Mountain Xpress 12.16.20

OUR 27TH YEAR OF WEEKLY INDEPENDENT NEWS, ARTS & EVENTS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA VOL. 27 NO. 20 DEC. 16-22, 2020

MOUNTAINX.COM

DEC. 16-22, 2020

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C ONT ENTS

FEATURE

12 BUNCOMBE BEAT Property revaluation key to 2021-22 Buncombe budget

18 DUST IN THE WIND Marshall phone carves out space for spirituality and grief

WELLNESS

NEWS

FEATURES

22 HEALTH ROUNDUP Nonprofit offers Code Purple shelter; Black transgender Southerners face health challenges; more

PAGE 8 ยกFELICES FIESTAS! As congregations across WNC grapple with shifting demographics and a year of racial upheaval, multiracial congregations find themselves tackling tough conversations in the way they know best: worship and fellowship. On the cover: Brandon Zuniga performs as a traditional Aztec dancer at St. Eugene Catholic Church in Asheville COVER PHOTO Cindy Kunst COVER DESIGN Scott Southwick 4 LETTERS 4 CARTOON: MOLTON 7 CARTOON: BRENT BROWN

GREEN

8 NEWS 24 BACK TO THE LAND Field to Shroud seeds healthy death culture

12 BUNCOMBE BEAT 19 ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES 21 COMMUNITY CALENDAR

FOOD

22 HEALTH ROUNDUP 28 CAFFEINE BOOST The Times at S&W bar launches a craft coffee concept amid restrictions

24 GREEN SCENE 26 FOOD 30 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 35 CLUBLAND

A&E

36 MOVIES 30 KEEPING THE FAITH Local hip-hop artists share messages of hope

38 FREEWILL ASTROLOGY 38 CLASSIFIEDS 39 NY TIMES CROSSWORD

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STA F F PUBLISHER: Jeff Fobes ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER: Susan Hutchinson MANAGING EDITOR: Virginia Daffron OPINION EDITOR: Tracy Rose ASSISTANT EDITOR: Daniel Walton STAFF REPORTERS: Able Allen, Edwin Arnaudin, Thomas Calder, Laura Hackett, Molly Horak, Daniel Walton COMMUNITY CALENDAR & CLUBLAND: Madeline Forwerck MOVIE SECTION HOSTS: Edwin Arnaudin, Bruce Steele CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Peter Gregutt, Rob Mikulak REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Mark Barrett, Leslie Boyd, Bill Kopp, Cindy Kunst, Alli Marshall, Gina Smith, Kay West ADVERTISING, ART & DESIGN MANAGER: Susan Hutchinson LEAD DESIGNER: Scott Southwick GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Olivia Urban MEMBERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR: Laura Hackett MARKETING ASSOCIATES: Sara Brecht, David Furr, Tiffany Wagner OPERATIONS MANAGER: Able Allen INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES & WEB: Bowman Kelley BOOKKEEPER: Amie Fowler-Tanner ADMINISTRATION, BILLING, HR: Able Allen DISTRIBUTION: Susan Hutchinson, Cindy Kunst DISTRIBUTION DRIVERS: Gary Alston, Tracy Houston, Henry Mitchell, Tiffany Narron, Kelley Quigley, Angelo Santa Maria, Carl & Debbie Schweiger

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DEC. 16-22, 2020

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OPINION

Send your letters to the editor to letters@mountainx.com.

What does ‘transparency’ mean to Buncombe County officials?

Per a Nov. 3 Mountain Xpress online article, “WNC General Election 2020 Live Coverage,” Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Chair Brownie Newman “said officials would commit to ‘open, transparent methods’ of business to ensure that the voices of Republicans are heard.”

The article’s writer implies that Newman was referring to the commission’s new makeup of six Democrats and only one Republican as a result of that day’s election.

The Pratt & Whitney deal was transacted before this newly formed commission. Is that why there was seemingly little-to-no transparency regarding what Project Ranger was as we began reading of it during summer; why we were finally told what it was at the end of October/ early November? Why residents who are not necessarily “Republicans” were not afforded an opportunity to comment until the Nov. 17 commissioners’ meeting, when, in spite of

C AR T O O N B Y R AN DY M O L T O N the concerns raised, every commissioner then seated voted in favor of the plant?

Reflecting on the behavior of several Buncombe County leaders over the

past five years and this most recent event, I have to wonder what the term “transparency” means to Buncombe County officials elected and/or hired to watch over the interests of all county residents.

If this is transparency, I shudder to think what other probable done deals are being transacted without the public’s knowledge.

People may like the 800 jobs promised by the Pratt & Whitney deal and so don’t care that it was transacted so discreetly, but now that this precedent has been set, will there be future deals made without taxpayers’ knowledge and input during the negotiations? If so, will they be as pleasing to some as this deal or maybe not? I guess we won’t know until the deal is done.

— C. Heil Asheville

We need ‘culture of caring’ to improve schools The recent article in Mountain Xpress about pre-K schooling in Polk County highlighted an important piece of our educational system that needs to be reenvisioned [“‘PreK Is Absolutely Crucial for Student Success,’” from EdNC, Nov. 21].

There is also a Head Start program in Asheville. In Head Start programs, initiated in the 1960s, childhood education has shown us some of the possible benefits of early childhood education for young children.

It’s time to move forward. Preschool as part of our educational system is 4

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not just an add-on that schools have to search for funding to establish, but a bedrock program for preparing children for a healthy education and emotional life.

This includes coordinating social services, support and cooperation of our business and political leaders, pastors, spiritual leaders and all citizens in whatever capacity your lifestyle allows. We are all connected, and participating in our local communities can return us to a mature United States.

We have a huge challenge ahead of us. Today’s decisions impact future generations. For example, the decision to invade Iraq in 2003 triggered an ongoing war that cost the United States’ taxpayers billions and billions of dollars that could have been used to help out people who are struggling to care for their families and live a decent life. Change takes time, and to change our school system, we need a “culture of caring” for each other.

“United we stand, divided we fall.”

Children are the future. Education is a major key. What does it take to increase the creativity, confidence and wonder to grow in our children’s development all through their schooling years? Why do we raise our children in a world system that focuses on achievement and celebrates economic wealth rather than kindness, truth, goodness and the common good? Improving the education of our children means educating all citizens starting at the local level.

Our present system stifles and trivializes much of what passes for education. Creativity is important, not test scores, because it speaks to our children’s inner self. In place of curiosity, we have a culture of compliance rather than the power of imagination, critical thinking and the freedom to create.

A typical student in American schools takes 112 mandated tests between prekindergarten and 12th grade, while most countries that outperform our students test only three times during the student’s career [“Study Says Standardized Testing Is Overwhelming Nation’s Public Schools,” The Washington Post, Oct. 24, 2015].

It is our responsibility to teach our children that the Earth is a jewel in the universe. We live in a place rich with life and potential possibilities that require us to recognize how far-reaching the consequences of today’s decisions affect our children’s future.

A local educator suggests that, in focusing on academics, we “miss a hugely important opportunity that

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OPI N I ON

Send your letters to the editor to letters@mountainx.com.

could help in the emotional growth, not only of the individual child but also of our collective community.”

All of us can support parents, teachers and those working for peace, justice, respect and kindness as we make decisions for the future of our children and our nation.

All of us affect eternity. We can never tell where our influence stops.

It is a civic duty and a sacred duty to work together to create a truly United States of America.

— Ed Sacco Asheville

Backroom deal was a bad decision I have lived in Buncombe County for over 30 years and believe it to be a place where caring, kind and innovative people abound. However, I was very disappointed to hear about the slimy backroom politics of the Buncombe County commissioners.

At a recent Board of Commissioners meeting, Buncombe County residents shared their concerns about the proposed Pratt & Whitney/Raytheon plant. My understanding is that only one of those speaking was in favor of the plant, and that person had a vested interest in seeing it built.

Apparently a decision had already been made without the concern of residents being heard. Is that how a democracy works?

I think this is a very bad decision! North Carolina invested heavily in the tobacco industry, and farmers have paid dearly as a result of changing attitudes regarding health.

Buncombe County invested heavily in the tourist industry only to have this myopic focus negatively impacted by the pandemic. Now Buncombe County is considering investing in another industry that is not sustainable. Please consider that the USSR

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collapsed in great part because of an overinvestment in the war industry.

I love the Biltmore House, admire the thriving business and appreciate the gift shared with us by the descendants of Vanderbilt. In my opinion, the sale of the property to be used for the building of the proposed Pratt & Whitney/Raytheon plant by Mr. Cecil of Biltmore Farms (one of Vanderbilt’s descendants) is a black mark against his family’s heritage.

— E.L. Halsey Asheville Editor’s note: Kevin Kimrey, who spoke in favor of the incentives at the commissioners’ meeting, is the director of economic and workforce development at A-B Tech, which plans to build a $5 million training center to prepare graduates for jobs with Pratt & Whitney and other advanced manufacturing careers.

Xpress contacted Biltmore Farms with the letter writer’s points relating to the property sale and received the following response from company President and CEO Jack Cecil: “Investing in the economic growth and future prosperity of our community is critical, especially right now. Biltmore Farms made the land available for Pratt & Whitney in an effort to stimulate positive impact on employment opportunities in Buncombe and surrounding counties.

“Contributing to the economic sustainability of this region has always been a central value of our company.

Day to day, we utilize our real estate to build communities (to clarify, we do not own Biltmore House), and our goal ultimately is to create jobs and business opportunities for all the people who live here. We hope that our deliberate steps will benefit the current and future generations that follow.” X

C AR T O O N B Y B R E N T B R O W N

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NEWS

Many races, under God Congregations grapple with questions of diversity

BY MOLLY HORAK mhorak@mountainx.com If the founders of St. Matthias Episcopal Church were alive today, there’s a good chance they wouldn’t know what to make of the current congregation.

Believed to be home to the oldest historically African American congregation in Asheville, St. Matthias’ original building was built in 1867 in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. The church housed a parochial day school for Black children and adults and served as a hub for religious and community life.

But congregations ebb and flow.

Members grow old, children grow up, and neighborhoods change. St. Matthias is no different, explains church treasurer Bill Mance, a member since 2003.

Over the years, he’s watched the congregation diversify, a trend reflected in the tagline on St. Matthias’ website: “Inclusive and multicultural.”

Today, roughly half of St. Matthias’ 80 members are Black, the other half are white. Some are new to the area; others have lived in Asheville their whole lives. And through worship and involvement with the St. Matthias community, all are keenly aware of issues surrounding race.

“We have discussions about race routinely,” says Mance, who is Black. “The whites aren’t afraid to talk about it, and of course the African Americans aren’t afraid to talk about it. It gets included in Sunday school and church services.”

St. Matthias is the “gold standard” of racially integrated churches in the area,

‘GOLD STANDARD’: The congregation at St. Matthias Episcopal Church is seen as one of the most diverse in Asheville. Here, a handful of members gather after a service in 2019. Photo courtesy of St. Matthias Episcopal Church says the Rev. Brian Combs, pastor at the Haywood Street Congregation. As congregations across the region grapple with shifting demographics and a year of racial upheaval, multiracial congregations find themselves tackling tough conversations in the way they know best: worship and fellowship.

“This is what we feel is intended when we talk about community,” Mance says. “It should be diverse, because Christianity speaks of being there for everybody. And we live that.”

A NEW NORMAL

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously called 11 a.m. Sunday “the most segregated hour in Christian America.” But the past 20 years have seen an uptick in multicultural congregations, explains Mark Chaves, a professor of sociology and religious studies at Duke University’s Divinity School. Chaves directs the National Congregations Study, a survey of religious groups conducted every few years.

The NCS defines a multiracial church as having no one racial or ethnic group constitute more than 80% 8

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of congregants. Last year, researchers found multiracial congregations had increased from 6% of all U.S. churches in 1998 to 16% in 2019; over the same period, the percentage of all worshippers participating in multiracial congregations jumped from 13% to 24%.

Across denominations, the study found that Catholic congregations were the most diverse, followed by evangelical Protestant, Pentecostal protestant and mainline Protestant congregations.

Chaves suggests that the most important change has been a drop in all-white congregations, from 19% in 1998 to just 6% in 2019.

“This trend sometimes goes under the radar because people think that a handful of African American or Latino families doesn’t really alter the culture of the church,” he says. “I’m not so sure about that. I think that even some minority presence goes a long way to changing the culture.”

The shift may be partly driven by increased upward social mobility among African Americans, who may be drawn to the shorter worship services and different style commonly found among predominantly white, liberal churches, Chaves speculates. These

congregations may appeal to LGBTQ people of color who may not feel welcome in more traditional spaces, he notes. Increasing political polarization may also drive some congregants of color to churches that mirror their stances on social and racial justice.

But the big unanswered question, Chaves adds, is whether increased diversity in worship will help heal or further exacerbate racial inequalities.

“It’s not just about achieving some diversity: It’s about what to do with it once it’s there,” he says. “How does diversity affect the life of the church and the people in it? Are they breaking down racial barriers inside these churches or are they redirecting them in some way?”

FORGING AN IDENTITY

On a Sunday morning three weeks out from Christmas, St. Eugene Catholic Church in North Asheville celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a day of celebration for the

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N EWS come the most unwelcome people in the world,” whoever they may be. He estimates the congregation’s demographic breakdown falls roughly 80% white, 20% Black.

Church leaders make a point to invite people without housing to choose music, serve Communion, read sacred texts and offer the benediction. In the middle of the sermon, congregants of all backgrounds are invited up to speak. “We’re trying to do something intentionally different about the hierarchy by making an attempt to invert it,” Combs says.

And at St. Matthias, Mance points to the music selected during services as a way the church connects with members of all backgrounds. In addition to the hymnal used across the Episcopal Church, St. Matthias routinely uses a second songbook, Lift Every Voice, with hymns that draw on African American culture and history.

MASS, TRANSFORMED: Traditional Aztec dancers twirled down the aisles of St. Eugene Catholic Church on Dec. 6 in celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The bilingual service honored the intertwined cultures of Hispanic congregants and traditional Catholic liturgical feasts. Photo by Cindy Kunst

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Hispanic Catholic community. Aztec dancers, wearing ornate ceremonial dresses and brightly colored headpieces, twirled to the beat of drums in front of the altar. As the music faded, Mass began — in Spanish.

The congregation at St. Eugene has identified as multiracial for the last 25 years, explains the Rev. Pat Cahill, the church’s pastor. On any given Sunday, roughly a third of attendees identify as Hispanic, he says, with congregants hailing from Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador, Colombia, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala.

To Cahill, the church’s multiracial identity spans more than just having members of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Sunday Mass is offered in English and in Spanish, and he incorporates readings in Tagalog and Creole to celebrate the traditions of Filipino and Haitian attendees. He helps organize retreats and cultural festivals for the region’s Hispanic population, and he says he’s called out members who have made offensive comments about members of color. “We want everyone to feel represented in the tapestry that makes up our church,” he says.

To keep power and privilege out of worship, Combs uses a participatory service style at the Haywood Street Congregation. The United Methodist Mission congregation keeps no formal membership roll and seeks to “wel-

ONE-WAY STREET?

But representation of cultural traditions within worship services only goes so far. To build multiracial congregations, some people must be willing to move into spaces where they’re in the minority. More often than not, this movement only goes one way, Chaves says: People of color tend to visit predominantly white churches, but whites tend to stay away from predominantly nonwhite churches and services.

Despite Cahill’s best attempts, the priest sees that phenomenon working at St. Eugene. It’s rare to see white congregants attend a Spanish Mass, he notes, although Spanish speakers often attend services in English. He attributes much of this to the language barrier. Even though Catholic services are “very predictable,” he sees congregants gravitate to services where they understand most of what’s being said. Most Spanish-speaking congregants know at least some English, Cahill says, and those who don’t often have bilingual school-age children to help translate.

In the 31 years the Rev. John Grant has served as pastor at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church on Eagle Street, only four white members have joined the historically African American congregation. Mount Zion has always participated in interracial fellowship with other Asheville churches, Grant says, but after the “kumbaya and Jesus loves you” moments, the respective congregants go back to their default mode of separateness.

Grant attributes some of this split to the human tendency to gravitate toward people who mirror one another physically and culturally. Racial divides

AT THE ALTAR: As the first female African American to be ordained as a deacon in Western North Carolina, Glenda McDowell, right, takes pride in bringing a bit of representation to a predominantly white congregation. Photo courtesy of McDowell are deeply ingrained into the psyche of American religion, he adds, and aren’t easy to overcome.

“As a congregation, we want diversity,” he says. “Of course, that means not just people coming to African American churches, but it can also mean members of African American churches going to predominantly white congregations. It goes both ways, this diversity thing, and to get really serious about it, we need people going both ways to make it happen.”

REPRESENTATION BREEDS COMPASSION

Speak Life Community Church in Hendersonville is one such place doing that work, explains pastor Eric Gash. Some Sundays, there are just a handful of “Caucasian brothers and sisters” scattered among a majority of Afrcian American members, he says; the next week, the demographics may be flipped, depending on who from his diverse congregation is in attendance.

Regardless of who sits in the pews, Gash says he’s able to use the Bible to preach love and acceptance for people of all backgrounds.

Through Sunday school classes and Bible study, his congregation discusses themes like favoritism, race and bigotry, opening doors for deeper conversations about community divisions. “As a Christian, if someone says they have the love of God in them, but they don’t love me because of the color of my skin

— well, then you know that somebody is lying. And it’s not God,” says Gash, who is Black.

Tough conversations are also the norm at All Souls Cathedral in Biltmore Village, explains Deacon Glenda McDowell. Like other predominantly white congregations, All Souls has its challenges: It’s located in Biltmore Village, long seen as the epicenter of Asheville’s wealth. There’s a stigma attached to the cathedral building itself, which McDowell says conjures ideas of a “high and mighty white church.”

But the congregation is trying, McDowell says. The size and scope of its membership means congregants can have dialogue around topics others may shy away from. Social justice is a priority, especially for the children attending Sunday school.

Internally, the Episcopal church has also shifted to be more inclusive of clergy and members of different genders, sexual orientations and cultures, she says, pointing to her own story as a testament of change: In 2012, McDowell became the first female African American to become an ordained deacon in Western North Carolina. When McDowell is on the altar, she takes pride that children of color can see a church leader who looks like them.

“I see the world changing,” McDowell says. “And hopefully, churches are going to change also.” X MOUNTAINX.COM

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BUNCOMBE BEAT

Property revaluation key to 2021-22 Buncombe budget More than six months remain before the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners must finalize the county’s budget for the next fiscal year. But the board’s basic financial question was already apparent as members met for their annual budget retreat on Dec. 10: How should the county handle the rise in property values expected to result from its impending revaluation?

As explained to the board by Keith Miller, the county’s tax assessor, Buncombe currently levies taxes on about 83% of the true market value for county real estate because properties have appreciated since the last revaluation in 2017. On Friday, Jan. 1, Miller’s office will issue a new taxable value for each of the nearly 127,000 land parcels in the county — a value that will be higher for many property owners, particularly those of residential homes.

“The residential market’s just crazy,” Miller told the Council of Independent Business Owners in a Dec. 11 presentation on the same topic,

adding that COVID-19 had not slowed local housing demand or tamped down prices. “We are amazed almost daily in some of the transactions that we see.”

While commercial properties also saw substantial appreciation from 2017 through 2019, Miller noted, the pandemic’s economic impact had cooled values in 2020. He acknowledged that homeowners would thus likely see proportionally larger gains in valuation than would commercial landlords.

What those higher values mean for Buncombe taxpayers depends on how commissioners adjust the property tax rate, which has remained at 52.9 cents per $100 in assessed value since a 1-cent decrease in 2019. After the 2017 revaluation, for example, the board cut the rate from 60.4 to 53.9 cents, meaning that tax bills did not increase by the same percentage as did property values.

However, commissioners did boost the average tax bill after that last cycle, in which the average property valuation increased by 28%. A house

WHEEL OF FORTUNE: Buncombe County budgeted $342 million in general fund expenditures for fiscal year 2020-21; in the coming fiscal year, spending is projected at roughly $353 million. Graphic courtesy of Buncombe County assessed at $300,000 before 2017 would have been revalued at $384,000 and faced 2017 taxes of $2,070, a 14.2% increase over 2016.

If commissioners were to maintain the rate at 52.9 cents for fiscal year 2021-22, noted Buncombe budget analyst Rusty Mau, the county would see about $237 million in property tax revenue, up nearly 12% from the $212 million budgeted for the current fiscal year. He did not estimate the tax rate that would lead to a revenue-neutral outcome for the revaluation.

Mau did note that, should the tax rate remain the same, total county revenue for 2021-22 would come close to matching projected spending. Commissioners would only need to appropriate $3.4 million from Buncombe’s fund balance to cover projected operating and capital expenses next year, compared with the $14.9 million budgeted from cash reserves this year.

The commissioners did not offer any guidance to staff members about

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the tax rate, although Chair Brownie Newman, a Democrat, said he hoped to compare average citizen tax bills between Buncombe and other counties before making a decision. Instead, much of the board’s discussion concerned which strategic priorities might receive additional spending in the coming year.

Early childhood education, affordable housing and climate protection all received support from at least five members of the seven-member body.

(As of Dec. 7, the board consists of six Democrats and one Republican.)

The only spending proposal with a specific dollar figure attached came from Democratic Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, who is seeking $851,000 in additional funding for early childhood work. She said demand for existing county grants showed that the area’s preschool network was “resource starved.”

— Daniel Walton X

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NE W S

City, county will proceed with Vance removal A city landmark. A place to celebrate and protest. A symbol of trauma and abuse.

Asheville’s Vance Monument is seen as many different things to many different people — but soon, it won’t be seen at all. On Dec. 8, Asheville City Council voted 6-1 to move forward with the Vance Monument Task Force’s recommendation to remove the downtown obelisk, which memorializes Confederate Gov. Zebulon Vance.

Previously on Dec. 7, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners had voted unanimously to accept that same recommendation. Because the monument stands on Asheville property, the decision ultimately fell to the City Council.

Since August, the volunteer Vance Monument Task Force has met weekly to deliberate over the monument’s fate, explained Oralene Simmons, task force co-chair. Simmons and fellow co-chair Deborah Miles explained that the task force, jointly appointed by the city and Buncombe County, had conducted engagement with over 1,000 people by email, text and voice message during 12 weeks of deliberations. They said their work had been particularly shaped by the comments of young people, whom they noted would live longest with the consequences of the decision.

Sandra Kilgore, new to Council as the top finisher in November’s election, was the only elected official to oppose the task force’s recommendation. In her remarks, she argued

BYE-BYE: Asheville’s Vance Monument, shown here in July covered with scaffolding and partially shrouded, may not stand in Pack Square much longer. The Vance Monument Task Force reached a decision about the marker’s fate Nov. 19, voting 11-1 for removal. Photo by Virginia Daffron that repurposing the monument was more likely to bring an already divided community back together.

“This monument represents a dark time in our history, but it was our

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history,” said Kilgore, who is one of Council’s three Black members.

“Maybe we could find some type of consensus to come together and build on that history, where we could actually change the complexion and make it a monument for all people with inclusion and equity.”

The city and county will now work together to determine the next steps, including the costs and logistics for removal. Miles suggested that funding sources beyond the county and city, including The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, could be tapped to pay for the work, although the task force did not provide a cost estimate.

— Molly Horak and Daniel Walton X

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N EWS

APD shares internal restructuring process The Asheville Police Department has followed through with a number of promises Chief David Zack made in June. But the one demand residents and activists repeatedly called for — that the city divest from the APD and invest resources in Asheville’s Black community — has not been heard, some community members say.

At Asheville City Council’s meeting of Dec. 8, City Manager Debra Campbell and Zack each gave an update on their respective 30/60/90-day work plans to address racial justice and economic inclusion initiatives.

City leadership created these work plans after the intergenerational coalition Black AVL Demands repeatedly requested citywide action following the summer’s racial justice protests, Campbell explained.

Instead of reducing the APD budget by 50% as the group demanded, Campbell opted to reassign several positions previously under the APD to other city departments in September, resulting in a 2.5% cut in funding. As

AT THE READY: Law enforcement officers stand outside the Asheville police station during demonstrations on June 3. In the months since, the Asheville Police Department has restructured internally. Photo by Virginia Daffron

MountainX.com/Newsletters 16

DEC. 16-22, 2020

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of Dec. 8, six animal and park warden positions had been moved to the Development Services and Parks and Recreation departments, Campbell said, and a new “neighborhood services specialist” position has been posted.

The city is also forming a new team to focus on data transparency, she noted. City recruiters are looking for a performance analyst and a data communication specialist to work with the Information Technology Services Department.

Internally, the APD has undergone a restructuring first outlined in June, Zack said. A new Community Engagement Division launched in October to “quickly and effectively respond to neighborhood and quality-of-life issues,” Zack said. The team is composed of community resource, public housing and school resource officers; in November, the new unit responded to 23 neighborhood issues and 34 complaints regarding homeless camps, he added.

The department’s Drug Suppression Unit was eliminated as officers shifted their focus from low-level drug offenses to violent crime, Zack continued, and an anonymous tip line is now up and running.

Three budget amendments directing $152,604 to the APD were discussed separately from the rest of Council’s consent agenda at the request of

new member Kim Roney, including two grant applications to the U.S. Department of Justice to fund the purchase of bulletproof vests and rifles.

Consideration of a $20,000 private donation to fund tactical deescalation training was also heard separately.

Adopting the amendments would not add funding to the APD budget, Campbell clarified after a lengthy discussion that included many comments from members of the public. Budget amendments and grants must come before Council for authorization, she explained, but the projected grant awards had already been factored into the department’s 2020-21 budget.

Community members calling into the virtual meeting expressed frustration that funding for additional weaponry was on the table. “Throwing more money at an already militarized police force for more weapons, especially long-range rifles, only continues to reinforce police officer’s incorrect perception that their lives are constantly in danger and they need to kill us before they are killed themselves,” said Rebekah Morrisson.

“Putting rifles in the hands of cops doesn’t do any good for our community,” echoed Chloe Moore, who identified as a Black farmer in Asheville.

“Can the rifles feed people? No. Can they provide a healthy education for people in our community? No. Can they give us stable housing to help people avoid violent situations? No. Can they murder one of our neighbors? Yes.” New rifles purchased with the DOJ grant will replace “unserviceable and malfunctioning” weapons currently in APD’s arsenal, Zack noted. “In this city, we’ve had 44 people shot, we’ve responded to more than 600 calls of gun discharges in this city alone and we’ve had 11 people murdered.

Unfortunately, we need to have the tools that we need to protect the public,” he said.

The budget amendments ultimately passed, despite Roney’s opposition to all three. New member Sage Turner joined Roney in voting against the rifle amendment.

Budget discussions will resume later this winter as city departments begin developing requests for the 2021-22 operating budget. Independent facilitators Shemekka Ebony Coleman of #IAmBrilliant and Christine Edwards and Glenn Thomas of Amplify Charlotte are expected to return to lead discussions surrounding public safety, Campbell said.

— Molly Horak X

MOUNTAINX.COM

DEC. 16-22, 2020

17

FEATURE

Dust in the wind

Marshall phone carves out space for spirituality and grief

BY LAURA HACKETT lhackett@mountainx.com Just off state Highway 213 in Marshall, a 1940s rotary phone sits inside a white, glass-paned phone booth, overlooking a garden and, in the distance, a ridgeline. While not physically connected to any network, the phone facilitates spiritual connections. Here, visitors can pick up the handset, “call” their lost loved ones and release whatever words they wish to communicate into the wind.

As Western North Carolina continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, the wind phone’s creator, Susan Vetrone, hopes the space will offer respite and a glimmer of hope to anyone struggling with the complex emotions that accompany loss.

“People are carrying around a lot of grief,” explains Vetrone, a Marshall resident who conceptualized the project in June and oversaw the booth’s installation in October.

“It’s hard to lose people you love. ...

I hope this helps to relieve some of that angst.”

The concept for the Marshall wind phone, says Vetrone, is based on the original “phone of the wind” in Otsuchi, Japan, created by garden designer Itaru Sasaki in 2010. Sasaki initially built the phone to cope with his grief over his dead cousin. But after a tsunami and its aftermath killed 20,000 members of his community the following year, Sasaki opened the site to the public. In the subsequent three years, the booth became a community cornerstone, receiving over 10,000 visitors.

Vetrone first heard the story of the wind phone as she was mourning her mother’s battle (and eventual passing) with Parkinson’s disease and dementia. “It really moved me,” she recalls. “I immediately started seeking out a way to make it happen here. I wanted it to mirror — almost exactly if it could — the Japanese phone booth that brought so many people comfort.”

Replicating the style of the original wind phone wasn’t easy. Vetrone had to sift through many red, shiny 18

DEC. 16-22, 2020

MOUNTAINX.COM

WINDY WORDS: Woodfin resident Aaron Kreizman uses the Marshall wind phone to connect with a loved one. Photo by Laura Hackett “UK- style” booths before eventually tracking down a plain wooden one, which she then painted white. “We wanted the feeling of lightness and spirituality,” she explains.

And to evoke traditional Japanese architecture, Vetrone commissioned local sculptor Steve Reed to create the booth’s ornate copper roof.

She also weatherized the structure and installed solar lights inside the booth so visitors could make calls after dark.

Neighbor Sherrye Perry, who has lost both of her parents and visits the wind phone often, appreciates that it gives her the space to “say what you need to say.”

“It reminds me that there are all different ways and resources and paths to communicate with — at least in my mind — my creator and

my ancestors,” Perry adds. “That we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. I can’t see them, but you can feel them. And they see me, and I feel uplifted by knowing that.” X

How to get there The wind phone is open to the public at 386 Madison Heights Drive in Marshall, about a 25-minute drive from downtown Asheville.

From Asheville, take Interstate 240 to Interstate 26 west. At Exit 19A, take U.S. Highway 25/70 north toward Marshall. Turn right on State Road 213. After 2 miles, turn left on Madison Heights Drive.

The parking lot is on the right. X

ASHEVILLE ARCHIVES

by Thomas Calder | tcalder@mountainx.com

Strange encounters Ghost stories from the city’s past

LET YOUR IMAGINATION RUN WILD: We explore a pair of paranormal events in this week’s Archives. Unfortunately, finding photos of ghosts is rather difficult. So we opted for this image of four blurry, faceless, unidentified men. There’s something ghostly about them, don’t you agree? Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Collection, Pack Memorial Library, Asheville In the spirit of this week’s issue, we examine a pair of ghost tales from Asheville’s past.

’WITH THE AID OF AN AXE’

On March 3, 1910, police arrested one Walter Walker for possession of a concealed weapon. In the following day’s paper, The Asheville Citizen reported on the unusual case.

According to the article, Walker was detained the previous night after an officer found him on the verge of breaking into the Salvation Army’s meetinghouse “unceremoniously with the aid of an axe.”

Walker claimed he had reason to believe a ghost, who had allegedly been writing threatening letters to widows in the community, resided inside the building.

However, when police further searched Walker, they discovered a pair of brass knuckles on his person

in addition to the axe. This, the paper explained, was used as “evidence that he had prepared for an encounter with something more material than ghosts.”

An article published in the March 5 edition of The Asheville Gazette News suggests Walker suffered some form of mental illness. While in custody, the paper reported, he violently destroyed his jail cell.

“Just what is to be done with Walker has not been determined,” the article continued. “His people have been notified, however, and it is expected that he will be removed shortly to an asylum or sanitarium.”

No subsequent reports appear about Walker’s case.

THE THING

Exactly seven years later, on March 3, 1917, The Asheville Citizen ran another story about a paranormal event.

“There is one Asheville business man — and his wife — who insists that he saw a ghost walking along a city street the other morning,” the paper wrote. “He waves aside all offered explanations having to do with light refractions and says there’s no use trying to explain his ghost away.”

According to the unidentified businessman, his wife awakened him in the early morning, “at that time when man’s slumber most nearly resembles death itself and [when] most souls pass into eternity.” His frightened wife pointed outside where a large luminous shape floated down the street.

“The Thing, call it a ghost if you will, was not more than thirty feet from where I stood watching,” the man said.

Moving swiftly and silently, the figure cast no shadow and disappeared once it neared the streetlight.

“To deny that I saw The Thing would be only to deny evidence of my senses,” the man continued. “While I am a plain man, having nothing to do with those questions the learned debate, still I know The Thing was not flesh and blood.”

A doctor was summoned to administer “some quieting draught” to the man’s reportedly hysterical wife. Once she was asleep, the doctor asked the man for the exact time of the sighting.

Sparing no suspense, the unnamed businessman concluded his account with the following plot twist: “‘The clock in the hall was striking the quarter when my wife roused me,’ I replied [to the doctor]. ‘Why?’ Slowly drawing on his gloves as he prepared to leave he said no more for an instant. Then he turned and looked me squarely in the eye.

‘I was at a home not far from here this morning where a soul passed to eternity at thirteen minutes past the hour. I wonder if your clock and my watch agree?’

Taking his gold timepiece from his pocket he turned and glanced at the big hall clock whose musical chimes were even then proclaiming the hour.

Leaning over I looked at the white dial. To a second the clock and the physician’s watch were in accord.

Neither of us spoke a word, then, in a minute I heard the purring of his car’s engine. I walked slowly back to where my wife was sleeping quietly, and sat me down by her bedside.”

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR DEC. 16-25, 2020 For a full list of community calendar guidelines, please visit mountainx.com/calendar.

For questions about free listings, call 828-251-1333, ext.

137. For questions about paid calendar listings, please call 828-251-1333, ext. 320.

Holiday Events = ❄ In-Person Events = Shaded All other events are virtual

ART Asheville Art Museum: Room with a View Discussion led by master docent Sarah Reincke.

WE (12/16), 1pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8sf Asheville Art Museum: Women in a Material World Discussion led by touring docents Sylvie Horvath and Michelle Weitzman Dorf.

FR (12/18), 12pm, Registration required, $10, avl.mx/8ro

MUSIC & DANCE

❄

Asheville Ballet: The Nutcracker 2020 Performance filmed at Diana Wortham Theatre. Available to stream through 1/3.

SU (12/20), 5pm, $20, avl.mx/8sb

❄

Asheville Music School: Home for the Holidays Featuring Agent 23

Skidoo, Jonathan Scales, Free Planet Radio and more.

TH (12/17), 6:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8ry

❄

A Swannanoa Solstice Folk music and dance featuring Robin Bullock, David Holt, Ellie Grace and more.

Virtual access available through 12/31: avl.mx/8se.

SU (12/20), 2pm, $35$45, Wortham Center for the Performing Arts, 18 Biltmore Ave

LITERARY Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award Celebration Recognition of finalists, hosted

by Western North Carolina Historical Association.

WE (12/16), 6pm, Registration required, $10, avl.mx/8rz YMI: Black Experience Book Club The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

EMPOWERING THE LEADER IN EACH BOY

Journeymen supports adolescent boys on their paths to becoming men of integrity. Our cost-free program is now enrolling young men 12-17.

Mentees participate in bi-weekly mentoring groups and a semi-annual Rites of Passage Adventure Weekend facilitated by men in the community.

journeymenasheville@gmail.com (706) 949-3202

TH (12/17), 6:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8r0 Notorious HBC (History Book Club) Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

by David W. Blight.

TH (12/17), 7pm, Free, avl.mx/7ik Leicester Library Creative Writing Group Community workshop.

FR (12/18), 3pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8sg Ales & Tales Book Club Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep. SU (12/20), 2pm, Free, avl.mx/7nl

THEATER

❄

Immediate Theatre Project: It’s a Wonderful Life 2020 Modern twist on the classic.

Ongoing (through 12/20), 7:30pm, $25, avl.mx/8q9

TH (12/17), 7:30pm, $23, avl.mx/8sp

❄

A Christmas Memory Stage adaptation of Truman Capote's short story, performed

by E.R. Haire. RSVP: avl.mx/8s9.

SA-SU (12/19-20), 2:30pm, Free, The Episcopal Church of St. John in the Wilderness, 1905 Greenville Hwy, Flat Rock Asheville Community Theatre: Transition Staged reading by Maria C. Young.

SA (12/19), 7:30pm, $10, avl.mx/8nq

❄

Centre Stage: Merry & Bright Christmas variety show. Available to stream through 1/2.

SU (12/20), On-demand, $25, avl.mx/8sd

❄

Magnetic Theatre: A Very COVID Christmas Storytelling by humorist Murphy Funkhouser-Capps.

SU (12/20), 3pm, $23, avl.mx/8sq

❄

A Flat Rock Playhouse Christmas Variety show.

Ongoing (through 12/20), On-demand, $50, avl.mx/8sr

❄

Hendersonville Community Theatre: A Christmas Carol Radio Play Created by Anthony E. Palermo.

Ongoing (through 1/2), On-demand, avl.mx/8s7

❄

Listen to This: Stories & More on Screen True tales of “pernicious presents”

by Tom Chalmers.

TH (12/17), 7:30pm, $15, avl.mx/8pa

❄

Magnetic Theatre: Getting Through the HoliDaze Holiday short play series hosted by George Awad.

CIVICS Stay up to date on city and county government meetings by subscribing to the Xpress daily newsletter: avl.mx/8st MountainTrue University: Rethinking Smart Growth Talk on community planning and development by Asheville Design Center director Chris Joyell.

WE (12/16), 12pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8si City of Asheville Mountain Community Capital Fund Regular meeting.

WE (12/16), 1pm, avl.mx/8sv City of Asheville Planning & Zoning Commission Special meeting.

TH (12/17), 5pm, avl.mx/8b6

BENEFITS

❄

100 Coats & Cans Holiday Drive Accepting coats and cold-weather gear for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Buncombe County, and non-perishable foods for MANNA FoodBank.

TH (12/17), 10am-1pm, Engel & Völkers, 26 College St

❄

Holiday Fun Day & Coat/Blanket Drive Donation collection, Elf movie screening and ugly sweater contest.

SA (12/19), 12pm, UpCountry Brewing, 1042 Haywood Rd

FESTIVALS & FAIRS

❄

ASAP Holiday Farmers Market Local food, art, jewelry, body care and more.

SA (12/19), 9am, A-B Tech, 340 Victoria Rd

❄

Last Minute Holiday Market Handmade and vintage vendors.

SU (12/20), 11am-4pm, Regeneration Station, 26 Glendale Ave

❄

Downtown Sylva Holiday Scavenger Hunt Hosted by Jackson County Public Library.

Full instructions: avl.mx/8s8.

FR-SA (12/18-19), 10am-4pm, Downtown Sylva

❄ Grinchmas 2020 Holiday food and drink menu and ugly sweater contest.

SA (12/19), 11am-9pm, Bold Rock Hard Cider, 72 School House Rd, Mills River

BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY Incredible Towns Business Network General meeting.

WE (12/16), 11am, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/7g8 AFP: Donor-Centered Prospect Development The ethics of data privacy when prospecting, presented by T. Clay Buck and Ryan Woroniecki.

WE (12/16), Registration required, 11:30am, $15, avl.mx/8rm The Business of Craft Beverage: Hiring People A-B Tech Small Business Center webinar.

TH (12/17), 3pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8sj The BluePrint: Nobody Wants to Start from Scratch Business planning webinar by J. Hackett.

MO (12/21), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8sm

CLASSES, MEETINGS & EVENTS OnTrack WNC: Debt Payment During Uncertain Times Live webinar.

WE (12/16), 5:30pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/8sk Spanish Conversation Group For adult language learners.

TH (12/17), 5pm, Free, avl.mx/7c6 Asheville Friends of Astrology Monthly meeting.

FR (12/18), 7pm, fb.com/ ashevilleastrology

❄

Ethical Humanist Society of Asheville: Winterfest Games and discussion led by Gloria Cosgrove Smith.

SU (12/20), 2:30pm, Free, avl.mx/8s

KIDS Miss Malaprop's Storytime Ages 3-9.

WE (12/16), 10am, Free, avl.mx/73b How to Use a Compass Ages 10 and older.

Register: avl.mx/8rx.

WE (12/16), 1pm, Free, Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education, 1401 Fish Hatchery Rd, Pisgah Forest

WELLNESS Adult Eating Disorder Support Group Hosted by Carolina Resource Center for Eating Disorders.

WE (12/16), 6pm, Registration required, Free, avl.mx/82e Homeplace Running Club Led by Raelin Reynolds.

WE (12/16), 6pm, Free, Homeplace Beer, 6 S Main St, Burnsville Tranzmission: QTPOC Support Meeting Questions: info@ tranzmission.org.

TH (12/17), 6:30pm, Free, tranzmission.org Prama: Yoga History & Philosophy Webinar on yoga’s origins, evolution and practices.

TH (12/17), 8pm, Registration required, Free, prama.org Tranzmission: Transformers Support Meeting Questions: info@ tranzmission.org.

TH (12/19), 2pm, Free, tranzmission.org

SPIRITUALITY Jewish Power Hour Hosted by Rabbi Susskind.

TH (12/17), 6pm, Free, chabadasheville.org

MOUNTAINX.COM

Groce UMC: A Course in Miracles Group Study Register to get Zoom link: 828-712-5472.

MO (12/21), 6:30pm, Free

VOLUNTEERING Conserving Carolina: Rock Crushers Trail building and maintenance. Register: avl.mx/8ic.

WE (12/16), 9:30am, Hickory Nut Gorge, Gerton Hemlock Volunteer Work Day w/ Forest Restoration Alliance Assistance with hemlock treatment and selective breeding program. Register: avl.mx/8rt.

WE (12/16), 10am, Free, Mountain Research Station, 265 Test Farm Rd, Waynesville Lake Logan Volunteer Thursday Maintenance, kitchen and office assistance.

Register: brice@ lakelogan.org.

TH (12/17), 9am, Lake Logan, 25 Wormy Chestnut Ln, Canton Asheville GreenWorks Planting Workday Planting pawpaws, box elder and green ash.

Register: avl.mx/8sh.

SA (12/19), 10am, Hominy Creek Greenway, 130 Shelburne Rd

DEC. 16-22, 2020

21

HEALTH ROUNDUP

by Xpress Staff | news@mountainx.com

WCRM offers Code Purple shelter Asheville residents experiencing homelessness will have a place to ride out the coldest nights of winter thanks to Western Carolina Rescue Ministries. The nonprofit has partnered with the First Congregational Church on Oak Street to offer Code Purple shelter for up to 50 people when nighttime temperatures drop below freezing.

The church represents the only such overnight facility in Asheville; last winter, other Code Purple shelters included the Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry Veteran’s Quarters and Steadfast House. Concerns over the spread of COVID-19 have led many organizations to alter their approach to serving the unhoused.

Micheal Woods, WCRM’s executive director, says everyone seeking Code Purple shelter must wear a mask, follow federal COVID-19 guidelines and pass a temperature check. Those with a fever or other coronavirus symptoms will be referred to Buncombe County for testing and will be housed in one of the hotel

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CLOSE TO HOME: On Dec. 10, members of the media toured CommunityLab, a testing facility established by Sanesco International in Arden, to learn about the company’s commitment to focus the majority of the lab’s capacity on COVID-19 testing for WNC residents. Sanesco CEO Hector Romero, center, explained that backing from Dogwood Health Trust supports that local work. Photo courtesy of Sanesco rooms reserved by the county for isolation as they await test results.

Woods notes that, while his organization served an average of 10 clients on Code Purple nights in 2019, that number represents women and children only. ABCCM had previously provided overnight shelter to men, so demand for the WCRM facility will likely be greater this year.

“The big thing that we are in need of at the Code Purple shelter will be extra blankets as the season continues,” Woods says of how Asheville residents can best support WCRM’s efforts. “If the need arises, we may have to open an additional location and we will have to purchase more cots and mats.”

Meanwhile, a warming center hosted by housing nonprofit Homeward Bound at the Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 27 Church St., operates weekdays 8 a.m.-noon when wind chill temperatures are in the 50s or higher.

On colder days, the center remains open until 3 p.m. The facility serves up to 50 individuals at a time and uses masks and physical distancing to comply with COVID-19 guidance.

Mission Hospital regains top Leapfrog safety rating For the first time since its 2019 takeover by Nashville-based HCA Healthcare, Asheville’s Mission Hospital received an “A” designation in the biannual Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade rankings. The 22

DEC. 16-22, 2020

MOUNTAINX.COM

grade reflects the hospital’s performance on 27 safety measures, including rates of postoperative infections and patient falls.

Mission’s grade had dropped to “C” a year ago, and its last “A” rating was achieved in spring of 2018, when the hospital was still under local nonprofit ownership. The only other Mission facility covered by Leapfrog, Mission Hospital McDowell in Marion, remained at a “B” rating, down from the “A” reported in fall 2019.

“This recognition from Leapfrog is thanks to our thousands of caregivers across Mission Hospital who work tirelessly every day to improve care to our patients,” said Chad Patrick, Mission Hospital’s CEO. “They are a truly committed, caring and highly skilled team of professionals.”

Other regional hospitals reported mixed safety results. AdventHealth Hendersonville received an “A” grade — its ninth consecutive rating — as did Pardee Hospital in Hendersonville and Haywood Regional Medical Center in Clyde. But Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva received a “B” grade, and Western North Carolina’s lowest score of “C” went to Rutherford Regional Medical Center in Rutherfordton.

Black transgender Southerners face health challenges

The Asheville-based nonprofit Campaign for Southern Equality pub-

lished a new report regarding the health of Black transgender people throughout the South. The document, based on survey responses from 131 participants, describes considerable difficulties for that population, particularly in mental health.

Black trans respondents reported higher rates of depression, anxiety, drug abuse, self-harm and suicidal ideation than did a broad sample of LGBTQ Southerners.

The percentage of Black trans individuals living with HIV is higher than that in the broader LGBTQ population; the group also reports worse experiences with health care providers.

“As a transgender leader in the South, I know how strong and resilient transgender people are — but to read about respondents’ struggles with mental health challenges, depression and anxiety and getting access to quality, affirming care breaks my heart,” said Ivy Hill, the Campaign for Southern Equality’s community health program director.

“Everyone should be able to access the care they need, and we must work to strategically to implement both anti-racist and trans-affirming health care practices.”

New on the block

• CommunityLab, a high-end molecular and diagnostic testing laboratory operated by Sanesco International, will allocate most of its resources to support the demand for COVID-19 testing in Western North Carolina. The local focus is supported by funding from Dogwood Health Trust.

• The Buncombe County Courthouse now offers a sensory mindfulness garden, installed in early November by Warren Wilson College students. The garden is open to all courthouse visitors, and those involved in the county’s Veterans Treatment Court will use the space as a way to improve mental health.

• Pardee UNC Health Care in Hendersonville received three ventilators and five hospital beds from Dogwood Health Trust to boost its treatment capacity in response to an increase in COVID-19 cases. The donation brings Pardee’s ICU ventilator capacity up to 27; as of press time, 189 ventilators were available throughout all of Western North Carolina’s hospitals, with 66 in use.

• AdventHealth Hendersonville named Chris Taulbee director of physician services and Paul B. Johnson director of practice operations for several AdventHealth Medical Group locations in Western North Carolina.

• Hendersonville-based Yoga and Massage has opened a new location at 1620 Brevard Road in Laurel Park.

The facility features four massage

rooms, a non-heated yoga studio and free parking.

Community kudos

• Jodi Grabowski, behavioral health system coordinator for the Henderson County Department of Public Health, was chosen from among 144 applicants as one of three North Carolina participants for Emory University’s Public Health Leadership Institute. The program offers advanced training for government health workers to tackle social determinants of health.

• Matt Young, a nurse with AdventHealth Hendersonville, received the DAISY Award in recognition for displaying “uncommon compassion” toward patients during the COVID19 pandemic.

• The N.C. State Veterans Home - Black Mountain was designated as a “Best Nursing Home” by U.S. News & World Report, placing it among the top fifth of all skilled nursing facilities in the country.

• Mission Hospital became the only Magnet-certified facility in Western North Carolina. Administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center,

the designation denotes “rigorous standards for nursing excellence” and has been awarded to fewer than 10% of U.S. hospitals.

• Mission Hospital also was honored for its heart services by Fortune and IBM Watson Health. “This 2021 award marks the 15th year that Mission Hospital has been recognized by IBM Watson Health as a Top 50 Cardiovascular Hospital,” said Dr. William D. Kuehl, Mission’s chief of cardiology.

• Brevard-based Gaia Herbs was awarded the gold medal in the wellness products category for Inc.’s inaugural Best in Business list, which recognizes small and medium-sized privately held businesses that have made a positive impact.

• The Minority Diabetes Prevention Program, a joint project of Buncombe County Health and Human Services, the YMCA of WNC and the AshevilleBuncombe Institute for Parity Achievement, was fully recognized by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nationally, participants in CDC-recognized programs reduce their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 58%. X

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DEC. 16-22, 2020

23

GREEN SCENE

Back to the land

Field to Shroud seeds healthy death culture

BY GINA SMITH ginasmithnews@gmail.com Burnsville resident Katherine Savage feels a unique kinship with a small patch of ground on the campus of Warren Wilson College. The 5-by-60-foot plot was home this year to a crop of flax, a traditional Southern Appalachian fiber plant, which she is helping process into linen that she will someday wear as her burial shroud.

Savage’s efforts to grow and fabricate the material in which she’ll eventually be buried may seem morbid in a society that abhors and fears death. But to the death midwife and self-described “death edu-culturist,” the process makes beautiful sense. Her work helps families and communities navigate — and normalize — death and dying through education, ritual, home funerals and sustainable body disposition using caskets or shrouds made from natural materials.

The early inspiration for the Field to Shroud project, says Savage, emerged from her experiences conducting home funerals in which families used treasured heirloom quilts for their loved ones’ shrouds. Indigenous author Martin Prechtel’s writings on Mayan culture and spirituality, as well

WARP AND WEFT: Warren Wilson College fiber arts instructor Melanie Wilder is pictured weaving on her loom last summer. She’s now weaving Katherine Savage’s burial shroud for the Field to Shroud project, using linen thread spun from flax fibers grown on the college’s campus. Photo courtesy of Katherine Savage as discussions Savage facilitated about shrouds during a death-focused women’s group, further nurtured the idea.

“I realized that my values had long been around keeping my circles strong

and close to the earth, growing a lot of my own food,” she explains. “I knew then that I was going to be growing my own shroud.”

CYCLE OF GROWTH

But the project was never intended as a solely personal journey. In fall 2019, Savage began seeking local collaborators who could help transform her idea into a community-focused effort. She imagined a multipronged mission of highlighting environmentally friendly burial practices, shifting cultural views about death and dying and fostering the development of a local flax-growing and linen-making industry.

That November, she connected with Warren Wilson College fiber arts instructor and Wild Earth Textiles owner Melanie Wilder. As an artist devoted to working with locally grown fibers and dyes, Wilder felt an immediate synergy with Savage’s vision.

“I had always wanted to do a big gallery installation that talks about cloth from birth to death and the cycles in between and how we use cloth,” says Wilder. “So, I said, ‘Yes, let’s do this!’”

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Wilder prefers using plant fibers over animal fibers, and because flax was historically grown and processed in Western North Carolina for individual and community use, it presented an obvious medium for the shroud.

Savage sourced flax seeds specific to fiber production from the Netherlands, where flax growing is still widespread, and the two broadcast them by hand in mid-March (“when the first redbud leaves started coming out,” says Wilder) on a plot tilled for the project by the Warren Wilson garden crew.

From that point, Wilder says, the crop needed little attention. “It doesn’t really require any irrigation or amendments or weeding. It just kind of takes care of itself.” After about 100 days, when the plants were ready to be harvested, their small taproots allowed them to be pulled easily from the ground with roots intact.

Then came the real work of processing, accomplished with the help of Wilder’s fiber arts students. First, they soaked the plants in tanks of water for about four days, a process called retting that disintegrates the pectins in the woody stems.

Next, the partially decomposed plant material was air-dried before the more labor-intensive steps of braking, scutching and hackling. Those processes, respectively, break up the woody stems, scrape stem material from the fibers and comb out remaining impurities and short fibers. The resulting long, blond ponytails of flax strands are ready for spinning on wooden wheels into thread that’s woven into fabric on a loom.

WEAVING COMMUNITY

Savage and Wilder initially planned to host community learning opportunities around each step of the project. “We envisioned many working circles happening in multiple realms engaging farmers and folks who work with healthy death practices and fiber artists or people who wanted to learn about the fiber process,” Wilder explains.

But COVID-19 forced them to scale back. Warren Wilson fiber arts students have helped some with spinning and weaving, and Savage and Wilder hosted two outdoor, socially distanced learning circles this fall at Wilder’s home in Swannanoa to process and spin the fiber. They also collaborated with local mutual aid initiative Cooperate WNC for an online webinar in late November focused on developing community-rooted death care practices.

THREADS OF FATE: Bundles of flax grown as part of the Field to Shroud project are laid out before being spun into thread. Photo courtesy of Katherine Savage “The hope was that we could begin to build some capacity in terms of other people wanting to try out some of these ideas or having some piece of the puzzle that they didn’t have to make it grow,” Savage says. “That momentum could then begin to lean toward becoming a mutual aid activity.”

Natasha Bowden, a farmer in Yancey County, has expressed interest in growing flax for the project, and Kathleen Wood of Dig In! Yancey Community Garden hopes to connect interested growers with relevant know-how. Savage and Wilder also plan to host a learning circle for area growers when it’s safe to hold large gatherings again.

The project’s long-term goals include building a dedicated WNC plant fiber processing facility. Flax, Wilder points out, can be processed on the same equipment as hemp, another fiber crop that’s rapidly gaining regional traction. “If we were able to scale up, we’d be able to process hemp as well, and I think that’s kind of the future of fibers,” she says, noting that small but successful flax and linen industries have successfully taken root in Northern California and Oregon.

A less tangible outcome for the project’s participants so far, says Wilder, has been a reconnection to the ancient tradition of sharing with one’s community the time-consuming, meditative work of processing fiber by hand. “People really seem to enjoy the process,” she says. “That has its worth, just as much as the monetary aspect of the whole economics around creating a local cloth infrastructure.”

One of the shroud’s three planned 2 1/2-by-10-foot fabric panels had been woven at press time, and work continues on the remainder. After washing and hemming, the undyed, finished shroud will measure 5 feet by 8 feet, and enough fiber from the harvest will remain for Wilder to create a sample shroud for future gatherings and classes. “[The experience] has certainly been beautiful,” says Savage. “I think I’m just as excited about how it seems to be impacting people who are coming to these events and who hear the story of it as I am about the shroud itself.”

For more on Field to Shroud and Savage’s work as a death midwife, visit deathseedinglife.com. X

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FOOD

Taste-full gifts

Homemade edible and drinkable presents deliver holiday cheer Malcolm McMillian has spent most of his time in the restaurant’s kitchen. But when he visited family in Charlotte recently, he dug into the host’s cupboards for ingredients to create a coffee rub for the steaks he was grilling.

“Most of these things people already have, but if not, they’re easy to find at the grocery,” he says. “Put it in 4-ounce jars with a bow on top, and it makes a great stocking stuffer.”

McMillan recommends rubbing the spice blend on steaks right before they hit the hot grill, but chicken or pork should be done 30 minutes in advance and fish or skewered shrimp should be rubbed just 10 minutes before cooking.

BY KAY WEST kwest@mountainx.com Though calendars and day planners seemed as obsolete and useless in 2020 as business suits and lipstick, time marched on while we were all home-schooling and Zoom-meeting.

Hanukkah is nearly over, Christmas is around the corner, and you’ve barely put a dent in your holiday gifting list.

Fear not! Easy, delicious, thoughtful and inexpensive solutions are as close as your kitchen with a little help from these local pros.

’THE BEST THING I’VE EVER TASTED’

Ashley English, author of several books about food and small-scale homesteading, is full of ideas for edible gifts. In November, one of her Small Measure Sunday School Zoom classes demonstrated 10 possibilities, including infused oils, flavored salts, granola and Irish cream. When considering what to make, she says, first keep the recipient in mind in order to create something meaningful or useful.

Also, she adds, consider the gift’s destination. “If you’re shipping, it needs to be shelf-stable, like seasoned

MARSHMALLOW WORLD: Homemade marshmallows are delectable on their own or added to a mug of hot chocolate. Photo courtesy of Ivory Road Cafe & Kitchen salts, granola and flavored nuts,” she says. “If you’re going to deliver it yourself, even if you drop it at the front door, you have more options.”

One of her personal favorites from the Zoom class was seasoned black and green olives. “I told my

Ashley English’s seasoned olives Makes 1½ cups • 1½ cups green or black olives, such as picholine or kalamata (pitted or not), rinsed and drained • One 1½- to 2-cup capacity jar with lid Marinade for green olives: • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil • Three garlic cloves, thinly sliced • 2 tablespoons oregano, finely chopped • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves* • Finely grated zest of one orange (preferably organic) * Remove the leaves from the stems by running two fingers down each stem.

Marinade for black olives:

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil • Three garlic cloves, thinly sliced • 2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped • Two bay leaves • Finely grated zest of one lemon (preferably organic)

Place the olives, garlic, herbs and citrus zest in a glass jar. Pour the olive oil over the ingredients. Place a lid onto the jar and give it a good shake. Refrigerate to marinate for 24 hours. Keep the olives chilled and consume within two weeks.

Note: For gifting purposes, these are best given to recipients located nearby, as they can be taken from your refrigerator to theirs without much delay in refrigeration time. They are best served at room temperature, so make sure to pass that information on to your recipients. X

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husband these olives were the best things I’ve ever tasted, and I made them!” she says with a laugh. “They reminded me of something I might get at Cúrate.”

COFFEE RUB FOR STEAKS

Since moving to Asheville and joining the staff at Benne on Eagle this summer, then moving into the position of chef de cuisine in October,

Malcolm McMillian’s coffee rub • 1/4 cup Tajin (spice blend brand found in Latino markets) • 2 tablespoons ground coffee • 1/4 cup paprika • 2 tablespoons ground black pepper • 2 tablespoons kosher salt (must be kosher salt, not iodized salt) • 1 tablespoon white sugar Put all ingredients in a bowl.

Using a whisk, mix very well until everything is thoroughly blended.

Place in 4-ounce airtight jars. X

TIN TREATS

Kim Lloyd, owner of Celine and Company Catering, is a fan of presentation when it comes to food gifts,

Kim Lloyd’s homemade chocolate syrup • 1½ cups granulated sugar • 1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder • 1 pinch salt • 1 cup water • 2 teaspoons vanilla In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Whisk to combine. Gradually stir in the water and stir until well blended. Set over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Boil three minutes, stirring frequently with a whisk and reducing heat if syrup threatens to boil over. Remove from heat; pour into heatproof 4-cup measuring cup or pitcher.

Cool on counter (uncovered) until it reaches room temperature, then pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a 2½-cup-capacity container. Stir in vanilla. Store covered in refrigerator.

Note: Add extra water for a more pourable syrup or a handful of chocolate chips for more of a chocolate sauce. X

and she prefers containers that can be used again when the edible item is gone. “A few years ago, I gave all the ladies in my family vintage tins filled with high-quality cocoa. I love Cacao Barry brand, but any unsweetened cocoa works,” Lloyd says.

She finds her tins at Lexington Avenue Antiques on Walnut Street, then portions the cocoa in resealable plastic bags before tucking it inside.

Finally, Lloyd wraps the tins with ribbon and ties on a scroll with two recipes: Aunt Kim’s Go-To Cocoa Brownies and Aunt Kim’s homemade chocolate syrup.

“The chocolate syrup is great for making hot cocoa, and this year especially, I recommend it for chocolate martinis,” she says.

PRIME TIME FOR PEPPERMINT

What’s hot cocoa without marshmallows? Chef Jill Wasilewski, owner of Ivory Road Café & Kitchen in Arden, has that covered with a unique homemade confection. “I’ve been making food gifts my whole life and done lots of different things,” she says. “One that people really love is homemade marshmallows. They’re not supersimple — it’s sticky until it sets — but they’re not that hard either, and they’re worth every minute of effort.”

Wasilewski starts with a basic recipe, then adds whatever flavors her imagination suggests. December, she notes, is prime time for peppermint.

“In hot cocoa, the peppermint melts, and it’s delicious.”

She suggests packaging the marshmallows in holiday-themed boxes that can be found in craft stores.

Wasilewski also sells them prepackaged at Ivory Road.

CURRIED NUTS

Rachel Kalin, a personal chef who also prepares meals for Jewish Family Services of WNC, admits she’s not much of a baker, though she gave it a shot at the start of the COVID-19 shutdown. “I started baking challah while I was figuring things out and selling it to neighbors, but I just don’t like dealing with flour,” she confesses.

She prefers savory, and over the summer she dehydrated chili peppers she bought from vendors at the River Arts District Farmers Market.

For gifts, she grinds the peppers to mix with locally produced Celtic Sea Salt, then puts the seasoned salt in little jars.

She also developed a recipe for curried nuts that make a tasty gift.

“This is so easy to make,” she says, though advises not leaving the kitch-

Jill Wasilewski’s homemade marshmallows Basic recipe yields about 40 marshmallows • 3 (1/4-ounce) envelopes granulated gelatin • 1/4 cup water • 1/4 teaspoon salt • 2 cups sugar • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract • 2/3 cup corn syrup Prepare a 9-by-13-inch pan by dusting it very generously and evenly with powdered sugar. Be prepared with a rubber spatula and nonstick cooking spray, such as Pam, before starting. Also be prepared with any toppings you may want to add to your marshmallows, such as crushed peppermint, mini-chocolate chips, toffee bits, etc.

Bloom gelatin by sprinkling over 1/2 cup of water in the bowl of an electric mixer; let sit for five minutes. Boil sugar, corn syrup and water, and using a candy thermometer, bring to 235 degrees exactly. Pour sugar syrup over gelatin in mixer bowl, beat slowly to incorporate then turn to high and beat until mixture thickens drastically. (The time it takes to do this will vary based on the temperature of your kitchen. On a hot day, this could take up to 10 minutes, while on a cold day it might happen much more quickly.)

Add salt and vanilla.

Spray your rubber spatula generously with the nonstick cooking spray and, working as quickly as possible, transfer the marshmallow mixture from the mixing bowl to the prepared pan, spreading flat and evenly. (The mixture will continue to set up and be very sticky. You may have to spray your rubber spatula more than once during this process.) Top with any preferred toppings.

Let marshmallow tray sit at room temperature for one hour to set. Dust the top evenly and generously with powdered sugar and cut into 1¼-by-1¼-inch squares.

Marshmallows keep well in an airtight container for up to two weeks. X

en while the nuts are in the oven as they can burn in a flash.

“You can eat these on their own as a snack, with a beer or toss them in a salad,” she says. “I put some on a hot fudge sundae, and the combo of sweet, salt, spice, cold and heat was perfection.”

BITTERS

Becky Bronson and Spencer Schultz — beverage managers for Cucina 24 and The Admiral, respectively — launched their side gig, Bad Art Cocktail Co., in 2015, making draft sodas. They’ve since added bitters, tonics, mixers and concentrated syrups to their repertoire.

Rachel Kalin’s curried nuts • 1 cup raw almonds • 1 cup raw walnuts • 1 cup raw cashews • 1/2 cup raw macadamia nuts • 1/2 cup raw hazelnuts • 1 tablespoon pink sea salt (ground fine to medium) • 1 tablespoon garam masala • 1 tablespoon curry powder • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper • 1/4 teaspoon garlic granules • pinch or two of nutmeg • pinch or two ground black pepper • 1/4 cup melted ghee (clarified butter) • 2 tablespoons honey

Bitters, in particular, the couple say, are simple to make as gifts for friends who keep a home bar.

“Bitters are the bartender’s salt and pepper,” Schultz explains. “Adding a couple of drops accents a cocktail.”

But bitters are best bestowed upon those who don’t mind waiting three months for the citrus peels, dried fruits and bitter herbs and spices to infuse into the starter jar of highproof grain alcohol.

For more immediate gratification, Schultz urges amateur mixologists to try making batches of cocktails as gifts for friends, alcohol and all.

“Boozy stir drinks like Manhattans, Old-Fashioneds and martinis work best,” he notes. He recommends consulting spirits-dedicated guides and the internet for a huge selection of recipes for bitters and cocktails.

“Everyone loves a cocktail or two over Christmas,” he points out.

“Especially this year.”

Additional recipes from this article, not included in print, can be found online at avl.mx/8sz. X

Preheat oven to 275 degrees and prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. In a large enough bowl for the nuts, whisk the melted ghee with honey. Then whisk in all ground spices. Add more salt if needed. Toss in nuts and use a spatula to coat them evenly. Spread nuts in an even layer on the lined baking sheet and begin roasting. After 10 minutes, pull the tray out and toss the nuts. Continue roasting then tossing the nuts every 10 minutes for up to 30 minutes. Depending on your oven, it may take longer, but check every five minutes after the 30-minute mark. Let nuts cool completely before storing.

Note: Use any combination of your favorite nuts. X

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EXTRA SHOT: Earlier this month, Ashley Williams-Faber, left, and Chris Faber, reopened The Times bar in downtown Asheville serving cappuccinos and lattes rather than craft cocktails. Also featured is a cutout of actor Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf. Photo by Thomas Calder Many people rely on a cuppa joe to kick-start their morning or power through a major project. But Ashley Williams-Faber and Chris Faber, owners of The Times at S&W bar in downtown Asheville, are counting on coffee to keep the lights on at their intimate lounge until they can again serve craft cocktails.

Had they known when they closed March 16 that nearly 10 months later, they’d still be waiting for the green light to reopen, they would have purchased their new espresso machine then rather than waiting until this month, says Chris Faber.

“We’ve watched as every revision to phases was announced, but about three months ago we decided we needed to get open again, and coffee was the way to go,” Faber explains.

Even before the shutdown, he says, they were looking at a craft coffee concept to complement their cocktail brand and take advantage of the development of the adjacent S&W Food Hall

to bring daytime traffic to their afterdark gathering place. The shutdown sped up the plan, and just in time for cold weather.

“People want coffee this time of year,” Faber says. “Since we reopened, it’s been so great, having music playing, the lights on, the doors open. Just coming in every morning, getting the espresso machine going and doing all the prep, it’s been wonderful.”

So far, the most popular of the specialty coffee drinks has been the hot buttered latte, which Faber says is reminiscent of the hot buttered rum The Times pulls out of its goodie bag every winter.

Coffee-friendly food items by baker Lyndon Johnson will be added shortly.

“It just feels good to be back at work and seeing our friends and regulars come back in the door,” Faber says.

The Times is at S&W, 56 Patton Ave. Hours are 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Wednesday-Monday.

— Kay West X

Market report

Regional tailgate markets’ winter plans

Eat, Drink & Be Merry Do your part to prevent underage drinking. Talk to your kids about healthy, safe options to celebrate the holiday season!

Happy Holidays from The Partnership for Substance Free Youth in Buncombe County

CLOSING TIME: With winter near, many local markets are winding down. Photo courtesy of of ASAP It’s that time of year when many weekly regional tailgate markets suspend operations for several months of winter hibernation. A few stalwarts, though, continue to offer winter produce, proteins, baked goods, prepared foods and plenty of seasonal décor and gifts during the cold months.

“As demand has grown, some farmers have gotten really innovative at producing all winter long,” says Sarah Hart, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project communications coordinator. “Other farmers welcome the break from the markets. There will be fewer vendors January through spring, but a lot more product than we used to see years ago.”

The North Asheville Tailgate Market Holiday Bazaar hosts its 2020 grand finale Saturday, Dec. 19, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at 3300 University Heights Drive on the UNC Asheville campus.

The West Asheville Tailgate Market will pack its tents for the year after one last hurrah on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 3:305:30 p.m. in the Grace Baptist Church parking lot, 718 Haywood Road.

The Weaverville Tailgate Winter Market bids farewell for the season on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2-5 p.m. at Reems Creek Nursery, 70 Monticello Road.

Two markets will bundle up and carry on through the winter. The River Arts District Farmers Market, held 3-6 p.m. every Wednesday, will continue to welcome vendors and shoppers in 2021 to Pleb Urban Winery, 289 Lyman St. The ASAP Farmers Market will close out 2020 on Saturday, Dec 19, 9 a.m.-noon, take a two-week break, then return to the same location (16 Fernihurst Drive on the A-B Tech campus) on Jan. 9, 2021, with new hours — 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

— Kay West X

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Keeping the faith

Local hip-hop artists share messages of hope

Feast of the

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allimarshall@bellsouth.net Songwriter/rapper Kia Rice, aka Virtuous, recently released her new single, “The Life” — the only full song she’s completed since the start of the COVID19 pandemic, other than her track “jUStus” on Josh Blake’s Unemployment Benefits. “It’s a good reminder for myself that [this year] has been tough on a lot of people,” she says. “But through it all, I’m still living. I’m connected to the light source. … The truth is, we’re going to make it out of this.”

She continues, “I came across this beat and thought, ‘Oh my God, I love this beat,’ and decided to write to it.

The words kind of flowed. … The inspiration is already inside of me, [and] it just takes a beat or an instrumental or some type of music to bring it out.” The track has an energetic, skipping rhythm

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BEFORE THIS RIVER BECOMES AN OCEAN: Local hip-hop artists Big Zvch, left, and Virtuous share a mission to connect with listeners who might be facing struggles. Both artists come from faith backgrounds and strive to convey that inspiration in relatable ways. Photo of Big Zvch by Alex Carney, photo of Virtuous by KQ Photography and features both Rice’s rich singing voice and the easy flow of her raps. And, while the song is clearly inspired by biblical Scripture and Rice’s spiritual convictions, it could also be interpreted as a song of gratitude to a creative path or supportive relationship.

There are plenty of examples of pop artists successfully incorporating gospel songs into their catalog: Enya’s version of “How Can I Keep from Singing?”

Whitney Houston’s cover of “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” Rhiannon Giddens’ take on “Wayfaring Stranger,” among others. And most fans of secular music can appreciate a healthy dose of the spiritual — perhaps that’s why Gospel Nights in bars and Sacred Steel groups have been embraced beyond the church walls.

But faith-based music has not been as readily accepted by mainstream music fans. Albums and artists tagged “Christian” typically remain niche.

In the Asheville area, the progenitors of praise music are largely overlooked by the larger music scene. The work of Christian-influenced artists is often relegated to church programs and music ministries. But a number of talented

songwriters are proving that faith has a place on club stages as well as in choirs.

Rice’s career is underscored by her efforts to make her songs relatable not just to the Christian-identified, but to anyone faced with hardships. “I don’t want to sit here and be a hypocrite, because the reality is I struggle with a lot of things,” she says. “I want my music to describe the reality of life, but also the hope. Even if I’m talking about my struggles, I want to revert to faith, hope, love and identity. That’s the driving force in my life.”

The danceable track “Set My Mind” openly reveals Rice’s own runins with depression and self-doubt.

“Discontentment, jealousy: Gotta fight it / Emotions running wild: Gotta reel it in,” she sings. “If anything is excellent and praiseworthy, think on those things.”

“I want to be relatable, especially now,” Rice says. “Starting off, I think I was trying to have a particular message for people. … I wanted it to be very faithbased. Now I just want it to flow out, and I want it to be very transparent.”

Self-described “new-wave emo rap artist” Zach Mehaffey is also interested in clarity. “I changed my artist name to Big

Zvch at the end of last year. Before that, I released music under my real name … and got a little more traction than I expected,” he explains. “Everything I put out under Zach Mehaffey was very faithbased and very Christian. It was praise and worship. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.” Christian music has a place, he says. “But I feel like my calling, my mission as a creative, wasn’t to reach the church [congregations]. I’m more looking to reach people who are in a dark place.”

Like Rice, Mehaffey writes about depression. His music “still has modern rap/hip-hop sounds, but it’s very emotional,” he says. “Instead of bragging about money and cars, I’m talking about past relationships that fell through.”

Growing up, Mehaffey was a latchkey kid, spending a few hours alone each day before his parents came home from their full-time jobs. “I’d feel things very deeply, but I didn’t have the [social outlets] to talk about it. So, I went straight to music,” he recalls. “If I can make a song that encourages someone to get through another day or reach out to me online, that’s why I do it.”

He adds, “With making music that’s Christ-focused, you have a lot of barriers to reaching people — who might really need that message or might need your help — because they’re turned off by the Jesus aspect from the beginning.”

Four years ago, Mehaffey’s wife encouraged him to write and perform a rap at their church’s talent show. The support the musician received inspired him to study music theory, writing and production. But eventually, “I talked to some of my collaborators and peers who I make music with and said … ‘I don’t want to keep pushing into this Christian music lane only to be let down at the end because I’m not doing what I feel like I’m supposed to be doing,’” he says. “As much as I struggle with stuff, at the same time, I am Christian. I have my faith … there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. But there was a point in my life when I didn’t see that light. That’s where I come in with my music, that’s where I come in with my message, to try to reach those people who are where I was when I didn’t see light — to encourage them.”

An August release, “How It Be,” fully showcases Big Zvch’s distinct expression of conscious hip-hop. The track is charged and upbeat — a rallying cry. “I tightened up my Nikes and I headed off to war / fighting battles with my pen, I got it feeling like a sword,” he raps.

Meanwhile, most of Rice’s output comes from a Christian viewpoint. She started singing in her church choir at age 6. Her mother is also a singer, and the two still connect through shared harmonies. “If I’m singing, I’m in my element.

This is what I was created to do,” Rice

explains. “My attention isn’t on [myself] when I’m singing. My attention is on the message I’m delivering and the people I’m delivering it to.”

While that audience is growing, and Rice is often recognized in Asheville for her melodies, rap prowess and professionalism — by secular and faith-based listeners alike — that success is hard won. “I’m like a little drop in this big sea of artists. I believe I’m talented and gifted but because of my messages, a lot of times people will disregard it,” Rice says. “It’s evident that there aren’t a lot of artists who are faith-based who are given the opportunity or the stage to present their music to the community.

I’ve thankfully been given some opportunities, but I’d definitely like to see [the genre] grow.”

Rice names fellow local hip-hop creators Parxx and Mooney Music as Christian-identified musicians worth watching. Mehaffey adds LCM to that list, “another Christian hip-hop artist with a different perspective on life. He does a good job of pushing forward the music and doing good things.”

Learn more at virtuousmusic.com and bigzvch.bandcamp.com X

West Village Market Wishing you wellness and peace in this holiday season!

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771 Haywood Rd., West Asheville • Market & Deli: (828) 225-4949 MOUNTAINX.COM

DEC. 16-22, 2020

31

A& E

Interstate production

MOTHER HOOD and Joe Grisly combine talents on new album After nearly 20 years of friendship and close to a decade of collaborating in the hip-hip group Mic Company, Asheville-based producer/ vocalist Cliff B. “MOTHER HOOD” Worsham and Tennessee producer/ illustrator Joey “Joe Grisly” Metcalf focused their attention on a long-discussed project.

The two met through the hardcore and punk scene, and hit it off after their bands shared a bill at Downtown Rafters in Metcalf’s home base of Johnson City, back when Worsham says they “were just pups.”

“At the time, there was not a huge scene for hardcore here in Asheville or in Tennessee, so to meet a group of like-minded people was so refreshing,” he says. “Joey was always the funniest dude I have ever met. We instantly clicked.”

Worsham then turned his attention to beat-making and electronic music with RBTS WIN and as a producer for various rappers. Several years later, Metcalf bought his first sampler and formed Mic Company with James the Gentleman in 2011.

“I reached out to [Cliff] for a beat for Mic Company’s first EP, and it fit so flawlessly that we immediately asked him to be a part of the group,” Metcalf says. “Both his vocals and beats are top-tier, so I’m always more than honored to work with him.”

The group remained active, including the 2012 collaborative EP Vapors with RBTS WIN, but throughout their musical partnership, Worsham and Metcalf often spoke of making a duo project with beats that harkened back to the 1990s. Metcalf calls that

STONE COLD: Cliff B. “MOTHER HOOD” Worsham, left, and Joey “Joe Grisly” Metcalf released their collaborative EP Isolation on Nov. 20. Photo by Eric Housenick time a “golden era” for hip-hop and R&B, when producers like Pete Rock and DJ Premier, and such groups as The Pharcyde, Gang Starr and A Tribe Called Quest banged through his and Worsham’s respective bedroom speakers.

SNOW DAY MAGIC

In late 2019, after years of Metcalf sending his ’90s-style beats to

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Worsham, he invited his pal up to Johnson City with the offer of creating in the same room. As the temperature dropped and snow began to fall, Metcalf played what he refers to as “a little piano sample.” Worsham loved it, and a few hours later, “Maybe I Didn’t” was born.

“It was dope to just sit there and write as he chopped samples and created the beat on the fly — something I had never really done outside of my own studio and my own production,” Worsham says. “It really just got the juices flowing, and we were able to create a couple of songs before everything went to shit.”

Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the duo’s work flow shifted back to remote collaborating with Metcalf making instrumental tracks and sending them to Worsham — an arrangement that proved wildly productive in the wake of their Tennessee sessions.

In Metcalf’s words, Worsham “has his ways of making my simple shit work for his grand vision,” while Worsham says producing comes “effortlessly” to Metcalf, and it’s “truly inspiring” to watch him create.

CHEMISTRY SET

The fruit of this remarkable symbiosis is Isolation, a tantalizing nexus of hip-hop, R&B and soul that was released on Nov. 20 but originally slated for spring 2020. With the laid-back piano and chill horn cues of “Maybe I Didn’t” starting the collection off strong, the resulting tracks find Worsham’s suave, Stevie Wonder-like vocals and existential musings pairing exceptionally well with Metcalf’s steady grooves, tasteful strings (“Did You Escape?”) and syrupy smooth electric piano (“Hope You Didn’t Forget It” and “Love Maker”).

Rounding out the collection is “My Grind,” which Metcalf describes as “a forgotten Mic Company track that we kept in our pocket for just this sort of occasion.” The song includes a verse from bandmate/rapper James the Gentleman, which Worsham says “fit the vibe of the tape” and “felt like it really needed to see the light of day.”

“My Grind” was going to be the EP’s lone guest appearance until Worsham, who was having trouble writing a second verse for “Hope You Didn’t Forget It,” submitted the track to local hip-hop artist Philo Reitzel,

who was mixing and mastering the album. Upon hearing the one-verse version, the enterprising Reitzel took it upon himself to contribute a fiery set of bars, then asked Worsham for permission to do so. After his longtime friend approved, Reitzel comically said, “Good, ’cause I already did it,” and sent over the impressive results.

“It was just perfect for the vibe of the song. He really killed that verse and brought to life the message I was initially trying to convey,” Worsham says. “The dude is a limitless source of talent. Not only does he drop a song a week with his Freestyle Friday videos, but he’s got heat in the vault that y’all will hear eventually. Love that dude.”

MAKING LEMONADE

While Worsham and Metcalf are disappointed that they weren’t able to have a proper release show or proceed with an intended tour, they felt it was important to go ahead and share Isolation — especially since they agree that a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy isn’t going to return anytime soon.

“Times like these call for art. You just have to put it out there with the hopes that it will move someone,” Worsham says. “I know that without music right now, I’d be so damn lost.

I’m so grateful for everyone who is putting out their art in these times.

It’s so needed.”

Thanks to the artists’ pandemic perseverance, Metcalf has a new beat tape called Dreadful Sanctuary that he notes will be released “sooner than later,” and he’s also “always working on new material” with his bands Godsize and The Whiskey Valentine.

Meanwhile, Worsham plans to follow up his excellent 2019 solo album, In My Feelings, with Happy Sad, which he says “will hopefully see the light of day in 2021,” along with a new EP from RBTS WIN, plus a 7-inch and an EP with his acclaimed Spaceman Jones and The Motherships project alongside lyricist Davaion Bristol.

“Shows fund all of this, so it’s been hard to navigate that side of it,” Worsham says. “But we aren’t stopping at all. We have to keep pushing this art. Really, it’s all we know.” motherhood.bandcamp.com

— Edwin Arnaudin X

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Online Event= q WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18

HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Woody Wood (folk, blues), 6pm

ONE WORLD BREWING WEST Comedy Cosmos Holiday Spectacular, 5pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Mountain Music Jam, 6pm

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Cuberow (indie soul), 6pm

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Patrick Zimmerman (solo acoustic), 6pm 185 KING STREET Trivia & Games, 7pm CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE The Office Christmas Trivia Night, 7pm TRISKELION BREWERY InterActive TriskaTrivia, 7pm TWIN LEAF BREWERY Open Mic w/ Thomas Yon, 7pm RABBIT RABBIT Slice of Life Rooftop Comedy, 7:30pm ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL The Lasso Twins & Friends (psychedelic rock), 8pm SOVEREIGN KAVA Poetry Open Mic, 8:30pm, avl.mx/76w THE PAPER MILL LOUNGE Karaoke X, 9pm

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 LAZY HIKER BREWING SYLVA Open Jam, 5pm ONE WORLD BREWING WEST The Soulamanders (folk, Americana), 5pm HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Crafted Singer-Songwriter Series, 6pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Open Mic w/ Thomas Yon, 6pm 185 KING STREET Cruz Contreras of The Black Lillies (Americana), 6:30pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Kid Billy (solo multi-instrumentalist), 6:30pm THE GREY EAGLE Mike Cooley of Drive-by Truckers (two shows), 6:30pm and 9pm TRISKELION BREWERY Jason’s Technicolor Cabaret: Music & Comedy, 7pm

GUIDON BREWING Jack Byron (folk, Americana), 6pm MAD CO. BREW HOUSE Laura Thurston (solo multi-instrumentalist), 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL • Gretchen Peters (Americana), 6pm, avl.mx/8su Q • Main Stage: Carolina Story (Americana, alt-country), 7pm EL GALLO Dinner & Beats w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. World’s Greatest Party Band, 8pm

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19 BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Paul Bowman (fingerstyle guitarist), 2pm

JINGLE ALL THE WAY: Asheville-based jazz and swing musician Russ Wilson presents Have Yourself a Swingin’ Little Christmas at Isis Music Hall. Joined by Wendy Jones, Hank Bones and Nathan Hefner, the singer and multi-instrumentalist will lead an orchestra in a showcase of holiday classics Sunday, Dec. 20, 7 p.m. $15. avl.mx/8so. Photo by Frank Zipperer OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Just Rick feat. Marc Brown (holiday tunes), 4pm 185 KING STREET Open Electric Jam, 6pm TRISKELION BREWERY JC & the Boomerang Band (Irish trad, folk), 6pm ISIS MUSIC HALL Russ Wilson presents Have Yourself a Swingin' Little Christmas, 7pm

MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Nerdy Talk Trivia, 6pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. House of SYNth, 6:30pm

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22 MAD CO. BREW HOUSE Trivia Night, 6pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Team Trivia Tuesday, 6pm

OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. French Broad Valley Mountain Music Jam, 6pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Patrick Zimmerman (solo acoustic), 6pm 185 KING STREET Trivia & Games, 7pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL The Lasso Twins & Friends (psychedelic rock), 8pm

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24 TRISKELION BREWERY Jason’s Technicolor Cabaret: Music & Comedy, 7pm

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23

TRISKELION BREWERY InterActive TriskaTrivia, 7pm

ICONIC KITCHEN & DRINKS Dinner & Beats w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 8pm

HIGHLAND BREWING CO. Woody Wood (folk, blues), 6pm

TWIN LEAF BREWERY Open Mic w/ Thomas Yon, 7pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Gunslinging Parrots (Phish tribute), 8pm

BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE Dinah's Daydream (jazz), 4pm SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Pleasure Chest Duo (blues, soul, rock ‘n roll), 4pm GUIDON BREWING Marquee Comedy Night w/ Mike Speenberg, 6pm MAD CO. BREW HOUSE Chris Caruso’s 4th Annual Christmas Show, 6pm EL GALLO Dinner & Beats w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 7pm ISIS MUSIC HALL The Tray Wellington Band (Americana, bluegrass), 7pm WXYZ BAR AT ALOFT Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 7pm OKLAWAHA BREWING CO. Ross Osteen Band (blues, rock), 8pm

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20 HAZEL TWENTY Boutique Beats w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 12pm BURNTSHIRT VINEYARDS Hope Griffin (soul, blues), 2pm

ICONIC KITCHEN & DRINKS Dinner & Beats w/ Phantom Pantone DJ Collective, 8pm

SWEETEN CREEK BREWING Old Sap (solo acoustic), 2pm

ONE STOP AT ASHEVILLE MUSIC HALL Gunslinging Parrots (Phish tribute), 8pm

CATAWBA BREWING SOUTH SLOPE Ugly Sweater Contest Party, 3pm

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DEC. 16-22, 2020

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MOVIE REVIEWS THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS

Hosted by the Asheville Movie Guys EDWIN ARNAUDIN earnaudin@mountainx.com HHHHH

= MAX RATING

H PICK OF THE WEEK H

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom HHHHH

DIRECTOR: George C. Wolfe PLAYERS: Chadwick Boseman, Viola Davis, Colman Domingo DRAMA RATED R What Ma wants, Ma gets — and she won’t take jive from anyone. That’s the fierce tone set from the start by two-time Tony Award-winning director George C. Wolfe (Angels in America: Millennium Approaches) in his superbly crafted and impeccably acted screen adaptation of August Wilson’s play Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Set in the mid-1920s, the film captures the challenges of racism and exploitation faced by Black entertainers in America as they attempted to achieve broader success without alienating the community that gave them their start. Opening with a strong vocal solo from Ma (Viola Davis), we quickly learn why she’s earned the moniker “Mother of the Blues.” Likewise evident is her volatile dynamic with her band’s up-and-coming trumpeter, Levee (Chadwick Boseman), and in these early scenes, Wolfe excels at planting the seeds of discord.

Moving from the deep South of Georgia to the bustle of Chicago, we 36

BRUCE STEELE bcsteele@gmail.com

DEC. 16-22, 2020

find Ma’s band awaiting both her and Levee’s arrival for a recording session at Hot Rhythm Records — a brief tour detour that will prove to be anything but brief. Levee arrives fashionably late, sporting a new pair of shoes purchased in part by gambling winnings from bandmate Cutler (Colman Domingo, If Beale Street Could Talk). The trumpeter’s flashy entrance sparks a series of powerful monologues between the musicians, each of which offer poignant insights on the Black American experience.

Ma eventually gets there, along with her nephew Sylvester (Dusan Brown, 42) and female companion Dussie Mae (Taylour Paige, White Boy Rick) in tow, making a dramatic fender-bender entrance just outside the studio. The ensuing argument with the driver of the other car and a police officer further showcases Ma’s brash prowess and sets the stage for a wild day of recording.

Among the session’s numerous dramatically rich complications is Ma’s insistence that Sylvester perform the album’s intro, despite his debilitating speech impediment. Here and elsewhere, Davis is marvelous at channeling her character’s stubborn nature.

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Anthonye Smith

Ali McGhee

In Boseman’s final performance before cancer claimed his life in August, the Black Panther star is comparably masterful at conveying Levee’s cocky swagger and insistence that he’s developed a new musical sound that will bring him success with his own band. Under Wolfe’s direction, he and Davis realize their full potentials, and when Levee’s and Ma’s egos clash, one of the year’s best films fully hits its stride.

Available to stream via Netflix starting Dec. 18

Parton makes a few appearances — as one person observes, “Dolly provides the pixie dust” — and Geidner includes a picture book’s worth of Dolly bio as well, including making the point that Whitney Houston’s megahit cover of Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” was a huge boon to the library’s funding. In a documentary season chock-full of consequential conspiracies, crimes and disasters, The Library That Dolly Built may be slim, but it’s a pleasure to be immersed in untarnished goodness for an hour or so.

REVIEWED BY ANTHONYE SMITH RIVBL3P@GMAIL.COM

REVIEWED BY BRUCE STEELE BCSTEELE@GMAIL.COM

The Library That Dolly Built HHHHS

Tenet HHHH

DIRECTOR: Nick Geidner PLAYERS: Dolly Parton DOCUMENTARY NOT RATED

DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan PLAYERS: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki ACTION/SCI-FI RATED PG-13

You may have heard of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, but it’s unlikely you know its full history, scope and impact, as detailed in the tidy little documentary The Library That Dolly Built. And because the film revolves around Parton, who has honed humble glamour to an art, it’s an infomercial that will make you feel better about the world — a worthwhile mission in the depths of 2020.

It’s called a “library” but it’s really a service: The nonprofit Parton established sends a book a month to any child who signs up, from birth to age 5 — currently totaling more than 1.3 million books each month — on the theory that parents will read them aloud to the kids.

The result is parental bonding, early reading interest and, eventually, a shelf full of beloved stories.

The Imagination Library has been around for 25 years, reaches all 50 states and some foreign nations and insists on local involvement in every community it serves. It’s hard not to be impressed, even though the documentary, directed

by University of Tennessee media professor Nick Geidner, lets the interview subjects and the facts speak for themselves, no hype added. Geidner includes lots of parents and children from across the nation in the story, as well as some of the selected books’ authors, so it’s not all education insiders — although even the “experts” in the film seem as folksy as Parton herself, perhaps because a lot of them also come from east Tennessee.

There’s no getting around the oddness of seeing Christopher Nolan’s Tenet at home instead of in a theater. Arguably more than any other filmmaker, his creations are meant to be experienced on the largest screen possible, and while some of the spectacle of his latest dense adventure is lost in a COVID-deterring, relaxed living-room setting, his ambition — which improbably seems to grow with each new project — is evident throughout.

At once wildly entertaining and immensely frustrating, Tenet gets off to a rollicking start with the film’s unnamed CIA agent protagonist (John David Washington, BlacKkKlansman) on a complex rescue mission at the Kyiv Opera — a jaw-dropping sequence that sees no less than an entire seated audience collapse in balletic synchrony upon inhaling sleeping gas.

Presumed dead in the event’s aftermath, our hero groggily awakens to his boss Fay (Martin Donovan, Inherent Vice) giving him a new highly classified assignment in which the titular word will open “the right doors and some of the wrong ones.”

From there, the film transitions from a mysterious but fairly straightforward action/adventure to something far more intricate, as a series of characters inform the protagonist about a war being waged by residents of the future on their ancestors, resulting in “inverted” objects — and people — traveling backward

through time and appearing to be in reverse to folks who are moving forward as usual. Before long, we witness such creative sights as bullets flying back into guns and hand-to-hand combat with adversaries whose flipped movements make them especially slippery.

While Hoyte Van Hoytema’s cinematography and the imaginative set pieces remain stunning to behold, the logic of Tenet becomes so difficult to follow that it begins to detract from the film’s enjoyment — or it would if Nolan didn’t keep tossing out exciting visuals to keep viewers engaged and challenged.

The filmmaker dares viewers to keep pace as the protagonist partners with fellow agent Neil (Robert Pattinson, easily giving his best performance thus far) — with whom he scales walls in Mumbai, navigates vehicles driving in “reverse” on Estonian highways and breaks into a heavily guarded sector of the Oslo airport.

Keeping up, however, is akin to the experience of watching the director’s similarly trippy Inception (which does a much better job at its exposition by immediately illustrating its points) while another Nolan film (say, The Dark Knight) simultaneously happens off to the side — and it all matters.

Probably. Maybe. Hopefully.

Nolan’s approach to his characters explaining the science — a task that frequently finds Washington struggling with the cumbersome dialogue — bounces between Looper’s refreshing “I’m not here to talk about time travel” stance and a TED Talk from Stephen Hawking.

In addition to Tenet’s murky accessibility, the process of deciphering the narrative’s core principles is hampered by the confounding lengths the protagonist goes to protect Kat (Elizabeth Debicki) — the disgruntled wife of Russian arms dealer Sator (Kenneth Branagh, nicely atoning for Murder on the Orient Express and Artemis Fowl), the future’s conduit to the present.

Fortunately, the details coalesce sufficiently in the final minutes when additional revelations arise, and things all grow clearer as one sits, post-credits, with the gradually settling cyclone of information, but it’s too much to satisfactorily parse out in the moment and basically necessitates a second viewing.

It’s debatable whether the movie’s convolutions are a mark of brilliant, layered, pioneering filmmaking or a shortcoming of overambition and a failure to provide sufficient cues for comprehension in a standard single viewing, though in typical innovating Nolan fashion, both perspectives seem partially correct.

Available to rent via Amazon Video, iTunes and other streaming services REVIEWED BY EDWIN ARNAUDIN EARNAUDIN@MOUNTAINX.COM

Wild Mountain Thyme H

DIRECTOR: John Patrick Shanley PLAYERS: Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, Jon Hamm, Christopher Walken DRAMA/ROMANCE RATED PG-13 “It’s not even halfway over yet!” is never something you want to say while watching a movie, yet I uttered this grim sentiment around 40 minutes into Wild Mountain Thyme, the latest feature from Moonstruck screenwriter John Patrick Shanley, which has dropped just in time to completely bewilder you this holiday season. Sweeping Irish vistas, an appealing cast and a whimsical romantic premise can’t save this nutty story of Rosemary (Emily Blunt), a passionate young woman who has her heart set on Anthony (Jamie Dornan, the Fifty Shades trilogy), an odd childhood friend in a bucolic and appropriately windswept farm community.

That setup is far from bizarre, but everything else in this movie is, and the end product feels as if a bunch of castaway bits of earlier scripts got together and decided to riot and make their own film.

Chemistry is everything in a romantic comedy, and there’s not a speck of it to be found here — not between our two leads; not between Rosemary and Adam (Jon Hamm), an attractive, rich American vying for her heart;

and certainly not between any of the other characters, who mostly consist of family members passing various judgments on the central love triangle.

Many of the latter die early, presumably to save themselves from having to be in this movie for longer than the first half-hour.

There’s not much to say about the plot beyond what I’ve already written, though the details are really where the film gets into the proverbial weeds.

Rosemary is obsessed with Swan Lake and fancies herself the ballet’s heroine, which for some reason makes her think she needs to keep pursuing the daft and possibly deranged Anthony. Her ridiculous love interest almost loses his family farm to Adam, but it turns out that the whole thing was just a trick concocted by Anthony’s father, Tony (Christopher Walken) — to motivate Anthony to do what, exactly, it’s hard to know.

Read the full review at mountainx.com/movies/reviews Available to rent via Amazon Video, iTunes and other streaming services REVIEWED BY ALI MCGHEE ALIMCGHEE@GMAIL.COM

AVAILABLE VIA FINEARTSTHEATRE.COM (FA) GRAILMOVIEHOUSE.COM (GM) 76 Days (NR) HHHHS (FA) Another Round (NR) HHHHS (GM) Born to Be (NR) HHHH (FA, GM) Coded Bias (NR) HHHS (GM) Collective (NR) HHHH (FA) Crock of Gold (NR) HHHHS (GM) Desert One (NR) HHHH (FA) The Donut King (NR) HHHH (FA) Dosed (NR) HHHH (FA) Driven to Abstraction (PG) HHS(FA) Ending Disease (NR) HHHH (GM) Fantastic Fungi (NR) HHHH (FA) Herb Alpert Is... (NR) HHS (FA) Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President (NR) HHHHH (FA) John Lewis: Good Trouble (PG) HHHH (FA) The Keeper (NR) HHS (FA) The Library That Dolly Built (NR) HHHHS (FA) Martin Eden (NR) HHH (FA) Mayor (NR) HHHH (GM) Meeting the Beatles in India (NR) HHS (FA) Monsoon (NR) HHHH (GM) Oliver Sacks: His Own Life (NR) HHHH (GM) Out Stealing Horses (NR) HHHHS (FA) RBG (NR) HHHH (FA) Three Summers (NR) HHS (GM) We Are Many (NR) HH (FA) Zappa (NR) HHHS (FA, GM) MOUNTAINX.COM

DEC. 16-22, 2020

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FREEWILL ASTROLOGY ARIES (March 21-April 19): Temporary gods are deities who come alive and become available for particular functions and are not otherwise necessary or called upon. For instance, in ancient Greece, the god Myiagros showed up when humans made sacrifices to the goddess Athena. His task was to shoo away flies. I encourage you to invent or invoke such a spirit for the work you have ahead of you. And what’s that work? 1.

To translate your recent discoveries into practical plans.

2. To channel your newfound freedom into strategies that will ensure freedom will last. 3. To infuse the details of daily life with the big visions you’ve harvested recently. What will you name your temporary god?

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Author Virginia Woolf said that we don’t wholly experience the unique feelings that arise in any particular moment. They take a while to completely settle in, unfold and expand. From her perspective, then, we rarely “have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.” With that as your starting point, Taurus, I invite you to take a journey through the last 11 months and thoroughly evolve all the emotions that weren’t entirely ripe when they originally appeared. Now is an excellent time to deepen your experience of what has already happened; to fully bloom the seeds that have been planted.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “Wonder is a bulky emotion,” writes author Diane Ackerman. “When you let it fill your heart and mind, there isn’t room for anxiety, distress or anything else.” I’d love for you to use her observation as a prescription in 2021, Gemini. According to my understanding of the coming year’s astrological portents, you will have more natural access to wonder and amazement and awe than you’ve had in a long time. And it would make me happy to see you rouse those primal emotions with vigor — so much so that you drive away at least some of the flabby emotions like anxiety, which are often more neurotic than real.

38

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I composed a prayer that’s in alignment with your current astrological omens. If it feels right, say it daily for the next 10 days. Here it is: “Dear Higher Self, Guardian Angel and Future Me: Please show me how to find or create the key to the part of my own heart that’s locked up. Reveal the secret to dissolving any inhibitions that interfere with my ability to feel all I need to feel. Make it possible for me to get brilliant insights into truths that will enable me to lift my intimate alliances to the next level.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Author Herman Hesse observed, “Whoever wants music instead of noise, joy instead of pleasure, soul instead of gold, creative work instead of business, passion instead of foolery, finds no home in this trivial world.” I hope you will prove him wrong in 2021, Scorpio. According to my reading of astrological omens, the rhythms of life will be in alignment with yours if you do indeed make bold attempts to favor music over noise, joy over pleasure, soul over gold, creative work over business, passion over foolery. Moreover, I think this will be your perfect formula for success — a strategy that will guarantee you’ll feel at home in the world more than ever before.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): According to researcher Nick Watts and his documentary film The Human Footprint, the average person speaks more than 13 million words in a lifetime, or about 4,300 per day. But I suspect and hope that your output will increase in 2021. I think you’ll have more to say than usual — more truths to articulate, more observations to express, more experiences to describe. So please raise your daily quota of self-expression to account for your expanded capacity to share your intelligence with the world.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): I’ll use the words of Cancerian painter Frida Kahlo to tell you the kind of intimate ally you deserve. If for some inexplicable reason you have not enjoyed a relationship like this before now, I urge you to make 2021 the year that you finally do. And if you HAVE indeed been lucky in this regard, I bet you’ll be even luckier in 2021. Here’s Frida: “You deserve a lover who wants you disheveled ... who makes you feel safe ... who wants to dance with you ... who never gets tired of studying your expressions ... who listens when you sing ... who supports you when you feel shame and respects your freedom ... who takes away the lies and brings you hope.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “Our thinking should have a vigorous fragrance, like a wheat field on a summer’s night,” wrote philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. I encourage you to adopt that joyful mandate as your own. It’s a perfect time to throw out stale opinions and moldy ideas as you make room for an aromatic array of fresh, spicy notions. To add to your bliss, get rid of musty old feelings and decaying dreams and stinky judgments.

That brave cleansing will make room for the arrival of crisp insights that smell really good.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In 2019, singer Ariana Grande got Japanese characters tattooed on her palm. She believed them to be a translation of the English phrase “7 Rings,” which was the title of a song she had released. But knowledgeable observers later informed her that the tattoo’s real meaning was “small charcoal grill.” She arranged to have alterations made, but the new version was worse: “Japanese barbecue grill finger.” I offer you this story for two reasons, Leo. First, I applaud the creativity and innovative spirit that have been flowing through you. Second, I want to make sure that you keep them on the right track — that they continue to express what you want them to express.

With proper planning and discernment, they will.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Have you heard the term “catastrophize”? It refers to when people experience a small setback or minor problem but interpret it as being a major misfortune. It’s very important that you not engage in catastrophizing during the coming weeks. I urge you to prevent your imagination from jumping to awful conclusions that aren’t warranted. Use deep breathing and logical thinking to coax yourself into responding calmly. Bonus tip: In my view, the small “setback” you experience could lead to an unexpected opportunity — especially if you resist the temptation to catastrophize.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): While sleeping, most of us have over a thousand dreams every year. Many are hard to remember and not worth remembering.

But a beloved few can be life-changers. They have the potential to trigger epiphanies that transform our destinies for the better. In my astrological opinion, you are now in a phase when such dreams are more likely than usual. That’s why I invite you to keep a recorder or a pen and notebook by your bed so as to capture them. For inspiration, read this testimony from Jasper Johns, called by some America’s “foremost living artist”: “One night I dreamed that I painted a large American flag and the next morning I got up and I went out and bought the materials to begin it.” Painting flags ultimately became one of Johns’ specialties.

DEC. 16-22, 2020

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): My Buddhist friend Marcia says the ultimate goal of her meditation practice is to know that the material world is an illusion and that there is no such thing “I” or “you,” no past or future. There is only the quality-less ground of being. My Sufi friend Roanne, on the other hand, is a devotee of the poet Rumi. The ultimate goal of her meditation practice is to be in intimate contact, in tender loving communion, with the Divine Friend, the personal face of the Cosmic Intelligence. Given your astrological omens, Pisces, I’d say you’re in a prime position to experience the raw truth of both Marcia’s and Roanne’s ideals. The coming days could bring you amazing spiritual breakthroughs!

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Ability to work with people.

PT-FT, some weekends. bonnie@ bonnieroseappraisals.com. 828281-8110.

MOUNTAIN XPRESS IS LOOKING TO ADD A NEW MEMBER TO OUR SALES TEAM. Ideal candidates are personable, organized, motivated, and can present confidently, while working within a structure. Necessary skills include clear and professional communications (via phone, email, and in-person meetings), detailed record-keeping, and working well in a team environment. While no outside sales experience is required, experience dealing with varied and challenging situations is helpful. The position largely entails account development and lead generation (including cold-calling), account management, assisting clients with marketing and branding strategies, and working to meet or exceed sales goals. If you are a high energy, positive, cooperative person looking to join an independent, community-minded organization, please send a resume and cover letter (no walk-ins, please) explaining why you are a good fit for Mountain Xpress to: xpressjob@mountainx.com

SKILLED LABOR/ TRADES LEAD HOME AUDIO & VIDEO TECHNOLOGY INSTALLER Must be positive, with excellent communication skills. EXPERIENCE with Control4, Sonos, receivers, and universal remote programming.

Harmony is an established company that uniquely combines design & engineering to create ideal custom AV systems. www. harmonyinteriors.com.

RESTAURANT/ FOOD CHEF DE CUISINE/SOUS CHEF/PREP COOKS WANTED Galley Beach is a high volume, fine dining seasonal restaurant, (May-October), on Nantucket Island. We offer competitive pay and an exceptional working experience. Please email resumes to info@galleybeach.net.

TEACHING/ EDUCATION A-B TECH IS HIRING A-B Tech is currently taking applications for a part-time position Bookstore Associate. For more details and to apply: https://abtcc.peopleadmin.com/postings/5509 A-B TECH IS HIRING A-B Tech is currently taking applications for an adjunct (part-time) position Lab Assistant Instructor, Small animal Clinical. For more details and to apply: https://abtcc.peopleadmin.com/postings/5507

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Learn to use Positive Hypnosis— science of re-learning thru positive reinforcement, Emotional Freedom Technique, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Birth Mix Personality Assessment, Past Life Regression.

CAREGIVERS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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NOW!

Give online to 44 local nonprofits– and get stuff back!

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edited by Will Shortz

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15 Superheroes’ specialties

18 *Four-time heavyweight champ nicknamed “The Real Deal”

17 “For richer, for ___ …” (vow words)

19 Download without paying, say

20 Role in “The Matrix” 21 Prefix with skeleton 22 Like “aurum” for gold and “ferrum” for iron 23 *Gift that comes with a hitch?

29 Lose it 31 Holes in shoes 32 Paid to play: Var. 34 Narrow estuary 35 Thanos, to the Avengers 38 *Place that honors those who’ve served 43 Twisty curve 44 Laugh like a Stooge 45 Japan’s oldest religion 46 ___ Pilate 50 Corporate raider Carl 51 *Producer of a lot of suits?

55 Cary of “The Princess Bride” 56 “I, ___” (Langston Hughes poem) 57 Humanities subj.

No. 1111 60 “Cut that out!”

62 Big name in American book publishing for 120+ years … and a hint to the answers to the starred clues 65 Mistakes 66 Epithet for Jesus in some church names 67 Like many returning spring breakers 68 Relatives of “ums” 69 Take a soak

DOWN 1 Sammy with four Oscars 2 Instrument heard in “I Got You, Babe” 3 Units on an electric bill 4 Ron of Tarzan on 1960s TV 5 “What’s the ___?”

6 Mandarin “thank you” 7 Tax evasion, e.g.

puzzle by Alex Bajcz 8 Inspiration for the Beatles’ “Day Tripper” 9 Venmo, e.g.

10 Where you’re actually going when you “see a man about a horse” 11 Quagmire 12 Speechify 13 Take effect 14 Reznor of rock’s Nine Inch Nails 16 Knotted (up) 24 Relative of a foil 25 Road sign animal 26 Start of an idea 27 Ballet move 28 Paper units 29 Collapsed, with “in” 30 About half of all binary code 33 Taylor who sang “Tell It to My Heart” 35 Last task before sending to print 36 “Solemn” words 37 Musk who co-founded PayPal 39 Trail mix ingredients

40 Goes on a run 41 Home to the Cedar Point amusement park 42 “___ Suave” (1991 hit) 46 It’s found beneath the crust 47 Like some job training 48 Series of bookings across America 49 Combs 51 Under siege

52 Super53 ___ to secrecy 54 Goblins, in folklore 58 Lye, in chemistry class 59 Move in a spiral 61 Skosh 62 Female caribou 63 Most popular U.S. dog breed, familiarly 64 Actress Mendes

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS NY TIMES PUZZLE

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