and those who lost them. In honor and recognition of this, a memorial was erected in 2011, on the grounds of the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office marking the event’s 10-year anniversary. A 3,000-pound I-beam from the North Tower of the World Trade Center is on display there, surrounded by a symphony of symbolism. The three posts supporting the tilting beam are representative of the firefighters, law enforcement officers and emergency medical personnel who all gave their lives in service on that day. The beam points directly toward New York City. Surrounding the beam, four urns symbolize the four airplanes that crashed that day, while four flag poles fly our American flag, our state flag, our military flag, and our 9/11 memorial flag. This year marks the 18th anniversary since that fateful late-summer morning. With the passing of time comes an entirely new generation of adults with no recollection of the incident. It is our privilege and our duty to educate and remind them of the magnitude of what we have endured and how it has strengthened our bonds both as a community, and as a nation. In light of this, during the Sept. 11 ceremony this year, a sign will be erected, describing each element of the memorial and what it means. The sign will serve as a way to help connect the generations that remember with the ones who should always continue to do so. Carla Crader, one of the many volunteers involved in raising funds for the sign, had this to say: “The memorial is a powerful place to visit if you remember that day. But we are now nearly a generation removed from the horror of 9/11, and we don’t ever want the toll of those who perished on that devastating day to be forgotten. To me, it is about memorializing the people, not the event.” This year’s memorial services will begin at 9 a.m. and will last approximately half an hour. The national anthem will be played, followed by a flag ceremony, a guest speaker and the honor guard. Donations can be made in any amount to help cover the costs of the sign and memorial upkeep. Memorial bricks are being sold that will be installed at the site as a way to help raise funds. These permanent bricks can be engraved with whatever personal tribute you’d like. If you would like to be a part of this occasion by making a donation, you can reach out to Sergeant Cassidy at 615-904-3019 or jcassidy@rcsotn.org. — ANGELA LOUPE

designed to inspire and change lives on Monday, Sept. 9, from 6–8 p.m. Hear a special interview with Kelly Holcomb, a 10-year veteran of the NFL. BBQ is provided by Slick Pig. RSVP for free tickets at reservations@greenhousemin.org.

SEPT. 14 PUPPY PLUNGE Bring your pup to enjoy a dip in the pool at Boro Beach at Sports*Com (2310 Memorial Blvd.) Saturday, Sept. 14, from 10 a.m.–1 p.m. before the pool hits winter. All dogs must be current on vaccinations. Spayed and neutered pets are preferred. Humans are not allowed in the water; dogs only. No features of the outdoor pool are open for the event. No aggressive dogs allowed. Cost is $1 per dog. For more information, contact 615-8905040 or csaffel@ murfreesborotn.gov.

SEPT. 10 BUSINESS AFTER HOURS The Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce will present its September Business After Hours event at Strike & Spare Family Fun Center, 941 NW Broad St., from 4:30–6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 10. Bring plenty of business cards to this informal event designed to connect you with business professionals from across Rutherford County. Admission is $10 for members and $20 for future members.

SEPT. 10 TTA CHAPTER MEETING The Tennessee Trails Association Murfreesboro Chapter meets the second Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Barfield Park Wilderness Station (401 Volunteer Rd.). The Tennessee Trails Association promotes the development of a statewide system of hiking trails. Join TTA members in hiking and volunteering to build and maintain trails throughout Tennessee. For more information, call 1-888-HIKE-TTA or visit tennesseetrails.org.

SEPT. 11 LIVING SENT Join the next monthly Living Sent Ministries meeting Wednesday, Sept. 11, from 11:45 a.m.–1 p.m. at the Experience (521 Old Salem Rd.). Christy Newman Baker, an evaluator at the Tennessee Department of Child Care Licensing, and Marsha Logue, VP of Business Development at Wilson Bank & Trust, share their stories of what God is doing in their lives and careers. A free lunch is provided. RSVP at bob.williams@alhambrapartners.com.

SEPT. 12 SNAKES UP CLOSE Ages 12 and up are introduced to the world of Snakes: Mysteries in Nature on Thursday, Sept. 12, from 5:30–6:30 p.m. at the Wilderness Station (401 Volunteer Rd.). Learn about the natural history of snakes as they entered the new world and populated the southeast. Discuss behavioral and community ecology, biodiversity and conservation of snakes. This is especially great for college students concentrating on life sciences or people just interested. For more information, contact 615-217-3017 or efann@murfreesborotn.gov.

SEPT. 12 JOHNSON BOOK SIGNING Linebaugh Public Library (105 W. Vine St.) welcomes local author ReJean Johnson for a book signing Thursday, Sept. 12, from 3–6 p.m. Johnson signs and sells copies of her book, Angels Among Us: How God Used Everyday People to Perform Modern-day Miracles in My Life, published in 2018. Angels Among Us is a narrative journey through Johnson’s story as an abused child. The book explains how abuse affected Johnson’s life and how she was forced to learn to survive at a young age through her faith in God. For more information, call 615-893-4131 or visit rclstn.org.

SEPT. 12 & 19 WHAT’S UP NIGHT HIKES

at Contour Aviation Hangar, Smyrna-Rutherford County Airport (278 Doug Warpoole Rd., Smyrna). For additional information, call 615-459-2651 or visit wofsmyrna.com.

SEPT. 14 ARCHERY LESSONS Check out a new archery program on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 9:30–11:30 a.m. Meet at the Wilderness Station, Barfield Crescent Park (401 Volunteer Rd.). Learn parts of the bow, technique and how to shoot. This program requires a 1-mile walk to get to the archery area. Registration is required; contact hmoss@murfreesborotn.gov.

SEPT. 14 SEWANEE PERIMETER HIKE

Crisp fall nights are great for spotting owls, bats, frogs, insects, discovering glowing eyes and finding other fascinating critters that are active at night. Join the Wilderness Station (401 Volunteer Rd.) for discovery under the night sky Thursdays, Sept. 12 and 19, at 7 p.m. Admission is $3 per person or $10 per family. Reservations are required. For more information, contact 615-217-3017 or outdoormurfreesboro@murfreesborotn.gov.

Join the Tennessee Trails Association Murfreesboro group for the Sewanee Perimeter Trail Hike on Saturday, Sept. 14, for a 13mile hike rated moderate. Start at Roark’s Cove Road and end at Lake Cheston with little elevation change. The hike will pass two lakes and interesting geological features. Bring plenty of water, snacks and lunch. For more information, contact Sara Pollard at sarabpollard@gmail.com or 615714-3610 or visit tennesseetrails.org.

SEPT. 14

SEPT. 14 & 21

WINGS OF FREEDOM FISH FRY

ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS

Join the Smyrna Rotary Club in benefiting local nonprofits on Saturday, Sept. 14, beginning at 4 p.m. to honor military nurses

Join the Wilderness Station, Barfield Crescent Park (401 Volunteer Rd.) for a short program introducing one of the station’s ani-

 Send community event information to CONTACT@BOROPULSE.COM

mals. Learn about the animal’s cool adaptations and natural history Saturdays, Sept. 14 and 21, and Oct. 5 and 12 at 1:30 p.m. For more information, contact 615-217-3017 or outdoormurfreesboro@murfreesborotn.gov.

SEPT. 18 EARLY LITERACY MONTH STORY TIME Rutherford Books From Birth and Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation will celebrate Early Literacy Month with a special story time at Linebaugh Library at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Come dressed as your favorite book character for a costume contest and stick around for a specially themed craft time. Linebaugh Public Library is located at 105 W. Vine St.

SEPT. 18 LUNCH & LEARN POTLUCK Come to Cannonsburgh Village (312 S. Front St.) and bring your favorite food dish to share as Kathy Owen Wallace presents Cannonsburgh Memories and Susanne Hebden presents Churning Butter—Foods of Yesteryear. All ages are welcome to the McKnight House on Wednesday, Sept. 18, from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Cost is free. For more information, call 615-890-0355.

SEPT. 19 THE CONNECTION Local small business owners will gather for The Connection: An Evening of Professional Networking and Business Brainstorming from 5–7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19, at Earth Experience - Middle Tennessee Museum of Natural History, 816 Old Salem Rd. Puckett’s will provide food. All Middle Tennessee entrepreneurs and professionals are welcome to attend this free event where they can meet other small business owners and tap into one another’s experience. A discussion will encourage participation from those in attendance, asking them to articulate their vision for their business and calling for examples of some of the business challenges and solutions they are experiencing. The series will continue the third Thursday of each month.

SEPT. 19 MEDICARE AT MMC Come to MMC (1272 Garrison Dr.) on Thursday, Sept. 19, from 5:30–7 p.m., for an educational Medicare workshop with Hillary Broome covering topics including the types of Medicare, supplement plans, when to sign up, and how to avoid penalties. For more information, contact 615-895-8574 or ashley@mcknighadvisory.com, or visit mcknightadvisory.com. CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 BOROPULSE.COM

* SEPTEMBER 2019 * 5

SEPT. 20

SEPT. 27

SEASONAL EATING

LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

The Better Boro Project partners with Carla Bush, Extension Agent, and Rutherford County Master Food Volunteers to offer a seasonal eating event, covering selection, preparation, storage and recipe tastings of local produce at the Gateway Island Reception Center (1875 W. College St.) on Friday, Sept. 20 from 10–11 a.m. All the produce used is available at the Rutherford County Farmers Market. All ages. Admission is free. For more information, contact 615-8932141 or jjoines@murfreesborotn.gov.

Lean how to be an “innovative, growthminded individual with the passion to inspire others and increase productivity, confidence and courage.” The MTSU Jones College of Business and Murfreesboro Young Professionals host a Business Leadership Summit at the MTSU Student Union Ballroom (1768 MTSU Blvd.) on Friday, Sept. 27, from 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m. with a buffet lunch. All attendees must register in advance. Programs include “Harnessing Innovation: Turning Raw Ideas Into Powerful Results” and “Wonder: The Transformative Power of Wonder in Leadership.” For more information, visit mtalumni.com or contact alumni@mtsu.edu.

SEPT. 20 ANOTHER IN THE FIRE Experience Music will host a praise and worship night, titled “Another in the Fire,” on Friday, Sept. 20, beginning at 7 p.m. on the Cannon County Square. For more information, find Experience Music or Experience Community Cannon County on Facebook.

SEPT. 20 3RD FRIDAY CONCERT Bring your lawn chairs, blanket or picnic to the Front Lawn of Cannonsburgh Village (312 S. Front St.) Friday, Sept. 20, from 7–9 p.m. with dancing and music from the 231 South Band. Admission is free. For more information, contact 615-890-0355 or shodges@murfreesborotn.gov.

SEPT. 21 MEAT ME IN DENVER A group of area 4-H high school students will represent Tennessee at the National Meats Evaluation Contest in Denver, Colorado, during January 2020. Join the “Meat Me in Denver” dinner to help raise $4,000 for the trip. Enjoy ham, vegetables, rolls, dessert and drinks on Saturday, Sept. 21, at The Gathering at Milton (12026 Milton St., Milton) with seatings at 5 and 6:30 p.m. Tickets must be purchased in advance; they are $20. Pre-ordered whole pies (fudge, coconut and pecan) by Carolyn’s Creations are available for $10 each and autumn mums will be for sale. Tickets and pie orders can be made at 615-653-6018 or 615-653-2069.

SEPT. 21 DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE HIKE Join the Tennessee Trails Association for the Downtown Nashville Urban Hike Saturday, Sept. 21 for an approximately 4-mile rated moderate hike with concrete and hard surface terrain. Park near the Nissan Stadium and cross the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge onto Broadway. Visit the Bicentennial Mall and enjoy lunch at 6 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM

SEPT. 21 HAMMER DOWN FOR HABITAT Rutherford Area Habitat for Humanity presents the 11th Annual Hammer Down for Habitat Motorcycle Poker Run to raise funds in building a house for a low-income family in need, from 8 a.m.–2:30 p.m. at the Rutherford County Habitat (850 Mercury Blvd.). The 100-plus mile ride through the Tennessee countryside starts in Murfreesboro, proceeds to Center Hill Lake and ends at Hop Springs Beer Park for a BBQ lunch, with entertainment and prizes. Riders receive a poker hand at the beginning of the run and cards along the way for possible prizes. Tickets are $25 per rider and $15 per passenger. T-Shirts and extra poker hands are available. The 2018 Hammer Down event raised over $18,000. Lunch and entertainment tickets are available without the motorcycle run. For more information, visit rchfh.org, search for RutherfordHabitat on Facebook or contact melissa@rchfh.org. the Farmers’ Market. For more information, visit tennesseetrails.org or contact Sara Pollard at 615-714-3610.

SEPT. 21 WALK TO END ALZHEIMER’S Join the Alzheimer’s Association Tennessee Chapter in the fight against Alzheimer’s on Saturday, Sept. 21. Help raise awareness and funding for Alzheimer’s education and research in the community. Registration opens at 8 a.m. with the opening ceremony at 9 a.m. at MTSU’s Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium (1568 Greenland Dr.). For more information, find the 2019 Rutherford County Walk to End Alzheimer’s event on Facebook or visit act.alt.org.

SEPT. 21 GREENWAY ART FESTIVAL Presented by Cultural Arts Murfreesboro, the theme for this year’s Greenway Art Festival is “Cross Pollination,” exhibiting art and nature in harmony. Stroll along a trail of the region’s most talented artisans in a family-friendly park setting on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. at Old Fort Park (1025 Old Fort Pkwy.). Admission is free. For more information, contact lbrowning@murfreesborotn.gov.

SEPT. 21 KITTRELL SCHOOL REUNION The annual Kittrell School Reunion will be held on Saturday, Sept. 21, at Kittrell Elementary School from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All persons who graduated from Kittrell School, who attended Kittrell School or who have

an interest in Kittrell School are invited to attend. Jerry Robinson, class of 1960, will serve a lunch from Slick Pig at noon for $5. Various classes will be recognized, starting with the class of the oldest graduate present. For more information, contact Steve Cates at 615-896-3559 or appdancer@aol.com.

SEPT. 21 VENOMOUS ANIMALS OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE Middle Tennessee is home to several venomous animals. The focus of this program Saturday, Sept. 21, from 2:30–3:30 p.m. is on identification, potential hazards, safety practices, and how to live side-by-side with these very important animals. Learn about venomous animals and their means of defense and prey capture; discuss their importance in biotechnology and bio-discovery. Enjoy a colorful presentation and get a chance to see some non-venomous animals in person. Ages 12 and up are welcome. Admission is free. For more information, contact 615-2173017 or efann@murfreesborotn.gov.

SEPT. 26 ANNUAL HEALTH EXPO The St. Clair Senior Center Annual Health Expo on Thursday, Sept. 26, offers health screenings for everything from one’s memory to the feet for ages 60 and over from 8 a.m.–noon (325 St. Clair St.). The event includes ﬂu shots, door prizes and snacks. Admission is free. For more information, contact lgrissom@murfreesborotn.gov or 615-848-2550.

SEPT. 27 & 28 ST. CLAIR ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW AND SALE Need Christmas gifts or ideas? Enjoy the wonderful talents of The St. Clair Senior Center (325 St. Clair St.) seniors as they show and sell their work. Shop Friday, Sept. 27, from 9 a.m.–6 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 28, from 9 a.m.–1 p.m. For more information, contact or kherod@ murfreesborotn.gov or 615-848-2550.

SEPT. 28 OKTOBERFEST Oaklands Mansion (900 N. Maney Ave.) welcomes the public to its fifth-annual Oktoberfest on Saturday, Sept. 28, from 5–9 p.m. Support Oaklands Mansion while it features many local craft brewers such as Calfkiller Brewing Company, Cedar Glade Brews, Emerald Abbey Brewing and more and the number-one independently owned cider producer in the nation, Bold Rock. The Knott Brothers take the stage on the front porch of the mansion at 6 p.m. Sample food from local food trucks. MTSU’s Fermentation Science Program represents their new program. Advanced admission is $30, or $40 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at oaklandsmansion.org.

SEPT. 28 DOWNTOWN ON THE FARM Join Locally Owned Murfreesboro at Cannonsburgh Village (312 S. Front St.) on Saturday, Sept. 28, from 5:30–8 p.m. for the Downtown on the Farm dinner. Mitchel Murphree leads a team of Murfreesboro’s most talented culinary minds for the annual farm-to-table experience. The dinner features items sourced from local farms and transformed into a culinary adventure. Funds benefit scholarships for students from Rutherford County in the Entrepreneurship Program at

the Jones College of Business or School of Agriculture at MTSU. For more information, find the event on Facebook or Eventbrite.

with your child and stroller, and then stay and play at Kids’ Castle. Enjoy meeting other parents and caregivers while you get in shape exploring the Greenway and spending time with your child. Anyone can join at any time; no membership or registration necessary. Meet Thursdays at 9–10 a.m. in front of the Old Fort Park Kid’s Castle (1025 Old Fort Pkwy.). For more information, contact outdoormurfreesboro@ murfreesborotn.gov or 615-217-3017.

SEPT. 28 AFRICAN DRUM AND DANCE African Drum and Dance Festival returns to Patterson Park (521 Mercury Blvd.) on Saturday, Sept. 28. The festival hosts an array of cultural activities from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and a free African Dance Concert from 6–8 p.m. This is a family-friendly eventfor all ages; admission is free. The festival spotlights the Nananom Dance Ensemble, which performs specialized dance styles from Ghana. Learn drumming and dancing from several African countries including Nigeria, Guinea, Senegal, Ghana, Togo, Benin, the Ivory Coast and Congo. The event includes an African market scene, a drum circle, international foods plus other vendors, a drum parade and a children’s pavilion. Witness an African “colloquium,” a seminar that discusses the economic impact of African dance. For more information, call 615-893-7439.

SEPT. 28 BORO ADVENTURE FEST Come out for live music, kayaking, standup paddleboarding, rock climbing, fishing, obstacle course, food trucks, kid’s zone, outdoor classroom, face painting, animal encounters, games, story trail, vendors and giveaways. All proceeds benefit Candle Wishes, a local nonprofit that fulfills the birthday wishes and provides essential needs for homeless and needy children in the community. Come out to the Walter Hill Dam Park (5636 Lebanon Rd.) Saturday, Sept. 28, from noon–4 p.m. Cost is $10 with pre-registration and $20 the day of. Kids 12 and under are free. For more information, visit boroadventurefest. com or find the event on Facebook.

SEPT. 28 TREE OF LIFE WALK-A-THON Tree Of Life Animal Sanctuary will host its fourth annual Walk-A-Thon on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Rogers Park in Murfreesboro. Participants arrive at 8 a.m. and the walk will begin at 9. All proceeds will go towards the purchase of a building for Tree of Life. For more information, or to participate or donate find Tree of Life 4th Annual Walk-A-Thon on Facebook or contact Nicki at treeoﬂifeanimalsanctuary@gmail.com.

SUNDAYS MOVIE MAKER’S CLUB The Movie Maker’s Club of Nashville is getting ready to shoot a feature-length

SATURDAYS / SUNDAYS SEPT. 24

MEDITATION AND YOGA

AUTUMN WITH THE ALLEY Join First Shot Basketball Foundation on Tuesday, Sept. 24, for the annual fundraiser benefiting the First Shot Academic All-Stars program supporting the educational component for the First Shot Foundation. Last year’s event funded SAT classes, tutoring at Patterson Park and the First Shot STEM Academy at Patterson Park. Come to The Grove at Williamson Place (3250 Wilkinson Pk.) for a cigar and bourbon tasting featuring fabulous foods from The Alley on Main, a special silent auction featuring wine, bourbon and other items, and live music. Tickets are $75 and include eight specialty wine or bourbon tastings and a complimentary cigar. For more information, visit 1stshotbasketball.net, or contact 615-631-5312 or andy.herzer@ﬁrstshotbasketball.net. movie, a horror/comedy film. Many people are needed for the crew and talent. Weekly meetings are held every Sunday from 3–4 p.m. at Old Hickory Towers (930 Industrial Dr., Old Hickory) in the Media Room. The book and screenplay are already completed. For more information, contact yhmmc@yahoo.com.

TUESDAYS TENNESSEE TOASTMASTERS The Heart of Tennessee Toastmasters is an international organization devoted to helping others advance their communication and leadership skills. Through participation in a variety of roles at each meeting, learn better listening skills, critical thinking, goal setting and public speaking. Meet at 7 p.m. on the first, third and fifth Tuesdays of each month at Keller-Williams Realty (450 St. Andrews Dr.). For more information, visit heartoftennessee.toastmastersclubs.org.

WEDNESDAYS

The Murfreesboro Writers Group, comprised of local writers who seek to improve their work through mutual critique, meets every Wednesday at Linebaugh Library (105 W. Vine St.) from 6–8 p.m. You might hear science fiction, poetry, alternate reality, memoir, fantasy, mystery, literary fiction, or more. For more information, call 615-8934131, email sayhello@murfreesborowritersgroup.com or visit rclstn.org.

THURSDAYS ADULT COED VOLLEYBALL Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation offers competitive, coed volleyball for experienced players at Sports*Com (2310 Memorial Blvd.) Thursday nights at 6, 7 and 8 p.m. Fee is $4 per player per visit or free with a premium pass. For those less competitive, the league at Patterson Park (521 Mercury Blvd.) on Monday nights offers a laid-back atmosphere. For more information, contact 615-907-2251 or shull@murfreesborotn.gov.

BORO2SQUARE RUNNERS

THURSDAYS

Boro2Square Runners is a running group for individuals interested in running and socializing with other runners. Weekly runs begin at 6 p.m. each Wednesday, starting from the Boulevard Bar and Grill, 2154 Middle Tennessee Blvd. Distances covered are 3–5 miles, with runners of all paces welcome to participate. For more information, visit facebook.com/boro2square.

The Murfreesboro Chess Club meets each Thursday at 6 p.m. at First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 907 E. Main St. Chess players of all levels are invited to come meet and play against other local chess enthusiasts. For more information, call 615-713-9256 or email murfreesborochess@gmail.com.

WEDNESDAYS WRITERS GROUP

CHESS CLUB

THURSDAYS STROLLERCOASTERS Walk the Greenway for an hour each week

Come to a half-hour guided meditation at Hop Springs to learn how to use meditation as a tool to reduce stress, control anxiety, lengthen attention span, reduce memory loss, help control pain and achieve other benefits, Saturdays and Sunday, from 10–10:30 a.m. No experience needed. Cost is $5. From 10:30–11:30, enjoy a harmonized yoga sequence that includes long holds and dynamic movement. Class ﬂows through sun salutations and varying poses that strengthen and open the body while focusing on breath and mindfulness. All ages and levels are welcome. Please arrive 5–10 minutes early and bring your own mat. Yoga only is $12; yoga and beer is $15. Registration for either is not required but encouraged. For more information, visit hopspringstn.com/yoga.

SATURDAYS HISTORICAL SOCIETY OPENS RANSOM SCHOOL The Rutherford County Historical Society invites everyone to visit Ransom School (717 N. Academy St.) Saturday mornings from 9 a.m.–noon to discuss history over a cup of coffee. Bring old photos and memorabilia, and leave with a better understanding of, and appreciation for, your past. Volunteers are always needed. For more information, visit rutherfordtnhistory.org.

ONGOING AL-ANON Attend Al-Anon meetings, a fellowship program for the families and friends of alcoholics, weekly at 435 S. Molloy Ave. (off of Bridge Ave.). Meeting times include 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Sundays; 6:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays; and noon on Saturdays. For more information, contact 270-293-5201.

ONGOING ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS If you want to drink, that’s your business. If you want to stop, we can help. Call 615-8311050, or visit aa.org. BOROPULSE.COM

* SEPTEMBER 2019 * 7

Sounds

Read more about local music at

boropulse.com/category/music

Old Crow Medicine Show (from left): Charlie Worsham, Morgan Jahnig, Joe Andrews, Ketch Secor, Cory Younts

With a musical merit badge from MTSU and membership in Old Crow Medicine Show, Cory Younts is a happy camper

Scout’s Honor

rand Ole Opry inductee the Old Crow Medicine Show is the best present-day representation of the Opry’s rip-roaring 1920s roots, deservedly winning one of country music’s highest honors without so much as a single mainstream chart hit. It should go without controversy to say that the Medicine Show laid much of the groundwork for the now-thriving Americana music scene. And Americana, in the truest original sense of the term, fairly drips from the band’s unpretentious and amiable acoustic-centered recordings and live performances. The old-time string-band music that served as the band’s bedrock influence was a sound that initially drifted down from the Appalachians and up from the coal mines lurking deep beneath that mountainous terrain, touching upon both the emotional heights and depths of life with tunes both rousing and heartrending. The band will roughly split the distance between those topographical extremes at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 8, focusing on the more uplifting side of roots music as they perform a subterranean show at Pelham’s The Caverns, a location well-suited for the group’s salt-of-the-earth sound. In March of 2013, Old Crow played on a Bluegrass Underground show and TV taping at the series’ previous venue, the Volcano Room in the Cumberland Caverns. Absent from the lineup at the time, though, was the group’s multi-instrumentalist/ 12 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM

BY STEVE MORLEY

PHOTO BY CRACKERFARM

singer Cory Younts, who’d been tapped to tour the globe with Jack White and was on a band-approved hiatus (more on that in a minute). Younts, a Nashville native and 2002 MTSU graduate, has never played, or even seen, a concert in Middle Tennessee’s caves . . . but he did once explore them— and even slept inside one—on Boy Scout outings. Younts’ personal musical journey could, in certain respects, be likened to that of a quick-learning novice spelunker crawling through unfamiliar corridors and finding inspirational discoveries along the way. It was while working at a Boy Scout camp, in fact, that Younts—then an 18-yearold drummer whose main dishes were jam bands, jazz and classic rockers such as Led Zeppelin—first heard the old-timey sound that would change his life. A fellow camper had put on a copy of Shady Grove, a collection of traditional tunes played by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, and Younts was hooked by what he heard. “It was a very simple record—just guitar and mandolin for the most part, and two voices,” Younts says, adding that the sparse instrumentation made it easy to hear what was actually going on. “Sometimes with bluegrass, there’s so much going on . . . you don’t really know what instrument is doing what,” says Younts, figuring himself fortunate for a first listen that revealed the unadorned beauty of the age-old songs and the instruments playing them. The experience sent

the drummer down the path of discovery, where he subsequently bonded with bluegrass linchpin Bill Monroe, deft-fingered duo Flatt & Scruggs, and other venerable virtuosos playing in that vintage style. Mandolin in particular seemed to speak to Younts, who taught himself to play the instrument while attending Middle Tennessee State University. He’d enrolled in 1998, hungry to go deeper with his musical education. “I just really started loving the piano, and just wanted to be able to do something other than play drums,” he says. “I didn’t know what a black key was, a white key, a chord, a scale—I didn’t know any of it whatsoever. I just got very ambitious and decided I was going to go to MTSU and be a music major.” Younts admits it was a tough slope to scale, but he quickly adds that his instructors were understanding about his nonacademic goals and appreciative of his commitment to learn—however slowly his progress may initially have come. Younts notes that he was “really, really impressed with that faculty back then—this was fall of ’98 until ’02—and that music faculty was really tolerant, really hard-working, and cared to teach people like me who had never read music before, and really believed in the students.” He switched to a recording industry major midway into his degree work but also acquired solid keyboard chops and a knowledge of music theory, as well as the mandolin skills he honed on his own time.

While at MTSU, he collaborated with some friends who, while generally simpatico, didn’t exactly share Younts’ then-staunchly traditionalist vision. “I wanted to wear white shirts and tuck them in . . . wear pants up to our belly-buttons,” he recounts with a laugh. The trio, whose members were never altogether united in their stylistic objectives, did find agreement in the decision to form The Swindlers with Justin Townes Earle, son of altcountry artist Steve Earle. While busking on the streets in downtown Nashville in the early 2000s, The Swindlers shared their makeshift concrete stage with a bunch of newer guys in town: Old Crow Medicine Show. “I saw them, and thought, ‘Who are these guys? They are really good.’ So I befriended them and used to go check out every show [of theirs] I could at the Station Inn,” Younts recalled. After The Swindlers

dwindled and Younts did a three-year stint with Bobby Bare Jr., he found himself again teamed with Justin Townes Earle. In October of 2007, he had his maiden Ryman Auditorium experience—playing with Earle and opening for his now-favorite band— none other than Old Crow Medicine Show. Since joining OCMS nearly 10 years ago, Younts has played the much-revered Ryman probably around a dozen times, and the band’s soon-to-bereleased Live at the Ryman album cherry-picks those performances, featuring guests including retrocountry-leaning singer Margo Price and harmonica hero Lee Oskar (whose instantly recognizable sound still cuts through the airwaves daily when War’s “Low Rider” or “Cisco Kid” invariably pops up). But this is still 2007, remember, and the Ryman hadn’t yet become a routine reality for the MTSU grad despite a gradual increase in career momentum. “It was so, so awesome—that was my first experience on the Ryman stage,” Younts begins. “I stayed all night and I got to wander around, and stand on the [hallowed Opry] circle, and all that, and on top of that, I got to watch my favorite band play. It’s life-changing for anyone who gets to play on that stage. It really, really makes you think about where you’ve been, and what are you going to do.” While thinking about what might lie beyond his milestone Ryman experience, Younts couldn’t have guessed what would happen almost exactly two years later. In October of 2009 he would be invited to join Old Crow Medicine Show for a three-week West Coast —CORY tour, an opportunity that led to full-time membership in the band. The key, he says, was his uncommon arsenal of drums, piano, mandolin, harmonica and vocals. The band’s most recent album at the time, Tennessee Pusher, had featured full drums for the first time, played by the legendary Jim Keltner, and included contributions from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ keyboardist, Benmont Tench. Being proficient on both piano and drums made Younts the ideal candidate. Still, he’s quick to agree that those two particular musicians’ shoes were big ones to step into. He stepped into another such loose pair early in 2012, when Jack White needed a utility man with Younts’ versatile skill set to join him and his band on an 11-month world tour. The unexpected call came with “a few days, maybe 48 hours” to make a decision, he remembers. “Of course I called the Crows and told them, and at that time there was a little bit of transitioning going on with the band, so they really didn’t have much of a plan for 2012 yet. So they were very, very supportive of me going away. And they all wanted me back. “It was a lot different, you know—I mean, Jack is quite a rock star and a celebrity. The first show we did was Saturday Night Live. So no warm-up gig, nothing like that. It was being thrust right into the big time,” he says. “It was really fun, but to be

honest, I . . . you know, the Crows are really where I belong. Working with Jack was great and all, but I’ve never been in a lot of rock ’n’ roll bands, and Old Crow is just where I fit the best.” Younts adds that lower-echelon fame is what all his bandmates agree they’re most comfortable with. “You lose a lot of your privacy and your ability to just be a normal guy if you’re as big as Jack. We don’t want to be quite that big. Because everybody . . . especially now, everybody’s a family man,” Younts explains. “We’ve got a lot of kids, and a lot of groceries to shop for.” The band’s average-guy vibe, Younts reckons, “is one thing that our fans are really able to see.” One thing Younts did bring back to his musical home base as a result of his year with Jack White was an onstage freedom of movement he hadn’t previously explored. “Coming back from the Jack world, I would say [I brought] more stage presence. You know, a lot more energy, even though Old Crow has plenty. I came back with a lot of confidence to jump around. There was a lot of moving around, and a lot of rocking out [on Jack White’s stage].” OCMS isn’t a rock band, of course, so Younts channeled his newfound stage energy into a lighthearted but athletic skill that perfectly suited the band’s history-honoring musical approach: tap dancing. While Younts and his fellow Crows have leavened their oldtime traditionalism somewhat in order to evolve artistically, it’s still a core part of the band’s identity. Tap dancing serves as a sign of Younts’ deep affection for old-school ways, and also a YOUNTS clue as to why he and his musical companions find comfort in sidestepping the rock-star life, which demands a large-scale, potentially self-conscious presentation that simply isn’t what Old Crow Medicine Show is about. And as far as Younts is concerned, he’s already hit his personal big time, bigtime. “I’m a perfect example of someone who just had a dream and it came true. I never thought that I would be in Old Crow—it was a dream of mine. I love them, I still love that band,” Younts says, admitting he still feels like a fan nearly a decade since his first shows with Old Crow. “I still refer to them as ‘them.’ It’s still hard for me to say that I’m even a part of it. So, it’s possible, kids. Just hang in there and it can happen.” When Cory Younts looks out at the cave-dwelling crowd from the Caverns stage, he may well see hazy visions of youthful Scouting adventures that eventually led to his love of string-band music, or momentarily recall that his humbling hike through music school was his particular way of following the time-honored Boy Scout motto: be prepared. Armed with passion, resolve and talent honed by a fine MTSU faculty, Cory Younts did the necessary spadework, and capitalized on an opportunity that led to long-term well-being in a career that isn’t only good medicine, it’s exactly what the doctor ordered.

So, it’s possible, kids. Just hang in there and it can happen.

Sounds THE MAVERICKS BRING 30TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR TO THE RYMAN AUDITORIUM

MUSIC NOTE

As The Mavericks’ 30th anniversary world tour reaches its midway point, guitarist Eddie Perez tells the Pulse about joining up in 2003, when the founding band members were beginning to burn out. “Before I knew it, it was already over and done with,” says Perez, who’s still thrilled with the second chance he received when The Mavericks reformed in 2013. For this commemorative tour, which hits the Ryman Auditorium on Friday, Sept. 13, the band will be “diving deep into the catalogue” to celebrate the 30 years that have passed since releasing its self-titled debut. “It’s pretty surprising and remarkable that all those years of music, no matter how you mix them up in a set list, all seem to jell and really play nice together, you know?” says Perez, adding that the tour “has allowed us to go back and remember all the stories about where the band has been musically.” Latecomer Perez’s stories include learning about the band from his musician father and embracing The Mavericks’ early recordings to the extent that he feels a sincere connection to material far predating his membership. “When I approach that music now, it’s a joy to approach it with the respect I’ve always had for it.” Of the Ryman show, Perez promises, “There’s gonna be lots of surprises. It’s always special to do a hometown gig.” For more on The Mavericks, visit themavericksband.com. —STEVE MORLEY

14 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM

PHOTO BY HARIS NUKEM

Living

s China’s economy has grown rapidly over recent years, so has its involvement and investment in Middle Tennessee. Numerous Chinese companies have constructed manufacturing facilities in the area, including Sinomax in La Vergne, which produces mattresses, mattress covers and pillows, and Wonder Porcelain in Lebanon, which produces porcelain floor tiles and other products. Elizabeth Rowland, the founder and executive director of the TN-China Network—a group that aims to promote bilateral trade and investment between Tennessee and China and to enhance job growth in Tennessee—says that now approximately 70 Chinese companies have expanded to Tennessee. Rowland, who was raised in Tennessee, lived in China for almost five years and worked several of those as a policy analyst. After moving back to Tennessee she considered doing investment and trade consulting related to commerce with China. “I traveled across the state to find out what kind of business was going on between Tennessee and China. I found that there was a lot more business going on than I thought, but no one knew about it. There was no statewide platform for information sharing or China business networking; there was no place for companies to get educated on how to do business with China. So I decided to create that platform, and TN-China Network was born,” Rowland said. In addition to the growing Chinese business investment in Tennessee, in Murfreesboro, the MTSU Confucius Institute and the MTSU Center for Chinese Music and Culture promote Chinese studies, art, language and history in the community. While the U.S. still claims the highest GDP in the world, China’s is rapidly growing over the past decades. As recently as 1991, China’s economy did not even rank in the top 10 world economies. However, today, the annual economic production of China (a country with a population four times that of the U.S.) is second only to the U.S. Unsur16 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM

THE CHINA CONNECTION Despite Some Concerns and Tension Between the U.S. and China, Business, Education and Political Leaders Seek to Enhance Dialogue, Strengthen Investment in Middle Tennessee BY BRACKEN MAYO prisingly, the economies of the two nations have become increasingly intertwined. Xu Xueyuan, minister with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States of America, visited Middle Tennessee in early August to discuss the relationship between the two largest economies in the world and “to promote two-way investment and trade between the U.S. and China.” Xu desires to help citizens of both countries “understand each other so we can all work together for a better future,” she said at a gathering of Chinese and Tennessee business and political leaders coordinated by the Tennessee American-Chinese Chamber of Commerce. “This year marks the 40th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between our two countries,” Xu noted, calling the gathering a “good demonstration of the desire to have more cooperation, engagement and communication with China.” Despite many reports dealing with tariffs, currency devaluation and “trade war” between the U.S. and China over recent months, most in the room seemed to believe that a healthy and open line of trade and

communication between the countries would benefit the standard of living and job creation in both locations. “China and the U.S. have been each other’s most important trading partners, and the two countries also act as an important source of investment to each other. Our bilateral relationship contributes greatly to economic growth and the improvement of people’s livelihood in both countries,” Xu remarked during her visit. The relationship between the people of China and the United States “has helped contribute to world peace, prosperity, and stability. History has proven that both China and the United States benefit from cooperation and lose in confrontation,” she said. “In 2018, the two-way trade of goods and services exceeded $750 billion . . . and trade with China helped every American household save hundreds of dollars,” according to Minister Xu. “More specifically, let’s look at Tennessee. China is the state’s third-largest goods and services export market. In 2016 alone, exports from Tennessee to China provided over 20,000 job opportunities to the state. At present, nearly 70 Chinese companies have in-

vested in and established their presence in Tennessee, providing nearly 4,000 jobs. “And these figures could have been much bigger if it were not for the trade war,” Xu said. “We want to have a state that is welcoming, with low regulation and proper taxation,” Tennessee State Sen. Mark Pody said. Wonder Porcelain, whose parent company is the largest producer of ceramic tile in China, chose Pody’s district as a home to its first manufacturing facility outside of mainland China. That Lebanon, Tennessee, plant, which opened in 2017, currently employs approximately 210 people, according to American Wonder Porcelain President Michael Kephart. “Our company is the largest direct Chinese investment in the state, at least at this point,” he said in August 2019, adding that he expects the growth to continue. Kephart said he did not want to get into specifics of the “trade war” but did comment that “We perceive the world is better without wars of any kind, including trade. “We hope for both countries to be successful in reaching a mutually agreeable settlement at the earliest possible time,” Kephart said. Minister Xu said that in order for Chinese companies to invest into Tennessee and elsewhere in the U.S., often businessmen from China need to obtain visas to travel into the country, which require U.S. State Department approval. She sees quick and efficient approval of those visa requests made by individuals who want to create jobs in the U.S. as advantageous for both sides. “Increasing tariffs or decoupling our economies will not resolve our differences in trade policy,” Xu said. “It will only hurt both sides.” State Rep. Glen Casada said he encourages all organizations who want to invest in business in Tennessee to communicate with state lawmakers. “When you run across obstacles that keep you from doing business, we want to hear

Above: Xu Xueyuan, minister with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States of America, speaks at the meeting of the Tennessee AmericanChinese Chamber of Commerce. Below, left: Tennessee State Rep. Mike Sparks with Minister Xu. Bottom: MTSU President Dr. Sidney McPhee on one of his numerous trips to China that he details in his book.

PHOTO BY MAY ZHOU FOR CHINA DAILY

from you,” Casada said. Many officials from the City of La Vergne attended the Tennessee American-Chinese Chamber of Commerce event to support Sinomax, which employs about 500 people in La Vergne. MTSU President Dr. Sidney McPhee also spoke on MTSU’s Confucius Institute, its Center for Chinese Music and Culture and the school’s recent inclusion of traditional Chinese herbal medicine as part of its academic curriculum. “I am a good supporter of this cultural exchange,” McPhee said. “I believe that a well-educated student needs to be able to communicate with the world and understand globalization.” While numerous universities around the country house Confucius Institutes, McPhee

has a particularly strong connection to the country. His writings and photographs documenting his travels to China are included in the book, photo exhibition and lecture series China: Through the Eyes of A University President [interestingly, the Amazon description of the book credits the photos to “the president of America–Sidney A. McPhee”]. However, as MTSU and McPhee increase involvement with China, many other universities distance themselves from the Confucius Institutes. Texas A&M, the universities of South and North Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State and North Carolina State University have all recently closed Confucius Institutes and many professors, petitions and politicians call for more to be shut down, some calling them propaganda

agents of the Communist Party of China infiltrating public American higher education. Critics say that the Confucius Institutes distract the American students and public with dragons, fiddles, Confucius, the Great Wall and other positive Chinese imagery in an effort to earn support for an oppressive and authoritarian communist regime and grow its power. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio has spoken out against the Confucius Institute model and encouraged American universities to terminate agreements with the Chinese government-run programs. “There is mounting concern about the Chinese government’s increasingly aggressive attempts to use Confucius Institutes and other means to influence foreign academic institutions and critical analysis of China’s past history and present policies,” Rubio stated in a letter addressed to university presidents in his state of Florida. “Confucius Institutes are Chinese government-run programs that use the teaching of Chinese language and culture as a tool to expand the political influence of the People’s Republic of China.” University of Chicago professor Marshall Sahlins wrote a book on the Confucius Institute program, calling it “Academic Malware.” Sahlins referenced comments made by Li Changchun, a former member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, the highest body of the Chinese Communist Party, in a speech at the Beijing Headquarters of the Confucius Institute, where the Chinese official promoted the Confucius Institute as an appealing brand for extending China’s culture abroad and improving “soft power.” “The ‘Confucius’ brand has a natural attractiveness. Using the excuse of teaching Chinese language, everything looks reasonable and logical,” Li said in his speech in China. While supporters of free expression want universities to cover every topic possible in a student’s learning experience, Rubio and other critics point out that free discourse on many subjects that may not paint China in a positive light—open discussion of the Free Tibet movement, the June Fourth Incident or Tiananmen Square massacre or “political turmoil” (depending on who you ask), the status of Taiwan, protests in Hong Kong, the rounding up, imprisonment and execution of those who practice Falun Gong, reeducation through labor camps and other important cultural topics—does not occur at Confucius Institutes, and certainly not within mainland China. “These institutes are overseen by a branch of the Chinese Ministry of Education, and are

instructed to only teach versions of Chinese history, culture or current events that are explicitly approved by the Chinese Government and Communist Party,” Rubio said. To be fair, American-sponsored programs in universities abroad most likely present the glories and positive elements of the U.S. to their students. Still, critics of the Confucius Institutes say that support for an authoritarian regime that has not demonstrated a commitment to freedom of expression and freedom of religion, a culture that has significant issues with human trafficking and inequality, a government that censors media and Internet content so heavily, is not in the interest of the American way, and that federal and state funding in the U.S. going to Confucius Institute programs is a conflict of interest and even a potential threat to national security. “Given China’s aggressive campaign to ‘infiltrate’ American classrooms, stifle free inquiry, and subvert free expression both at home and abroad, I respectfully urge you to consider terminating your Confucius Institute agreement,” Rubio wrote. Minister Xu acknowledges that China is not done growing, and still has millions of people “who have yet to be lifted out of poverty,” putting it optimistically. “China is ready to work with its American friends to ensure the long-term stability of China-U.S. relations, and contribute to lasting peace and prosperity of the world,” she said. And many involved in business between the two nations say that despite the problems that exist, a healthy relationship and dialogue will indeed benefit the people of both countries. Nashville businessman Dr. David Black, who founded Aegis Sciences Corporation with his wife, and former U.S. Rep., Diane Black, said that it made sense for the U.S. and China to do business and that he desires to grow the partnership and relationship between the U.S. and China. “It’s not always easy to be in a relationship. You have to work on relationships,” Black said. “It benefits both of our countries to have a good relationship.” Xu says that in order for people to have a true idea of China, she encourages them to visit China and experience the country for themselves. “We believe the best way to know our country and its policies is to be there,” Xu said. Kevin Zhou, the Director of Continuing Improvement with Sinomax, concluded his statement at the gathering in Nashville with a sentiment that seemed to resonate with many in the room on a deep level: “God bless China and God bless America,” Zhou said enthusiastically. BOROPULSE.COM

* SEPTEMBER 2019 * 17

Living

Farmers Market Education Series BY EDWINA SHANNON

selected spot. Remember: right plant in the right place. So . . . – Are there overhead wires? If so, consider bushes, as most full-grown trees will exceed the height restrictions that exist under wires – Will it be dropping leaves, or is it coniferous? – What is the ideal soil type: acidic or alkaline? Will it require soil maintenance?

It’s Not Over

What to Do This Month SEPTEMBER IS A GREAT TIME to assess the summer. Summer travels are wrapping up and the gardens are producing fall crops, getting ready for winter rehab. So, how did your garden grow? Are you awaiting the fall tomatoes and fall greens? As the frost approaches (expected midOctober), remember the whole tomato plant can be removed from the ground and hung upside down in a garage-like area to allow the tomatoes to continue to be vine-ripened. This is also the perfect time to collect, build and prepare a cold frame. A cold frame extends the growing season and, during a mild winter, will allow year-round cool-weather vegetables. I prefer a cold frame, as components of a climate-controlled unit can be borrowed and integrated. I built a cold frame from bales of straw and an old storm window. I hand-sawed two of the bales into angled sides, using the two removed sections as the front wall. I stacked their high ends on the outside and overlapped the smaller ends in the middle. The back wall was a complete bale. The straw provided some insulation from the cold air and would decompose into the garden bed throughout the next season. It was a small area, about 24 by 30 inches. The storm window was laid on top. The mistake I made was deciding not to remove 18 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM

the paint or the grout. Both separated in chunks and sheets throughout the winter, dropping onto the soil. Unfortunately, little pieces fell into the soil. Learn from my mistake, and remove both before use. I had spinach and turnip greens within the cold frame. Plant them soon so they can germinate before it is too cold. If you are committed to this concept, consider a high tunnel. If you have the poles from a discarded tent, carport or similar portable structure, convert it to a high tunnel. You can walk into a high tunnel; consider it a tall cold frame. Passive and/or controlled heat can be added. Plants can be in the ground or in pots. Be flexible as you assess what works best, and make changes accordingly. When I travel throughout the country, I enjoy discovering the patterns and priorities of local inhabitants. What is the uniqueness to the area? How integrated is the area? What do the roadsides look like? How are the trash bins? Are there recycling, compostable, and trash heap bins? Are there people involved with environmental missions? What about the trees? Who speaks for the trees? This is a great time of year to plant trees. Did you know that a neighborhood with trees commands a higher value than those without trees? As you select the tree to grace your location, know the details of the

– How deep do the roots go? Are there pipes, lines or septic in the area where you want it to go? Remember to call 811. Your tree should not create a boom. – What is the proper canopy of the tree? Is it slender or wide? With the right selection, maintenance will be minimal, including trimming. Ideally, it will be done for the health of the tree only. If you are tree topping, you are practicing an amateur solution and have the wrong tree in that spot. Take the time to correctly plant a tree. If you are transporting from the place of purchase, wrap it up. Otherwise, the wind will dry out the leaves, beat up the structure and cause it unnecessary stress. Have a hole dug that is larger than the rootball of your selection. Fill it with water. It should be drained within 24 hours or the spot should be abandoned. The hole should be two to three times wider than the rootball. Lift by the ball and not the trunk. Remove the wrapping, container and/or wire. Shave off any twisted roots that cannot be straightened. Place the rootball in the hole. The flare at the base of the tree needs to be at the soil line. Ask a nurseryman if in doubt as the incorrect depth can kill a tree. Fill the hole with the same soil removed from the hole. Be sure the tree stays straight. Step on the soil to remove any air pockets. If it is a windy area, be sure to stake it. A newly planted tree should receive deep waterings each week. A goal of 6–8 gallons per 1-inch diameter is a good guideline. Fertilizer is not needed in its first year. A two- to three-inch depth of mulch should be extended to the drip line of the tree’s canopy. Avoid putting the mulch up to the trunk and creating a volcano with the mulch and tree.

Market Activities in September THE RUTHERFORD COUNTY FARMERS’ MARKET is held from 7 a.m. to noon each Tuesday and Friday at the Lane Agri-Park Community Center, 315 John R. Rice Blvd., Murfreesboro. It is a producer-only market. FREE CLASSES are held at the Community Center Classroom each day the Farmers’ Market is open. They start at 9 a.m. and last about one hour. SEPT. 3 Seasonal Eating SEPT. 6 Rabbits 101 SEPT. 10 Cucurbits (gourds) SEPT. 13 Prepare for Fall Lawn Care SEPT. 17 Rethink Your Drink SEPT. 20 Cool Season Vegetable Gardening SEPT. 24 Seasonal Eating SEPT. 27 Fermentation of Fall Vegetables REMINDER: Prune mid-summer ﬂowering bushes now. Buds for next year set in the fall. Later pruning will remove next year’s ﬂowers. Additionally, the MURFREESBORO SATURDAY MARKET on the Square is held each Saturday through October from 8 a.m. to noon. And the SMYRNA DEPOT FARMERS’ MARKET will continue each Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon on Front Street in downtown Smyrna.

Living

Annual Wine Around the Square to be held Sept. 21, Gloria Bonner Named 2019 Honoree BY LAURA LINDSAY

he eighth annual Wine Around the Square for The Power of Pink, put on by the Saint Thomas Rutherford Foundation, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 6–9 p.m. in downtown Murfreesboro with samples of beer, wine and liquor at more than 20 shops and businesses. Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant will provide dinner for everyone, with a VIP party to be held inside Puckett’s from 5–7 p.m. A late party for all VIP and standard ticket holders will start at 9 p.m. at The Alley on Main. The Center for the Arts will set up a stage across from the Big B alley and will present a performance at the beginning of the night. A band will play on the stage for the rest of the evening. The 2019 WATS honoree is Dr. Gloria Bonner, a two-time breast cancer survivor and colon cancer survivor who spends her time helping cancer patients through their journeys. She helped and advocated for students, colleagues and staff over 32 years at MTSU, first as dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Science, then as special assistant to the president, working on community engagement initiatives

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on behalf of President Sidney McPhee. “I love this community, and I am so honored to have the privilege to be a part of a great community that is still growing, but at a suitable size where we still care and show compassion for each other,” Bonner said. “Wine Around the Square has gone from a small event to one where we raise about $250,000 a year,” said Gina DeJean, director of the Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital Foundation. “It brings our community out, it helps support downtown Murfreesboro and then keeps the money here locally to help

support women in our community. This is really a great community building event that a lot of people look forward to every year.” Susan Grear, owner of The Write Impression, said she really looks forward to this event every year. “The atmosphere, the progressive wine tastings and the wonderful food bring so many people together for a great cause: The Power of Pink,” Grear said. “Many of the honorees are both customers and friends of the store, and that makes it even more personal for us to want to support them, as they are all breast cancer survivors.” “We have participated in Wine Around the Square since the very first one, and it is a huge success raising the money and also good for our small businesses,” said Judy Goldie, co-owner along with Melanie Davenport of Trendy Pieces, Bella’s Boutique and The Marketplace Home & Gift. WATS founder Patty Marschel had a friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer and after she recovered, Marschel led this initiative, DeJean said. “She felt no woman in this community needs to not be able to have a mammogram, so all the funds from Wine Around the Square go to The Power of Pink,” according to DeJean. Money raised provides mammograms, diagnostic breast exams and biopsies to women in the community. “These women are either uninsured or underinsured, and we also help support a nurse navigator, who will follow those wom-

en through the journey of diagnosis all the way through treatment,” DeJean said. “It also helps support the mobile mammography unit. This unit goes to various locations in 16 different counties.” The Saint Thomas Rutherford Foundation helps support many different projects, she said. This is its biggest fundraiser and most popular event. “Dr. Bonner is our honoree this year,” DeJean said “It was a no-brainer that we wanted to bring her into this event and honor her.” “As the 2019 honoree, I get to celebrate getting a second chance at life,” Bonner said. “Patty Marschel, along with Gordon Ferguson, the CEO of Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital, have made amazing commitments and dedication to individuals. “We tell our stories as survivors to help people understand that with us having a second chance at life, this initiative also affords other people the same opportunities who may not have the insurance coverage that we are fortunate to have or those with minimal or low-income salary ranges, and it supports young individuals—male or female—who need mammograms, who otherwise would not be able to afford it. Even if you identify one person and they are diagnosed with breast cancer, it is priceless because there you have the potential to save another life. But let’s say we identify 15 or 20 of them.” Five months after she retired from MTSU, Bonner was diagnosed with breast cancer. “Your whole life races before you,” she said. “But I never ask ‘why me?’ because I can’t name anybody else that I know and love that I would want to go through that experience. It has been a humbling experience. And, also a sobering experience, but once you overcome that, you think, ‘What can I do to help others to navigate this journey, and how can I be available to translate the experience to them?’ I’ve been fortunate enough that people have approached me. I made my journey public, and people have been generous and gracious enough to contact me and ask me for assistance and support when they receive a diagnosis. I’m very happy to do this.” For more information and to purchase tickets for Wine Around the Square, visit winearoundthesquare.net. VIP tickets are $250. General admission tickets are $65 and can also be purchased at the event.

Art

 BOOK

 COLOR TO WIN TICKETS! Add some color of your own to the herbivore drawing below. Kids 10 and under can mail their colored herbivores to the Murfreesboro Pulse at 10 N. Public Square, Murfreesboro, TN 37130. Be sure to include your return address. The winner will recieve 4 tickets to Smyrna Malco Theater and a Pulse T-shirt! Contest deadline is Sept. 30

Herbie and Carnie Teach Good Traits and Adventure in Colorful “Vore” Tales BY MELISSA COKER A CHILDREN’S BRAND rooted in the whimsical prehistoric is bringing stories of love and kindness into the modern world— plus, it’s giving back to Middle Tennessee communities in the process. Herbie Vore and Carnie Vore, two original children’s characters, roared onto the reading scene just last year. Their educational escapades are published through IngramSpark, the self-publishing service of Rutherford County-based Ingram Content Group. “Vore” author Athena Phillips says writing children’s books has always been a dream of hers. “I grew up going to the library and loving to read. I especially loved children’s fiction because the characters in the books were fun and relatable. I’ve been writing poetry, short stories and short fictional works since middle school,” said Phillips, a Brentwood High graduate who now works at the Brentwood Library and as a tenured English teacher at Brentwood High. “I had the support of my family, my past teachers, and was inspired through reading wonderful works written by strong female authors.” Speaking of strong, here’s the details on the dynamically-kind dino duo: Herbie and Carnie are preschool-aged dinosaurs. The first book, Herbie’s Happy Birthday, introduced Herbie Vore and his family, and focused on why birthdays only come one time each year. (Phillips dedicated the book to her late grandmother, Frances; the two shared a birthday). Carnie Vore Helps with Chores is the second book in the series, introducing Carnie as Herbie’s helpful little cousin. This book focuses on the process of learning to be responsible by helping family with chores. It especially highlights the relationship between Carnie and her Grandma Martha. “I wanted to write about a helpful and caring preschool-aged character, and I worked with Donte Jackson to bring Herbie Vore the Dinosaur to life. Donte had originally imagined a character based on an ‘astronaut dinosaur,’ and we recreated him into 22 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM

Athena Phillips this younger version. Herbie’s and Carnie’s message is to spread the word about helping others and how helping out either in a big or small way is a good thing,” Phillips said. “I designed my characters to represent high morals such as being caring, responsible and helpful, as well as learning how to share. I want young readers to connect with these morals . . . all while educating them through the unique platform of a darling picture and rhyming book. Adults have said they love the lessons found in both books. They love the rhyming, as well as the visuals. I constantly get asked, ‘What will you write about next?’” Herbie is definitely a love bug . . . er, dino, and Carnie is really cleaning up too. “We have been fortunate to have Ingram’s full support and to be able to have both of our books available on Amazon and barnesandnoble.com,” adds Athena’s cousin,

Murfreesboro entrepreneur Michelle Mills, mother of “Vore” illustrator Meredith Mills. “When we launched last year, we partnered with two charities. One was the Watts Empowerment Center near Los Angeles [a partnership with which Herbie co-author Donte Jackson was personally involved] and the other was The Birthday Party Project. We donated books to both of those charities to provide Herbie’s Happy Birthday to underserved kids. Now that we have released a second book, we are looking to partner with Tennessee organizations. We have donated books locally to First United Methodist Preschool in Murfreesboro, Smith Springs Elementary School library in Davidson County, The Earth Experience here in Murfreesboro, the YMCA Fun Company and many others. It’s definitely a family venture. Athena, Meredith and I are all related. I am acting as the

final publisher and do all of the admin work with IngramSpark. I also work with our editor, Sarah, from Sleeping Cat Books.” Meredith Mills, a member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, currently lives in L.A. but grew up in Antioch and “specializes in drawing animals—she does not like drawing humans!” says her mother, Michelle. There are Meredith Mills other Herbie and Carnie Vore books currently in the works. The Vore family also includes Herbie’s parents, Ted and Alice Vore, and Herbie and Carnie’s grandmother, Martha Vore. Carnie and Herbie also have a group of adorable friends: Arlo the bluebird, Heidi the woolly mammoth and Buddy the mouse. If the pen and paints weren’t mighty enough, this team has now begun the process of having custom puppets created. A company called His Hands Puppets created Herbie Vore and are working on a Carnie version. “We had Justin Reed become the voice and personality of Herbie. Originally we only wanted content for our herbievore.com website,” explains Mills, “but soon began to envision school and church assemblies, library puppet shows, and possibly a PBS/ NPT show in the future. We are looking for opportunities to donate books to local Head Start programs and possibly bring our

puppet shows to their locations through organized preschool assemblies.” Murfreesboro-born Reed works at McMinnville’s 105.3 WOW Country and serves as MC at Murfreesboro’s Dewdrop Jamboree as well as being the pulpit minister at the Wood Church of Christ in Woodbury. “I am also puppeteering Herbie,” Reed said. “They are working on fine-tuning the actual show; we have been shooting already and getting ready to pitch it.” Mike Hutsell is responsible for the camera work and editing on the puppet show prototype. So stay tuned for the next chapter: the popular children’s books are set to

soon unfold into puppet shows, a YouTube channel and maybe more. “Our goal is to see a big Herbie Vore and Carnie Vore walking around in a Universal Studios theme park one day!” muses Mills. The team also plans to partner with The Touch Talk Read Play program, an initiative of the Urban Child Institute in Memphis, which encourages nurturing touch, conversational talk, exposure to reading and books and play time between children and the most important adults in their lives. For more on the adventures of Herbie Vore and Carnie Vore, visit herbievore.com.

Art

 EXHIBIT

Ryan Frizzell, Meagan Armes Paint Colorful Mural at Dave’s Cave Space on Vine Street NEW ART HAS BLOOMED in downtown Murfreesboro, on the walls of Dave’s Cave, located at 216 W. Vine St. A team of artistic contributors have been busy at work making colorful additions. Ryan Frizzell and Meagan Armes are a couple of local artists devoted to the mural project. Frizzell’s work in progress includes a myriad of “cassette title blocks.” His goal is to include names of prominent bands and musicians in the city on the painted cassettes. He has worked alongside Armes under the summer heat to create colorful works of art for the good of the city and for all to enjoy. “I really hope it takes off for Dave, whatever takes place there,” Frizzell said. Business owner Dave Bell stressed his appreciation of Ryan and Meagan’s work on the project. “They are truly an unbelievable couple of talented souls,” added Bell. Learn more about their art at facebook.com/therhinovirus and facebook.com/meaganarmesart. There’s still a veil of mystery about the future of Dave’s Cave and the type of impression it’ll leave on Murfreesboro. According to Frizzell, the new spot will likely host live music and other entertainment; however, there is still a lot to consider until everything is fully developed. Bell explains, “I do have ideas and want to be a part of an incredible atmosphere down here, but having seen businesses come and go over the last 10 years, it would not be wise to open just yet.” To keep up with information about developments at Dave’s Cave, visit facebook. com/davescave. — JORDAN HALL 24 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM 24 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM

Art

 EVENTS  Artwork by Susan Carter  Flowers by Pamela Mack

 Flowers by Reba Hinkle  Vase by Johnathan Grifﬁth

Woman’s Work Art Show

Greenway Art Fest Returns to Old Fort Park DOZENS OF LOCAL TALENTED artists will once again display and sell their creative work along the Greenway trail within Old Fort Park on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. at the 17th Annual Greenway Art Festival. Hosted by the Cultural Arts division of Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Department and Friends of the Greenway, the festival will be located at the Old Fort Park trailhead, 916 Golf Ln., Murfreesboro. “This is a one-of-a-kind family-friendly event,” said Lisa Browning, Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Department event coordinator. “We are excited to host over 70 fine artists working with a variety of mediums.” Organizers chose the theme “Cross Pollination: Art and Nature in Harmony,” to reflect the synergy of what’s going on in the Murfreesboro Arts community. “Just like plants, animals and insects work together to flourish, artists from all genres are coming together to build each other up resulting in a flourishing arts community,” said Browning. Attendees will enjoy live musical performances throughout the day as well as oil paintings, watercolor, pottery, textiles, metal, glass, sculpture, jewelry, installation art, music, food vendors and art activities for all ages. Performing musicians include the MTSU Center for Chinese Music and Culture at 10 a.m., MTSU Flute Choir at 11 26 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM

a.m., Tracey Palfavi at noon and Preston Ary at 2 p.m. Admission and parking are free. All Greenway Art Festival artwork is original and created by the artists; no mass-produced, commercially manufactured work or work manufactured from kits or molds will be displayed.

CENTER FOR THE ARTS HOSTS Woman’s Work, an art exhibit featuring the work of Laine Bratcher Cantrell, Heloise Shilstat, Robin Caddell, Pamela Mack, Sheryl Thurman Miller and Susan Carter, during the month of September. An opening reception will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6, and the show remains on display through Sept. 30. The works range from the art created from clipped-out magazine paper pasted together by Heloise Shilstat, to the abstract and representational works by Susan Carter to mixed-media creations of Robin Caddell. Center for the Arts is located at 110 W. College St., Murfreesboro.

In the event of heavy rains, the festival will be canceled. For more information on the Greenway Art Festival, find the Cultural Arts Facebook page, contact Lisa Browning at lbrowning@murfreesborotn. gov or visit murfreesborotn.gov/parks.

Neither East Nor West at Todd Gallery

by Katie Struk

THE TODD ART GALLERY WILL HOST the exhibit Neither East Nor West: Works by Contemporary Chinese Artists through Sept. 14. China has undergone a huge industrial and cultural shift in the past 100 years. In the midst of the era of globalization, individuals from different backgrounds and cultures share their experiences, lives, food, art and music. What was known as “East” and “West” has blurred. The exchange of cultural practices, concepts and ways of living is now common. The blurring of these cultural lines manifests in the works of award-winning Chinese contemporary artists. These are the works of a new culture, Neither East nor West. A reception for Neither East Nor West will be held on Saturday, Sept. 7, from 1–3 p.m. and will feature musicians Dr. Christine Kim on cello and and Jun Tian on pipa performing works of contemporary Chinese composers. Light refreshments will be provided. The Todd Art Gallery is open from 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday–Saturday.

Art

 THEATER

The Secret Garden Brings the Magic of Hope to Center for the Arts THE SECRET GARDEN, the Tony Award-winning musical by Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman, based upon the timeless children’s novel by Knoxville’s own Frances Hodgson Burnett, continues at the Center for the Arts through Sunday, Sept. 8. Jeffrey Ellis directs the production. Local stage favorites Lindsey Wortham, Mark David Williams, Robbie Craze and Caylor Miller lead the cast and they are joined by CFTA newcomers including Austin Jeffrey Smith and Bethany Cardenas in principal roles. Ashleigh Chambers and Andrew Hansen, most recently seen in CFTA’s student production of Les Miserables, will take on the central roles of Mary Lennox and Colin Craven in the musical.

Burnett’s classic tale of a young girl’s journey from India to England in the early years of the 20th century radiates with the power of love, redemption and hope that has made the book a favorite of readers since its first publication in 1911. The Secret Garden is the story of young Mary Lennox (Ashleigh Chambers) who loses her parents to a cholera outbreak in India. She is then sent to live with her uncle, hermit Archibald Craven (Mark David Williams), who lives on a large, foreboding Yorkshire estate with his physician brother, Neville Craven (Robbie Craze). Once she moves into the house, Mary finds a collection of lost and enchanting souls. Since her Aunt Lily’s (Lindsey Wortham) death, Archibald has closed the house to any family or visitors leaving his son, Colin (Andrew Hansen), alone. Colin is sickly and bedridden and carries the weight of his mother’s death upon himself. When Mary discovers a hidden garden once considered the pride of her Aunt Lily, locked

Smokes & Jokes Comedy Show Celebrates One Year at Liquid Smoke Smokes & Jokes, a free, unfiltered monthly comedy showcase at Liquid Smoke, celebrates its one-year anniversary on Monday, Sept. 9. Matt Taylor and Nick Bush host the show the second Monday of each month and bring featured comics from all over the Southeast to entertain the good people of Murfreesboro. Each show starts at 8:30 p.m. and typically runs until 10 p.m. Comics from Nashville, Atlanta, Canada and even Nepal will perform at the monumental Sept. 9 show. Stay up-to-date on Smokes & Jokes by following @smokesandjokestn on Instagram and Facebook.

shut and overgrown with vines, she determines to restore it to its prior glory with the help of mystical young Dickon (Austin Jeffrey Smith), his sister Martha (Caylor Miller) and kindly, avuncular gardener Ben Weatherstaff (Gary Davis). Accompanying Mary on her journey from India and playing integral roles in her life at Misselthwaite Manor are “The Dreamers,” the name accorded the spirits of the deceased members of the British Raj who fell victim to the cholera epi-

demic. The Dreamers ensemble includes Stephanie Jones, Ro Coger, Callum Ammons, Jantu Moore, Reagan Fitzwater, Meredith Aydelott, Suzi Proctor Richardson, Shelby Smith and Teela Kelley. Bethany Cardenas and Spencer Germany are cast as Mary’s parents, Rose and Albert, and Peri Watson and Carlos Santiago play her loyal Indian retainers, Ayah and Fakir. Leah Pagel-Williams is Mrs. Medlock, the housekeeper of Misselthwaite Manor. The Secret Garden features musical direction by Stephanie Jones and orchestral accompaniment led by Royce Phillips. Melissa Becker is choreographer. Tickets are currently on sale at boroarts. org, by calling 615-904-ARTS, or at the Center for the Arts Box Office, 110 W. College St., in downtown Murfreesboro. This production is rated PG. Remaining showtimes include Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6 and 7, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 8, at 2 p.m.

Art

 POETRY

Show Up in September to Support Local Creative Writers BY KORY WELLS I’M DUBBING THIS MONTH “SHOW UP SEPTEMBER” for literary and

spoken word events. Whether you prefer daytime or evening, and whether you like poetry, comedy, fiction, playwriting or songwriting, this month in Murfreesboro has something to offer you. First of all, plan to visit the Greenway Arts Festival on Saturday, Sept. 21, where Poetry in the Boro, the Bloom Stage and Under 1 Roof will have booths and an activity for writers of any age. If you have late Thursday afternoons available, don’t miss the In Process series, curated by Claudia Barnett of the MTSU English department. Offered weekly in MTSU’s MT Center from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m., the September lineup includes songwriter Nathan Bell on Sept. 5, poet John Hoppenthaler on Sept. 12, and fiction writer Cary Holladay on Sept. 19. The MT Center is located in the Sam H. Ingram Building at the corner of Middle Tennessee Boulevard and East Lytle Street, and it has its own parking lot; it’s an easy place to visit. SEPT. 8 Poetry in the Boro Sunday evening, Sept. 8, Poetry in the Boro presents poets FRED ARROYO  and Barbara Young as featured readers. An hour of open mic follows; all styles of poetry and spoken word are welcome. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the features begin at 7. Held at the Walnut House, 116 N. Walnut St., the event is free and sponsored in part by MTSU Write. Water, soda, beer and cider will be available for purchase from the Walnut House. Street parking in the area on Sunday evening is plentiful. Arroyo is the author of several books, including the forthcoming Sown in Earth: Essays 30 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM

of Memory and Belonging. His writing is a part of the Library of Congress series “Spotlight on U.S. Hispanic Writers” and appears in The Colors of Nature: Essays on Culture, Identity and the Natural World, among other publications. The MTSU English professor will be reading from his poetry collection in progress, Before Birches Blue, which is largely influenced by his time in nature along the northern U.S. border, especially Ontario. Young is the author of two chapbooks published in 2018: Testify, which was awarded the Peter Meinke Prize from YellowJacket Press, and Like a Movie Star, Like a Mary Sue, from dancing girl press & studio. A longtime Middle Tennessee resident, Young in recent years returned to her early love of poetry with zeal; during one recent month she responded to four poem-a-day challenges for a total of 134 drafts (“a bad idea,” she quips). Young also has MTSU connections, having honed some of her manuscripts through participation in MTSU Write. For more details, including a word challenge writing prompt, see Poetry in the Boro on Facebook. SEPT. 27 Under 1 Roof It’s time for another round of “Under 1 Roof,” a quarterly 21-and-up event that blends comedy, poetry, art and live music. Producer and spoken word poet Christopher “C.A.” Williams says the show prides itself on “diversity, creativity and talent.” Scheduled entertainers include host Matt Taylor, singer-songwriter Krystal King, spoken word poet Mo Christo, comedian Chloe Stillwell and more. Held at The Warehouse, the event will include food and a bar. Tickets will be sold on EventBrite for $12, or $16 at the door.

“24” is a poem by Barbara E. Young, reprinted from her book Testify (YellowJacket Press, with author permission)

24 BY BARBARA E. YOUNG the blackbird said it was dark inside and smelled of fire and lard too tightly packed to move they pretended it was night inside the casket of crust the knife that freed them passed between two feathers of his wing and damaged one barb there was noise then brightness and confusion I asked him did you sing we escaped, he said we did not sing

Listener Supported Public Radio

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Reviews

lead to the great (Alien, The Shining), the intriguing (The People Under the Stairs), or the underwhelming (The Bilko Experiment). Like the last example, while delivering on the gruesome front, the simple premise of Ready or Not raises too many questions that aren’t satisfyingly answered, and the script and performances don’t offer enough entertaining, non-expository moments to make up for it. Amidst the almost-inspired story and almost-interesting family members, Samara Weaving stands out as Grace, proving her

potential shown in The Babysitter and Three Billboards . . . (not to mention a small role in Monster Trucks—seriously, it’s a fun movie). Given no more to work with than the other actors, Weaving charms as the bride, and later, evokes true terror as she screams and fights for her life. Unfortunately though, the poster of Grace in a wedding dress and bandolier, wielding a shotgun, is making a promise that the movie doesn’t keep. This isn’t a revenge fantasy so much as a 90-minute final girl. The co-directors of this film come from the independent horror scene, and have had some success directing segments in anthology films. One of those films was the long-overdue burster of the found-footage bubble V/H/S. Whereas other directors from that film have gone on to make—or had already made— some truly excellent horror features (David Bruckner’s The Ritual is on Netflix), the duo of Matt and Tyler seem stuck in shaky-cam mode for a setting that demands Kubrickian wide shots with Halloween-inspired hiding places in every corner of the frame. This misstep is emblematic of the missed potential that proves Ready or Not, well, wasn’t. — JAY SPIGHT

The action in Youngblood has some notable differences from previous entries, most of which feel unnecessary, but not particularly detrimental. The guns in Youngblood still feel immensely satisfying to use, but enemies now sport health bars, are often resistant to certain weapon types and generally soak up more punishment than before. This is in service of balancing the game for two players, but unloading an entire clip of ammunition into a lightly armored enemy to little effect does feel at odds with the pace of combat established by previous games. Also, gone are the tightlycrafted linear levels of the previous entries. Youngblood instead opts for a handful of fairly

large environments that players will revisit repeatedly. These levels are well-made, and they have a pleasing verticality and openness to them that encourages exploration, but trekking back and forth through the same streets a dozen times does eventually get old. At a budget price of $30, Youngblood offers a good amount of bang for your buck. The main campaign and a smattering of side missions can be completed in about nine hours, but those looking to do absolutely everything could easily spend almost twice as long polishing off every mission. Youngblood also features some microtransactions in the form of special currency that can be used to buy cosmetics and minor gameplay boosters, but they are easy enough to ignore. Wolfenstein: Youngblood is a bold experiment, if nothing else. It is an entry in a series built on a strong narrative and lightning-fast action that has almost no story and a much more deliberate pace. The addition of co-op is enough to offset the strangeness of some of the changes made to the series formula, but as entertaining as Youngblood can be, this Wolfenstein fan hopes the inevitable Wolfenstein III adheres more closely to the series’ roots. — LUKE KAUTZKY

READY OR NOT DIRECTORS Matt Bettinelli-Olpin

and Tyler Gillett

STARRING Samara Weaving,

Adam Brody, Andie MacDowell RATED R

Ready or Not is exactly the type of movie I have been championing in my reviews for quite a while now: a non-adaption, non-sequel, original concept movie, written and directed by relative unknowns, and given the chance at a wide theatrical release by a major studio. This does not happen often enough. And Ready or Not is a pretty good example why it doesn’t. The film takes its name from the first phrase yelled into the silence following the countdown in the innocent but intense children’s game “hide and seek” (title already taken). As Grace (Weaving) prepares to marry Alex (Mark O’Brien) at his family’s opulent estate, she is bombarded with double-meaning questions about whether or not she is ready

to become a part of this family. If you’ve seen only one trailer for this movie, then the foreshadowing and obvious double expressions will feel laid on painfully thick as Grace smiles and assures each bizarre or domineering family member that yes, she loves Alex, while you patiently wait for them to get to the point. The point is what drew you here after all, that simple and schlocky grindhouse plot: a mega-rich family hunts down the son’s bride inside their creepy mansion. This kind of large, confined, single-location horror can

GAME

WOLFENSTEIN: YOUNGBLOOD Wolfenstein: Youngblood, the latest entry in the rebooted Wolfenstein series, is an oftenperplexing game. While the core appeal of fighting futuristic Nazis in a dystopian alternate history remains intact, Youngblood brings several changes to the table, but there is little rhyme or reason for some of the alterations made. Youngblood is the first Wolfenstein game to feature co-op, and this is definitely a welcome addition. Almost any game is more enjoyable with a friend (or, in some cases, a random stranger), but people determined to play solo are partnered with a mostly competent computer-controlled partner. The co-op aspect is not used in any unique ways, but it can liven up the otherwise repetitive experience. The story of Youngblood is sadly sparse.

Jumping forward 20 years after the conclusion of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Youngblood casts players as series protagonist B.J. Blazkowicz’s twin daughters, Jess and Soph. After B.J. goes missing in Nazioccupied Paris, his daughters mount a rescue operation . . . and that is the extent of the plot. There are some interesting reveals at the end of the game that tease the next main entry in the series, but Youngblood has precious little time for its story and characters. Given how entertaining the writing of the previous games could be and how promising Jess and Soph are as characters, the lack of an engaging story is disappointing.

A CLASSIC

32 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM

OUTSTANDING

AVERAGE

BELOW AVERAGE

AVOID AT ALL COSTS

DEAD

OPENING IN SEPTEMBER PLAYING THIS MONTH

SEPT. 6 IT Chapter Two • Night Hunter Satanic Panic

SEPT. 13 Hustlers • The Goldfinch Haunt • Ms. Purple

SEPT. 20 Downton Abbey • Ad Astra Rambo: Last Blood • The Kitchen

SEPT. 27 Judy • Abominable The Death of Dick Long

Food

See more restaurant features at

BoroPulse.com/category/food A sampling of dishes from 219’s broad menu, clockwise from left: Dragon Roll, 219 Salad, Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza, Bacon Cheeseburger with Fries

What’s The 219?

Broad Street establishment offers wealth of choices: Thai, sushi, pizza, pasta, burgers and more STORY BY BRACKEN MAYO • PHOTOS BY SARAH MAYO

THE SCENARIO HAPPENS OFTEN: a group wants to dine out, but someone wants pasta, someone wants sushi, someone wants steak, someone wants a calzone, someone wants Thai, someone wants a salad, someone else wants a burger. But with the great variety found at 219 Broad Street Mixed Cuisine, nearly anyone can find something that suits their palate at any particular time. Some Murfreesboro diners find it strange that a single location offers sushi, pizza, pasta, steaks, burgers, pad Thai and more all under one roof. “People gave us a hard time about the variety when we first opened, but families and groups are having a good time and coming back,” said 219 GM Freda Fowler, who encourages people to come in and explore the fantastic menu. They will discover the fresh bread, made 34 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM

in-house. The burger buns, dough for pizza, calzones, breadsticks and stromboli, even the rye bread for the reuben sandwiches, are all made at 219. Most all styles of cuisine 219 offers will hold up just fine to comparable dishes at other Murfreesboro eateries. The restaurant serves its pizza on a great, soft, fluffy and fresh crust. Specialty pie selections include the chicken bacon ranch with sliced tomatoes and fresh basil, and the white pizza with mozzarella, provolone, smoked gouda, feta and parmesan cheeses and olive oil. “The pizza is so good!” Jessi Barron Spray said. “The waitress Jen told us that the Italian and pizza recipes were the same as the old Gondolier restaurant that used to be in their location. “The pad Thai was amazing,” she added. For those on a budget, 219 Mixed Cui-

The Dish RESTAURANT

219 Broad Street Mixed Cuisine LOCATION

219 NW Broad St.

protein and cabbage—some sine offers a $7.99 lunch PHONE of my favorite ingredients!); menu. 615-396-8484 the La Vergne with crab, Some say they miss the HOURS cucumber, smelt, cream dessert case from Gondolier, Sun.–Thurs. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fri.–Sat. cheese and salmon; and but Murfreesboro sushi lov11 a.m. to 10 p.m. the fish-loaded Smyrna roll ers appreciate the sushi bar PRICES with tuna, salmon, yellowthat has replaced it. Medium two-topping tail, white tuna and crab, “The sushi was incredpizza: $11.99; bacon and a handful of deep-fried ibly fresh, some of the best cheeseburger with rolls, like the dragon roll I’ve had in Murfreesboro fries: $9.29; pad Thai: $11.99; 8-ounce topped with its spicy mayo. and we’ve tried everywhere,” New York strip with The 219 salad with Lisa Walter Moore said. two sides: $13.99; strawberries, cashews, Joe, the 219 sushi chef, dragon roll: $8.99; tuna, salmon or spinach, chicken and feta prepares every piece of suyellowtail roll: $5.99 makes a lovely combination shi served at 219. He works ONLINE of natural ingredients. all day, six days a week, but 219broadstreetmixed Most of the dressings sushi is not available on cuisine.com and sauces are homemade Monday. also, like the tasty and The sushi menu contains all the standards—tuna, crab, yellowtail and unique mustard-parmesan dressing. The restaurant serves delicious handsalmon—along with octopus, eel, squid, rolled egg rolls with a fine sweet and sour clam and more. sauce. 219 Mixed Cuisine offers specialty rolls Awesome marinated and sauteed vegsuch as the Murfreesboro roll with crab, gies—thin-sliced squash, zucchini, onion, shrimp, avocado, smelt, crunch, mayo and broccoli and carrot tossed in sauce and cucumber, rolled in cabbage (avocado, lean

lightly stir-fried—are available as a side or as a vegetarian entree on its own. A relaxing variety of music from classic jazz to modern pop plays in the comfortable dining room. Sandwiches include the Predator melt, a burger with melted pepper jack cheese, grilled onions and thousand island on homemade sourdough. And 219 also serves New York strip and ribeye steaks, fish, chicken or shrimp dinners (all available fried, grilled or blackened), potato bacon soup, pho and other dishes. Rosemary Agnello Browning said that with 219’s “tremendous menu with endless choices of delicious food . . . we could eat there every night. “This is probably the best place to eat in Murfreesboro,” she said. “Our waitress was wonderful and helpful. We loved the atmosphere.” After the establishment that previously occupied the space at 219 Broad St. closed, Noy and Sam Viravouth took ownership of the restaurant. The couple kept some recipes, and staff, from the previous Italian restaurant, but added Thai, Lao, sushi, pho, lo mein, fried rice and other Asian flavors to the pizza, pasta and calzones. “Great service and really fresh food. The Thai and sushi were amazing. I was very

surprised,” according to an online review by Cyndy Carpenter Barnett. One family group of regulars will generally order five or six different options, split it all, family-style, and usually have some food to take home, Fowler says. Carla Crader says that 219 has “excellent food and service. The burgers are best in the ’Boro! Everything is good here,” the diner says. She said the sushi was beautiful and fresh, though the rice “didn’t have the sweet-vinegar flavor I’m used to.” Although the sushi rice was a little plain, Crader found the sushi “very mild, but still delicious,” she reported. Raspberry or blueberry ice picks make popular drinks at the bar, and 219 contains a private dining room that many groups take advantage of. 219 Mixed Cuisine also offers free delivery within Murfreesboro. Come into the restaurant for yourself sometime and explore the menu. Katie and the service team will take good care of you, and if the pizza is not your thing, try steak or sushi; if you do not like pad Thai, have a fried chicken breast. Someone would have to be a ridiculously picky eater if they could not find anything they cared for on the 219 menu.

Charity Chopped Hop Springs hosts annual fundraiser for Second Harvest, Amelia’s Closet, Habitat for Humanity

THE THIRD ANNUAL CELEBRITY Charity Chopped, a competition-styled cook off, is being held at Hop Springs in Murfreesboro on Thursday, Sept. 12. The event is a fundraiser benefiting local food, clothing and shelter nonprofit organizations. Contestants representing these organizations will be on hand, ready to face off in the battle of the taste buds. All proceeds will be divided evenly among the charities, then the winner will take home an additional $5,000 grand prize for their respective charity. The three participating organizations include Second Harvest Food Bank, Amelia’s Closet and Habitat for Humanity. Second Harvest Food Bank has been providing food and personal care products throughout Tennessee since 1978. Each center addresses hunger for the region they’re in, and all donations received remain local. Amelia’s Closet is known as a clothier of hope, providing women with a second chance to make a first impression. Local donations offer recovering women the appropriate business attire for job interviews, helping to restore hope, dignity, and possibilities to their lives. Habitat for Humanity unites people in God’s love to build homes for those without one, each chapter also addressing local communities. Providing the basic necessities of life has been the main focus of the Chopped Charity event since its inception in 2017. Shannon Wheeler, organizer of the event, feels that the participating organizations (each representing one of the three basic necessities), help the community by providing hope and a sustaining kind of help. In speaking with Wheeler, you can’t help but acknowledge his passion for helping people. He desires for all people to be met with these basic needs of life. He is a personal advocate for all three of the participating charities, and he stresses the idea that these are all local places where local people can receive real help. Wheeler holds these services dear, in part, because he has been on the receiving end of things. In other words, it’s not just sympathy you see in him. It’s real, genuine empathy. “I have often wondered if I’m the right person to help in this way. I am not wealthy. I am working like everyone else to raise a family and provide. My family and I have benefited personally from the efforts of these and other similar organizations at 36 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM

LULU ROMAN BY MARY ELIZABETH LONG

different periods throughout my life,” Shannon says. “So, I figured that made me the exact right person to help in this way.” At the Sept. 12 event, three local celebrity chefs, assisted by sous chefs, will be creating meals using random ingredients, while working against the clock and each other. The teams of chefs are Robin Seay teamed up with Rachel Spensatelli of the Curious Kitchen for Second Harvest Food Bank, Fant Smith teamed up with Mitchell Murphree of Five Senses for Amelia’s Closet and LuLu Roman teamed up with Alex Belew of Dallas & Jane for Habitat for Humanity. Tensions will grow, mishaps will hap, and entertainment will abound as these duos duke it out to the end. Besides the mixture of mayhem, the dash of drama, and the pinch of perfection, the element of surprise will be spooned in by providing each team with three-course baskets stocked with three mystery ingredients that must be utilized in each dish. Attending guests can expect to enjoy fresh cupcakes and appetizers as local bakeries and restaurateurs compete for the best of each category. Attendees can cast their votes for their favorites. Furthermore, there will be a live auction taking place. Willing participants can also contribute an extra donation to partake in alcohol that will be served. For more information, contact Shannon Wheeler at shannon@shannonwheeler.com or at 615-417-6640 or visit charitychopped. com or. A $75 golden ticket will gain admittance to the show, with an additional $25 for the alcohol option. Donations welcome. All donations benefit local charities and the local recipients of their services. — ANGELA LOUPE

AROUND TOWN ’BORO BUSINESS BUZZ

Morning Brew, Life is Brewing, Florida Coffee Works, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Seafood Sensation, Slick Pig Smyrna BY MICHELLE WILLARD Several new coffee shops have plans for Murfreesboro. MORNING BREW offers the normal coffee shop stuff plus smoothies, biscuits, muffins and baked goods. It’s located at 405 N. Front St. in Murfreesboro, the former home of Garage Bar, and has daily specials on specialty drinks. While it’s not quite coffee, tea is a good alternative if you’ve got the caffeine shakes. And Murfreesboro’s Public Square has a spot to try out. MUSIC CITY TEA opened at the beginning of August. Owner Jenny Zhong relocated her shop, where she sells almost 100 different teas and blends, along with traditional tea accessories, from Franklin. Zhong hopes to introduce Murfreesboro to the health benefits of tea and the culture behind it by hosting tea ceremonies. She’s open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-6 p.m. Sunday at 105 N. Maple St. Brewmaster Derrick Morse announced via Facebook that LIFE IS BREWING is moving some of its production and taproom to Murfreesboro. “The entire LIB team decided to move our sour beer production to Hop Springs to consolidate our efforts into the new Murfreesboro location. This means we’ll be closing the Mantra taproom in conjunction with moving all sour beer production to Hop Springs,” Morse said. Now all Mantra Artisan Ales and LIB’s sour beers will be made at Hop Springs. “MTSU and the fermentation science program have been and will continue to be a huge part of Life is Brewing,” Morse said. Its former location at 216 Noah Dr. in Franklin will be taken over by Mill Creek Brewing. Another local brew had big news. PANTHER CREEK BREWS announced it will be canning Panther Scratch, its hoppy brown IPA, for wider distribution. Panther Scratch is now available in the ’Boro at Mur38 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM

freesboro Wine and Spirits, Old Fort Liquor and Wine, Media Rerun, Liquid Smoke and Jack Brown’s. It’s not beer but, CBD sure is relaxing. And HALF HILL FARM, owned and operated by Christian Grantham and Vince Oropesa, opened the third location of their WELLNESS EMPORIUM in Murfreesboro where they sell kombucha, extracts and CBD. Half Hill Farm makes and bottles kombucha, botanical extracts, apple cider vinegar tonics, tinctures, teas and more from its production facility on High Street in Woodbury. In addition to the new location is 2136 Middle Tennessee Blvd., Grantham and Oropesa operate emporiums in Jackson, Woodbury and Bell Buckle. Murfreesboro has crabs. And that isn’t the only seafood option, either. In addition to CRAB FEVER, BUBBA GANDY and a handful of other seafood joints, two new ones have jumped into the deep end. SEAFOOD SENSATION has officially opened at 123 S.E. Broad St. Owner Ronald Matthews said that he wants to give Murfreesboro “everything South Beach mixed with what Nashville has to offer.” I’m sold. When are we going? RED CRAB will take over the restaurant formerly known as Logan’s at 740 N.W. Broad St. The Florida-based chain serves up seafood and lets the customer choose the seasoning and spice level. No opening date has been announced. BAD DADDY’S BURGER BAR plans to open Sept. 9 at 2243 Medical Center Pkwy. The upscale bar will feature burgers with house-made sauces. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Don’t feel like cooking but don’t feel like going out either? You can put down Uber Eats and swing by THE FULL PLATE, which offers heat-and-eat family meals beginning in mid-September. Owner Rachel Anderson Wheat will continue to offer her cakes and cookies, but will add a to-go menu to her new store front at 1800 S. Rutherford Blvd., Suite 102. She said the meals will be fresh, never frozen and posted weekly to her Facebook page. OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE • SLICK PIG is coming to Smyrna. The new location will open in early September at 1303 Plaza Dr. in Smyrna.

• Murfreesboro coffee roaster FLORIDA COFFEE WORKS (named for owner Jeremy Florida, not the state) is in operation and roasting beans. It can be found at MOAB, Batey Farms, Hamery and other area retailers. Find out more at facebook. com/floridacoffeeworks. • An odd handwritten sign appeared at CHICAGO GYRO on Broad Street. It says “Taqueria and Gyro” Somebody check it out and report back. • The Blackman community will be getting a new grocery store soon. According to plans filed with the Murfreesboro Planning Commission, an unnamed grocery store is proposed for the Westlawn development on Veterans Parkway near Interstate 840. If you want to get the food from the store but not actually go into the store, KROGER has an option in Kroger Pickup service (formerly known as ClickList), which will be added to the 1622 Middle Tennessee Blvd. store as it gets remodeled. For a $4.99 fee, the Kroger team will collect your groceries for you and bring them to your car; the service fee is waived for your first three orders. As reported last month, Kroger announced it wasn’t going to build a new store in the former Rose’s department store location on Mercury Boulevard. Instead, the grocery store chain has decided to spruce up its old building, calling it “a minor remodel.” SMYRNA READY MIX announced it will relocate from Nashville and build a new headquarters on West Jefferson Pike off Interstate 840 in Smyrna. The six-story building will house about 250 employees out of the 2,000 Smyrna Ready Mix employs across nine states. The commercial development will be called CORNERSTONE AT SMYRNA. In addition to the 60,000-square-foot headquarters, it will boost commercial space for restaurants and retailers along with a 150-acre rock quarry on the north side of the property (which I’m sure the neighbors are very happy about). REOX AUTOMOTIVE has rebranded as DOCTOR BOLTZ AUTOMOTIVE CLINIC. The Sapienza family owned Doctor Boltz Automotive Clinic in Hermosa Beach, California, for decades starting in 1983, as well as their Motorsport company, DOCTOR BOLTZ MOTORSPORTS. Doctor Boltz participated in numerous racing events with its ’98 VW VR6 Yellow Beetle. But all good things do come to an

end. The family decided to close their doors after 25 years. REOX owner Jojo Sapienza then moved to Middle Tennessee in 2012 and opened his own shop. Now he wants to continue the family tradition and has renamed REOX, to Doctor Boltz Automotive Clinic. Still located at 1602 Bradyville Pk. in Murfreesboro, Sapienza will continue to offer quality European vehicle service to the local community. SPORTSMAN’S WAREHOUSE opened to business in late August at 468 N. Thompson Lane. Located in The Oaks shopping center (the old H.H. Gregg), the store offers quality brand-name hunting, shooting sports, fishing, camping, apparel and footwear merchandise. The new Sportsman’s store is more than 30,000 square feet and has a selection of more than 60,000 items for region-specific activities; also enjoy fun seminars, special events, instructional classes and discounts at the new store.

If you would rather hunt for decorations, the new HOMEGOODS is finally open at 484 N. Thompson Ln. (also in The Oaks). At HomeGoods, shoppers can find an everchanging selection of furniture, rugs and décor. CLOSING CORNER On Aug. 22, PIZZA INN posted “I regret to inform you, Murfreesboro. We no longer can keep the doors open. Thank you for your support. We will be open today and that’s it,” it said. WHITE CASTLE in the Marathon gas station at the corner of Thompson and Old Fort has closed. The space is available to rent. PARTY FOWL, which has occupied a Broad Street restaurant space that many locals label “cursed” for the past couple of years, announced that it will close its Murfreesboro store. Sept. 8 will be the hot chicken restaurant’s last day of operation. Owner Austin Smith hinted that a new Party Fowl should come soon to a neighboring county. MURFREESBORO LITTLE THEATRE being forced out of its historic building, but I’m almost out of space. Just know for now that WALNUT HOUSE has stepped up to offer a place for MLT productions and other projects that used the building.

BOROPULSE.COM

* SEPTEMBER 2019 * 39

BUSINESS MOMENTUM

BY BLAINE LITTLE

Girlfriday Every successful person needs an assistant

or the past year and a half, Takisha Bromell has been helping salespeople and business owners do what they do best: be themselves. Her company, Girlfriday Business Solutions, is a virtual assistant firm that takes on the administrative tasks such as scheduling, processing, filing and other paperwork which may otherwise keep the entrepreneur from creating new business. Having a Masters in Project Management, Bromell can take a look at the workflow of an existing business and see where the process can be improved. She then creates a new system specific for that company or individual, designed for greater efficiency. Bromell always had a knack for organization. In 2017, she started helping real estate agents with their sales and listing contracts, having a background in real estate herself. But Laura White Dahl, a friend from the real estate brokerage Music City Experts, suggested she could do much more. Dahl told her “Every successful person needs an assistant.” Not being exposed to the concept of an assistant for hire, she sought counsel from business professionals as well as family members who understood what made her tick. Now, she considers her work a labor of love. Despite the encouragement of others, she still thought the biggest challenge lay in herself and the initial seed money, or rather the lack of it. “I had to financially take

the first step without having a whole bunch of money up front. I thought I had to have all this money, but I wonder if I would have wasted it,” Bromell said. She mentions that not having a large business investment in the beginning forced her to be smart about what she was doing. Instead of focusing on what to buy, she instead focused on procedures that would bring her success. For the first few months, she wrestled with herself and the idea of starting her own business. Bromell says she would ask herself “are you crazy, girl? Have you lost your ever-loving mind?” Eventually, she realized the business was part of her core. She learned to rely on herself and, through her faith in God, believed that she was on the right path. The Girlfriday CEO plays to her own strengths, stating she loves to be considered an outsourced Chief Operating Officer (COO) for other companies. “That’s creating processes and procedures for businesses. It’s making you more efficient, also looking at resources you need to have in place as you grow and expand your business.” She has several clients who operate from a shared workspace or otherwise away from the corporate office. These regional managers or high-level sales reps don’t have an onsite staff anyway, so it makes sense to use virtual assistants. Bromell says the best things she can provide other businesses is balance and purpose. “How I help the business owner is to create balance in their lives so they can go home and rest assured things are going to get done. By helping them, I create that support system, that foundation so that they can go out and be great. They can do what it is God has called them to do.” I asked Bromell about her company name and logo. The expression “girl Friday” comes from a 1940 Cary Grant movie of that name. In the classic comedy, a businessman needs admin-

40 * SEPTEMBER 2019 * BOROPULSE.COM

istrative help and gets it in the form of his part-time secretary. The term, a derivation from the “man Friday” character in Robinson Crusoe, has since been used to describe a temp or part-time aid. She thought it was a perfect title for what her company does. As for her frog mascot, it is a reference to a Mark Twain quote: “If your job is to eat a frog, it’s best you do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” This alludes to the wisdom of not putting off tackling those things you detest, so you can do the more creative or even fun things the rest of the day. It’s a concept author and speaker Brian Tracy wrote about in his book Eat That Frog. Eating frogs or doing the dreaded tasks many entrepreneurs, salespeople or creative types can barely stomach is what Girlfriday aims to do. The advice Bromell gives to new businesses is: One, have a good accountant. Two, create a business plan, even though it may change several times. And third, have a good support system of family and friends. “I had multiple mentors, I didn’t have just one. I can still go to these people today and because they are wise, and have been in business for years, they come to me with information that is critical for my business. You have to have people around you who know more than you,” she says. The thing that gives Bromell the most momentum is her faith. “Business is not easy . . . the momentum comes from believing that this is bigger than me,” she shares. “I’m doing this to give people balance and to help them in their purpose.” Find more about Girlfriday at girlfridaybusinesssolutions.com. Blaine Little is the founder and CEO of Momentum Seminars Training, helping companies remain profitable by investing in their people. Learn more at momentumseminars.com.

SPORTS

TALK

COLUMN BY “Z-TRAIN”

titanman1984@gmail.com

JURRELL CASEY

COREY DAVIS

Mariota, Byard, Davis and the Titans Opening 2019 Season in Cleveland THE TRAIN DADDY IS BACK with sports news, life lessons and politically incorrect talk. All aboard! I say hallelujah! as we say goodbye to the dog days of summer and hello to footy football. In the last issue I told you that this article would be 100 percent Tennessee Titan talk. It’s probably best that I get back to what I do best—talk football. I mean, it beats talking about transgender athletes! That fight remains important to me, though, and is far from over. I just prefer talking football rather than voicing my disdain over biological men competing professionally in sports with biological women. We separate men and women in sports for a reason, right? I have genuine concern about the future of female athletics. Just wait until the 2020 Olympics; I predict a transgender athlete will win a medal on the biggest stage. This silliness that places progressive ideas and feelings over common sense, no matter the cost, is reckless. Email me at titanman1984@gmail.com if you have something to say. I have a motto called the 5 Fs: Faith, Family, Football, Food and Friends. Live life following that motto, and it will reward you. Okay, let’s talk Titans football. The 2019 Tennessee Titans will kick their season off Sept. 8 in Cleveland, Ohio, against the

Browns. The Titans finish the month versus the Colts, then the Jags and the Falcons. Not an easy opening, but I believe in this team, truly I do. I already got my ticket for the Falcons game. It will be my first trip to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It’s a wonder, I am told. You know why I prefer pro football over college ball? First off, one loss doesn’t define your season. “Cough-cough,” Volunteers! I bleed orange, I sing “Rocky Top” in my sleep and I used to own a bluetick named Copper. I have never seen such an embarrassing loss as the Volunteers had in Knoxville to open their season. I think they should nuke Neyland stadium and just start over. They have the facilities, the recruits and a passionate fan base, so what’s wrong? Yet here in the world of NFL football, a loss to open the season doesn’t signify the end. Nope, it signifies a loss, and then it’s onto the next week, as it should be. Marcus Mariota and the Titans open the season against a brandnew-looking Cleveland team filled with superstar players. Protecting Marcus will be a major factor this season as the team looks to address the offensive line without the suspended Taylor Lewan. Mariota has openly stated he approves the direction this team has gone, and so do I. Marcus has consistently thrown

KEVIN BYARD

for over 2,500 yards in each of his four seasons with the Titans. He struggled last season with numerous injuries, yet still threw over 2,500 yards. Some big questions: Is Marcus elite? Can he stay healthy? Those two questions will be answered this season, I believe. Marcus has given a lot, and he gets more crap than he should from ignorant fans. I predict Marcus starts all 16 games and has career numbers this season. Mariota had his best season in 2016 with 3,426 yards, 26 TDs and only 9 interceptions. I predict even better numbers in 2019; Marcus will get fans back on board with #8. Mariota will be looking for Adam Humphries often, and early. The brand-new slot receiver was a fan favorite in Tampa Bay and will quickly become a fan favorite here in Nashville. Adam will be ideal on third-down-and-short situations. 2019 will be the comeback year for my homie Delanie Walker! Between Humphries and Walker, Marcus Mariota has no excuses in the middle of the field. These two players should make it easy. Delanie suffered a brutal ankle injury in 2018 during the season opener. Walker just turned 35. Will he return to Pro-Bowl form? Walker stated, “I’m 35, and I am still the best tight end in the NFL.” That dude is one of my favorite

players on the team. Walker and Mariota have now played together for five years. From 2015 to 2017, Mariota’s first three seasons in the league, no other pass catcher came close to the 346 targets, and 2,695 yards Walker had. A productive Walker may be the most important piece to the puzzle for Marcus to be successful. Corey Davis will become a superstar this season. I am going to be honest; I am pumped about this kid. He is a true number-one receiver, a fantasy football stud and a household name. The fifth overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft is poised for a breakout. Davis doubled his receiving yards last season with 891 yards and 4 TDs on 65 catches. This kid is humble and soft-spoken, almost shy, when talking to the media. He’s not your typical Antonio Brown diva type that so many NFL wideouts are. I believe Corey will have over 1,000 yards receiving this season. Even the man once called Ochocinco has gotten on board, calling Davis a “monster . . . I like his game a lot.” Chad Johnson is sending praise. I truly believe Corey Davis will be the breakout star this season on the offensive side of the ball. Probably the most talked about player nationally on the team, aside from Marcus, is running back Derrick Henry. This former Heisman winner broke out in 2018, rushing for over 1,000 yards. Henry has been dealing with some injuries. He strained a calf muscle in training camp and didn’t participate in any pre-season games. By his account he is currently healthy and ready to go. I hope Coach Vrabel learned a lesson watching Henry pound the ball last December. Feed that beast! After Henry backed up DeMarco Murray his first two seasons, it’s time for Henry to step up and become a topfive running back in this league. I am excited about the defense, but being honest, I am not sure. I have no clue how this unit will look come game day. A lot of people have high hopes for Harold Landry. Since Orakpo and Morgan

retired this off-season, Landry should become a pass rushing machine . . . at least, I hope. Last season as a rookie with limited play, Landry racked up 44 tackles and 4.5 sacks in only three games. Impressive. He has put on muscle and experience. Landry is quick and athletic, and once recorded 16.5 sacks in a season at Boston College. Is he the next Jevon Kearse? I won’t say much about Malcolm Butler other than he absolutely must play better. The Titans gave the former Patriot a five-year, $61 million deal last season to be the star corner, and that didn’t pan out. Butler now has a full year on this defense and is expected to play like they paid him to play. “It’s a new year, a new season and a new me. I’m ready to play,” Butler said. He also stated, “I know Nashville and I know hot chicken.” How can we not mention Kevin Byard? He’s probably the best safety in the league! Byard has led the entire league in interceptions the past two seasons and just signed the richest contract in NFL history for a safety. Yet, as always, the Titans get overlooked. ESPN came out with the Top 100 players of 2018 list, and Byard wasn’t on it. Two of ESPN’s own experts called it “ridiculous” and “egregious,” considering Byard is one of only two players with 100 tackles and 10 interceptions over the past two seasons. NFL does a Top 100 based on votes by players. Derrick Henry, Jurrell Casey and Taylor Lewan all made the cut. Jurrell Casey needs no introduction. He is a beast D-tackle and a four-time-straight Pro Bowl player. He is back from an injury and is much needed. Truly a captain in his own right, this man is quietly one of the most important pieces to this team. I could have talked about at least 10 more players, but I will end it here! That’s it, the Train Daddy is rolling into the station. As always, live life following my motto, Faith, Family, Football, Food and Friends! Let’s go, Titans! I love this team and the memories made throughout the 20 years watching you. I will always remain loyal. I will see you in Atlanta. Choo-choo!

BOROPULSE.COM

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Opinion President Trump Encouraging U.S. Companies to Pull Out of China

ore evidence has rolled in over the past two weeks regarding President Trump’s true intentions with China to bolster my theory that Trump’s ultimate goal is to put the commies in China out of business. He met privately with Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple. Cook complained, according to news reports, that his rival, Samsung, had an advantage since its phones were made in South Korea, the home of Samsung. Cook said the tariffs on China were putting him at a competitive disadvantage. Then Trump did something amazing that was glossed over by the media. He suggested Apple stop sourcing its products in China. This is no small development. Were Apple to pull up stakes in China and start sourcing its products elsewhere, it could trigger a stampede for the exits. Then the president made an even bolder statement, one which I believe reveals his true intent. He tweeted, “Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA.” Hard to get more direct than that. Experts scoffed that Trump doesn’t have the authority to “order” companies to leave China, but he just might. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 may allow him to do just that. The Congressional Research Service says it only applies during a time of war. Could that be next? I’ve long predicted that we will end up in a hot war with China over Taiwan. China has long claimed ownership of Taiwan under the so-called “One-China” policy. The U.S. has recognized that policy ever since Richard Nixon sold us out with the Shanghai Communiqué of 1972. That communiqué has no force of law. The Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 does. That act allows, but does not require, us to defend Taiwan against the Chinese. The Chinese have never been happy about it, and

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CONSERVATIVE

PHIL VALENTINE

philvalentine.com

they’ve continued to claim Taiwan as their own. Recently they’ve been conducting military exercises in the Taiwan Strait. Back in July they warned that if Taiwan declares independence there will be war. Trump’s response? He just helped facilitate the sale of 66 F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan. We could be closing in on the big showdown. Here’s how events could go down. Taiwan declares itself an independent country, with the blessing of the United States. China invades. We send ships to the aid of Taiwan and we’re in a hot war. Remember that International Emergency Economics Powers Act that can only be triggered in time of war? Guess what? About 18 percent of China’s exports go to the United States. That doesn’t include all of the U.S. companies that have put down roots there. What if all of a sudden every U.S. company instantly pulls out? That 18 percent of their exports also dries up almost instantly. How soon would it be before China collapsed? China is already buying their way into poor countries around the world with the Belt and Road Initiative. They build infrastructure for these cash-strapped nations. When they can’t pay the money back China essentially forecloses. They end up controlling these countries. President Trump’s well aware of this too. That was what behind the whole “buying Greenland” story. They were going to mortgage themselves to the Chinese. Trump offered to buy them instead. The long and short of that story is China backed down. For now. The Chinese government needs to be destroyed. And President Trump knows it.

“Experts scoffed that Trump doesn’t have the authority to ‘order’ companies to leave China, but he just might. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 may allow him to do just that. The Congressional Research Service says it only applies during a time of war.”

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Phil Valentine is an author and nationally syndicated radio talk show host with Westwood One. For more of his commentary and articles, visit philvalentine.com.

Live Exceptionally...Well! BY JENNIFER DURAND

Unusual Practices for De-Stressing 5

IF YOU TUNE IN TO ANY NEWS MEDIUM these days you will no doubt hear about great tips for managing and preventing stress. In recent columns I’ve shared some of the calmer approaches to achieving this. This time I want to share some less obvious, but equally effective, practices. These are more active and energy-charged. The idea is to release negative energy and emotional and physical toxins. Prior to practicing any of these active exercises, it is wise to consider your surroundings, comfort and state of mind. Being aware of what you are doing before doing it is important for therapeutic effect versus simple curiosity. Initially, do the exercises in a more controlled state of mind. Doing them without having practiced them can decrease their effectiveness.

Loud Vocal Sounds Be sure you are in a contained space—a small room or your car. Start by opening the mouth, dropping the jaw and projecting from your throat. Begin with low sounds and increase gradually until you are screaming sound only—no words. Make faces or move your mouth around in various shapes allowing the sound to shift and resonate in the space. Do this for several minutes, pausing as needed only to take a breath.

Stomp Your Feet You can do this with shoes on or barefoot. Stomping without shoes should be done on soft carpet or grass. Shoe-stomping can be done on any surface. It’s added fun to hear the sounds it makes if you do it on wood or other hard surfaces. The intention is to be fully charged and aggressive with your stomping, as though you were turning grapes into wine with your feet.

Identifying Sounds Find a comfortable spot to stand or sit. Close your eyes, or use a blindfold, and just listen. After a few moments start to isolate and identify all the sounds you hear. Sharpen your listening and patience skills with this activity.

Punching a Pillow Grab a semi-firm pillow. Place it on an easy to reach surface. A bed is fine, or whatever is most comfortable to reach. Using your arms (keep them loose, not tight) begin punching the pillow. Start slowly and work your way up to a vigorous impact. Continue for several minutes. Be sure to direct and exhaust all energy into the pillow. If you break a sweat, even better.

Walk – Run – Walk This is great exercise, while knocking out stress as you do it with intention. Do this for a minimum of 20 minutes. Begin with a brisk walk. After one minute, begin running in an easy jog. Do this for one minute. Go back to a walk. Alternate your walk/ run in one-minute intervals. You can increase to two minutes each, then three and so on, until your time is done. Be sure to incorporate deep breath inhalations and exhalations as you walk and run.

Love a Pet Go visit an animal shelter and spend some time petting a puppy and taking it out for a walk (within the designated areas) or snuggling with a kitty. It is difficult to be angry, or to project negativity, when loving on a fur baby. Before you know it, you’ve given attention to a little being in need and your stress has melted into a manageable state.

Headbanging Yep. Put on a favorite energizing song and let your head (and hair!) go wild. Only use your head to move to the beat of the music. Get lost in it. This action doesn’t allow opportunity to let anything else come into your thoughts. You trick your mind and muscles into just being “into” the action.

Ride a Small Bike Get out a little tricycle or bicycle (kid size) and try riding around for a while remembering what it was like to be a kid. Carefree. Racing with yourself and the pavement. Malls have great minimotorized animals available to ride, too. These are done as singular exercises (or practices) in order to stay focused and deepen the antistress or de-stressing mechanism. They are fine to do with a friend, but extremely beneficial to do on your own. This enables your genuine needs to surface, without considering anyone else’s. This way you can identify your own stress points and begin to release them the way that makes sense to you. Jennifer Durand is the owner and operator of The Nurture Nook Day Spa & Gift Shoppe; she is a certified QiGong and Breathe Empowerment instructor, a skin care and makeup specialist, an InterPlay leader and is licensed in massage therapy, body work and somatic integration. Learn more by visiting nurturenook. com or facebook.com/nurturenookdayspa or call (615) 896-7110. BOROPULSE.COM

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 RECOMMENDED READING “This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America. Within the U.S., you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.” — books.google.com

Ecce Deus

Essays on the Life and Doctrine of Jesus Christ BY JOSEPH PARKER (1867)

Ch. XVII

These Relation of the Cross to the Law The Cross, which we have just been studying, must have produced many deep moral effects. It is proposed now to look at its relation to the principal educational agent which had been operating in society until the time of its appearance. That educational agent was Law, a term which has been used in so many senses that it may be necessary first of all to fix the meaning which we attach to it in this chapter with some approach to precision. Even in the sacred writings the term “law” is employed in various senses: for example, it sometimes comprehends the whole doctrine of revelation, thus—the “delight” of the “blessed man” is in “the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Sometimes it is limited to the Ten Commandments, thus—“I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Sometimes it describes the principle or tendency within men which is known as “the law of their being;” thus—“I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” Occasionally it is used to signify the sense of right and wrong which is in every man, apart altogether from written statute and formal sanctions; thus—“When the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or excusing one another.” This is the innate law to which every other law, either of God or man, must make its appeal—a law without which even the commandment of God would be a dead letter; it is as the eye of the soul, apart from which all light would be shed upon the moral nature in vain. Then there is what has been termed as the law of love, that sublime concentration and urgency of the soul in all loving homage and service which cannot be regulated by written orders or formal

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stipulations, but is a delight, a holy rapture, a hallowed, self-forgetful, all-surrendering passion. This is the law of unfilled angels and justified spirits. They serve with an ardor which can never be enkindled by any statutes which could be written with ink, or engraved on stones. There are several other, perhaps minor, senses in which the term “law” is employed, but the main use is that which Paul makes of it when he includes under it all the outward system of commands, prohibitions, checks, rewards, and penalties which was divinely established to meet the apostasy of the race. Now, in relation to this system of imperative edicts, the author of “Ecce Homo” well says that the work of Jesus Christ operates in a manner at once of ratification and abolition. Paul says we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held, that we should serve in newness of the spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. Paul is most precise and clear upon this point; he never hesitates about it; anticipating anything like objection to the width of liberty which he claimed when he said, “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” He stood in a new relation towards God and man; he was no longer pressed and checked, like an undisciplined child, but had entered into what in one of his exultant moods he called the glorious liberty of the children of God. How has he attained this freedom? What is the signature, and what the date of his charter? In prosecuting the inquiry, we hope to come upon the meaning of the words, “The law came by Moses, but grace and truth by Jesus Christ.” Man must stand in one of two relations to the law; either to law as an outward declaration of divine authority in a rebellious sphere, or to law as an inward principle of love, trust and self-surrender to the Divine Father. Take the principle into the family for practical elucidation. Law as an outward authority is established in the family, to meet ignorance on the one hand, or disorder on the other. So long as the household has worked harmoniously, the head of the house does not feel called upon to write commandments and publish edicts; he truly says, “It is better to have spontaneous expressions of interest and love, than forced submission.” But when family order has been set aside, he feels that where love has been defective, law must be made stringent; as the moral impulse is weak, the outward prohibition must be emphatic. Legal restriction is in proportion to moral feebleness. The stronger the written law, the weaker the unwritten dic-

tate of love. The ignorant or self-opinionated man, especially the guilty man, must have the law thrust upon his notice, thundered into his ear, sometimes, indeed, scourged into his flesh. By an inverse process we may read a nation’s (or a man’s) moral history by studying its penal code. The legislators and magistrates are constantly, though it may be unconsciously, writing the spiritual history of the country. Many criminal laws simply mean much crime. So with the family: where there are many commandments, there is moral incapacity or moral turpitude on the part of household, or a miserable littleness and a pitiful conceit of authority on the part of the domestic legislator. Outward law is necessarily consequent upon tainted or defective loyalty. God owed it to his own perfections, at least to publish what was due from the creature to the Creator. Silence on his part would be tantamount almost to connivance, and would certainly have degraded the dignity and authority of right. He can, up to a given point, only meet defection on the part of moral agents by an instant, emphatic and universal proclamation of what is due to himself. It is the same in the family; in the case of domestic insubordination, either the rebellion must be ignored, or a stern commandment, adequate to the occasion, must be proclaimed, but God cannot, by his very nature, connive at rebellion: he must therefore declare and establish a law. A cultivated man knows what it is to be driven to tell certain insensate (unfeeling) people what is due to himself or to his position; actually, to put it into plain words: the coarse-grained cannot see it unless a law of common courtesy be laid before them in letters of the most demonstrative magnitude, and the refined man is pained at being driven to do what natural sensitiveness ought not to have required. All outward law, then, except such as shall be presently explained, is a reflection upon man’s inconsistency of homage and love. Thus the Decalogue itself is a history of man’s deep shame. Every one of the commandments is really an indictment against the human family. To think that such things are named in the Decalogue should have been forced into human speech! Such things as idolatry, unnaturalness, adultery, theft, covetousness! Such words could only have been extorted from the lips of the Holy God under a tremendous pressure. That ever he should have been driven to say to the very being whom he fashioned in his own likeness, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” or to say to a being that was once lustrous with his own purity, “Thou shalt not commit adultery!” How it must have tortured him—how necessary that at the time of saying it he should be encircled with flames of fire! He was not so encircled in Eden; there he smiled, but on Sinai he blushed. A distinction must be made between a regulation and a law, and between a consequence and a threat. Take the terms on which

Adam began life—“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die.” This, we have said, is a regulation or stipulation, simply pointing out cause and effect, and is therefore a display of grace rather than a formal legal appointment. Everything was new; as a finite is necessarily limited, God graciously pointed out the limit. He did not make the limit in an arbitrary spirit, but pointed it out as the simple necessity of all created or conditioned life, and this he did in full recognition of Adam’s integrity. Law, then, may be looked at in relation to the human constitution generally, and so far may be described as educational, regulative, and disciplinary; viewed historically, it may be regarded as moral protest, a declaration of affronted righteousness or a demand of dishonored justice, and so far it is penal, coercive and retributive. The law of Eden was informational and regulative; the law of Sinai was retrospective and penal. By considering the law given in Eden as purely regulative, we get a new and satisfactory view of the so-called probation of Adam. The terms of interdict were not threatening, but explanatory; they contained simply an announcement of consequences— “In the day thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die.” God did not threaten man with death as an arbitrary punishment; it was not a matter of graduated offense and penalty, otherwise death would have been en excessive punishment for a first offense—it was an inevitable consequence, spoken of and warned against, in no spirit of threatening, but with all the care and tenderness becoming the Divine Father. Why, Adam could not have understood threatening! Think of it! We know the meaning of angry tones and menacing gestures, but what could Adam know of them? Threatening in the very first conversation with God would have been the most self-evident anachronism! When a parent says to a child, “In the day that you take poison you shall surely die,” he does not mean that death is a punishment, but a consequence; hence his statement is not severe, but merciful—not a threat, but a revelation. Nor can the child complain of disproportion between the act and the effect as an arbitrary appointment: it is the outworking and inevitable result of a natural law. This gives what we conceive to be the right view of Adam’s probation. It is not uncommon to represent that probation as being arranged upon arbitrary conditions, as if God had set a snare for the being on whom he had left the mark of his own image; it is entirely forgotten in such a representation that there cannot be two infinities, that the finite must be limited at some point, and that trespass upon God’s province is necessarily followed by death. We restate this view because it is important in the present connection.

To show that something more than a system of mere restraints and penalties was necessary to meet the wants of fallen men, it is only requisite to look for a moment at the necessary limitation and weakness of all outward law, whether indeed it be educational or penal. The house-holder may compel every member of his family to be present at the hour of domestic worship, but he cannot compel one of them to pray. He may be so infatuated as to make a law that they shall pray, but they can in the very attitude of prayer mock the law and the lawgiver. The converse of this is also true: he may make a law that his children shall not pray, yet while his frown is darkening upon them, their souls may be holding fellowship with God. How inoperative, then, is formal law? Its words are high-swelling, but the heart is its own master; it may threaten much, but the soul shuts itself in from the storm. The Legislature may restrain men from stealing, but the Legislature cannot make men honest. Law may compel men to close places of business on Sunday, but law cannot compel men to keep holy the Sabbath day. Law may imprison rebels, but law cannot raise rebels into patriots. We thus get, again and again, a glimpse of what is meant by the expression “what the law could not do in that it was weak.” It has no mastery over the heart. It sets up prisons, penal settlements, instruments of vengeance and writes an elaborate code, but, after all its efforts to encompass a great result, it is confessedly “weak.” Law had long ages in which to show what it could do; under its stern and righteous rule the earth never became much brighter than a prison-house, and human life had a deep melancholy gloom of conscious servitude about it. Law stood at the outside. Its balance was faultless, its sword was strong and sharp; no felon could escape it, no casuist could outwit it, no hypocrite could cheat it with empty promises, and yet it was “weak”—there was always something beyond, which baffled, or mocked, or despised its propositions and its penalties. The powerlessness of penal law as a morally resurrectional and regenerative agent my be seen from a detail of personal experience given by the Apostle Paul, in the seventh chapter of his Epistle to the Romans: “But sin taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence; for without the law sin was dead.” The man was living in a kind of moral chaos. But in proportion as law was set up in the chaotic state, he was not merely put on the defensive in an argument, but the worst passions of his nature took arms against the invader. The Milanese hermit is reported to have boasted that he had not traveled beyond the city walls for 60 years; but immediately that a royal order was given that he should not go beyond the boundary of the city, he was seized with an irreparable desire to extend his travels.

The child is often most strongly tempted to open gates which have been specially interdicted. If nothing had been said about them, probably he would not have cared to open them. “Thou shalt not” often quickens what it was meant to allay or restrain; so that again and again we are thrown upon the expression—“What the law could not do in that it was weak.” Why then have we any law? Because without it chaos and death are inevitable. But with it, not withstanding the strife which it necessitates, there may come a moral quickening which may lead to the restoration of men. To save one man from death is a victory worth all the battles which God has fought. Any movement toward life is better than the miscalled peace of death. Miscalled, indeed; peace is a compound term, including intelligence, purity, order, moral satisfaction, not one of which is found in death. All the weakness and failure of outward law goes to show that, if ever the world is to be lifted up, the elevation must be wrought by a higher force than written statutes. The law has been doing a kind of vexatious work; there has been a good deal of school-mastering about its tone and method; everywhere there has been pressure, or correction, or sharp humiliation; nothing genial, sympathetic or alluring has appeared in its whole course. What was to follow? Law had long carried its codes in one hand and its iron rod in the other; what should displace it? Paul answers, “What the law could not do in that it was weak, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.” Law was to give place to Life. “God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Law could not re-establish the filial relation between God and men; it could at best only put men in the position of scholars and servants. “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh to God.” Sonship, then, was the divine idea in starting the corrective remedial measures which are classed under the remedial measures which we classed under the respective designations Law and Gospel: not mere servitude, not mere innocence, but a holy, hearty love of God as the father of mankind. If a man could have been made by law as undeviating in his course as the star in its orbit, such constancy would have been a failure, unless it it had been the result of an intelligent and enthusiastic love of God—such a love as law can never inspire—a love which could only be born of greater love. This throws us back upon the weakness of law: God has had no trouble with the worlds, CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 45 but his children have cursed him to his face! Was it not a great risk (we put the inquiry with trembling reverence) to create any existences that came so entirely within the conditions of God’s essential nature? In fashioning planets, in quickening vegetation, in creating brutes more or less bright in instinct, he was, so to speak, a long way from himself—far out of the awful circle which is specifically divine — but, when he set his hand to the fashioning of man, a creature that should be distinctively in his own image and likeness, he confined himself within the interior of that circle! Think of what he proposed in making man: the creature was to be made in his own image, inspired with his own breath, and admitted to his very presence for fellowship. Now came the awful problem, How much can man contain of God without seeking to contain more? The sun could not seek to extend his empire; the stars never mutinied against their King; in all the uproar of the seas there was no tone of discontent. But this creature, this God in miniature, will he ever plot against his Maker, will he make confusion amid the peaceful order of the universe? The higher the life, the higher the difficulty. Ascension means complication. Man has less difficulty with dead wood than with living wood; less difficulty with vegetable life than animal life; less difficulty with a beast of burden than with

the child that reflects his own image. So with God. His difficulty, so to speak, was at the top, not at the bottom of creation. It was a child, not a beast, that broke the boundary. What was to be done, then? In the first instance, prior to the trespass, while the glory of the Divine image lingered on the human countenance, there was a law regulative and educational—law that would have been a defense of liberty, and would have promoted a continual and blessed growth in divine strength, favor and honor—law that would have restrained only as a father’s loving grasp would restrain from the edge of the chasm or the nest of the serpent. After this came law judicial and penal. God said in deeds what he said in the first commandment from Sinai. He showed that there could be but one God, and taught the ambitious rival that the power which created him could limit his functions, and burn him in unquenchable fire. It must have been hard for God to say this to his human child; the words affect us as we see them on the page—what must their utterance have cost the heart of God? It was necessary to say them. God could not vacate the throne and leave the universe to be overrun by the anarchic spirit. A protest must be forthcoming. Hence came all that elaborate, stern, magisterial law, back of which lies the never-dying worm. Read unabridged at boropulse.com.