VOLUME 2, ISSUE 11; APRIL 22 - MAY 5, 2020; WWW.QCNERVE.COM
SHELTER IN PLACE? CHARLOTTE’S HOMELESS SEARCH FOR HELP AS SERVICES DRY UP
BY RYAN PITKIN
THE OUTBREAK OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) MAY BE STRESSFUL FOR PEOPLE. FEAR AND ANXIETY ABOUT A DISEASE CAN BE OVERWHELMING AND CAUSE STRONG EMOTIONS IN ADULTS AND CHILDREN. COPING WITH STRESS WILL MAKE YOU, THE PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT, AND YOUR COMMUNITY STRONGER. EVERYONE REACTS DIFFERENTLY TO STRESSFUL SITUATIONS. HOW YOU RESPOND TO THE OUTBREAK CAN DEPEND ON YOUR BACKGROUND, THE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, AND THE COMMUNITY YOU LIVE IN.
 -Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones -Changes in sleep or eating patterns -Difficulty sleeping or concentrating -Worsening of chronic health problems -Increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs  �
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� � �  -Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting. -Take care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, and avoid alcohol and drugs. -Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy. -Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling. � � � ƒ
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ONLINE THERAPY OPTIONS Â?
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PSYCHOLOGY TODAY
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
NEWS& OPINION
6 SHELTER IN PLACE? BY RYAN PITKIN Charlotte’s homeless look for help as services dry up 8 FOR GOD’S SAKE BY JEFF TAYLOR Protesters resume activities outside Charlotte clinic after arrests 9 THE OTHER ESSENTIALS BY NIKOLAI MATHER Sanitation workers feel negelected and endangered in a crisis 10 OP-ED: WORLD-CLASS STATE BY MARY C. CURTIS 11 THE SUFFRAGIST BY RHIANNON FIONN
Connect with free arts, science and history experiences for all ages, virtually.
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ARTS
12 PUBLIC ISOLATION BY PAT MORAN Street artist Owl shifts from prestigious museum to home studio
MUSIC
14 THE HEALING PROCESS BY RYAN PITKIN New Kil Ripkin and Jah Freedom EP is a guide to self-discovery 15 LIFEWAVE: A DOSE OF VIRTUAL REALITY
16 OPEN UP IN A SHUTDOWN BY RYAN PITKIN Two local restaurant owners move forward in turbulent times
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LIFESTYLE
FOOD& DRINK
18 PUZZLES 20 THE SEEKER BY KATIE GRANT 21 HOROSCOPE 22 SAVAGE LOVE 23 ARTIST’S CORNER BY JERRY KIRK THANKS TO THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS: PAT MORAN, MARY C. CURTIS, NIKOLAI MATHER, RHIANNON FIONN, JEFF TAYLOR, GRANT BALDWIN,
EMILY PFAHL, CASEY HENDRICKSON, DANIEL ALVARADO, SHELTER IN PLACE? CHARLOTTE’S HOMELESS SEARCH FOR HELP AS SERVICES DRY UP
BY RYAN PITKIN
COVER DESIGN BY: JAYME JOHNSON PHOTO BY: GRANT BALDWIN
JERRY KIRK, KATIE GRANT, DAN SAVAGE.
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STAY HUMAN.
Artwork by Emily Pfahl
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IF I NO GO, YOU NO GO.
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NEWS & OPINION FEATURE SHELTER IN PLACE?
They stuck it out in a $75-a-night motel for as long as during a conversation that lasted over an hour, each they could, but eventually, Tony’s job doing vehicular time bringing up his own behavior toward his wife’s paint-and-body work couldn’t sustain that bill, which newfound friend. “It’s rough out here … Nobody cares about you. added up to about $2,250 a month. When we met them on April 15, three weeks It hurts because you never know where you might into their stay at the encampment, it was already be at. I wasn’t born into poverty,” he said. “Really beginning to wear on the couple. Early Monday what’s keeping people alive out here, it’s called Charlotte’s homeless search morning, a storm had swept through Charlotte survival. This is the lowest you can get without being bringing 60-mph winds and heavy rains equaling buried in the ground.” for help as services dry up His wife Nancy suffers from emphysema and two inches every 15 minutes. One man in the camp needs daily breathing treatments through a nebulizer. woke up in his tent as it was being swept away into a BY RYAN PITKIN She’s able to get treatment each morning at UMC, nearby creek. He was able to escape unharmed. Tony said he considered himself lucky, despite which still offers services on a staggered schedule When we met Tony and Nancy on a recent Wednesday afternoon, they were just two of nearly the fact that his tent was also flooded and he woke from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and serves lunch to 320-350 100 people sharing upwards of 70 tents in the area outside the gates of the Urban Ministry Center (UMC). The encampment popped up at the intersection of North College and North Tryon streets in mid-March as service organizations around the city closed or scaled back drastically in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Two nearby encampments had been cleared out leading up to March, including one that was located just across North Tryon Street after a stabbing there in January. On March 13, UMC put an early end to its annual Room In the Inn program, which partners with churches and colleges TONY MOVED INTO AN ENCAMPMENT NEAR UPTOWN WITH HIS WIFE AFTER HE COULD NO LONGER AFFORD THE MOTEL THEY LIVED IN. to provide housing for people a day, but for the rest of the day she has no the homeless throughout the winter months. Men’s up wet and unable to move in the cold morning. Later that same Monday, a 50-year-old woman access to electricity. Tony called MEDIC to the camp Shelter of Charlotte also scaled down operations at its two shelters to help with social distancing, was dropped off at the camp by her daughter. She once already when Nancy’s breathing became going from 410 beds and 50 mats to about 365 beds and Nancy made quick friends, but when Tony came severely restricted. She’s also diabetic, placing her in between them. Some people were moved from the home from work, he was rude to her for taking up two of the most vulnerable populations for COVID-19. Like many of the people we met at the space right beside their tent. The woman moved shelters to hotels, others ended up on the street. As for Tony and Nancy, who were married in down the street a bit. On Tuesday morning, she was encampment, Tony doesn’t blame anyone for 2019, they found themselves pitching a tent in the found dead in the clearing across North Tryon Street putting him in the situation he’s in, but would like to North College Street encampment in late March not where the old encampment had been. Police say see local government do more to help out, especially in a time of crisis when his wife is at high risk. because of COVID-19 but due to an unrelated string of they suspect it was a suicide. “How can you know people are dying — you On Wednesday, the woman’s death was still bad luck. A house they had rented for $1,200 a month off of Beatties Ford Road was foreclosed on in January. weighing on Tony. He mentioned it multiple times got plenty of motels, plenty, nobody’s coming to
them because everybody’s scared of corona[virus], but the people out here that are homeless, they will take a chance going in there,” he said. Testing and contact tracing are difficult to carry out amongst the homeless population, but in early April, Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Gibbie Harris confirmed there were “several” positive tests among homeless residents in the county, and about 60 people who had been exposed were moved into a hotel leased by the county to help house those who had come from the shelters. When we met Joe in early April, he had already been staying in the North College Street encampment for three weeks. He was wearing a surgical mask, sitting outside of his tent with friends sharing a meal of Bojangles’ that someone had dropped off on the sidewalk. “The only ones that got beds are the [people in the] shelter,” he said. “If they are already at the shelter, they already got beds. Nobody here has a bed.” Joe’s friend Cortez Gilbert agreed. “Never on the streets do they come by and say, ‘Hey, let’s put you in a hotel,’” he said. Gilbert added that he’s heard of millions of dollars being poured into local charitable organizations over the years, but nothing ever seems to happen. “This right here is a wake-up call for the city,” he continued. PHOTO BY GRANT BALDWIN “They lyin’. All these hotels are open. All these apartments right here open, but we out here. So where’s the money going?” In mid-March, representatives with Foundation for the Carolinas and United Way of Central Piedmont announced the COVID-19 Response Fund (CRF), which grants money to organizations throughout the city that work with vulnerable and affected populations. On April 10, the CRF announced its first cycle of grants, totaling more than $3 million, including more than $900,000 to shelter and housing organizations. Gilbert, however, said he isn’t holding his breath to see any of that money reach people on the streets.
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NEWS & OPINION FEATURE
flip-flops and needed a pair of shoes. Although Karam didn’t have his size that day, she found out which of the many area encampments the couple was staying in and promised to find him what he needed. When asked how often a situation like that arises, Karam answered: “Every single day. That’s why we keep our cars stocked. They know they can come to my car because I got socks in there, I’ve got pants, I’ve got shoes, I’ve got deodorant, I’ve got anything.” The Block Love team goes beyond the essentials of daily hygiene and clothing, as well. That Tuesday,
exhausted. “The library’s closed, there’s nothing for them to do … They gave them the tents and sleeping bags, but nobody took into consideration the bugs. Nobody took into consideration the fact that it’s raining and they don’t need to be on the ground like that.” Woolard and her team were able to pool together donations and find an apartment for one elderly couple living in a nearby encampment, but it’s clear that many more are in need. “How hard would it have been for CMPD to do whatever we did, or for somebody from the county? Or Crisis [Assistance Ministry] or Urban [Ministry
By 5:30 p.m. on April 14, about 50 people were already lined up down Phifer Avenue between North College and North Tryon streets in Uptown. About 50 more sat on “The Wall,” a ledge on Phifer where unsheltered homeless folks are known to congregate during the day. In the lot behind Waterbean Coffee, Deborah Woolard rallied her folks. The group moved quickly to set up tents and tables then fill them with food. Tayste Catering manned the first table, preparing to dish out mushroom pot pie, followed by a table full of spaghetti dinners, then a box full of Easter eggs holding Jolly Ranchers and Twizzlers. The next table held bananas, apples and honeydew melon, then came the desserts. While all that was being prepared, Woolard helped other volunteers gather and bag enough meals to deliver to the nearby camps. At 6 p.m., the line started moving, as it does every night. Woolard and her organization Block Love Charlotte have been serving dinners on Sunday nights at Phifer Avenue for two years now, but the above scene occurred on a Tuesday, because desperate times call for desperate measures. As soon as Woolard and her fellow Block Love volunteers saw what was happening in the homeless community amid the COVID-19 crisis, as meal services began to shut down or scale back, she began DEBORAH WOOLARD STANDS AT HER CAR AFTER HELPING AT ‘THE WALL.’ going out to Phifer Avenue every single evening to make sure nobody went hungry. volunteers discussed the need for agricultural lime Center] that see these people every day to not be At around 7 p.m. that Tuesday, as things wound to spread around homeless encampments after able to identify the most vulnerable outside of down, Woolard spoke to Queen City Nerve about the the weekend storm brought swarms of bugs. They what we see here?” she asked, looking along The growing need in the community. collected wooden pallets to place under tents to Wall. “But we were able to do that. It’s a shame. We “We would maybe do 60-70 people [in the make sure no one else would be carried away inside shouldn’t have had to do it, but it’s our family and winter], and when this all started the numbers were their own tent during a rainstorm. we’ll do whatever we can.” already kind of escalating because Room In the Inn In mid-March, Crisis Assistance Ministry Woolard was frustrated that, though UMC closed early, so we were seeing about 115 to 120, supplied people with tents and sleeping bags when announced they would help families already living then we easily jumped to 160, and today we did over the crisis began and said they would not clear the in motels and in danger of becoming unsheltered, 240 meals,” she said. “That includes what we did out encampment as long as the stay-at-home order beginning with $200,000 to help 566 families in 32 here and the ones we took out to the camps. That’s was in effect, she didn’t believe many of the details area motels in the first wave of assistance. a lot of food.” According to Randall Hitt, chief engagement were thought through. She said it took strong Folks like Woolard and fellow Block Love advocacy from Mecklenburg County Commissioner officer with the recently merged Urban Ministry volunteer Terri Karam have dedicated themselves Pat Cotham just to get hand-washing stations and Center and Men’s Shelter of Charlotte, the COVID-19 to making sure that people’s needs are met every portable toilets near the camps. crisis hasn’t necessarily increased the number of night. They don’t just provide food, either. Following “There’s really no place for all these people to homeless people, which was estimated to be at dinner service on April 14, a regular from The Wall use the bathroom, wash their hands, to charge their about 3,600 as of March 31, but “it’s like it’s lifted the introduced Karam to a newly homeless couple that phones, to do anything,” Woolard said, sounding covers” on an issue that has been steadily growing in couldn’t be over 20 years old. The man was wearing
recent years. As of April 20, UMC and the Men’s Shelter had received a total of $243,462 from the CRF, and Hitt said the job was now to find the most effective way to put that to. UMC’s outreach team has begun working to identify people living on the street who have the most dire need for emergency housing, though efforts like that take time. As of April 18, Hitt said, UMC was able to find housing for two people who had been on the streets. “There have been additional funds that have been put forth for us to try to come up with rapid responses or housing solutions because there’s some funding for that,” Hitt said. “But it’s tough because there’s a systematic community-wide response that some people are looking for and then you have what’s happening on the ground and how do you help individuals one at a time?” Karam said the dayto-day demands of Block Love’s grassroots work can feel overwhelming, but it’s important to remain committed to the folks she considers her family on Phifer Avenue, as all too often they’re either ignored or lied to. “It’s heartbreaking and it can take a toll on you, but I PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN just keep coming and doing what I can do to help,” she said. “I’ll help you with your shoes, show you love, show you concern. That’s what most people want at the end of the day: They want to feel like they matter, and like somebody cares, and really and truly when you get down to it, that’s what we’re about at Block Love Charlotte. We love you, we care for you, and if we tell you we’re going to be here, we’re going to be here.” As for Tony, he’ll continue to go to work by day and help Nancy by night, all the while holding tight to a certain vision he shared with Queen City Nerve during our conversation: him and Nancy living in a two-bedroom house with a yard and a dog. Until then, survival is his top priority. “I won’t say I’m not scared because I am,” Tony said. “But that’s a fear that I have to fight, so I have to be a warrior.” RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM
NEWS & OPINION FEATURE FOR GOD’S SAKE Protesters resume activities outside Charlotte clinic following arrests
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BY JEFF TAYLOR
For years now, anti-abortion protesters have demonstrated in front of A Preferred Women’s Health Clinic (APWHC) in east Charlotte, with groups like Cities4Life attempting to convince women to go through with their pregnancies, and a coalition called Love Life Charlotte hosting large gatherings on the surrounding properties to pray and sing songs of faith at high volume as the escorts help patients access the clinic’s services. The situation has already prompted countless headlines, a documentary, and was the driving force behind last year’s passage of a new noise ordinance by Charlotte City Council. Now, local and statewide stay-at-home orders have brought the conflict back to the forefront, and though the recent arrests of protesters who refused to obey the orders have quelled much of the activity there, some worry that the new Reopen Meck movement could lead to resumed activity. On April 4, CMPD officers made eight arrests after more than 50 people gathered outside of the clinic, putting them in violation of the Emergency Prohibitions and Restrictions laid out in a statewide order that prohibits gatherings of more than 10 people. Police warned the group of protesters, which included nationally known activists like The Activist Mommy and the Benham family, all infamous conservative activists from Concord. The group also included protesters with Love Life Charlotte, which each year holds a 40 Week Journey of Hope in which groups of protesters from churches around the region show up outside of APWHC on Saturday mornings for 40 consecutive weeks to pray and sing songs. Following warnings from police that morning, 12 protesters still refused to disperse, and all were cited for violations. When eight of them still refused to leave after receiving citations, they were arrested. Three generations of the Benham family — Flip, David and Bailey — were among the eight arrests, and a video of Bailey being handcuffed and led to a police car went viral, with over 200,000 views at
time of writing. In the video, David is seen arguing with Captain Andy Kornberg, pleading his case that they were considered an exempt charity organization performing social services. The incident made international news and was further signal-boosted by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who tweeted video of the arrest, calling it “unconstitutional.” In a statement to Fox News, Mecklenburg County attorney Tyrone Wade said, “It is reasonable to limit a person’s freedom or movement to a gathering of no more than 10 people and a requirement that each person remains at least six feet apart to protect the public.” Upon arriving at the clinic the following Saturday, April 11, I immediately observed a crowd of anti-abortion demonstrators that exceeded 10 individuals, at times climbing to twice that amount. I saw Kornberg speaking to Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Harden, who asked why the stay-at-home order was not being enforced. Kornberg agreed that the situation was dangerous, and told Harden on more than one occasion that it was juvenile that officers were forced to count the number of protesters and attempt to ensure there were no more than 10 at any given time, while also denying he could be sure the number was being exceeded. He told Harden they would drive around to do a headcount, including those in and around an RV owned by one of the groups in which ultrasounds are administered to try to convince women not to seek abortions. If officers did carry out such a headcount, they did it subtly. When asked to speak on the record, Kornberg said to contact CMPD’s Public Information Department, which did not answer a request for comment. “You are free to report whatever you observe,” he said. Minutes later, Kornberg engaged demonstrators, asking, “Just taking a walk, right?” and “Just getting some exercise, right?” referring to exceptions in the stay-at-home order that allow for exercise. While he was not keen to speak on record to the press, Kornberg did carry on a lengthy conversation with Flip Benham — a conversation that proved mildly contentious at times but had an overall friendly tone. Kornberg argued that Benham should not be proud of his grandson for being arrested and stressed that he hoped someday Bailey would “become the Benham” who decides to “go into law” and challenge issues through the courts instead of in the streets.
Benham told him the courts couldn’t be relied upon, citing the U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion, as “getting us into this mess.” “Look it, your heart breaks for my grandson, my heart is leaping for joy at my grandson!” Flip yelled at Kornberg, Bible in hand. “I got the father, I got the son, I got the grandson: Three generations that are going to stand for Jesus and be a voice for these little baby boys and girls, this is awesome! It doesn’t get any better than this!” Kornberg then told Benham that his son David wanted Bailey to go home instead of getting arrested. “I did not know that at that time,” Benham said. “He did, he did,” the captain told him. “Well, how did you know that?” Benham then asked. “You never looked at my son. Why didn’t you look at him when you were talking to him?” “I did look at him,” Kornberg answered, while looking at the ground. “But you did not. Like you’re doing right now, you’re not even looking at me,” Benham replied, prompting Kornberg to make dramatic eye contact, at which Benham laughed and told him to stop. Benham then told Kornberg he was planning on getting his mugshot, his son’s mugshot, and his grandson’s mugshot framed next to each other, alongside Psalm 127:4-5, which reads: “Like arrows in the hands of a warrior/ are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man/ whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame/ when they contend with their opponents in court.” Benham then argued that his son and grandson had not broken the law by remaining at the clinic after being asked to leave, telling Kornberg he would “find that out very shortly” when the case goes to court. Fellow anti-abortion demonstrator Daniel Parks, founder of the Concord-based Cities4Life organization, spent much of the day speaking over a loudspeaker alongside a man who identified himself as a preacher out of Statesville. Parks said officers had told him that if there were “over 10 pro-life people out here that they’re going to ask any over 10 to leave,” and those who failed to comply would be cited or arrested. He said he was then told that the following week the rules would be slightly different, with officers citing or arresting not those who arrive after the initial 10, but rather those who were first to arrive once new people arrive, should they refuse to leave. Parks was later overheard saying that since the stay-at-home order was put in place, he’s seen more women enter the RV and get ultrasounds than he had seen in months.
This could owe in part to the fact that clinic escorts and defenders, who help patients to the clinic and inform confused drivers that the RV is not involved with the clinic, are following the stay-athome order more deliberately. APWHC owner Calla Hales told Queen City Nerve that Charlotte for Choice, the organization that supplies defenders and escorts, has temporarily suspended its volunteer program to prioritize the safety of volunteers, patients and staff. “While we absolutely agree with this decision and support our volunteers, their absence is strongly felt with the continued presence of protesters,” Hales said. I spoke with Harden over the phone in the days following April 11, and said she had left messages with the county attorney inquiring about “people who travel in from out of the county,” as almost none of the protesters still gathering outside of APWHC regularly are Mecklenburg County residents. Harden said she inquired if the police officers at the scene are included in the count of no more than 10 people, but said she has not heard back. Harden stressed that she understood the police had a difficult job, and said she was concerned for their health and safety as well. She also said she “believes in the right to protest” and that we can go back to the rules as they were once the “pandemic is behind us.” Harden also said that before going to APWHC on Saturday she had stopped by Family Reproductive Health, a clinic about 10 miles away where she had friends who were acting as clinic defenders. She was there to ask that they go home. “It’s not like I feel this way about one side of the issue,” she explained. “I feel like they ought to go home too, because right now is not the time to be contesting these issues … and there’ll be plenty of time to fight these issues out going forward, but right now we need to stay at home and get past this pandemic and then move on, you know?” According to Hales, since the April 4 arrests the Love Life crowd has stopped coming to the clinic, opting for “virtual protests,” though she’s concerned about the newly formed Reopen Meck group, which aims to defy the stay-at-home order and is led by conservative activists like those sympathetic with the anti-abortion movement. “The Reopen Meck/Reopen NC movements are very troubling,” she said, “because preemptively lifting executive orders before it’s safe for the community will only harm our community further.” INFO@QCNERVE.COM
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NEWS & OPINION FEATURE THE OTHER ESSENTIALS
bonus to drivers who complete the automation training in a week. CCWU worries that this could lead to even more accidents and injuries. “One week is not long enough for automation training,” said Joshua, who has experience with driving automatic trucks. “Drivers can get relaxed, they can get in accidents, they Sanitation workers feel can tear up mailboxes … Are you saying that my life and my health neglected and endangered in is only worth $100?” crisis In an email, Williams stated that SWS hoped to “make a full BY NIKOLAI MATHER transition to automated-only collection using all available As an employee at the City of Charlotte Solid drivers.” Waste Services Department (SWS), which collects CCWU also cited the recent garbage, recycling and other waste from Charlotte’s death of Adrian Grubbs, an residents, Joshua has seen his workplace change employee at Raleigh’s Solid Waste dramatically to combat the spread of COVID-19. But Department, as cause for concern. he and many of his coworkers are worried that it A father of three, Grubbs tested hasn’t changed enough. positive for COVID-19 and died “You on edge,” explained Joshua, whose name shortly thereafter. In the April 7 has been changed so that he could speak freely. press release, CCWU expressed “It’s like, man, I have to pray before I get in my truck concerns “about their own health every day. When you’re dealing with trash, you really and safety … especially as the don’t know what you’re dealing with. You could be number of positive test results picking up someone’s trash and not knowing that and deaths continue to climb.” someone is sick.” A LOCAL UNION LODGE SHOWED THEIR SUPPORT FOR SANITATION WORKERS. PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN Grubbs’ death is all the more After Mayor Vi Lyles declared a state of emergency reason for a staggered schedule, in response to COVID-19 on March 15, the Charlotte Harris said: “We should not have to risk our lives hand sanitizers, wipes and gloves for everyone. We to normal schedules “will certainly increase the City Workers Union (CCWU), a chapter of the North because rich people want trash collected before dark.” also conducted respirator training for those who number of infections of employees.” Carolina Public Service Workers Union, issued a letter With all this in mind, CCWU launched another want to use respirators.” In a press release issued on April 7, the CCWU to Lyles and City Manager Marcus Jones calling for When asked about access to N95 masks, Joshua petition to secure double hazard pay, increased “commonsense measures” to protect public service alleges that the change was made in response to said the training only showed how to use the masks, personal protective equipment, a complete return complaints from residents who did not like that the workers and other community members. Those to the staggered work schedule and daily screenings staggered schedules led to and didn’t actually provide them. “They didn’t have those masks for us. They told for COVID-19 symptoms. With 265 signatures and later pick-ups. counting, there is hope that the city government “Does this mean that us that it was on order,” he said. Joshua also alleged that workers at the waste will give their demands more consideration. the city is more concerned The city manager recently recommended about rich people having treatment facilities only get one pair of latex gloves their trash picked up at 7 per day, and have trouble accessing adequate hand that the city give a 5% “premium pay” increase to first responders and other city workers who p.m., rather than the lives sanitizer and disinfectant. “They gave us disinfectant wipes, but they have frequent, direct contact with the public — a of sanitation workers?” the would only give you one [per day],” he said. “You’re suggestion that Harris said “is not enough.” release asks. Joshua agreed. CCWU also detailed getting in and out of your truck, you’re working “They need to pay sanitation workers a lot more the workplace conditions through the day, but you’ve only got one pair of attention,” he said. “Definitely think about hazard under COVID-19, stating gloves and one wipe. It’s not affecting anything.” Employees have also noted concerns about SWS pay, and not just give us pennies, because it may that workers were not PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN supplied with any masks or accelerating its training program for automated just be the cost of our lives.” With the next city council meeting set for April hand sanitizer and only given garbage truck drivers. The training process typically 27, workers hope to gain more ground. Above all, takes four weeks, enough time to give new drivers one pair of latex gloves per day. The union decried measures included providing adequate personal Joshua hopes to see more unity from the city. ample time to get used to driving a bulkier vehicle rumors of a 3% salary increase for hazard pay. protective equipment, free COVID-19 testing, free “It’s not just about me picking up trash; it’s from the right-hand side. “The City is sitting on 16% reserves totaling childcare for local government employees, granting making sure that we feel that we are loved and that CCWU alleges that the department is unsafely over $116 million for a ‘rainy day,’ and meanwhile double time hazard pay and staggered shifts so as to we’re all in this together. Don’t just think about one expediting the process by attempting to train new the City Council has not even convened a meeting observe social distancing. side or one group of people.” Over 200 city workers signed a petition since March 16,” stated Dominic Harris, president drivers in only a week. Joshua confirmed that SWS has offered a $100 of the CCWU, in the press release. ”They need to supporting these measures, which CCWU delivered along with the letter. Initially, the city granted a staggered schedule to all employees. But by April 6, SWS had scrapped the staggered schedule and ordered automatic truck drivers to return to work. The union condemned the change, stating in another letter that the return
immediately call a meeting and release these funds to defend essential city workers.” In an email, SWS spokesperson Brandi Williams defended the current personal protective equipment policy: “[C]rews are provided with personal protective equipment to include masks,
INFO@QCNERVE.COM
NEWS & OPINION OPINION COLUMN Health Committee, Congress, and the Trump WORLD-CLASS Senate Administration.” Yet, in a Feb, 27 speech to “a small group of wellSTATE connected constituents,” according to NPR, which In a global pandemic, North Carolina finds a way to stand out
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BY MARY C. CURTIS
North Carolina is never content playing second fiddle to any other state, for good or ill. Of course, that would be the case during a pandemic and its aftermath. A partial list: Any politicians out there being accused of taking advantage for personal gain? Check. Questions on how states will accommodate voters skittish about choosing between their health and their right to cast a ballot? Check. Fights over expanding Medicaid after a health crisis forces a hard look at who can and cannot count on insurance coverage? Check. Oh, and a touch of Franklin Graham as a hero with reservations. Our state never disappoints. Because one particular piece of news has been overshadowed by the increasing numbers of COVID-19 infections and deaths in the state and the nation, you might have imagined it’s disappeared altogether. But not only is there an ongoing ethics investigation into stock purchases by North Carolina’s senior U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, reports have revealed that other stock market dealings by the Republican and the 2017 sale of his Washington, D.C., home to a donor and lobbyist are also getting second looks. To be fair, Burr himself has asked for a Senate Ethics Committee investigation of the stock transactions. (The Department of Justice in coordination with the Securities and Exchange Commission, reported CNN, has started its own probe.) But this was only after ProPublica reported he sold between $628,000 and $1.72 million of stock holdings while receiving classified briefings as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. In his defense, Burr said the sales were based not on any insider information, but on public reports at the time. The senator’s own public message about the dangers of coronavirus was mixed. There was a Feb. 7 Fox News column written with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) that said, “The United States today is better prepared than ever before to face emerging public health threats, like the coronavirus, in large part due to the work of the
obtained the audio of his luncheon remarks, Burr told members of the Tar Heel Circle: “There’s one thing that I can tell you about this: It is much more aggressive in its transmission than anything that we have seen in recent history.” He continued, “It is probably more akin to the 1918 pandemic.” Recently, ProPublica reported the 2018 sale of interests in a small Dutch fertilizer company before a stock collapse. Interestingly, Burr was one of only three senators who voted against the Stock (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act of 2012, signed by President Barack Obama, which “prohibits the use of non-public information for private profit, including insider trading by members of Congress and other government employees.” Burr is not the only senator under scrutiny for stock trades, and at least the topic of the propriety of members of Congress owning and trading stocks is again a part of the conversation. Still, it would be nice if North Carolina could sit out this particular COVID controversy. Burr previously had said he will retire from politics in 2022 — probably a good idea. The recent Wisconsin primary, held while other states postponed their own elections, was characterized by long lines, particularly in Milwaukee, the state’s largest city, where only five polling places remained open, instead of the usual 180. Not coincidentally, that city is where a larger percentage of the state’s minority voters live. The Republican majority in the Wisconsin legislature had resisted calls from the state’s Democratic governor to stop in-person voting, taking the matter to the courts. The Supreme Court eventually ruled absentee ballots had to be postmarked by election day, even though many voters had not received requested ballots by then. The legislature had tried to strip the powers of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers as soon as he was elected. (North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper could relate.) Expect more calls by Democrats across the country to make accommodations in a health crisis for mail-in and absentee ballots, and calls by Republicans with a few exceptions, to restrict them. Georgia House Speaker, Republican David Ralston, said increased mail-in balloting would be “devastating” to Republicans in his state, agreeing with the president, who mailed in his own ballot, though both also cited opportunities for fraud in
their reasoning. Several red and blue states, including Oregon, Washington and Utah, already vote by mail with few problems. And the highest profile case of absentee voter fraud actually took place in a Republican race here in North Carolina, where the 9th District U.S. House contest had to have a do-over in 2019. Yet state Senate leader Phil Berger, North Carolina’s top Republican lawmaker, has already dismissed suggestions from state elections officials to make voting more accessible in the shadow of the pandemic, citing the GOP 9th District scandal but somehow finding a way to excoriate “progressive, liberal Democratic groups” to WFAE in the process. That takes more than a little nerve, though it’s not surprising, considering the voting rights battle has been going on in North Carolina since the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in its 2013 Shelby County v. Holder ruling. The latest voting law is still mired in the courts, which blocked its implementation in this year’s primary. You would think state Republicans would have given up after a federal court declared an earlier version of the bill targeted African-American voters with “almost surgical precision.” You would be wrong. Another continuing fight that the coronavirus pandemic has laid bare has been over the expansion of Medicaid. So many of the states now feeling the strain of an overloaded health-care system, with many of the uninsured or underinsured reluctant to seek care, have been in the South. The resistance of Republican leadership has stalled the move and the state budget even as Kansas — yes, Kansas — has moved toward a compromise on the issue. At least North Carolina’s Franklin Graham has reached across state lines to offer assistance in the epicenter of the virus, in the form of a Central Park field hospital associated with his Samaritan’s Purse. But there is a catch: protests and pushback over a statement of faith many of its contractors and some full-time volunteers must sign stating, “We believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female.” On his Facebook page, Graham called critics, which included members of Congress, “tone deaf.” Another North Carolina-based minister, the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, in a wide-ranging interview I conducted for a TIME Magazine profile, did not mention Graham in particular. But during our conversation, Barber, a leader of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival, criticized “religious nationalism” and the narrative “that says the only moral issue today is not poverty
and dealing with racism but being against gay people, being against women’s right to choose, being for guns being for tax cuts and being for prayers in the schools.” Yes, North Carolina, and its people, can also surprise you. Mary C. Curtis, a columnist at Roll Call and a contributor to WCCB-TV and WFAE, has worked at The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Charlotte Observer, as national correspondent for Politics Daily, and is a senior facilitator with The OpEd Project. Follow Mary on Twitter at @mcurtisnc3. INFO@QCNERVE.COM
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NEWS & OPINION COLUMN
THE SUFFRAGIST
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A TALE OF TWO PANDEMICS
as early as the 1820s. So, by the time WWI began, not only had a century passed since then, but the women from the NWP had for more than two years stood in How the 1918 flu pandemic front of the White House as “Silent Sentinels” played into women’s suffrage enduring periodic torture. Still, all Wilson managed to say in support of the 19th Amendment was, “…we have made BY RHIANNON FIONN partners of the women in this war … Shall we In the nineteen teens, when duty called soldiers admit them only to a partnership of suffering to war and a flu pandemic was killing entire and sacrifice and toil and not to a partnership of families, women worldwide stepped up and took privilege and right?” Unlike our current president, with his nearon many roles traditionally held by men. However, by the time both of those nightmares began, young daily, ultra-long and self-focused press briefings, American women in the National Women’s Party Wilson didn’t have much to say about the flu (NWP) — including North Carolina’s Gertrude Weil pandemic. Of course, he was focused on WWI, — had yanked the helm of the suffrage movement which the United States entered on April 6, 1917. away from their elders who had spent decades A year later, the first incidence of what would trying to bargain with Congress. Then they turned later (inaccurately) be referred to as the Spanish flu showed up at a military camp in Kansas, up the heat. according to the Yet they still U.S. Centers for were not taken Disease Control seriously a century (CDC). after the call for The reason women’s suffrage that virus began. It took wasn’t called World War I and the Kansas Flu nearly 700,000 is because our flu-related deaths president, and in the U.S. alone leaders of other before President countries involved Woodrow Wilson in World War I, offered support didn’t want to take for the 19th people’s attention Amendment. away from the P r e v i o u s l y, war effort so they I wrote in “The tried to keep the Suffragist” that the lid on flu news. It’s push to amend the PSA CIRCA NOV. 1918 called the Spanish U.S. Constitution began in the mid-1840s. I was corrected by a Flu because the media in Spain, which wasn’t then Civics 101 podcast from New Hampshire Public tangled in war, could tell the truth. Even here in Charlotte, public officials and Radio featuring Professor Martha Jones of John medical professionals misled the public about the Hopkins University. According to her forthcoming devastation, as Mark Washburn explained recently book, Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote and Fought for Rights for All, African- in his article in The Charlotte Observer showing American women like Maria Stewart were speaking how even the city’s newspapers downplayed that to audiences and writing manifestos about suffrage pandemic.
backs of those working feverishly behind sewing machines and 3D printers making cloth masks, gowns, face shields and other accoutrements for medical professionals, other frontline workers and high-risk individuals. We see it in the men and women running cash registers in checkout lines and delivering our food. Now there’s a new suffrage battle in front of us: mail-in voting, something the leadership of the N.C. General Assembly, which returns to session April 28, has already said they’re not interested in (read Mary’s column to my left for more on that). For the coming battles we all need to focus and work hard, while also pacing ourselves and practicing self-care and physical distancing so that we, too, don’t succumb to COVID-19, our new viral enemy. “When people died during the 1918-1920 influenza pandemics — yes, there were multiple waves (and we can expect multiple waves of COVID-19) — due to a variety of reasons, a cause of death was not listed,” WOMEN WORKERS’ WW1 POSTER. wrote Perry in an email stacked from floor to ceiling, taking home the bodies explaining why accurate numbers for deaths in of young soldiers who never saw the war,” wrote Charlotte during the flu pandemic aren’t available. “Keep in mind that the flu pandemic didn’t end Harry McKown in a University of North Carolina article entitled “North Carolina and the ‘Blue Death’.” in November 1918. In fact, although the city lifted According to UNC Charlotte associate professor the quarantine at the end of October 1918, they had Dr. Heather Perry, “There was the same uproar about to put the city schools and other areas back under closed businesses and loss of income at that time. quarantine in December because there had been People resisted the quarantine and there was a lot of such a resurgence of cases. In Char-Meck, people pushback against the public health measures which were still getting sick regularly and dying until well were implemented to help stop the spread — into 1919,” says Perry. That is why mail-in voting is of utmost usually because people did not like being told what to do or because they chose personal economic importance during a presidential election, because concerns over public health ones. So, of course, that both scientists and historians like Perry are saying is one reason why the flu was so bad in Charlotte.” the same thing: Viruses don’t adhere to our timelines; In the meantime, women got to work, as they we bend to theirs. They can change everything, and are wont to do. That same proactive determination they don’t care about our hard-earned rights — so to help during crisis, to do whatever must be done, is we must be smarter than them. evidenced today in the faces of the pregnant nurses worrying in news reports. We see it on the hunched INFO@QCNERVE.COM Meanwhile, the virus began to do what viruses do: replicate and invade every available host lacking immunity, leading to a death toll that would exceed 50 million worldwide, depending on your source. “Soldiers in crowded training camps were especially vulnerable. At the railroad station that served Camp Greene near Charlotte coffins were
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ARTS FEATURE PUBLIC ISOLATION
were planted by Mint’s curator of decorative the first to have traveling salesmen, [and] the first arts Brian Gallagher shortly after he joined the to offer money-back guarantees and free shipping museum’s staff in 2007. Rummaging through — things we take for granted today,” Gallagher the museum’s storeroom, he noticed distinctive explains. sculptures of black basalt, a dense stoneware Realizing that consummate marketer made from reddish-brown clay which burns black Wedgwood was pitching his wares to homeowners, in firing. After conducting research, Gallagher Gallagher decided that he wanted to avoid a stark Street artist Owl concluded that the pieces were produced presentation of black ceramics against white walls. shifts from prestigious by 18th-century English master potter and He and Crowell decided to incorporate the warm museum to home studio entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood, as well as some hues prevalent in late 18th-century homes, colors of his contemporaries. These rare pieces, many which would also resonate with contemporary BY PAT MORAN of them ceramic copies of ancient Greek, Roman, tastes. Renaissance and Enlightenment sculptures, had Crowell arranged the collection into three Owl is used to uncertainty. In March, never been shown at the Mint before. Gallagher separate rooms that would reflect the domestic the Colombian-born Charlotte artist learned convinced his colleagues that the ceramics could focus of Wedgwood’s black basalts. Drawing on that Classic Black, a conjoined sculpture and form the core of an exhibition. her background in theatre design, Crowell often mural exhibit she cocreated with members Then, museum life happened, Gallagher says. describes the sculptures as characters in a play. of the Mint Museum staff, would be closing Other projects and exhibits took precedence, but “I took the classical characters of antiquity prematurely to help stem the rapidly rising the notion of a Wedgwood exhibit continued to [and] Greek and Roman mythology and created a tide of COVID-19. The Mint hopes to reopen gain adherents. ‘sculpture hall’ for them to live in,” she says. Busts OWL AS CAT? the show, which was originally scheduled Four years ago, Gallagher resumed the project, of writers, philosophers and politicians of the PHOTO BY DANIEL ALVARADO to run Feb. 9 to Aug. 30, at their Randolph arranging to borrow other vintage black basalt Enlightenment landed in the “library.” A “drawing location, but dates have yet to be determined. Classic Black was meant to be a radical departure pieces from England’s Wedgwood Museum, the room” was then set up for decorative “objects that In the meantime, Owl took the shifting situation in for the museum, the confluence of classic sculpture Victoria & Albert Museum and the National Trust, were what the fashionistas of the 18th century stride. The acclaimed muralist, who often appears and a contemporary street artist whose reputation is as well as Alabama’s Birmingham Museum of Art in would buy,” Crowell offers. masked when she’s creating in The architecture was public, had hoped that her first in place, but the exhibit’s museum show would increase her walls still needed to be art’s accessibility, but that caveat decorated and painted. aside, she felt satisfied that all her In Wedgwood’s day, hard work had paid off. popular architect and “What we planned to do was designer Robert Adam brought [forth] with the best was the consummate intentions,” Owl maintains. “It tastemaker with a also showed me that I was part of neoclassical style that a community because [after the incorporated frescos by closure] the Mint Museum reached Italian painters to move out — a lot of people reached out a patron’s eye around — to make sure that I was okay.” the space, Crowell says. She’s grateful that she was able Many of Wedgwood’s to create the installation before pieces were designed to the city ground to a halt, and has mesh with Adam’s style. found solace that people were “The Adam style reaching out to each other amid uses moldings and the pandemic. “I felt there was A LOOK INSIDE OWL’S ‘CLASSIC BLACK’ EXHIBIT, FEATURING BASALT SCULPTURES BY JOSIAH WEDGWOOD. PHOTO BY CASEY HENDRICKSON painted motifs and color uncertainty but that we all were in a very specific way,” going to be walking hand in hand.” based on her colorful and immersive murals. Equally America. As the exhibit entered the design phase, she explains. “One of the things that was important Classic Black: The Basalt Sculpture of Wedgwood if not more important, Owl is a woman of color. A Crowell came onboard. to the style was a lot of visual movement.” Crowell and his Contemporaries represented a series of firsts show prominently featuring such an artist is still In his factories, Wedgwood had industrialized knew where to find that kind of movement in for the artist and for the Mint. It was the first exhibit far from common in the art world, or the museum the potter’s craft, Gallagher explains, thereby contemporary art — Charlotte’s exploding street to focus exclusively on the black basalt sculpture world, and it lends resonance to the exhibit’s title. making his wares available and affordable for the arts scene. When the Mint co-hosted the street made by Josiah Wedgwood and other Staffordshire “It was definitely unconventional for the rising middle class. Crowell describes Wedgwood’s mural slam competition Battle Walls with Southern potters in late 18th-century England, as well as the museum to move forward with this,” Crowell offers. studios as the IKEA showrooms of their day. Tiger Collective last summer, she noticed the work of Mint’s first sculpture exhibit. The seeds for the groundbreaking installation “He was the first to open a showroom in London, collective artists Owl and her partner Arko. For Mint exhibition designer Hannah Crowell,
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ARTS FEATURE
“I want my community to go out to the museum to see that we are out there,” Owl told Queen City Nerve in early March, before the museum closed. “[Owl’s] work is all about the movement of the “Accessibility is a big part of my goal in the arts.” eye and changing and morphing a line to create Seeing her bio in the museum was a powerful a movement of energy,” Crowell maintains. She moment for her, Owl explains. “As a child of wanted to bring that energy into the Mint, and she immigrants, it was the best gift I could give my found an ally in Gallagher. They brought Owl in and parents.” told her of their plan to entwine sculpture, color and Then, in mid-March, the Mint announced that design in a conversation between the ancient art they were closing until further notice. One of Owl’s that inspired Wedgwood, the 18th-century design closest friends came up from Atlanta to visit on the by embodied by Adam, and Owl’s contemporary and Mint’s final day, Saturday, March 15. With her friend, immersive mural work. Owl toured the museum — and Classic Black — “I was in shock for a few minutes,” Owl one last time. remembers. “I was in front of two people who “I had the opportunity to go back into that visualized something innovative. I had been wanting place where everything was born and created,” Owl to do something like this for a very long time.” remembers. “There wasn’t much sadness because I Owl came back with a color scheme for was still able to share it with someone who the exhibit’s three rooms: warm is close to me.” pinks, oranges, purples and As life slowed down, “I blues, hues and tones Owl pivoted to creating WAS IN that evoked successive under quarantine. It sunrises and wasn’t that much SHOCK FOR A FEW sunsets viewed of a transition, the MINUTES. I WAS IN by generations artist maintains. of humans FRONT OF TWO PEOPLE “There were a throughout few adjustments, WHO VISUALIZED the centuries. but overall, the The design also SOMETHING life that I have incorporates created and the Owl’s blobs, line INNOVATIVE.” environment that drawings of amoebaI have set for my day -Owl like shapes that spiral was already set up for in successive iterations like social distancing.” fractals. The blobs are like a She’s not in complete two-dimensional Rorschach test that isolation, because she shares her home the eye reads as 3-D. with her partner Arko, who still works a day job as “There’s vertical movement [in Owl’s art] that a surveyor. surrounds and swirls around an object, so your eye Owl says she’s grateful to spend more time in has a moment to rest before it dances to the next her home studio digging deeper into projects that focal point,” Crowell offers. “I [created] a slide that she had placed on the back burner. In early April overlays some of her work on top of Robert Adam’s she partnered with Camp North End-based design classical design. All the same ideas are there, where firm McFly Fresh Printing Company to release a new symmetry exists but [also] breaks.” t-shirt. The show opened at the Mint’s Randolph Road “[McFly] is allowing me to create the designs location on Feb. 9. For Owl, an unexpected bonus of … and [they] have it run for however long I need the show was that her bio was posted in the gallery. to bring in some income in these uncertain times,” Because she often works masked and incognito, Owl offers. many people who love her art were not aware of It’s a boon with commissioned projects drying what she looks like. up, she continues. Owl sees the shirts as a way to “People have messaged me when they read my promote positivity with a message that ties in with bio at the Mint [and] they realized that I’m a woman what she was promoting at the Mint. The design of color,” Owl offers. Many of those people have told incorporates a circle which she describes as an iconic her she was an inspiration for girls and women, she Owl stamp. continues.
“I feel this connection to the circle of life, and cycles of the moon’s orbit — all these cycles where something begins and ends and comes back to the same place. “ The positivity and energy come from the color of the shirt. “I picked yellow because it’s a color that brings hope and signifies peace.” She’s also committed to producing a drawing every day for the next 30 days to provide templates for her next series of screen prints. The drawings are pieces of a puzzle, an examination of how her brain processes experiences in a time of isolation and reflection, Owl offers. They are also an extension of her daily journals of thoughts and dreams. “I wake up and the first thing I do is write down how I’m feeling and varying dreams that I can recall.” She started toying with the idea of drawing more constantly, adhering to a routine, and documenting how her brain is dealing with the new normal. “I’m finding more information than I thought I would actually find,” Owl maintains. “I’ve done five drawings so far. In the first two you can tell there’s a lot on my mind.” By the third, fourth and fifth drawings, Owl realized that she had started pairing ideas together in ways she never had before.
She’s excited to see what the ensuing days will bring, and says that her drawing time is an exciting part of her day because she constantly surprises herself. Owl is hopeful that Classic Black will reopen but she’s had no word on when that might be. In an email, Crowell writes that the Mint is pursuing an extension for the exhibition. “Because many of the objects are on loan from private collections and public museum collections, we are working now on all the logistics,” Crowell offers. In the meantime, Owl notes that everyone seems to be sharing the uncertainty of an artist’s life. “It’s where everybody is sitting at right now, being at home, figuring things out, seeing what works and doesn’t work and taking a chance on yourself. I think all of us needed to have our minds shaken so we could realize that we’re all in this together.” “We’re going to come out of this stronger,” Owl maintains, noting that she’s seeing more and more simple acts of kindness between friends and neighbors daily. “We’ll be united, and a little bit kinder and appreciative.” PMORAN@QCNERVE.COM
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MUSIC FEATURE THE HEALING PROCESS
New Kil Ripkin and Jah Freedom EP is a guide to self-discovery
on his own personal struggles. The new follow-up is meant to turn the focus around on the fans, giving them something to vibe to while confronting their own obstacles or anxieties. Though it wasn’t planned that way, the goal became more relevant with the arrival of COVID-19. “With this one I just wanted to heal and without even knowing that we’d be going through this crazy time and all of that, we had no idea this was going to take place,” Ripkin said. “My whole idea was just
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BY RYAN PITKIN
In the opening scene of Kil Ripkin and Jah Freedom’s new video for “Self Medicate,” the title track from the rapper/producer duo’s upcoming EP, the screen reads, “Purgatory, Laboratory, Mental Facility Case Study 538,” before Ripkin takes his seat to stake his claim as one of the most talented lyricists in Charlotte. In front of him sit four jars of colored liquids that resemble fortified wine, which would lead one to make certain assumptions about what exactly the title of the song is referring to. However, they actually represent colors of the chakras. Green symbolizes the heart — love, peace and compassion. Red ties in with the base of the spine, symbolizing physical needs, passion and anger. Orange: joy, vitality, creativity, sexuality. Purple: peace and oneness. It’s a range of emotions that all get covered in the new EP, the full release of which has been put on hold during the COVID-19 crisis. For the new video, released on April 3, Ripkin said he, Freedom and director Kevin Staggers wanted to give just a nod to the healing themes that they’re trying to express and advocate for in Self Medicate. “Each bottle represents a different healing elixir for whatever ails you at the time,” Ripkin explained over the phone in the lead-up to the video premiere. “Hopefully, people will catch onto that. It’s a two-verse song, it’s not that long, so I didn’t want to put too much in such a short period of time, where you have people going all over the place trying to figure out what’s going on. Hopefully, what we was trying to get across worked. It’s really about the music and the lyrics. That was my approach.” For Ripkin, a Brooklyn, New York, native who’s been living in Charlotte since 2006, Self Medicate is an opportunity to get back to that lyrical approach following his last album, The Force, which focused
JAH FREEDOM (LEFT) AND KIL RIPKIN
when people hit play it just takes them away from whatever’s stressing them out, without thinking too much.” Ripkin’s longtime friend, Charlotte producer Jah Freedom, provided the perfect backdrop for Ripkin’s riffing flow, with a mix of boom-bap production and live instruments, which Freedom plays himself then lays over one another. The two have worked together on every previous Ripkin project, so it was only right for them to get together for a full collaboration. It began with Freedom sending his friend a few beats, but once a theme came into play, the producer began
building aural environments for Ripkin’s lyrics to live in comfortably. “It was really freeing to just say, ‘Alright, I’m just going to experiment and play with sounds, textures and frequencies,’” said Freedom of the process. “I wanted the tracks to sound like a band playing them … and not just beats. I wanted to give him a soundscape for his vision so it has changes, bridges, instrumentation and flips of the beat at the end of songs.” Close friends for more than 10 years, the two have built a partnership that Ripkin compares to classic rapper/producer duos like Pete Rock & CL Smooth or Guru and DJ Premier of Gang Starr. “He’s one of my favorite producers of all time, bar none,” Ripkin said of Freedom. “I just think his style was made for me.” His go-to comparisons are telling, as they represent an era of early ’90s New York hip-hop that Ripkin recalls in his songs. His effortless transitions from conscious content to street storytelling is a talent that’s hard to find on today’s mainstream rap radio stations. In Self Medicate, Ripkin also transitions quickly between homages to his hometown and holding down Charlotte. At one point, he addresses BK gentrifiers, stating, “It’s for the ones who stole my land I think it’s time you returned it/ They say the flow’s so Brooklyn that’s enough to be concerned with,” and in the very next line pays respects to his current home: “I’m in the Q.C. with the Hornets swarm and the Panthers prowl/ We in the town where the people want the answers now.” In the video, a clip shows protesters on the streets of Charlotte in September 2016 during the Charlotte Uprising. The quick switch is indicative of how Ripkin views his own story and the way his Brooklyn vibes play into his role as a Charlotte rapper. “Brooklyn is always going to be who I am, that’s how I move forward and how I carry myself, but
definitely on the other hand, I rep Charlotte,” he said. “I try to rep it in my music and everywhere I go, because this is where I’ve been, and I’ve developed a lot of solid relationships here.” Perhaps the strongest of those relationships has been with Jah Freedom, as the two share interests in a wide range of topics from the chakras to sneaker culture. “You know when you meet certain people and the more you are around each other you realize, damn we’re like the same person?” asked Freedom. “Kil is a stand-up guy, intelligent, talented, but most of all real. That’s the main thing: no airs about him at all. Will he put your lights out if need be? Yes. But he’d rather sit and build with you about the community, bettering yourself and gaining knowledge and wisdom.” Freedom cites Funkadelic’s “Good Thoughts, Bad Thoughts,” as a citation for how that dynamic plays out in their personal and professional relationships. The song is mostly instrumental, with contemplative, mantra-like lyrics sprinkled throughout, perfect for meditation, as Freedom points out. One verse states, “You can find the answer/ The solution lies within the problem/ The answer is in every question/ Dig it?/ An attitude is all you need to rise and walk away/ Inspire yourself/ Your life is yours/ It fits you like your skin.” The theme fits with how Freedom would later describe the Self Medicate EP: as a guide in one’s search for self. “We want people to take away that life can sometimes be hard or difficult but we can all selfmedicate, self-heal with positive things: music, art, creating, loving one another,” Freedom said. All the more relevant in a time when countrywide stay-at-home orders and economic anxieties have everyone in their own heads, with lots to be concerned for and more than enough time to spend dwelling on it. As for Ripkin, though he says Self Medicate is his best work yet, he’s splitting his quarantine efforts between spending that all-too-rare quality time with the wife and kids and getting in the right headspace to continue his progression once he’s let loose on the world again. “When this is over with, it’s back to business again,” he said. “So I’m just trying to listen to what the ancestors are saying as far as what needs to be done at this time. I don’t think this is play time. This is a time to really just get your body in order, get your mind in order, and the things that you’ve been neglecting for the last couple of years, this is a time to really give them some attention.” It’s all a part of the healing process. RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM
A DOSE OF VIRTUAL REALITY
People have always relied on our Lifeline and Soundwave to give them ideas on what to do. We like to say there’s no excuse to stay at home, but now that’s not the case. However, there are still plenty of things to do from the comfort of your couch, and we’ve compiled a few ideas to help you pass the time. CONNECTED ART WORKSHOP: GELATIN MONOPRINTING
What: The McColl center invites you to explore print making virtually without using a press. Charlotte artist Laurie Smithwick teaches the basics of printing with a gelatin plate, including techniques for rolling ink, pulling a print, and pulling something called a ghost print, which sounds like it could involve ectoplasm and tarot cards. More: $80-85; Saturday, April 25, 10 a.m.; mccollcenter.org/art-workshops
CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG LIBRARY’S VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING
Pg. 15 APR 22 - MAY 5, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM
What: Participate in virtual story time with your family, receive resume help from the comfort of your couch, partake in career coaching, join a book club, study health science or delve into the latest technology — it’s all an open book at the library. If we listed the full range of virtual programming available for children, teens and adults, there wouldn’t be room for anything else on this page. More: Free; days and times vary; cmlibrary.org/virtual-programming
CHARLOTTE FILM SOCIETY’S VIRTUAL QUARANTINE CONCERTS QUARANTUNES What: Launched in late March, QC Concerts hosts What: Even at his SCREENING ROOM live-streamed mini-concerts and theatre chats to help keep the spotlight on the city’s theatre community while stages are currently dark. Upcoming shows include Mosaic Arts featuring Joshua Doyle and Kelly Hutchinson and JStage featuring Rebecca Gundersheim, Arella Flur, and Kacy Connon, as well as performances by local artists such as Traven Harrington and Ashani Smith and Hannah-Kathryn Wall. Don’t worry if you’ve missed a show. The curtain is always going up on past episodes which are archived their site. More: Free; Thursday-Saturday nights, 7:30 p.m.;
What: Too Hot to Handle, Netflix’s number one show, pits a pack of sexy narcissists against each other and dares them not to have sex. In other words, you’re stuck on a beach with boring assholes. For the perfect counter programming to this video hell, turn to Charlotte Film Society. They keep adding to their collection of foreign and indie art films that you can’t see anywhere else. The newest additions to their super cool slate include 1960s-set queer romance To the Stars and bruising coming of age drama Bull. More: $10-12 for 48-hour rentals; Sundays, 2:30 p.m.; qcconcerts.com charlottefilmsociety.com
CHARLOTTE MUSIC CHALLENGE
What: Spearheaded by Charlotte musician Britt Drozda, the challenge inspires music lovers and creators to help out some of our city’s independent live music venues — Amos’ Southend, Petra’s, Evening Muse, Neighborhood Theatre and Visulite Theatre. On April 23, singer-songwriter T. Dubya performs a set of his favorite Bob Dylan tunes with Dubya Does Dylan. Then on April 30, the performer returns with his self-described Mixed Bag of Acoustic Jams. SATURDAY CHAT ‘N CHILL SERIES What: There’s a bevy of eye-catching attractions More: Donations accepted; Thursday, April 23, 5 just up the virtual road from Charlotte. The Heart of p.m., tinyurl.com/TDubyaBDylan; Thursday, April North Carolina Visitors Bureau has been streaming 30, 5 p.m., tinyurl.com/TDubyaMixedBag Saturday visits with regional potters, local brewers, the proprietors of North Carolina’s scariest haunted CONNECTED ART WORKSHOP: woods and more on Facebook Live. This Saturday, COMMUNAL COLORING PROJECT Millstone Creek Orchards’ Beverly Mooney talks What: Your mission: brainstorm, sketch and color. about how agritourism — tours, pick-your-ownMcColl Center alumna artist Andrea Vail invites you fruit, hayrides, apple cider donuts and apple slushies to be part of the virtual Communal Coloring Book — helped save her family farm. Project. You’ll transform your own ideas into images, More: Free, Saturday, April 25, 10 a.m; interact with others, and enjoy the challenge of the tinyurl.com/ChatNChill unexpected in this community-driven art project. More: $20-25; Thursday, April 23, 4 p.m.; mccollcenter.org/art-workshops
TODD JOHNSON & THE REVOLVERS: ‘USE SOME COMPANY’
most introspective, singersongwriter and acoustic guitarist John Sullivan radiates a high-spirited yet laid-back sunniness. There’s a lot of jazz, blues and funk phrasing in his rock, folk and folk-rock tunes which might make you think a little of James Taylor or Michael Franks, but Sullivan’s his own man. Every Saturday he streams on Facebook Live sometime around 8. More: Free; Saturday, April 25, 8 p.m.; johnmichaelsullivanmusic.com/my-songs; tinyurl.com/SullivanQuarantunes
A SYMPHONY A PART
What: On Friday, April 17th, at 3 p.m., the musicians of the Charlotte Symphony each found their own space to perform simultaneously yet apart from each other. From a sidewalk in front of a South End home, a porch in NoDa, or a kitchen table in Plaza Midwood, each performed their part of the fifth movement of Beethoven’s Pastoral symphony. The music promises beauty and celebration after the storm, and the project illustrates that music can transcend fear. The Charlotte Symphony musicians put videos of the individual performances online. More: Free; asymphonyapart.com; #CSOatHome; facebook.com/CLTSymphonyMusicians
What: The Revolvers project is producer and artist Todd Johnson featuring a revolving lineup of musicians, naturally. With his fine-grained tenor and laid back yet swaggering Southern soul, Johnson sings songs of love, loss and redemption that suggest Thin Lizzie’s Carolina cousins fronted by Every Picture Tells a Story-era Rod Stewart. The Revolvers’ Use Some Company EP, which dropped in March, voices a sentiment we all can share in quarantine: A longing for connection and the day when we can all meet again. The accompanying video features Charlotte talent and video clips from STORYTIME WITH LEVINE MUSEUM What: In addition to highlighting current and friends and fans around the world. past exhibits like Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers and More: tinyurl.com/UseSomeCompany Nuevolution: Latinos and the New South, Levine Museum of the New South has gathered some of the staff’s favorite books from home, local authors and PLAZA MIDWOOD HISTORIC Levine Museum’s gift shop, to share with families and their children. DISTRICT WALKING TOUR What: You’re allowed to leave the house every More: Free.; museumofthenewsouth.org/storytime once in a while, and you should. Everyone’s favorite Charlotte historian Tom Hanchett has provided an online guide to all the interesting sights of Plaza Midwood. Follow him! (But not closely.) More: historysouth.org
FOOD & DRINK FEATURE OPEN UP IN A SHUTDOWN
Two local restaurant owners move forward in turbulent times
Pg. 16 APR 22 - MAY 5, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM
BY RYAN PITKIN
Gov. Cooper announced that all restaurants and bars momentum in normal times, but now and Greg and Subrina are doing so in the midst of a pandemic that would need to shut down in a couple of days. will change the way society operates as a Greg remembers it as a matter-of-fact whole. And yet, the Colliers have realization: “It was like, ‘Alright continued to handle things well, I guess we’re gonna do “WE as they come, each of carryout.’” DON’T HAVE them looking back Greg and Subrina on the tough began offering THE OPPORTUNITY times they went curbside pick-up TO GIVE PEOPLE through in 2014 that weekend. and, before Then on April INTERESTING FOOD OR that, their 14, they rolled THOUGHT-PROVOKING hardscrabble out a lunch FOOD, WE JUST GOTTA childhoods menu, which as proof they hadn’t GIVE PEOPLE COMFORT.” that they can planned on -Greg Collier, face any and offering up all adversity until June. Soon, co-owner, together. they’ll introduce a Leah & Louise “This is tough, supper-style dinner we’ve never seen menu on weekends. anything like this before, “We were going to roll but Subrina and I, we’re both that Sunday supper-style menu from Memphis, not from the worst out in September when it got back cold,” Greg said, “but the situation calls for people wanting upbringing, but we’ve both had to navigate some comfort food. People want smoked chicken, grilled things that other people in general don’t have to fish, nothing crazy, so we’re going to expand our navigate — let alone people who end up opening a restaurant,” Greg said. “So we kind of handled this menu with that.” like that. We take it day by day, try our best to be It’s hard enough to open a restaurant and build
Despite everything he’s been through over the last month, Greg Collier can’t imagine he’ll ever have as trying a time as he did in 2014. Early that year, Greg and his wife Subrina had each welcomed their respective parents to live with them, putting them in a situation that would make for a great sitcom in a fictional world, but only added to the stress and tension of the tragedy that was to come. One Monday morning in August, Greg and Subrina woke up to find that their first restaurant, The Yolk in Rock Hill, had burned down overnight. In November, Greg’s youngest sister passed away unexpectedly. “It was OK when I was going to work, we had things to do,” Collier recalls of that time six years ago, living in a full house. “Then the restaurant burned down in August. So we don’t have the money coming down, we’re not able to do the things that we love to do and we’re so passionate about. It’s kind of like now. We didn’t have to stay in the house, but I was so depressed, I didn’t have nothing else to do, I just stayed in my room every day.” Fast forward to Tuesday, March 17, 2020, when the Colliers attended a meeting with management at Camp North End, where their new restaurant Leah & Louise was set to open on March 20. At a media preview night on the previous Friday, journalists and bloggers showed up at staggered times and sat away from one another, enjoying a slew of Greg’s dishes like Dirty Grits, Black Sheep smoked lamb ribs, Mud Island catfish stew and other Southern menu items. At the March 17 meeting, as COVID-19 measures slowly clamped down on the city, the Colliers discussed their plan to open the restaurant slowly, with just 12 reservations each hour. CURBSIDE TAKEOUT AT LEAH & LOUISE. Then as they wrapped up the meeting,
good to folks and do right by people.” That means giving back, even in these uncertain times. Greg’s Uptown Yolk restaurant has provided free breakfasts for people in need and participated in a Frontline Foods charity dinner for Novant Health employees in Huntersville.
SIP DELTA FRIED CATFISH FROM THE LUNCH MENU PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN
As for the new restaurant, priorities have shifted. Leah & Louise was meant to be a throwback to Memphis juke joints, old-school Southern Black-owned establishments where plantation workers and sharecroppers would get together to blow off steam, play music, drink and eat. The atmosphere was meant to play a big role in the restaurant’s vibe. Being forced to the curb as a takeout restaurant, however, has delayed the opportunity to cultivate that vibe. No worries, said Greg in his typical pragmatic style, as this now gives him a chance to get back to what’s most important: the food — whether it’s placed carefully on a plate or put in a to-go box. “The thing for me that’s always been important is stuff tasting great,” he said. “You got some chefs that kind of focus on the pretty a little more than they focus on the flavor. The pretty is the last thing I’m thinking about. I spend a whole lot of time on making stuff taste good or making stuff resonate. Now more than ever … we have to give people what they want. “We don’t have the opportunity PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN to give people interesting food or
FOOD & DRINK FEATURE
“We had a lot of our regulars come in and pretty Main Street shopping, and they would stop to get a scary to see.” much everyone that was coming in was talking coffee or something to eat, and we don’t have that And still, Favreau remains optimistic that her about it and started talking about how the stay- anymore. So it’s pretty quiet and lonely. It’s a little deferred dream will eventually come to fruition. She has plans to expand the menu with more sandwiches and salads when she’s finally allowed to open her dining room, but until then, she’ll continue to serve her neighbors as they need her. “As things have changed, what I’ve seen is that we are part of a normalcy for everything. Quite a few people have said that still being able to come and get their coffee was a part of normal life that they could maintain,” she said. “I’m a very optimistic person to begin with and I believe that when you hold the vision in your mind it actually does come true. So I’m holding the vision with great hope that it actually does end up the way we worked so hard to get to.”
thought-provoking food, we just gotta give people comfort,” he continued. “Telling my story through food is very important, so not being able to tell that story is just like, ‘Hey, go back to cooking the best food you can cook,’ and I think that’s probably the biggest change.” A 15-mile drive southwest from Leah & Louise, at the corner of Main and Dover streets in Pineville, sits a new restaurant with a familiar name. Unwind Tea & Coffee House celebrated its fifth anniversary in Pineville’s historic downtown area in RPITKIN@QCNERVE.COM April. At the end of 2019, PHOTO BY RYAN PITKIN owner and operator Wendy WENDY FAVREAU PATIENTLY AWAITS THE DAY SHE CAN ALLOW FOLKS TO DINE IN FOR THE FIRST TIME. Favreau decided to mark that milestone by chasing her dream, moving two at-home order was coming,” she said. “It was pretty doors down from the original 700-square-foot obvious that first week that things were going to location into a corner space more than four times change drastically.” that size and expanding her little coffee shop into Favreau took things in stride and quickly a cafe. adapted. On the Dover Street side of her old brick Eco-Friendly Clean Label Giving Back In her half-decade on Main Street, she saw building was a service window going directly to a need for the downtown area that wasn’t being the kitchen. It had long ago been sealed shut and filled, despite multiple tries. painted over, but Favreau saw an opportunity. “I have seen a few restaurants in the space “I was like, ‘I’m sure I can get that window open.’ that we’re in come and go, and I feel as though I’ve I started working on it with a razor blade,” she said. gotten a good idea of what is needed down here,” She was eventually able to open the window for Sustainably made High-quality, 15% of proceeds Favreau told Queen City Nerve. walk-up service. with upcycled human-grade donated to local She moved over to the new location and put “It was good to get that window open and brewer's grains & ingredients with no animal rescue together a low-key menu that would cater to cleaned up and in use, and ever since the day we packaged in fillers or groups to help pets downtown shoppers and those looking for eats started using it, people absolutely love it,” she said. recyclable cans preservatives in need after trips to Pintville next door: different styles of “We’ve got more and more foot traffic with people avocado toasts in the morning; flatbreads, salads walking their dogs and things, so it’s been great.” and sandwiches for lunch; and bar bites at night, Despite her adaptations, the downtown area including a warm pretzel with housemade pimento she’s come to love as a small-business owner cheese. still looks desolate on a daily basis. On a recent The full scope of Favreau’s dream, however, Wednesday afternoon, few cars were passing would be put on hold. Her final inspection was through what is supposed to be the most busy street approved on March 23. She opened on March 24, in town. www.calvinscraftcookies.com a week after restaurants were ordered to serve “It’s scary, to be honest,” she said. “We always info@calvinscraftcookies.com takeout only and the same day that residents were had a lot of foot traffic. There is still a good bit of ordered to stay at home. @calvinscraftcookies the local people walking their dogs and running Calvin It was clear what was coming long before then, and things like that, but we would always have a The Cookie Boss Calvin's Craft Cookies she said, as regular Unwind customers came in to lot of people come and park and walk up and down check out the new space.
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It's time for a better dog treat!
Pg. 18 APR 22 - MAY 5, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM
LIFESTYLE PUZZLES
LIFESTYLE PUZZLES SUDOKU
BY LINDA THISTLE
PLACE A NUMBER IN THE EMPTY BOXES IN SUCH A WAY THAT EACH ROW ACROSS, EACH COLUMN DOWN AND EACH SMALL 9-BOX SQUARE CONTAINS ALL OF THE NUMBERS ONE TO NINE. ©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.
TRIVIA TEST BY FIFI RODRIGUEZ
1. EXPLORERS: Which Western explorer discovered the Grand Canyon? 2. TELEVISION: In the “M*A*S*H” series, which U.S. state did Radar O’Reilly hail from? 3. LANGUAGE: What does the Latin phrase “acta non verba” mean? 4. GAMES: What are the names of the utilities in the Monopoly board game? 5. COMICS: Who is Garfield’s girlfriend in the comic? 6. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is the traditional birthstone for April? 7. MUSIC: What does the musical notation “allegro” mean? 8. MOVIES: In which 1970s movie does the Cahulawassee River play a major role? 9. LITERATURE: What do the abbreviations stand for in the poet e.e. cummings’ name? 10. ROYALS: What was Princess Diana’s maiden name?
CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Musical pace 6 - -you note 11 Looker’s leg 14 LaBelle with a Grammy 19 Oak seed 20 Perfume queen Lauder 21 Pal, to Gigi 22 One of the Three Musketeers 23 LOUIS 26 Painter Dufy 27 Co. heads 28 Zero in (on) 29 What a white flag signifies 30 Speed 35 LLOYD 37 Make - out of (toughen up) 38 Jogger’s gait 39 Pre- - (bump, so to speak) 40 Candle blowers’ secrets 41 CAROL 44 Caesar of old comedy 45 Severe 46 Hides from view 51 Swan’s kin 56 Copy a bunny 57 “Nuts” director Martin 61 CHRISTIAN 63 Pep rally cry 65 Tarot card reader, e.g. 66 Singer Donny 67 Folk knowledge 70 JESSICA 73 In the matter of 74 Assembly with all members present 76 Language of Bangkok
77 Pastor’s talk 79 WASHINGTON 82 Wren’s home 83 “Mike & Molly” airer 86 Adams of photography 87 Small carpet 89 “Ulysses” star Milo 91 Cumulative pay abbr. 93 JEAN 97 Cuba’s Fidel 101 Some jeans, familiarly 105 “No, mein Herr” 106 Peruvian of long ago 107 CONAN 109 Tropical grassy plains 111 Kettle output 112 Brand of fat replacer 113 University in North Carolina 114 1836 siege setting 115 CARLOS 122 Justice Ruth - Ginsburg 123 Highway with a no. 124 Leek relative 125 With 59-Down, crude oil, in slang 126 Deep pit 127 Sun - -sen 128 “- Hope” (old ABC soap) 129 Build, as a building” DOWN 1 Paving gunk 2 Prefix with car or warrior 3 Unruly throng 4 District police station 5 How right turns are often allowed 6 Mosaic tile
7 DDE’s forerunner 8 Lunched, e.g. 9 It’s east of Calif. 10 Painter Georgia O’11 It’s removed for a fill-up 12 Total number 13 Capital of Belarus 14 Pheasants’ cousins 15 1980s video game consoles 16 Despite the fact that 17 “Clever comeback!” 18 Florida keys, e.g. 24 The Lone Ranger’s companion 25 Par for the course 30 Hindu prince 31 Mobil rival 32 Settle the tab 33 Boozing sort 34 Fr. ladies with haloes 36 Early 20th-cen. conflict 42 Architect Saarinen 43 “Stop talking!” 44 IRS ID 47 More like a hoarse voice 48 High on the draft list 49 Online folks 50 Grow dim 52 Financial tipster Suze 53 Bears, in Buenos Aires 54 Faxed, say 55 Prefix with spore 58 Response to “Who’s there?” 59 See 125-Across 60 Dentists scrape it off 62 Houses for students 63 Music style 64 Skier Phil
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PG.18 PUZZLE ANSWERS
TAKING OUT THE MIDDLE ©2020 King Feautres Syndicate, Inc. All rights reserved.
67 Women’s links org. 68 Steinhauer who wrote the 2009 bestseller “The Tourist” 69 Antique cars 71 “- Nagila” 72 Sooner than 75 Nasty bits of dirt 78 Nebraska Sioux 80 Ill-bred guy 81 Barbecue spice mix 83 Beijing’s land 84 Judge’s seat 85 Epic tales 88 Cotton deseeders 90 Less chubby 92 Ontario’s capital, on scoreboards 94 Grassland 95 Resident maids 96 Wholly 97 Melon type 98 Place to sculpt in school, say 99 Dependable 100 English river 101 “Blaze” actress Davidovich 102 Tennis shoe hole 103 Israel’s flag carrier 104 12th grader 108 Bride’s property 110 Nick of “Cape Fear” 116 - old way 117 Actress Wasikowska 118 Gained 119 Firefighter’s tool 120 Freddie 121 Onetime jet-set jet
LIFESTYLE COLUMN
THE SEEKER NOWHERE TO RUN
Confronting anxiety in a quarantine
Pg. 20 APR 22 - MAY 5, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM
BY KATIE GRANT
According to Dr. Amy Fletcher at Thrive, a health and wellness center in SouthPark, the most recent research suggests that one in four women regularly deal with stress and anxiety, and because I align with the quartile that suffers from those maladies, Fletcher’s recent Facebook Live webinar “Stress, Cortisol and Hormones” proved timely and relatable. In the time of a global pandemic that has everyone not only worried about germs but whether they can count on their next paycheck, I imagine it was timely and relatable for plenty of other folks, as well. While my anxiety is usually triggered by social situations (being asked a question I may not know the answer to in a board meeting propels my heart rate towards cardio) it has still managed to spark a perpetual curiosity around symptom relief — besides Xanax and avoiding board meetings. So what other accessible, healthy options are out there for people like me who walk around trying to suppress the mental shitshow that is our inner dialogue? Firstly, I would be remiss not to begin by addressing the general anxiety that COVID-19 has inflamed. This type of fear around not just the outbreak itself, but about how our children are going to continue their education, whether or not we will remain securely employed, how long it will take some of us to receive our stimulus payment now that the IRS has delayed the process to print Trump’s name on each check; it’s all very disquieting. Throughout the webinar, Dr. Fletcher explained that an increasing amount of women are reporting that they are under moderate to severe stress, myself included. Unfortunately, I learned the obesity epidemic runs parallel to chronic issues like stress, since cortisol, the stress response hormone that regulates biological processes like metabolism and the immune response, leads to weight gain. Stress apparently is a lead driver for inflammation in the body, so combating it through healthy modalities is key. According to Integrative Therapeutics, “the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis is our central stress response system. The HPA axis is an eloquent and ever-dynamic intertwining of the central nervous system and endocrine system.” This biological stress response is
a system designed to help us mobilize energy and escape dangers, but the types of dangers our ancestors faced are likely very different from what you and I experience today. The part of our limbic system that releases the vexatious cortisol is the amygdala. Not only does it perform a primary role around fear, anxiety and aggression, it also is a key component of processing memory, decision-making and emotional responses, the all-too-familiar fight-or-flight response. To summarize, it’s what provokes us to run away from stressful events like getting attacked by a tiger, or being invited to a board meeting. As I write this I can’t help but wonder why my evolution in this area feels a bit delayed. While the chemical reactions that happen inside of the human body are cool from a scientific perspective, anxiety is not cool ... ever. And the trickle-down stress effects from societal issues — work/life boundaries, gender inequities, racial injustices, and now COVID-19 — are even more afflictive toward our already-fragile mental state. According to Benenden Health, “We live in a world that is obsessed with technology.” On average we check our phones 85 times a day. This obsession of being “always on” leaves us depleted, a sentiment I identify with closely. Throughout the webinar, Dr. Fletcher seamlessly weaved the theme of “rest and restoration” into her lecture. Listening to the body is crucial in times like this and the importance of sleep, healthy diet and exercise are key to combating physical and mental fatigue. Gone are the days (temporarily, I hope) when I can pop into any yoga studio. So what’s a girl to do during these precarious times when stress is abundant but ventures beyond our property threshold are limited? How do we maintain our health or work towards reclaiming it? Many medical professionals including Dr. Fletcher have suggested that we use this period of time affluence (when we feel we have sufficient time to pursue activities that are meaningful to reflect, or engage in leisurely activities) to be health conscious. By recognizing stressors we can modulate high cortisol response through counteractive modalities: Try a new recipe, go for a walk, experiment in the kitchen. As a self-proclaimed “worker bee” without a medical background but an affinity for health and wellness, I am learning to appreciate this type of complimentary social outreach by medical providers. My hope is that it will not only help soothe our anxieties but also strengthen our sense of community. In a world gone virtual, I’ll take gratuitous medical advice when available, but I’m certainly not ready to relinquish my Xanax supply. INFO@QCNERVE.COM
Join Queen City Nerve in discussions about local news topics over cocktails with featured guests on the Queen City Podcast Network.
www.queencitypodcastnetwork.com/noozehounds
LIFESTYLE
HOROSCOPE APR 22 - APR 28
APR 29 - MAY 5
ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Don’t be put off by LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) You might ARIES (March 21 to April 19) You still might have LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) A problem
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a seemingly too-tangled situation. Sometimes a simple procedure will unsnarl all the knots and get you in the clear fast and easy, just the way the Lamb likes it.
feel a mite confused about why something you were sure couldn’t go wrong didn’t go all right either. Be patient. Things soon move into balance, exactly as you like it.
to deal with some lingering confusion that marked a recent workplace situation. But for the most part, you should now be well on your way to your next project.
neighbor might be looking to goad you into an action you don’t want to take. Ask someone you both respect if he or she would act as an impartial arbitrator for both of you.
TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) It’s a good time to go SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) At this TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) A new commitment through your work space -- wherever it is -- and see decision point, you could be moving from side to might demand more time than you’d expected to what needs to be replaced and what can be tossed side, just to say you’re in motion. Or you could be have to give it. But rely on that special Bovine gift (or at least given away) without a second thought. considering making a move straight up. What you for patience, and stick with it. You’ll be glad you did. choose is up to you.
SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) A recent workplace accomplishment hasn’t been overlooked by those who watch these things. Meanwhile, start making travel plans for that much-too-longdeferred trip with someone special.
GEMINI
(May 21 to June 20) Someone who disagrees with your position might try to intimidate SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) you. But continue to present a fair argument, Although your finances should be in an improved regardless of how petty someone else might be situation at this time, thrift is still the savvy while trying to make a point. Sagittarian’s smart move. Advice from a spouse or partner could be worth heeding.
GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) You’re earning the
CANCER
(June 21 to July 22) You might find yourself exceptionally sensitive to family matters CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Taking this week. An issue could come to light that you had on a new challenge brings out the Goat’s skills in overlooked. Ask other kinfolk to discuss it with you. maneuvering over and around difficult spots. Best of all, the Goat does it one careful step after another. LEO (July 23 to August 22) You might have more (Got the idea, Kid?)
CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Taking your responsibilities seriously is what you do. But ease CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) A up on the pressure gauge, and make time for much changing workplace environment can create job needed R & R. Start by making this weekend a “just pressures. But, once again, follow the example of your birth sign and take things a step at a time, like for fun” time zone. the sure-footed Goat you are.
questions about a project (or perhaps someone you’re dealing with on some level) than you feel AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Your wellcomfortable with. If so, see which can be answered, known patience might be wearing thin because of a which cannot, and why. disturbing (and seemingly unending) problem with someone close to you. This could be a time to ask for VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) It’s a good help. Good luck.
LEO
time to clean up and clear out what you don’t need before your tidy self is overwhelmed by “stuff.” Then PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Be careful about go celebrate the Virgo victory over clutter with a new venture that lures you into a “just look and someone special. see” mode. Be sure that what you’re being given to see isn’t hiding what you should be seeing instead.
VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Aspects favor
admiration of a lot of people who like the way you SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) handle yourself when your views are on the line. Those money matters continue to move in your Even one or two of your detractors are being won favor. Now would be a good time to start putting over. some money back into the house, both for esthetic as well as economic reasons.
(July 23 to August 22) Some recently uncovered information might make a change of AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Cheer plans inevitable. If so, deal with it as quickly as up. You could soon have the funds you need for possible, and then find out what went wrong and your worthy project. Your generous gifts of time and why. What you learn might surprise you. effort are well known, and someone might decide it’s time to join with you.
moving carefully and deliberately when making any PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Your inner scamsignificant changes. Could be there are more facts catcher is right on target, and you’re absolutely right you need to know, which you might overlook if you to reject that “too good to be true” offer. Meanwhile, rush things. something positive should be making its way to you.
BORN THIS WEEK: Aries and Taurus give you the gift of leadership and the blessings of care and concern for all creatures.
BORN THIS WEEK: You are generous, and also
sympathetic to people who find they need the help of others.
2020 KING FEATURES SYND., INC.
LIFESTYLE COLUMN
PG.19 PUZZLE ANSWERS
SAVAGE LOVE BIG MOVES See yourself out
BY DAN SAVAGE
I was raised in a religious home and didn’t lose my virginity until the embarrassing age of 26. I was told by the church to save it for marriage and I was a virgin until I met the woman who would become my wife at a party. I said to hell with it, we had a one-night stand, and we’ve been together now for eight years. I’m tall and slim and my wife is short and heavy. Like an idiot I believed it’s what’s on the inside that matters. My wife is the sweetest, most thoughtful person I’ve ever met, I love spending time with her, but I have absolutely no sexual attraction to her. As a result, I’ve all but stopped initiating sex and on the rare occasion when we do make love I make her come twice while I’m struggling just to get off. I know it’s shallow and I know beauty is only skin deep but what am I supposed to do when seeing my wife naked sends me into an anxiety attack? When I’m helping out with laundry, I get bummed because there’s nothing in her wardrobe I find attractive on her. Even when I look at old pictures of us together I get extremely depressed because I know this is the best she’s ever going to look. It doesn’t help that she finds me handsome and regularly tells me so. It’s gotten to the point where I find any woman who isn’t my wife desirable. (Including, but not limited to, her family and friends.) I should also mention that she has no interest in having an open relationship or threesome because she prefers having me “all to herself.” I don’t want to ask her to change because she’s perfectly happy with herself but I’m becoming increasingly resentful. What do I do? How do I tell her? And is there any way I can come out of this a good husband? Pg. 22 APR 22 - MAY 5, 2020 - QCNERVE.COM
IN THE SHALLOWS
I was so relieved to get all the way to end of your letter without learning you had kids. Because that means I can advise you — with a clear conscience — to file for divorce and move the fuck out just as soon as it’s possible to do so. Not for your own sake, ITS, but for your wife’s sake. She deserves better. You say you’re growing increasingly resentful. I hope your resentment is directed at all of the people who victimized you. Your wife isn’t one of them. It’s your
parents you should resent, ITS, as well as all the sexphobic bullshit artists out there masquerading as “faith leaders.” You should be angry with yourself, too. While I know from personal experience how a religious upbringing can put the zap on a kid’s head, you were a grown-ass man when you met your wife at that party. You couldn’t have slept with her that night — you couldn’t have lost your virginity in a one-night stand — if you hadn’t already rejected nearly everything you’d been taught about sex. If you were capable of having premarital sex, you were capable of refraining from marrying the first person you slept with. Your wife is gonna want to know why you’re leaving her — of course she is — but you’re not going to tell her the real reason. You’re going to make something up. You want kids and she doesn’t (or vice-versa), you married too young (which is true), you have unresolved childhood issues (and don’t we all). While you won’t be able to spare your wife the pain of a breakup, ITS, you can spare her the pain of learning the person she’s been sleeping with for eight years is repulsed by her body. You can’t be a good husband to her, ITS, but you can be decent ex-husband. And to do that — to be her decent and loving and supportive ex — you can’t set her self-esteem on fire on your way out the door. And your wife’s body isn’t repulsive. She’s not someone you’re attracted to, ITS, and you’re not obligated to find short and round women sexually appealing. But while “tall and slim” are more closely associated with conventional concepts of attractiveness, ITS, not everyone’s into tall and slim. There are people who are into short and round and people out there who are attracted to all body types and people who are utterly indifferent to bodies. Your wife deserves the chance to find someone who’s sincerely attracted to her. Even being alone would be better than spending decades with someone who recoils from her touch. For the record: What’s on the inside does count. It matters. If you met a woman who was more conventionally attractive — if you were with someone who was your idea of hot — and over time she revealed herself to be an asshole (if she was rude to waiters, if she was emotionally abusive, if she was a Trump supporter, etc.), your attraction to her would wither away. What you want — not what you’ll get, ITS, but the best you can hope for — is some combo of hot on the outside (subjective and personal) and good on the inside. And the longer you’re with someone, ITS, the more important good on the inside becomes. Time is a motherfucking meat grinder and it makes hamburger out of us all. If you prioritize you’re idea of hot over all other qualities, you run the very real risk of spending decades with a person who has aged out of hot and was never nice.
TRIVIA ANSWERS: 1. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado 2. Iowa 3. Deeds, not words
4. Water Works and Electric Company 5. Arlene 6. Diamond 7. Lively and brisk
Long time reader asking for advice. I’m a med student, I came to the U.S. when I was 18 for college, and I’m still in the U.S. I’m 25 now and I’ve been dating my boyfriend for about three years now. We’re somewhat monogamous and been living together for two years. I’m out as a gay man where we live but my parents and family back in Brazil have zero idea. As you may know, Brazil has a weird relationship with sexuality. We’re seen and for the most part are very open but our culture is also very homophobic. My BF has been pressuring me to come out but I’ve been apprehensive considering how important family is to me.
8. “Deliverance” 9. Edward Estlin 10. Spencer
possible they’ll react more positively than you think) over his feelings and dignity. By not coming out, FAM, you will lose the family you were born into and the one you’ve created with your boyfriend, too. mail@savagelove.net Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage www.savagelovecast.com
FEARS A MASSIVE IMPLOSION LIKELY, YET…
Gay men don’t come out to our families because they’re unimportant to us. We come out to our families because they are important to us. Family is important to you and you’re worried you might lose yours if you come out to them. But you’re definitely gonna lose them if you don’t. Because to keep your life a secret from them — to hide your boyfriend from them — you’re going to have to cut them out of your life. It’ll be little things at first, FAM, but over time the amount of things you have to keep from them grows. Lies pile up on top of lies and the distance between you and your family grows. Before you know it, they don’t know you at all anymore and you don’t know them. Because you can’t risk letting them know you. So to avoid their possible rejection, you will have rejected them. You will have lost your family. I know, I know: It’s scary. I came out to my very Catholic family when I was a teenager. I was scared to death. But if they couldn’t accept me for who I am — if I couldn’t rely on their love and support — what was the point of having them in my life at all? P.S. No one likes being someone’s dirty little secret. It hurts your boyfriend to see the person who claims to love him prioritize his family’s presumed bigotry (it’s
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