LEO Weekly March 17, 2021

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Literary PAGE 10

HOW THESE LOUISVILLE RESIDENTS GOT A VACCINE | PAGE 5 FUNDING AND RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS | PAGE 25

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

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LOUISVILLE ECCENTRIC OBSERVER

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LEO Weekly is published weekly by LEO Weekly LLC. Copyright LEO Weekly LLC. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed herein are exclusively those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Publisher. LEO Weekly is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, including electronic retrieval systems, without the express permission of LEO Weekly LLC. LEO Weekly may be distributed only by authorized independent contractors or authorized distributors. Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO) is a trademark of LEO Weekly LLC.

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I answered. “Do you have a minute to speak public expectations of government became the President?” a pleasant voice asked. less and less ambitious, I began to suspect I held it together for the three minutes that that my ambitions for the federal government, President Biden and I spoke. He thanked me especially for Congress, were far greater than @vca_fairleigh @vcafairleighanimalhospital for my leadership, and we talked about a few the public’s, and that the country’s expecta1212 Bardstown Road • Louisville, KY 40204 www.vcafairleigh.com other things, while I tried to hold it together. I tions for government were historically low.

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When we hung up, I totally lost it, Those hopes were even lower last Nov. and in that moment, I truly understood what 4, coincidentally my birthday and the day government can be; what it should be. after the 2020 elections. We Democrats had Last Wednesday, we passed the revised bill expected a big victory, since polls showed again in the House, and we sent it to the presius sweeping the presidency and the Senate, dent in a ceremony on the terrace of the U.S. and increasing our margin in the House. I Capitol, overlooking the mall. And last Friday was certainly happy about my reelection, we sat in the Rose Garden for a ceremony but despondent that Donald Trump might celebrating its enactment into law. be reelected and the Senate would remain in Four million of Kentucky’s 4.4 million Mitch McConnell’s control. citizens will receive $1,400 checks. More than As the days went by, it became pretty clear 1 million children will receive refundable tax that Joe Biden had defeated Trump, although credits worth at least $3,000, pulling many the incumbent would not concede and his out of poverty. Kentucky state government campaign filed lawsuits challenging results all will receive $2.4 billion, which can be used over the country. Still, the prospects weren’t for infrastructure projects, support for small good for us Democrats to have a chance to businesses and individuals. There is also fundchange the country’s direction. Then came ing to help make Kentucky schools safe for Jan. 6, the shocking results in runoff Senate reopening and to fund efforts to help students elections in Georgia, and a glimmer of hope catch up for the last year. appeared.

There is much more to cheer about in the What a difference a few months make.

A Virtual Conversation American Rescue Plan, and I hope KentuckLast week, the president signed into law H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act, the most ians will understand the magnitude of what Friday, March 19 at noon sweeping, societal reorienting legislation since we’ve done. But I can’t resist a partisan barb: 89.3 WFPL Facebook page The rest of the Kentucky federal delegation, the Great Society agenda of the 1960s. all Republicans, voted against the bill. I hope I have the great honor of having my name Join us for a Facebook live with Throughline hosts they are asked why. • on that legislation as the lead sponsor. I didn’t Rund Abdelfatah & Ramtin Arablouei. Hear how write the bill; it was written by 12 different U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, founder of LEO, House committees, and it was amended in the they go back in time to understand the present has represented Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional Senate. But as chairman of the House Comwith each show. mittee on the Budget, my role was to assemble District since 2007 and is now chairman of the House Budget Committee. all the pieces, then manage its path through Throughline airs on 89.3 WFPL on Saturdays at noon. the House Rules Committee, then on the Photo: Mike Morgan/NPR

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

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VIEWS

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By John Riley Kaufman | St. Xavier High School Freshman Editor’s Note: The Center for Interfaith Relations recently solicited essays from emerging young authors (ages 13-18) as part of its inaugural Young Authors Essay Contest. The nonprofit asked participants to reflect on changes to the world in the past year — and specifically how the changing world has changed them. The following column was the winner. CIR is committed to celebrating the diversity of faith traditions and strengthening the role of faith in society through common action. The nonprofit hosts the annual Festival of Faiths.

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THE YEAR 2020 will always be tainted by sorrow and injustice. Many horrible things occurred that affected so many people.

While these events had a negative effect on society, it allowed for individuals to reconsider their beliefs and educate themselves about the imperfections in our world. Eyes were opened to the significant problems causing division within our country, states and communities.

This division is something that must be confronted if we want to unite. In doing so, we must recognize that systemic racism exists within our country. Many people in positions of power have refused to recognize the injustices rooted within our society or denounced white supremacy.

This has made it all the more important for people to educate themselves, to educate others and to take action through protests, petitions and other forms of communication.

Taking the lives of innocent people, giving people of color longer jail sentences and having heavier policing in predominantly Black neighborhoods are examples of how our community is actively stereotyping and discriminating against the Black community. Killing people based on their skin color is horribly unacceptable.

No one chooses to live in a society where their skin color, sexuality, gender identity or religion is seen as inferior and are dehumanized. So, judging people for who they are is not acceptable and needs to stop.

We are all humans. The color of your skin should not determine how people think of you and the opportunities you are given in life.

As a white person, I will never understand what the Black community has gone through and what they experience daily.

I haven’t been discriminated against or treated as less of a human for the color of my skin. Along with being white comes white privilege. The fact that I have more opportunities solely based on the color of my skin is truly disgraceful and must be

recognized. The responsibility of a white person during this time of racial injustice is to be an ally and support Black people fighting for basic human rights and to be treated as equals. White people have a choice: either speak out against racism and white supremacy, or stay silent. Choosing to stay silent is allowing this oppression to continue. Staying silent is letting all of the Black lives that have been taken to be lost in vain. This silence is just as deafening and deplorable as the discrimination itself.

As the injustices in our country have become more apparent, I chose to educate myself. I sought out unbiased, true facts about the horrors caused by racism and police brutality. I used credible resources and trusted media to learn about this problem. Upon seeing how our society treats Black people, choosing to stay silent was not an option. I signed petitions, posted and advocated for change on my social media platforms, and had in-depth conversations with others about these difficult issues. I didn’t want praise for speaking out. All I wanted was to do my part to help this marginalized group of people.

The year 2020 changed me greatly. Deciding to educate myself and speak out to help others has put into perspective what being a productive member of society means. It means helping everyone — regardless of skin color, gender, sexual orientation or religion — lead a life that is fulfilling. It means helping them live without being oppressed and discriminated against for being who they are. We need to make the world a better place for all individuals, not just white people. All lives don’t matter until Black lives matter. If we learn to accept all people, we can repair the fractures in our own country and unify to become a stronger, more compassionate nation. •

NEWS & ANALYSIS

HOW THESE LOUISVILLIANS SCORED A VACCINATION APPOINTMENT

By Danielle Grady | dgrady@leoweekly.com

AT FIRST, Holly Bowers tried to schedule a vaccination appointment for her and her mother on her own — using just her wits and an internet connection.

But, she didn’t have any luck until she learned from others how to navigate the complicated vaccination distribution system.

Part of the problem is the scattered system for where vaccines are being doled out: Should you schedule your dose through Walgreens? The health department? The hospital system?

Should you drive out of town? As of Monday, individuals in the 1C group, which includes essential workers, those with certain health conditions and people over the age of 60, can get vaccinated at Louisville pharmacies, hospitals and the city’s LouVax site.

But, appointments fill up fast.

Bowers used a Facebook group to learn the art of the vaccine appointment: an information sharing page called Kentucky Vaccine Hunters.

“It was very tricky,” Bowers said.

“And you had to be on top of it, like

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trying to get concert tickets.”

Karl Bullock, a Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness public information officer said that a central sign up portal for Louisville’s vaccination appointments would be “nice,” but roadblocks were set in the past: The city didn’t have the public health infrastructure necessary to handle something as big as the COVID19 pandemic when it hit.

“It emphasizes the importance of public health spending even when we aren’t in a crisis or pandemic such as what we have dealt within the past year,” he said.

If you want to schedule an appointment now, and not wait for massive public health funding, here are some stories of how Louisvillians, including Bowers, scheduled — and got — their vaccines in Louisville. And how you might be able to, as well.

Disclaimer: All of these methods require some sort of privilege, either access to the internet, the luxury of time or reliable transportation. Black Lives

Matter Louisville and the Louisville Urban League are both offering rides to appointments, and local hospitals are vaccinating underserved communities through pop-up sites at neighborhood churches.

ONLINE TOOLS

Bowers, who is 42, was determined to get a vaccination appointment first, for her mother, who is over 65 with qualifying health conditions. Then, if she could, another shot for herself. Bowers works for Humana, and insurance falls under finance in the 1C essential worker category, she said.

Bowers created accounts for her mother at Walgreens, Walmart, Meijer and Kroger and bookmarked all of the pages.

“I had tried over and over, to the point where I was familiar with all the forms so I could navigate through it quickly, and I just was not getting appointments,” said Bowers.

Walgreens had appointments open, but only for the first dose. Since there were no second doses available,

THORN: APOLOGIZE, PIAGENTINI On Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, someone tweeted their heartfelt appreciation for their provider, who extended extraordinary care to him and his wife as they endured the excruciating episode of having to terminate a nonviable pregnancy. Republican Councilman Anthony Piagentini grandstanded on their pain, quote-tweeting the original tweet with the response, “I remember when President Clinton talked about abortion being legal, safe and rare. Today, people are celebrating the people who kill unborn children. Count me out. I celebrate adoptive families like mine who have welcomed children into their homes.” It’s difficult to imagine a more cruel, insulting, dehumanizing response from a public official. When the person responded, explaining the circumstances around the abortion, which came after the 20-week checkup, Piagentini didn’t apologize or retract his self-righteous ridicule. He doubled-down, saying in part, “…Can’t comment on your specific case but I don’t celebrate people dedicated to killing unborn babies.” And, yet… you did comment. What makes this particular brand of grandstanding worse is that you clearly don’t know, or don’t care, that there are stories like this one out there; that these stories are not uncommon stories; that these stories are why there is an appreciation day. And, if you haven’t realized it yet, it means you don’t even understand the issue. There’s always time to do the right, decent thing, and apologize to the person. You could also open your ears, mind and heart to a buffer zone ordinance, so these patients don’t have to endure harassment on the way to the most painful day of their lives.

ABSURD: I SAID THAT OUT LOUD? After Senate Bill 4 passed the upper chamber — a watered-down version of curbing no-knock warrants — it was sent to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration. WFPL statehouse reporter Ryland Barton was covering the committee hearing last week when a rather unusual nugget of candor and honesty slipped out of Republican Rep. Kevin Bratcher’s snack hole: “At one point during the discussion over the no-knock warrant bill, Rep. Kevin Bratcher said ‘The most I know about cops is what I see on TV,’ said TV cops usually announce themselves,” Barton tweeted, before noting, “Bratcher sponsored the ‘blue lives matter’ law a couple years ago.” Hey, Bratcher, we knew you were a mindless dope when you authored a bill to extend hate crime protections to police officers… we just thought you were smart enough not to say the quiet part out loud.

ABSURD: HOW DID WE GET HERE? House Bill 520, which has been derailed in committee, would have made it a crime to print or post online any information that identified a police officer, judge and other public officials. We’d love to give the fact that the bill is dead a rose, but it’s more of a why-the-fuck-wasthis-even-a-thing situation. It was a tragic, pathetic shot at the First Amendment and local journalism, and almost definitely illegal, but it seems like more broken-brained Republicans have had their baby fascism emboldened lately for some curious reason. So, to the sponsor, Rep. John Blanton, R-Salyersville, we’re not sure if you’re a moron or evil, or some cocktail of both, but… come on, this was ridiculous.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 21 LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

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FOOD & DRINK

RECOMMENDED

HOG FATHER PIZZA SHOP BRINGS PIZZA BACK TO BUTCHERTOWN

Smoked crimini mushrooms and black olives add umami to a build-your-own Hog Father pizza. | PHOTOS BY ROBIN GARR.

By Robin Garr | LouisvilleHotBytes.com WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES, another opens, the sages say. And this simple wisdom appears to be true, at least insofar as the city’s pizza scene goes.

It was sad news for local pizza lovers when Butchertown Pizza, one of the city’s best, closed its doors in September 2019.

Then more bad dining news struck when Couvillion restaurant shut its doors last November.

But then those fabled doors started opening. The space that had housed Butchertown Pizza, nicely renovated, became home to Hog Father Pizza Shop last month. Better still, WLKY reported on its opening day, Couvillion’s head chef Crosby Reasor came on as Hog Father’s top chef, and brought much of the Couvillion crew along.

The restaurant’s name and its logo, a grinning hog with dapper hat and cane, puzzled me at first. Wouldn’t a personified pig be more suited to a barbecue joint than a pizzeria? Then I got it: Butchertown! What’s

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

more, JBS Swift, the giant bacon makin’ plant, lies right across Story Avenue from the pizza shop.

As it turned out, I can see that Couvillion touch in creative and well-made side dishes and a salad that were all really top-notch.

I wasn’t as whelmed by the main dishes we chose. A pizza and a smash burger were decent but uninspiring. Still, taken as a whole, I give it at least one and a half thumbs up, and would definitely go back for more.

The menu goes a bit beyond standard pizzeria fare, with random Butchertownappropriate goodies such as pork rinds ($7), crispy Brussels sprouts with pork belly ($9) and a pork chop parm sandwich ($15).

About 10 apps and salads range in price from $6 (for two of the salads or a snack bowl of bacon candy, kettle corn and candied peanuts) to $18 (for a dozen barbecuespiced roasted or fried wings).

Five sandwiches range in price from

Hog Father’s arugula salad is a real winner, thoughtfully imagined and carefully prepared.

FOOD & DRINK

$12 (for hot ham and cheese) to $15 (for the pork chop parm). The extensive pizza menu includes seven specialty pies with 10-inch or 14-inch hand-tossed crusts or a 10-inch cauliflower crust; they are priced from $14 to $19 depending on size and toppings.

Build-your-own pies start at $10 for the 10-inch crust or $12 for the 14-incher, with a $3 upcharge for cauliflower crust. More than three dozen toppings add $1 to $4 each.

Hog Father’s fried giardiniera ($9) was outstanding. A mix of cauliflower florets and bits of of sweet onion and red bell pepper had been lightly pickled, quick fried with a tempura-crisp coating and liberally sprinkled with chopped green onion. The pop of pickle brine inside the crisp crust created a tasty mingling of flavors.

An arugula salad ($7 for a half size, $13 for a whole salad) was a winner, too,

Hog Father’s thin, crisp-cooked smash burger is built with tasty toppings on a potato bun.

thoughtfully imagined and carefully prepared. The half salad was enormous; a full order would surely serve a party of four.

Young, fresh arugula leaves were expertly prepped, dry and crisp, not limp. The greens were topped with crumbles of mild goat cheese and a few candied peanuts, very thin slices of granny smith apple and more sprinkles of goat cheese. A garlicky and light buttermilk ranch dressing was served on the side at our request.

A portion of crispy Brussels sprouts served as a $2-extra side to the burger spoke clearly of a chef who’s interested in combining textures and flavors and knows how to do it. Sprouts were halved lengthwise, grilled until charred and mixed with plenty of pumpkin seeds, thinly sliced radishes and tiny bits of crispy noodles. A distinct bite of heat lurked in the dressing.

I’ve never gotten the point of smash burgers. I like my burgers fat, juicy, and rare. Hog Father’s smash burger ($13) had potential, though, save for what had to be a kitchen accident: There was way too much salt on that meat, the kind of over-salting that has you gulping water all afternoon.

Aside from that, it was a good burger, thin and very crisp, which is the point of a smash burger. It was served on a browned, buttery potato bun, topped with a melted slice of yellow cheese, a big glob of yellow mustard and several crisp, sweet pickle slices. It came with a pleasant “shop special sauce” that reminded me of remoulade.

I chose a build-your-own 10-inch pizza ($10, plus $2 for toppings) and decided to add umami to a meatless pie with a mix of smoked crimini mushrooms and black olives. I judged it a good pizza but not a

great pizza. A thin, white, rather bland crust was a bit undercooked; firing the leftovers in our toaster oven for 10 minutes at 350º improved it. It was generously spread with a thick red sauce flavored with a little too much Italian herb mix for my liking, and a heavy blanket of melted mozzarella and Parmesan. The toppings were relatively scant but tasty; the smoked brown mushrooms were a particularly nice touch.

Our meal for two wasn’t cheap at $45.58 plus a 20 percent tip, but it was generous, providing enough food for a couple of days.

•

HOG FATHER PIZZA 1301 Story Ave. 409-6180 hogfatherpizza.com

LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

9

Literary

LEO

THE WINNERS OF LITERARY LEO 2021

ONCE AGAIN, the entries for Literary LEO were top-notch, revealing the depth of talent among our readers.

As we said last year — if only we could give more awards.

But we cannot, alas. So, see who won and plan for next year!

Color Photography — First Place ‘Untitled’ by Rose Menyhert.

.

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

Short story judges: Author Brooke Davis; English professor and writer Deena Lilygren; LEO Managing Editor Scott Recker Poetry judges: Heidi Taylor, an MFA candidate of poetry at Spalding University; LEO Arts & Entertainment Editor Erica Rucker; poet

Emma Aprile Photography judges: Talon Hampton, LEO art director; Paul Paletti, gallery owner, organizer of Louisville Photo Biennial; David Modica, photography professor Cartoon judges: LEO Weekly Staff

Short Fiction — First Place

GRAVITY

By Kelly Nusz | leo@leoweekly.com “We’re Newton’s 3rd Law.” Margaret’s eyes remain locked on the concrete stairs; face pressed against bent knees, chin forcefully locked in place, mouth muffled against sour jeans. Remarkably, she opens her jaw enough to say: “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you take physics?” Lee replies.

“No,” she says, turning her head to the side, “I took Physical Science, but never Physics.”

“You should still know Newton’s 3rd Law.” Margaret remains folded over her knees, and distant. “Do tell,” she offers with thin sarcasm.

Lee’s posture drops and deflates, his arms flop out in front of him, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

“So we’re opposites?” Margret asks. She forces herself to talk against her knee; her leg pushes her jaw closed after each word.

“No,” Lee rolls his eyes.

“Then explain. Don’t just get mad at me.”

“Ok, stop. Look at how you’re sitting, where your chin is. Your chin sits pressed against your knee. When you begin to talk, your chin presses against your leg, and your leg pushes back.”

“So we’re a chin and a leg?”

“We’re more than that. Or maybe less? I don’t know. We’re just two forces.”

Margaret, still unsure of what Lee is saying, or if she wants to admit that he is right, sits up, turning to face him – her body weak and limp from what the past day and night have dealt her. She wonders if she just let go and fell forward, letting her body smash against the ground, if she would just turn to water. She wants to seep into Lee. Let him carry her until she becomes solid again. He takes her hand and brings it against his so their palms line up, as though they are each on the other side of a piece of glass. “What are you doing?” she asserts, accusing.

“Dammit, will you just listen to me for a second?” Lee drops her hand, almost throwing it to the ground. His words have teeth. An undercurrent of quiet fury that only Margaret can pull out, rages forward. “Look, forces always occur in pairs. When you push against something, it always pushes back.

When you’re pushing the pedals on a bike, the pedals push back. When you pull the cord on a window blind, the cord is pulling back. Gravity pulls you towards earth, and earth pushes you back.” The palms of Lee’s hands are facing up but resting on his knees, Margaret can still feel the sudden slush of anger leaching from his body. She didn’t

mean to push him this far, but she also knows not to try to reverse. “We are always pushing against each other,” Lee says, finishing his theory.

Never has one of Lee’s analogies been so accurate, Margaret thinks. Guilt pings its way into her chest, and she knows that she has ruined what was meant to be honest, and possibly kind. But ruining one another’s good intentions, sabotaging their shared happiness, is how they function. She turns to Lee and picks up his hand, pressing it against hers as before, “Show me again.”

Lee lets Margaret move his hand to meet hers, barely using his own muscles to keep his hand upright. He remains facing forward as Margaret presses their hands together.

As though speaking to someone far away, he says, “You cannot touch without being touched.”

Margaret leans forward, studying their hands. A black line runs between their fingers and palms, and a dark cave emerges where their thumb and index finger create space between their palms, where each side is slightly convex. “I always liked your hands,” Margaret concedes.

Lee looks over, accepting the compliment. Their eyes meet, and he releases his frown. His aggressive scowl dissolves, and in its place, resting sadness. “Really? I’m always self conscious about them.”

“I know. But you shouldn’t be, you have good hands.” Margaret leans to the far side of their huddle, and continues to study their palms, as they begin to appear as one.

Lee turns his body to watch Margaret,

Color Photography — Second Place

Cartoon — First Place

‘La Hermosa Bruja’ by Wade Carter.

‘Louevil’ by Travis Wilson.

“You have nice hands too. Your fingernails always look perfect.”

Margaret smiles. She moves her face to rest her chin on the hook of their pressedtogether thumbs and index fingers. She breathes in through her nose, now smashed against their fingers, and out through her mouth, blowing air through the cavern their palms create. She looks up at Lee, and kisses their hands where her lips rest. Slowly, she sits up, and they both let their hands drop to their sides. “Forces always occur in pairs,” Margaret says, repeating Lee’s previous statement to herself. “Well,” she sighs, and looks away, “it certainly sounds like us.”

Lee exhales, and releases a small smile. They both look down, studying one another’s hands and where they are placed, pressed on the ground. Their faces move toward one another, tugging closer like two magnets.

“Why don’t the forces cancel one another out?” Margaret whispers. Their cheeks barely brush the other, creating a small breeze that tickles their skin.

“Sometimes they do,” Lee pushes forward another inch so their lips are touching.

Margaret moves her lips first to kiss his, breaking the imaginary glass that has always kept them separated, by just this much. They will argue about who-kissed-who in the future, but only once. Mainly, this will go unmentioned in their shared history, remain a moment that they each carry with them; a small treasure kept close, but not often retrieved. •

.

LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

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Black & White Photography — First Place ‘Untitled’ by Isaac Barnett.

Poetry — First Place

AN ACCOUNTING

By Lennie Hay | leo@leoweekly.com “They’re going to kill me, Man,” Mr. Floyd said.

“Takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to say that,” Mr. Chauvin replied nonchalantly. from July 18, 2020 NYT article 46 years old 44 years young 16,790 day life 16,060 days and more to live extinguished inside 6 foot 4 inch man shatters with 19 years of authority stretched on an autopsy table knows brutality 20 dollar crime 1,000,000 dollar retirement 2,000 pennies in question hangs in the balance one man against blue power three complicit colleagues one man can’t breathe can’t breathe can’t breathe one man didn’t count a country holds its breath

one uniform presses presses weight of 8 minutes justice doesn’t figure can’t breathe

Cartoon — Second Place ‘Fergus’ by Ryan Thornton.

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

Short Fiction — Second Place

Poetry — Second Place

By Lynda Mercer | leo@leoweekly.com

By Deborah Sage | leo@leoweekly.com

WITNESS

There are purple flowers that grow in the yard. She doesn’t know their proper name. The moon is small and dull as she kneels in the grass, using scissors to cut through the thick, watery stems. The air grows greener with the scent of bleeding plants. She remembers the guillotine. * Sometimes her house seems as though it’s been abandoned. She flips the switch to see if lights will come on. They do. Bills are paid, but she can’t recall how. She ties a thin black ribbon around the bunch of flowers and puts them in a glass of water.

A centerpiece for the dining table. The table was a gift from her husband. He’s long dead, but she doesn’t forget him, even if she’s forgotten almost everything else.

“It’s from the 19th Century.”

He promised her it was sturdy enough to dance on. He lifted her up, her long skirt sweeping his cheek. He was nearly seven feet tall. She was a China doll to him. She didn’t want to damage it with her shoes, but he smacked her on the ass and said that it wasn’t a table; it was a stage.

“It’s ours. We can do whatever we want with it.”

She laughed and stomped on the table with her heels, dancing a clumsy jig. He pulled her to a sitting position and slid her skirt up her thighs, the table tall enough so he could enter her without having to lean down. Then, she cooked dinner and they ate side-by-side, standing at the table because they had no chairs yet. * She stands over the glass of shriveled flowers.

The wisp of air from her nose is like a tornado and the petals crackle and dissolve. The ribbon bundles headless stems.

She can’t remember who was with her when she stood by and watched the queen’s cart roll through the vicious crowd. A hunched and featureless figure in a cloud of dirty air and unspeakable words, she didn’t look at all like a queen. She fixed her eyes on the back of the queen’s head, which bobbled as she stiffly climbed up to the platform. It took forever. * She looks translucent to herself. She can’t recall where she has just been, but the discomfort she feels inside her own shell of skin, bones and hair is a little worse each time she gets back from the trips.

She blinks, and in that moist meeting of eyelids, years are gone. She holds a sock in her hand. She blinks and the sock is still there, but moth-eaten, and the rodents who have taken up shelter under her bed dart frantically over her feet when she sits down on it. She has no wonder, no fear. She buys new socks, changes the bedding, keeps food under the bed for the rodents, her companions. She sometimes makes a noise to see if her voice still works.

Her mother is a voice. Speaking to her in a language that she understands but cannot name, the voice tells her practical things…how to make bread, when to pick grapes, how to get rid of a cough. Her mother loved her; she hears it clearly. But she can’t

envision the body that once embraced her or the eyes that gazed tenderly upon her. All she has left are faint directives in a dead language. * At dusk, she likes to sit in the window and watch the sky. Rabbits live in her garden, comfortable, at home in her lettuce patch. When the sun hits the horizon and puddles out, the rabbits become sharp-edged shadows against the peach sky. There are dozens, hopping over each other, frolicking with leaves sticking out of their mouths. Sunset makes them mystical guardians of her garden.

Weeds make it impossible to see what grows where. She might encounter an apple tree in a row of potatoes or a giant carrot growing from a grape vine. Cherries and coconuts drip from the same branches. She doesn’t recall planting anything. She imagines the sun plummeting into the garden, setting it all on fire. * She was lured to Leningrad by the white nights.

When the war came, she watched everyone starve, their eyes fallen so deep into their own sockets that everyone began to look to her like the Munch painting. Her own harvest was burned and she had nothing to give her neighbors. Starving—a slow death—it was as though she began to be halfway outside herself. She could feel the individual particles that composed her as they began to shrink and separate, an odd limbo between disconnection and unfathomable wholeness. Amid the bombs from the sky, the noisy din of suffering, the troops marching and murdering, there was an overwhelming and silent aliveness in its last throes. To die right there was to be forever part of a place, not a time.

The sunlight here burns hotter than in Russia, and when night comes, she forgets herself. The twilight envelops her so that she can almost experience the other things every night, but the problem is that she can‘t experience those things here, or anywhere. Those things are what is not here, or anywhere. Those things are the things that happen sometimes when she blinks. Now holding a sock with a plan to warm her feet, and now holding flimsy remnants of a sock from how long ago? * She steps outside her front door in the night to put out heaping baskets of food for the starving neighbors, and from her window, she watches them sitting in the streets, peeling oranges. The more she picks, the more it grows, despite her inability to recall planting anything. The rabbits continue to watch over her.

She leans against the base of a tree and looks up to watch hundreds of bees, suspended in an amber electric cloud surrounding the peach blossoms. She pictures the honey forming in their bodies as pollen falls onto her upturned face. •

HOW TO BRING PEACE Breathe.

Let others breathe. Say her name, Say all their names. Walk softly, Don’t carry a big stick. Choose flowers instead.

Visit a library, read the poetry of Mary Oliver, Seamus Heaney, or Keats. Memorize Your favourite verse. Feel it In your veins. Take it to heart.

Understand that economics do not define Worth. That poverty of spirit is Worse than lack of money, but Go without your supper. Know hunger.

Be cold for a night.

Listen to Mahalia Jackson sing and Martin Luther King dream. Listen to Their voices.

Hear what they say.

Go for a walk in the woods.

Look at the stars, at planetary conjunctions, At your lover’s face.

Daydream at night.

Visit a garden, a museum, a chapel, Watch a bee on a flower, absorb a painting

By Monet or Chagall.

Pray. Be present, Be silent.

Attend to your surroundings.

Walk in a field, pick wild blackberries, Listen to an oak tree, the wind, a robin.

Look at flowers without picking them.

Watch a stream flow without knowing Where it begins or where It ends.

Visit another country or Another neighborhood, Notice gloveless Hands in winter. Break bread with someone You do not know.

Look at pictures of your grandmother, Or your child. Read old love letters, Visit a cemetery. Remember loss.

Care for the dying. Change their sheets, Light a candle. Grieve. Weep for their suffering While celebrating their life.

Give them solace.

Climb a hill, look at the view. Feel The warmth sunlight on your face.

Smile for no reason. Remember kindness.

LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

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Color Photography — Third Place

Black & White Photography — Second Place

‘Ocean Girl’ by Serena Fleener.

‘Kentucky Opera Aide’ by Patrick Pfister.

Cartoon — Third Place ‘A Brief History of Human Gastronomy’ by Kirk Miller.

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

Short Fiction — Third Place

Poetry — Third Place

By Matt Dobson | leo@leoweekly.com

By David Park Musella | leo@leoweekly.com

THE PRICE OF ATTENTION Amber glances at her phone to see an automated notification from A to Z Childcare letting her know there will be an additional charge of $25 if she picks up her daughter after 6 p.m.

“I’m going to be cutting it close…” she thinks to herself as she walks through the automatic doors into Majors Supermarket.

An elderly man greets each customer as they walk in, but he doesn’t acknowledge Amber. She grabs a small cart, still wet from being outside, and a Nutri-touch-scanner. She holds the scanner to her face, standing still to watch the 3-second ad for Huggies™ smart training pull-ups “Smart parents know Huggies™ are the smart way to go” that plays as the facial-ID recognizes her and the doors slide open.

She walks quickly, passing up the produce section. She knows she can get bread, cereal, peanut butter, cheese, and eggs, but she can never seem to remember which brands are allowed. It seems like it changes every time. Her first stop is to get bread, when she scans a loaf that isn’t eligible the scanner vibrates and makes an audible buzzing sound. She scans three loaves before she finds one that is Children’s Nutrition Program (CNP) qualified. Then, before she could scan to purchase it, she has to swipe away pop-up coupons for the loaves she’d just put down.

The peanut butter in the next aisle was all brands she didn’t recognize. None of them were approved. She spoke up to another woman nearby “…excuse me, ma’am, do you know if this is all the kinds of peanut butter they have…?” The woman picked up a jar and kept moving as if she didn’t see or hear Amber at all.

She knows that people don’t have to pay attention to her and she can’t afford to make them.

Most of the people that shop here have enough money to not see or hear anything they don’t want. Amber picked up a jar, hoping to swap it out for a brand she could get with CNP. Moving through the aisles, she keeps scanning what she needs, each time having to swipe away ads for sugary cereals, snacks, and other non-CNP-approved products. When she scans the eggs, the Nutri-scanner plays a 30-second video about the nutritional value of eggs from The American Egg Board before she’s allowed to add a dozen to her cart.

As she is nearly done, she sees a Majors employee, a teenage boy, in their signature grass green vest with the slogan “We pay attention to the prices” printed on the back. She holds up the peanut butter and asks, “Do you have the regular kind? Can you point me to it?” The kid keeps walking and a moment later the Nutri-scanner buzzes and vibrates. A notification says “At Majors we keep costs low because we pay attention to our prices - become a Majors member today for the attention you deserve.”

“I don’t have time for this shit…” She says under her breath. Determined to avoid the late

charge at daycare she heads toward the exit.

She bags up her groceries, more ads play on the nearby screen. An ad features a picture of a smiling mom, grocery bags overflowing with colorful vegetables in front of a smiling baby in a high chair asks “did you forget the veggies?”

Her groceries fit into two paper bags with plenty of room to spare. She leaves the organic peanut butter sitting on the bagging table alongside other left-behind food, dented cans, and leaking bottles of soap. She grabs the bags and heads through the double-doors into the entryway.

In the entryway she pauses in front of the exit for one last facial scan, this one accompanied by a message from A&D ointment reminding parents to “not make rash decisions about diaper ointment.” She steps forward in anticipation of the doors sliding open, but they don’t. A message pops up saying one of the items she has isn’t covered. Amber puts the bags down and rescans each item. All good. She stands in front of the door again. This time no ad, but the same error message and the doors still won’t open. She does it once more. Still the doors don’t open.

People are walking in to the store on the opposite side, the greeter is still greeting, and the carts are still be collected and returned to a row that separates the entrance and exit. Amber shouts over to the greeter and the guy returning the carts - “Excuse, me…I think this is not working …Can you open these doors?” but again, no response.

In frustration she kicks the door. The device reminds her that she has unqualified items and that if she needs additional attention she can pay for it. Amber can’t pay and isn’t leaving this food behind. As she starts to panic a woman walks into the entryway with a cart full of groceries.

Amber guesses it might be $300 worth. More than she’s ever bought at one time. The doors open immediately and the woman keeps walking without changing her pace.

As the woman is walking out Amber runs up behind her, through the doors just before they close. In the rush she bumps into the woman. As soon as Amber crosses the threshold an alarm sounds and the woman jumps as if she’s seen a ghost. Amber is suddenly visible.

What the woman sees, isn’t just Amber, in her view Amber is followed by a glowing floating label attached that says “potential threat: has unpaid items.” The guy pushing carts through the parking lot sees her now too.

“How dare you touch me!” The woman yells.

“You aren’t entitled to my attention!”

Amber keeps running, past the guy pushing carts, through the parking lot. Hoping that she can still catch the bus and get Dee before 6. Hoping that she doesn’t get charged for that ladies attention or attract any more she can’t afford. •

WINTERING IN KENTUCKY An occasional half-inch snowfall cripples traffic in Louisville and empties stores of bread and milk.

Calling this winter brings squalls of laughter from those of us who’ve weathered shrieking winds and seven-foot drifts. Back in Buffalo, we don’t say it’s snowing until the flakes tumble over the tops of our boots as we walk; cars don’t even slow until it’s six inches deep.

This isn’t winter.

I remember, as a child, snow over my head and tunneling across the street to pelt friends with frigid projectiles. I remember, as a six-foot adult, snow over my head and sleeping in despite the harsh scrape of aluminum against asphalt and the chill hum of snowblowers unsuccessfully throwing snow back at the sky.

“Lake-effect,” they call it, when it forms up from Erie and her sisters--sculpted from the stony soil by glacial hands--storming ferociously onto the lands settled mere centuries ago by upstart immigrants beneath a banner of Manifest Destiny.

When the snows come, they remind us: nature merely tolerates our presence.

We, who survived the great storms, know cold fortune and how the snow covers all, concrete and cowpatch, patrician and pauper, a great equalizer, leveling landscapes.

The first fall of the season still exhilarates and brings desire to wander and leave first snowshoe mark of silent footfall on fields of virgin crystal, to know again the cathedral hush in winter’s tabernacle, the shush of snow sliding over snow, and the awed sense that this has been before and will be again.

In Louisville, the first fall was a trace, a dusting— gone by noon. What will sleeping in mean without the scrape and hum to hold me enclosed in snow-insulated house and the warmth of winter bed?

In nightly hibernation, I dream of spreading my arms and falling backward from the roof, eyes iced shut, trusting the gathered drifts to catch me.

LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

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Black & White Photography — Third Place ‘Cardiff Market’ by Melissa Plush.

Poetry — Honorable Mention

STUCK IN BLACKBERRY JELLY

By Eric Willis | leo@leoweekly.com You lift the lid off a cracked butter dish, we should have thrown out years ago, smeared with the remnants of a hundred Land-O-Lake sticks, spread little bits over slices of the same bread, we’ve been trying to finish for a week and a half, reach for a spoon dipped in blackberry jelly, losing a drop in transit.

Color Photography — Honorable Mention ‘Pandemic Dark Thoughts’ by David Kegel.

I stare at the same set of two yellow plates going in and out of the dishwasher for the third time this week, while trees sprout spring outside the window, properly following winter, counting the days to the thought of something new, while I can’t stop remembering a drop of jelly falling in slow motion splattering in the corner of my eye, while you heartily ate bread and failed to notice, a deep, bloody-red fruit stain on the top of a stick of butter, the only odd occurrence we have any chance of seeing in this winter filled with little more than isolation.

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Black & White Photography — Honorable Mention ‘White Mannequin Lives Matter’ by Kirk Miller.

Color Photography — Honorable Mention ‘Untitled’ by Cara Marco.

Short Fiction — Honorable Mention

THE GIRL WITH BAGS UNDER HER EYES

By Peter J Stavros | leo@leoweekly.com She was low in the morning, as low as anyone could be after a full night’s sleep, but maybe she didn’t sleep, maybe she was like me, tossing and turning on the flattened futon in my one-room studio upstairs, wrestling with what if and what could be and what might happen and whatnot and whatever. I didn’t know. I didn’t know her like that. I didn’t know her at all really.

I only knew her from when she came in for her usual, in baggy sweats and pearls, flip-flops even in the winter with pink painted toenails, the fourth toes inexplicably turquoise, no rings on her fingers, dark hair, long and glossy and still damp from the shower, smelling of soap and lilacs. I only knew her for maybe fifteen minutes at a time, and never caught her name because we didn’t write it on the cups like that other place around the corner, we never asked. I only knew her from the stories I made up about her in my head to get me through the monotony of the rest of my day, wondering why she would be so low, someone like her, what could have happened, what could have been going on, what she might have been missing, or who, and if she would be so low with someone like me, maybe not I would think, I would daydream, I would promise her in intimate conversations we didn’t have, probably, definitely not, I would hope. Until she stopped coming in, just like that, and I never saw her again. •

Black & White Photography

Honorable Mention ‘Asia Creek’ by Steve Squall.

LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

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Short Fiction — Honorable Mention

OUT THROUGH THE GOOSEGRASS

By Kyle Hilbrecht | leo@leoweekly.com Some birds descended. A young girl was at a gas pump. We hopped the chicken wire and it wiggled under our weight. It was spring, almost the sowing time, when the trees all have their peculiar shade of green. The old farmhouse that the drifters slept in was being bulldozed. Mother said they were building a hospital there. I looked out into a field of gypsies, lavender like my mother’s bathwater. I imagined all the field mice wore yellow raincoats and were named Chrysanthemum. Sometimes I thought I was becoming an old man.

There, your dad taught me to shoot a bow. When we were

Poetry — Honorable Mention

OBIT

By Robert L. Penick | leo@leoweekly.com He spent too much time staring out windows and writing poems about other men’s wives.

Seeking distraction he bought brown bottles, lottery tickets, Steinbeck novels that made him half-human.

He lost a decade betting Turfway Park horses that couldn’t go seven furlongs in a horse trailer.

Still, there were moments, like walking a trail at dusk, when nothing would turn meaningful and a single ray of hope and comfort would caress his bruised and wounded spirit.

He built his life with rotten lumber but it stood up straight and kept out the rain.

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

alone, we used to shoot at cars on the adjacent highway.

Mr. Gordon planted a garden there and sold his vegetables down at the Episcopal Church. Mother said he couldn’t grow vegetables anymore. They tied ribbons around the trees to mark them for cutting.

We ran out through the goosegrass, passed the empty bulldozers and mounds of dirt, to the banks of trees on the far side. We ripped down all of the ribbons, put them in our pockets and took them home, knowing what a good thing was. On our way back I pulled the flagged stakes up. They’ll

have to remeasure the field, I said, I saw it in a movie once.

At the end of the spring they cut down all the trees, hauled them off with flatbed trucks, tore up the earth and poured asphalt. Funny thing is that one day, they all just up and disappeared. Mother said that someone had run out of money, that they couldn’t finish it all.

The drifters came back and started sleeping in the empty shell of the thing, out in the air. I can hear the highway now, in the nighttime, hollering out like a ghost. •

Black & White Photography — Honorable Mention ‘Untitled’ by Bruce Skinner.

Color Photography — Honorable Mention ‘Untitled’ by Adam Gordon.

@leoweekly

Black & White Photography

Honorable Mention

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

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PHOTO ESSAY

BREONNA REMEMBERED, JUSTICE CALLED FOR AT MEMORIAL RALLY

By Kathryn Harrington | leo@leoweekly.com

HUNDREDS of people gathered on Saturday, once again at Injustice Square — the site of 2020’s racial justice protests — to chant Breonna Taylor’s name. This time, it was in observance of the one year anniversary of her killing by Louisville police.

The rally and march, organized in part by the New Yorkbased group Until Freedom, started at 1 p.m. with singing from the No Justice No Peace Choir and speeches. Taylor’s family was in attendance, including her mother, sister and

aunt, as well as her boyfriend.

Multiple speakers, including Sadiqa Reynolds with the Louisville Urban League called for continued action in the wake of Taylor’s death.

“This is about justice,” she said. “This is about our power to change this world for our children, for my daughter. This is so we make sure that not another person dies at the hands of the police.”

Around 4 p.m., the crowd began to march downtown,

shouting Taylor’s name and “You can’t stop the revolution.” After about an hour, the group returned to Injustice Square, formally known as Jefferson Square Park.

The group slowly dispersed for the evening, although some protesters took to River Road. Around 9:30 p.m., Louisville police declared the gathering in the street an unlawful assembly.

Pastor Timothy E. Findley Jr. The No Justice No Peace Choir performed their song “Say Her Name”, an anthem dedicated to Breonna Taylor.

Hundreds showed up to Jefferson Square Park for the rally remembering Breonna Taylor on the anniversary of her death.

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

Hannah Drake performed her poem Formation at the rally on Saturday marking 1 year since Breonna Taylor was killed by LMPD.

PHOTO ESSAY

NEWS & ANALYSIS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

Attorneys Benjamin Crump, Sam Aguiar and Lonita Baker.

Tamika Mallory with Until Freedom spoke at the rally.

Bowers couldn’t schedule one.

Bowers tried UofL Health’s and Norton Healthcare’s websites, too, but she could only place her mom on a waitlist. UofL Health’s appointments disappeared quickly, and no one ever contacted Bowers’ mother, so her mother called Norton. They eventually called her back and scheduled her appointment.

Bowers also joined the vaccine hunter Facebook group. She learned about VaxxMaxx, a website that’ll show you which Walgreens pharmacies have added appointments recently. It gives you the zip code to use when searching for appointments on the Walgreens website.

Through VaxxMaxx, Bowers found an appointment for herself in Horse Cave, Kentucky, over an hour away. But later that day, around 3 p.m., Bowers saw that there were appointments available at a Louisville Walgreens. She hopped on and was able to schedule an appointment for both her and her mom, sooner and closer than their previous appointments.

She canceled the Horse Cave and Norton appointments. On March 5, Bowers was vaccinated. On the 6th, her mom was.

Bowers’ advice to others is trying to familiarize yourself with websites’ screening questions, so you can answer them quickly.

LEFTOVER LISTS

Hundreds came out to Jefferson Square Park for the rally marking the 1 year anniversary of the killing of Breonna Taylor by LMPD.

Hundreds of people came out for the 1 year anniversary rally of the killing of Breonna Taylor by LMPD.

Daniel Hargrove, 43, wasn’t eligible for most vaccination appointments in Louisville last week, even though he’s in the 1C category for health reasons. But, he was able to secure a dose early that would have otherwise gone to waste.

Hargrove got a phone number for UofL Health (502-588-7004) and called six to eight times a day for two days. When someone finally answered the phone on the third day, he asked if he could be put on their list for leftover doses. Vaccines that aren’t used by the end of the day — whether because of canceled appointments or some other reason — might be thrown away.

Hargrove told the UofL employee that he was in the 1C category. They asked for basic information like his age and race, and that was that. One week later, the hospital called Hargrove as he was leaving his job at 4:30 p.m. Hargrove was asked whether he could get to the downtown UofL site by 5 p.m.. It was just a few blocks away from the Humana building Hargrove works in.

He said yes.

Hargrove encourages other people who are not yet eligible to at least try to get on a leftover vaccine list. Pharmacies have them, too.

“There’s always going to be cancellations for some reason,” he said. “That’s always going to happen. And then there’s not enough time for somebody to schedule, there’s nobody online looking for that appointment right then, but if you’re on a list or if you’ve got it, it’s going to go to waste if somebody doesn’t use it, you know?”

The Louisville health department’s line is, “the most important thing is getting the community vaccinated,” although the department also encourages residents to wait until they’re eligible.

VOLUNTEERING

The Rev. Ryan Eller, 38, didn’t just get his vaccination at the LouVax Center in Louisville, he helped others get theirs, too.

Volunteers at the LouVax Center are eligible for doses after they’ve worked for 40 hours.

But, to Eller, the promise of vaccination was just a perk of an experience he called hopeful and humbling. And, it was not one without risk.

“Volunteering as a way to get the vaccine, folks should not take it lightly,” said the founder of the nonprofit New Moral Majority, a religious-based political action group. “Because particularly in those early days, I mean, it was — I think we all knew we were risking our lives by volunteering.”

To volunteer, you can sign up on louisvilleky.gov. Eller said it was difficult, at times, to find available volunteer slots. At the site, he mostly screened people as they drove in, asking them health and safety questions, or he would help them with their paperwork and take temperatures.

After around 40 to 50 hours of volunteering, Eller got an email saying he was eligible to sign up for a vaccination. About three and a half weeks after he started volunteering, Eller was driving into Broadbent Arena for a volunteer to check him into his appointment instead of the other way around.

Eller was grateful for the vaccine, but also for the experience of volunteering.

“I’m a faith leader, and I tend to think that for most of us, if we have an opportunity during our lives to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, to save even a single life, then we will have lived a life of meaning,” he said. • For more vaccination stories, visit leoweekly.com

LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

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STAFF PICKS THURSDAY, MARCH 17

Laughs In The Lounge

The Caravan Comedy Club | 1250 Bardstown Road thecaravan2017.com | $5 | 7:30 p.m.

THURSDAY, MARCH 18

So You Think You Know Music?

Trivia, Bingo & More

The Limbo | 411 W. Chestnut St. | Search Facebook | No cover | 7 p.m.

Nerd out to music history with this game night at The Limbo. Showcase your knowledge and sing your heart out at karaoke, while enjoying drink specials. —LEO

SMART-ASS

In the pre-pandemic world, I attended Comedy Caravan’s open mic night for the first time.

Not only did I get to see some seasoned, Louisville talent take the stage (it FUNNY was my first introduction to Keith McGill, and he was a delight), but the beginners who braved the spotlight showed surprising signs of undiscovered comedic genius.

OK, maybe I was related to one of them. I’m not being forced to write this. Anyway, now that The Caravan Comedy Club is back to regular shows after a year of COVID, Laughs In The Lounge is back, too. And, maybe, because we’ve been stuck in our homes for months, my cousin Lauryn has come up with some better material. (Don’t disown me.) To perform, email caravanopenmic@gmail.com. —Danielle Grady

FRIDAY, MARCH 19

‘The Other America: An Anne Braden Story’

Online | Zoom | Search Facebook | Free (donations accepted) | 6:30-8 p.m.

THURSDAY, MARCH 18

Coconut Salsa Night

Coconut Beach Tacos & Cerveza | 2787 S. Floyd St. | Search Facebook | $7 | 7 p.m.

The ice and snow are gone, it’s still light past 6 p.m., and society is close to socializing once again. Add it up, and it’s time for good food, cervezas and dancing. Each DANCE Thursday night, Chelsey Owen offers bachata lessons (all levels) at 7 p.m. and beginner-salsa lessons at 8 p.m. Interested, but not sure?

Check out special performances by the Meraki Dance Company’s Ladies’ and Amateur Bachata dance teams.

DJ Frank provides the music. —LEO

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

Squallis Puppeteers’ latest show is about Anne Braden, the famous Louisville civil rights activist who Martin Luther King Jr. named in his “Letter from BirCIVIL RIGHTS mingham Jail.” The puppeteer collective is teaming up with the UofL Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research for a production that combines tabletop and shadow puppetry. In it, a puppet Braden tells the story of the case that she’s most well-known for: In 1954, the real-life Braden and her husband, Carl, bought a home in an all-white neighborhood and transferred the deed to their friends, Andrew and Charlotte Wade, who were Black. The Wades and Bradens “endured a backlash of white supremacist hatred and violence. When Louisville’s racial tensions became entangled in the nationwide anti-communist hysteria, the lives of both families were changed forever,” write organizers. This is a live-screening, followed by a discussion with members of the production crew and the Anne Braden Institute. Afterward, the entire broadcast will be uploaded to YouTube and Facebook, where it will remain available through Sunday. —LEO

STAFF PICKS

SATURDAY, MARCH 13

TUESDAY, MAR. 16

Zoom | Search Facebook | Free | 7-8:30 p.m.

Virtual | filsonhistorical.org | Free (Register at website) | 6 p.m.

With all of the other emergencies and critical issues facing our city, state and country (and world), it’s easy to lose sight of one of the most important issues of all: the EARTH climate. Good thing we can do several things at once. REAL, the Renewable Energy Alliance of Louisville, is working to bring Louisville into the fight against climate change. Their goal is to bring “a fast, fair, and just transition to 100% clean renewable energy for Metro operations by 2035 and community-wide by 2040.” Learn more about what is happening in our community to help save the climate and our planet. Speakers include Sam Avery and Roger Ohlman of REAL, Dawn Cooley of Kentucky Interfaith Power & Light, and Metro Councilperson Nicole George. Folk singer John Gage will also perform. You can find a link to register for the free Zoom event on the event’s Facebook page. —Aaron Yarmuth

Has our lockdown year dragged on even longer because of political polarity?

Perhaps there’d be less HISTORY chaotic anxiety if all were sure where those poles sat: the closer one, and the one embraced by “the other.” But we’d have to know what that other might rebel against. And why respecting the rule of law might resemble surrendering to oppression. Mary Beth Norton can point us toward an important year that similarly stretched Americans toward the breaking point. The Cornell historian is giving a presentation on her book “1774: The Long Year of Revolution,” available courtesy of the Filson Historical Society, with some help from Carmichael’s Bookstore and SimpleTix. Norton thoroughly opens up the period between the Boston Tea Party and the battles of Lexington and Concord. Our nation’s founders weren’t of a single mind over how to respond to the Intolerable Acts. Potentially greater understanding is here for the taking.—T.E. Lyons

REAL Good News: Local Action For Climate Change Resistance—Colonial Style

SUNDAY, MARCH 14

Recycled Art And More!

Falls of the Ohio State Park | 201 W. Riverside Dr. | fallsoftheohio.org/event | $2 | 3-4 p.m.

Learning about sustainability and conservation might not sound like a lot of fun. On the other hand, creating unique sculptures out of items salvaged from the Ohio River ART (trash) is a great, fun way to stimulate the imagination… while learning about sustainability and conservation. The program is led by IU Southeast intern Katie Green. The event will be held outside, weather permitting. —LEO

Mary Beth Norton will speak at the Filson Club

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration — Green Beer Tapping Floyd County Brewing Company | 129 W. Main St. | Search Facebook | Noon

On St. Patrick’s Day, Floyd County Brewing will be doing their Leprechaun’s Green tapping at noon, but they have some entertainment planned for later on, GREEN ALL DAY so don’t worry if you want to stop by but can’t spend a weekday lunch hour boozing. There will be live music at 7 p.m., and they have a massive space, so it’ll make for a nice, socially-distanced celebration. —LEO

LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

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Maui - Meet our very special boy

Maui. Maui is a two-year-old Terrier mix who weighs just 28 pounds and originally came to the Kentucky Humane Society as a young puppy.

As a baby, we knew right away that Maui had some special needs and would need a special home.

Maui is blind and has a neurological condition called cerebellar hypoplasia that causes him to occasionally lose balance and fall over. He also has been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and takes daily medication to manage his disease. Maui was adopted by a wonderful family but they recently had a baby and because of Maui’s blindness, he was uncomfortable with the young child. The family was heartbroken to bring Maui back to us, but they needed to do what was right for their family and for Maui. Now that Maui is back with KHS, we are determined to find him the perfect home! Despite his conditions, Maui is a lovable and hilarious guy who doesn’t seem to notice he’s different. He lived with an older, docile dog in his previous home and didn’t have issues. Because of his blindness, he doesn’t always have the best manners with other dogs and will jump around quickly in an attempt to play. He also often bumped into the other dog, so he will need a very understanding dog friend and a meet and greet with any resident canines would be best. Maui’s former family says he is housetrained, crate trained and mostly wants to lay on the couch with you and relax. This tiny guy tires quickly and would love a quiet home with kids 10 and older. Could you be the one to make Maui’s dream of a forever home come true? Maui is neutered, micro-chipped and up-todate on all vaccinations. Schedule an appointment to meet him at the Main Campus, 241 Steedly Drive, at kyhumane.org/dogs today!

Erie - Introducing the beautiful Erie! Erie is a four-year-old tabby cat

who came to the Kentucky Humane Society from an overcrowded shelter. Now she’s ready to settle down with a family of her own. Erie was a little shy and under the weather when she arrived at the shelter so we sent her into a foster home where she could recover and we could learn more about her. Erie’s foster family describe her as a shy, cuddly, independent kitty who’s very sweet and loves to have her chin rubbed. Erie has shown she is not a fan of dogs and would do best in a dog-free household. We have not seen her with cats so we’re unsure about how she would do with them. Could you be the one for this sweet laid-back lady? Erie is spayed, micro-chipped and up-todate on vaccinations. Schedule an appointment to meet her at the East Campus, 1000 Lyndon Lane, by visiting kyhumane.org/cats today!

STAFF PICKS

THROUGH MARCH 31

‘On The Road’ By Robert Halliday

Kentucky Fine Art Gallery | 2400 Lime Kiln Lane | kentuckyfineartgallery.com | Free Robert Halliday likes to travel, which is evident from the ART abundance of paintings he did of America and abroad. There are around 50 pieces in his current show, some done on location, others after Halliday returned home.

“Many of these are a product of fun, interesting trips with my wife Ange,” said Halliday. “It has been like fishing. You head out enthusiastically every day hoping to come back in the evening with a couple of big ones!” The Kentucky Fine Art Gallery is housed inside Leslie H. Spetz Custom Picture Framing & Gallery. —Jo Anne Triplett

‘El Oratorio’ by Robert Halliday. Watercolor.

THROUGH APRIL 10

‘G.W. Morrison at 200’

Carnegie Center for Art and History | 201 E. Spring St., New Albany | carnegiecenter. org | Free George William Morrison is a little-known 19th century New Albany artist. Although born in Baltimore, his 50-year career was spent mostly in Southern Indiana. The retrospecART tive marks the bicentennial of his birth, and was curated by Al Gorman, coordinator of public programs and engagement at the Carnegie, which has the largest collection of Morrison’s work, including the recently-discovered “Prize Livestock of Thornburgh Farm.” It was bought at a local auction, restored and unveiled to the public for the first time in this exhibition.— Jo Anne Triplett

‘Prize Livestock of Thornburgh Farm, Posey Township, Fayette County, IN’

by G.W. Morrison. Oil on canvas.

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | ART

THE FINE ART OF FINANCING:

OUR MONTHLY “GET FUNDED” ARTS ROUNDUP

By Melissa Chipman | leo@leoweekly.com

AWARDS:

FESTIVALS:

Bill Fischer Award for Visual Artists Provided by Louisville Visual Arts, the Fischer Award is a $7,000 cash prize designed to make a meaningful impact on the career of a visual artist residing in the Louisville Metro Area by providing support in the form of grants for the execution and exhibition of artwork and other efforts to foster a professional career as a visual artist. Applicants must be residents living in the Louisville Metro Area for a minimum of six months prior to the application deadline. The Metro Area is defined as Jefferson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer, Bullitt, Nelson, Meade, Trimble and Henry Counties in Kentucky; and Clark, Harrison, Floyd and Washington Counties in Indiana. Applicants must be a minimum of 25 years old and have completed their formal art training a minimum of three years prior to the application deadline. Previous award winners may not apply. Deadline is April 5, 2021. For more information visit: louisvillevisualart.org/fischer

Norton Commons Art Festival May 15 and 16, 2021. Handcrafted, artist-made products are welcome at the festival. Booths are 10x10, and fees are $175 for returning exhibitors and $200 for new artists. Electricity will not be available, and this is an entirely outdoor event.

Generators are not permitted unless they are “whisper quiet,” and the event director must be made aware of and approve generators prior to the show. Application available: bit.ly/2021NCArtFestival

EXHIBITIONS: Solo or Group Exhibitions 2022 The Lexington Art League is now accepting proposals for solo and group exhibitions by Kentucky-based artists and curators to be held in their galleries in the historic Loudoun House, located just north of downtown Lexington. The Lexington Art League is no longer accepting proposals for 2021, but the call for proposals for 2022 is now open. More information: lexingtonartleague.org/exhibits_call.html Kentucky Capitol The Kentucky Capitol will soon highlight the artistic works of residents across the state. Gov. Andy Beshear and first lady Britainy Beshear announced that professional and amateur artists are invited to submit their artwork under the theme “Team Kentucky.”Selected pieces will be displayed for six months in a main hall of the state Capitol in Frankfort.“Once we defeat COVID-19 and more Kentuckians can visit the Capitol, we want to make sure they see their stories and communities represented and that they’re reminded of all the reasons Kentucky is so special,” Beshear said in a statement. Art may be for sale during the exhibition. Entry Fee: $25 for one entry, $40 for two to four entries, and $5 per each additional entry.

Deadline: May 15, 2021 Center for Health Equity The CHE is looking for two artists/artist groups to envision a holistic and healing Louisville through art. Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness and the Center for Health Equity are calling for artists in Louisville to apply for CREATE, Centering Reimagined Equity and Transformative Empowerment. This art proposal calls for Louisville artists of any medium to create and engage what healing and holistic public health and wellness looks like, feels like, and eventually becomes in our city.

Deadline: March 31, 2021. For more information email: maya.white@louisvilleky. gov

HalloQueen Fest October 23 and 24, 2021. Louisville’s only all PRIDE LBTQ+ Halloween Festival is now accepting entertainer applications from drag queens, dance companies, bands and more. All entertainment submissions will be reviewed, and you will be contacted within 5-7 days. There is no charge to be part of the entertainment lineup.

Performances will be at American Turners Louisville park. The Festival features local and regional family-friendly entertainment and over 100 vendor booths displaying Louisville’s arts, crafts, businesses, non-profits, and service providers.

HalloQueen Fest is an opportunity to promote yourself, your organization or band, to one of the most exciting, diverse audiences in the city. The event is presented by Drag Queen Story Time. More info: dragqueenstorytime-kentucky.godaddysites. com/home

RESIDENCIES: Bethany Arts Community— Twelve days between September 21 and October 23, 2021, in Upstate New York. BAC offers residencies to emerging and established artists for the development of both new works and works in progress.

BAC welcomes artists working across most disciplines, including visual artists in any medium, writers, playwrights, choreographers, musicians, composers, performance artists, filmmakers, and lighting, projection, costume and sound designers.

The residency program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and by ArtsWestchester with support from Westchester County Government. Enjoy an environment where artists from different disciplines can work near each other, creating opportunities for cross-pollination. Application Deadline: April 15, 2021.

More information: bethanyarts.org/

LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

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Victory in the annual nudist-club 1K? Face card’s value in blackjack Supporting Question that introduces doubt Muscle above an ab ‘‘____ So Sweet to Trust in Jesus’’ (hymn) Big name in windshield wipers Need for a jailbreak Nellie’s love in ‘‘South Pacific’’ Behaves badly Many a goody, they say Fighter’s fake Releases The lake in ‘‘lake effect’’ snow Whale constellation Not as unruly Small inlet Vanderpump of Bravo’s ‘‘Vanderpump Rules’’ Privy to Tenor Andrea In relation to Punk cousin Supercilious sort Syngman ____, first South Korean president Sin’s counterpart First name on the Supreme Court Like babies’ legs, often Thermostat setting

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Permanent marker?

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E B O N P I P E A G I N W E E E E T N S A G O T Y E S L E W O K F I R S O N R N O F I L E I N D I N G I N O S E T N T R E A C E A X E A S O O K E N

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Travel expense Largest South American bird A quarter of vier Where the nudist-club orchestra plays its concerts?

Graze Site of the Minotaur’s Labyrinth Feelings in the room, informally Build up Choreographer Lubovitch Mont-Saint-Michel, e.g.

Not in debt One-named Irish singer Final Four game, e.g.

Thieves’ hide-out Cleanup grp.

Conference with five University of California schools ’60s TV kid Child, in Chile Part of the U.K.: Abbr. ‘‘What’s more .?.?. ’’ Poetry night?

Humbugs?

A negative has a reverse one Acid container Joneses Baseball Hall-of-Famer Slaughter Element of Freddy Krueger’s glove Hawaiian house feature Recipe direction ‘‘Hey, man!’’

Balrog’s home in ‘‘The Lord of the Rings’’ Techies and Trekkies, stereotypically Elevator innovator You might skip it if you’re in trouble Self starter?

L.G.B.T. symbol Statistic in football or basketball Kylo ____, ‘‘Star Wars’’ villain Signed i.o.u.’s Published

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Man who had all the answers?

Some baggage Fillet, say William Howard Taft or William McKinley ‘‘It’s just me’’ First-aid item for allergy sufferers Shared with, for a while Leadership style of the nudist-club president?

Like a senior year Dates Steamboat Springs alternative Pint-size Like Ahab’s pursuit of Moby Dick Winter driving hazard Ascribe to, as fault When the nudist club was founded?

They hit the sauce a lot ‘‘There’s another good point’’ ‘‘Hold on!’’

Home to the world’s three highest capital cities Nicolas who directed ‘‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’’ Puffs Graduation wear for a University of Hawaii student Place for a throne New members of the nudist club?

Pans for potstickers Time’s Person of the Century Lit into Two are named after Douglas and Fraser Big name in tennis balls Weigh in School with a 15th-century chapel It comes straight from the horse’s mouth ‘‘Raspberry ____’’ (Prince hit) Liquor with a double-headed eagle logo Polo course?

What happens in the stand-up show at the nudist club?

Robert who played A.?J. Soprano Pro wrestler Flair John for whom the Voting Rights Advancement Act was named Slangy contraction Rock genre Soon Taco Bell slogan Its size may be measured in liters Hours spent by the pool at the nudist club?

Popular hiding spots in hide-and-seek Virtual currency

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Sensitive subject Mimic ‘‘Cómo ____?’’

Strong desire Not a joke, say How people returned from a week at the nudist club?

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E K A N T O S E B S E E O N E S S R R A T E I E N N N B C O L E W I T S U R A S H E Y R E I A N G

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The New York Times Magazine Crossword CROSSWORD BUFF

PHOTO BY RACHEL ROBINSON

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SAVAGE LOVE

By Dan Savage | mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage

THE PHONE JOB

Q: A male friend—not my best friend but a close one—told me his wife was really attracted to me, another male, and asked if I was attracted to her. His wife is an incredibly hot woman and I thought it was a trick question. I read your column and listen to the Savage Lovecast, Dan, so I know there are guys out there who want other men to sleep with their wives, of course, but I didn’t want to risk offending this friend by saying “FUCK YEAH” too quickly. After he convinced me it wasn’t a trick, I told him that of course I wanted to have sex with his wife. She’s incredibly beautiful and a really great person. I told him was that I not at the least bit bisexual and not into MMF threesomes and he told me he wouldn’t even be there. He just wanted to hear all the details later—and hear them from me, not her.

I’ve slept with his wife four times since and the sex we’ve been having is phenomenal for both of us. But the talks I have afterwards with my friend make me uncomfortable. We’ve gotten on the phone later in the day or the next day and I give him the details and insult him a little, which he likes, and honestly none of that is the problem. What makes me uncomfortable is that I can hear him beating off during these phone calls. Which makes me feel like I’m having phone sex with a guy.

I’m not comfortable with this and I feel like our friendship has become sexualized in a way that just feels unnatural for me. The one time we met in person to talk after I fucked his wife he was visibly aroused throughout our entire conversation. I would like to keep fucking my friend’s wife and she wants to keep fucking me but I don’t want to talk with my friend about it afterwards. Shouldn’t it be enough for him to just know I’m fucking her?

aren’t a turn-on for his wife, DACUCK, if those calls make it possible for her to sleep with other men and she enjoys doing that, well then, the calls actually are doing something for her too. You’re not obligated to have these conversations with your friend if they make you uncomfortable—because of course you’re not—but if you were to refuse, DACUCK, then your friend might withdraw his consent for you to fuck his wife. Your friend and his wife might be willing to revise these conditions just for you, DACUCKS, so it couldn’t hurt to ask. But if he says no you don’t get to fuck his wife anymore. Or if he says no and his wife keeps fucking you, well then, she’d cheating on him for real and not “cheating” on him for fun.

Zooming out for a second: you knew this was a turn-on for your friend before you fucked his wife. You knew he was a cuckold, which means you knew he would be getting off on you fucking his wife, DACUCK, which means you knew he’d be out there somewhere beating off about you and your dick. Even if he didn’t want to hear from you directly afterwards, even if he was pumping the wife for the details, your friendship was sexualized pretty much from the moment he asked you to fuck his wife and you agreed.

So the problem isn’t the sexualization of this friendship or the awareness that this dude is out there beating off about you. The problem is having to listen to him beat off when you get on the phone—or having to see him become visibly aroused when you

meet up in person—and there’s a pretty easy workaround for that. (I love a solvable problem!) Instead of giving him a call after you’ve fucked his wife, use the voice memo app on your phone to record a long, detailed, insult-strewn message after you’ve fucked his wife and send it him. You’ll still get to fuck his wife, he’ll still get to hear about it from you, and you won’t have to listen to him doing what you damn well knew he’d be doing after you fucked his wife, i.e. furiously beating off about you. mail@savagelove.net Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage. www.savagelovecast.com

CLASSIFIED LISTINGS LEGAL Importdoktor, 1387 Lexington Rd, Louisville, KY 40206; 502/584-3511 is seeking to obtain a clear title to 05' VW Passat; VIN# WVWCD63B05E024598 -Owner Patricia Gann, 620 England St, Louisville, KY 40217. -Sale date 04/14/2021.

Notice is hereby given by Nate's Automotive 400 E. Breckinridge St, Louisville, Ky 40203 (502)-408-773. Owner has 14 days to respond in writing to obtain title to the following: 2008 Chev Impala VIN-2G1WT58K781230633. Owned by Keiwan Jackson 4508 Westport Woods #303,Louisville, Ky 40245. Lein holder Rocky's Auto Sales 9108 Dixie Hwy,Louisville, Ky 40258, second lein Eagle Financial Serv 304 South 1st St., Lagrange, KY 40031.

PUBLIC NOTICE: Cellco Partnership and its controlled affiliates doing business as Verizon Wireless (Verizon Wireless) proposes to build a 47-foot-tall Public Light Communications Tower. Anticipated lighting application is medium intensity dual red/white strobes. The Site location is 2501 Emil Avenue, Louisville, Jefferson County, KY 40217, Lat: 38-12-31.00, Long: -85-44-59.81. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Antenna Structure Registration (ASR, Form 854) filing number is A1175516.

ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS – Interested persons may review the application (www.fcc.gov/asr/applications) by entering the filing number. Environmental concerns may be raised by filing a Request for Environmental Review (www.fcc. gov/asr/environmentalrequest) and online filings are strongly encouraged. The mailing address to file a paper copy is: FCC Requests for Environmental Review, Attn: Ramon Williams, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554. HISTORIC PROPERTIES EFFECTS – Public comments regarding potential effects on historic properties may be submitted within 30 days from the date of this publication to: Trileaf Corp, Brennan, b.booker@trileaf.com, 1515 Des Peres Road, Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63131, 314-997-6111.

Cellco Partnership and its controlled affiliates doing business as Verizon Wireless (Verizon Wireless) proposes to build a 47-foot-tall Pole Utility telecommunications pole at the approx. vicinity of 1401 West Ormsby Avenue, Louisville, Jefferson County, KY 40210. Public comments regarding potential effects from this site on historic properties may be submitted within 30 days from the date of this publication to: Trileaf Corp, Brennan, b.booker@trileaf.com, 1515 Des Peres Road, Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63131, 314-997-6111.

1. Leo’s Towing & Recovery, 510 E Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202 (502)-727-9503, has intention to obtain title of a 2009 Nissan Altima Grey VIN # 1N4AL24E69C167767, Owner Jose Mayo 7713 Greta Ave 40258 Lien Holder: None Unless owner or lienholder objects in written form within 14 days after the last publication of this notice.

2. Leo’s Towing & Recovery, 510 E Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202 (502)-727-9503, has intention to obtain title of a 2004 Cadi cts red VIN #1G6DM577240109509, Owner NATION AUTO SALES ii LLC of 1523 s 30th st 40211 Lien Holder: none Unless owner or lienholder objects in written form within 14 days after the last publication of this notice.

MULTIPLE FACILITIES – MULTIPLE UNITS

Extra Space Storage will hold a public auction at the location indicated: Facility 1: 5807 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY 40291: March 24, 2021 – 1PM Units: A022, H038 Facility 2: 7900 Dixie Highway, Louisville, KY 40258: March 24, 2021 – 1PM Units: 322, 616, 772 Facility 3: 6708 Preston Highway, Louisville, KY 40219: March 24, 2021 – 1PM Units: 241, 4026, 806 Facility 4: 5420 Valley Station Rd, Louisville, KY 40272: March 24, 2021 – 1PM Units: 120 Facility 5: 8002 Warwick Ave, Louisville, KY 40222: March 24, 2021 – 1PM Units: 542, 819 Facility 6: 4605 Wattbourne Ln, Louisville KY 40299: March 24, 2021 – 1PM Units: 569 Facility 7: 6456 Outer Loop, Louisville, KY 40228: March 24, 2021 – 1PM Units: 627, 715, 3001, 6005, 6014 Facility 8: 2801 N Hurstbourne Pkwy, Louisville, KY 40223: March 24, 2021 – 1PM Units: 2044 The auction will be listed and advertised on www.storagetreasures.com.

Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction. Extra Space Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the personal property

Distressed Aussie Chafes Under Cringe Kink P.S. This is his thing, not hers. She loves having sex with me but the calls to her husband don’t do anything for her.

A: It’s obviously not enough for him to know you’re fucking his wife. If that was enough for him, DACUCK, he wouldn’t want to get on the phone with afterwards.

This is a consent question. If your friend consents to his wife having sex with other men on the condition that he hears about it afterwards—and hears about it from those other men—that condition has to be met for the sex she’s having with other men to be consensual. And while the calls afterwards LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021

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DIST ILL ERY

VOTED

BEST LOUISVILLE DISTILLERY

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LEOWEEKLY.COM // MARCH 17, 2021