The Contributor: Jan. 5, 2022 by the-contributor-live

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IN THE ISSUE

Contributor Board

Tom Wills, Chair Cathy Jennings, Bruce Doeg, Demetria Kalodimos, Ann Bourland, Kerry Graham, Peter Macdonald, Amber DuVentre, Jerome Moore, Annette McDermott, Drew Morris

LOCALES - POLÍTICA - INMIGRACIÓN - TRABAJOS - SALUD - ESPECTÁCULOS - DEPORTES Y MÁS...

GRATIS

4 Vendor Spotlight

Enero

2022 Año 20 - No. 341

L a N ticia

Escanee esta imagen para ver La Noticia newspaper edición bilingüe digital

www.hispanicpaper.com

“DONDE OCURREN LOS HECHOS QUE IMPORTAN, SIEMPRE PRIMERO... ANTES”

Predicciones de Baba Vanga y Nostradamus para el 2022

Por Yuri Cunza

Editor in Chief Hace unos dias, @LaNoticiaNews luego de oir comentarios a favor y en contra de “Don’t Look Up” (No Mires Arriba), película con un extraordinario reparto de actores, que siendo una sátira, me causó tristeza por lo acertado en que representó a los tiempos en que vivimos y sobre todo a los Estados Unidos. Parte de la trama gira en como la inteligencia artificial (AI) puede predecir lo que ha de venir y el éxito o fracaso de nuestros planes y proyectos. Por esto pensé compartirles esta forma clásica y tradicional de ver en el tiempo y el espacio a través de las predicciones de Nostradamus escritas en su libro ‘Les Prophéties’ (1555) y las de Baba Vanga, my citadas en estos dias de incertidumbre y ansiedad por lo que ha de venir. Obviamente para mí prevalece el dicho: “Nadie sabe con certeza como será el futuro lo único que sabemos es que será diferente”. —- A continuación las profecias de estos clásicos personajes.

Escasez de agua potable. Según la vidente, el mundo se verá afectado por la escasez de agua potable que grandes urbes tendran que afrontar. “La contaminación de los ríos hará que se tenga que luchar por la hidratación”, resalta el medio sobre la infortunada predicción. Dominará la realidad virtual. Una última predicción de la pitonisa sobre lo que veremos en el 2022 será una amplia adicción a las pantallas y a la tecnología en general. ¿Será que en el año nuevo pasaremos más tiempo que nunca frente a los dispositivos? La pandemia nos obligó a utilizar cada vez más la virtualidad, pero nunca se sabe si las cosas pueden empeorar. Con información de El Confidencial y El Tiempo. Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com

La Noticia + The Contributor

Nostradamus, médico, filósofo, matemático, alquimista y astrólogo, predijo a través de sus escritos algunos de los episodios más re-levantes de la Historia, destacando el asesinato de John F. Kennedy, el ascenso al poder de Adolfo Hitler y las bombas nucleares. Para este 2022, según los expertos que interpretan los textos del vidente, las profecías de Nostradamus pasarían por

“God has given me great opportunities every day brilliantly disguised as impossible situations,” says Kenneth.

Las nefastas profecías de Nostradamus y Baba Vanga para el 2022

la muerte de un líder político. “La muerte repentina del primer personaje, será cambiado y pondrán a otro en su reino”, según reza en su libro. Entre ellos se barajan los nombres de la Reina Isabel II de Inglaterra, el actual presidente de los Estados Unidos, Joe Biden, o el líder de Corea del Norte, Kim Jong-Un. Asimismo, vaticinó tanto graves efectos del cambio climático como duros fenómenos naturales. “Como el sol, la cabeza sellará el mar resplandeciente, los peces vivos del Mar Negro casi hervirán”, escribió hace cinco siglos. Una fuerte crisis económica a escala global que verá aumentar el hambre entre la población y la inflación. Según sus palabras, “la miel costará mucho más que la cera de las velas; tan alto el precio del trigo”. La caída de la Unión Europea es otra de sus predicciones. “Templos sagrados del tiempo romano, rechazarán los cimientos de su fundación”. Un devenir que podría

Por otro lado, Vangelia Pandeva Dimitrova, más conocida como Baba Vanga, fue una vidente Bulgara, cuyas profecías aún interesan, incluso 25 años después de su muerte, en 1996. Se señala que predijo eventos como el hundimiento del submarino nuclear ruso Kursk, el tsunami del 2004, la elección de Barack Obama como presidente de los Estados Unidos, los atentados del 11 de septiembre y el virus del Covid-19. Su primera profecía para el año 2022 es bastante desalentadora también, investi-

Conoce tusNoticia, derechos: one of the La ¿Que hacer en caso de una redada?

leading Spanish-language newspapers in the nation, brings Spanish content to The Contributor. 1. Mantenerse callado 2. Sólo dar nombre y apellido 3. No mentir 4. Nunca acepte/lleve documentos falsos 5. No revelar su situación migratoria 6. No llevar documentación de otro país 7. En caso de ser arrestado, mostrarla Tarjeta Miranda (llámenos si necesita una)

por

Basados en la Quinta Enmienda de la Constitución, los derechos de guardar silencio y contar con un abogado fueron denominados Derechos Miranda luego de la decisión de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de Estados Unidos en el caso Miranda vs. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, de 1966.

Nashville, Tennessee

Desastres naturales, otro virus y la muerte de un líder político, pudieran ser la Reina Isabel II, Joe Biden o Kim Jong-Un Es nuestra naturaleza humana, la curiosidad por aquello que está por venir. Del 2021 podemos decir que no fue tan malo en realidad gracias a los avances científicos, que vinieron a nuestro rescate.

Vendor Writing

Moving Pictures

In this issue, vendors discuss God, old shoes and why you should tip service workers during the holidays.

Our film reviewer says Belcourt Theatre’s new Shakespeare/Kurosawa X3 is the sleeper series of the season.

www.juanese.com juaneseUSA@gmail.com

Contributors This Issue

Hannah Herner • Amanda Haggard • Linda Bailey • Ridley Wills II • Carl D. • Sybille Arendt • Alison Kentish • Yuri Cunza • Norma B. • Paul A. • Mr. Mysterio • Joe Nolan

Contributor Volunteers Joe First • Andy Shapiro • Michael Reilly • John Jennings • Janet Kerwood • Logan Ebel • Christine Doeg • Laura Birdsall • Richard Aberdeen • Marissa Young • Ezra LaFleur • Rachel Stanley Cathy Jennings Executive Director Tom Wills Director of Vendor Operations Hannah Herner Staff Writer

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

Carli Tharp Social Services Intake Specialist Dymin R Cannon Section 8 and E&T Specialist Ree Cheers SOAR Manager Rachel Ternes Housing Navigator Catherine Hardy Housing Navigator Jesse Call Operations Consultant Raven Nye Director of Housing Initiatives Barbara Womack Advertising Manager Amanda Haggard & Linda Bailey Co-Editors Andrew Krinks Editor Emeritus

The Contributor now accepts Venmo! Scan the QR Code above, or find us: @The-Contributor Make sure to include your vendor’s badge name and number in the description. If you bought this version digitally, you can still leave your regular vendor a tip. Email Cathy@thecontributor.org for more information or with questions!

Will Connelly, Tasha F. Lemley, Steven Samra, and Tom Wills Contributor Co-Founders Editorials and features in The Contributor are the perspectives of the authors. Submissions of news, opinion, fiction, art and poetry are welcomed. The Contributor reserves the right to edit any submissions. The Contributor cannot and will not endorse any political candidate. Submissions may be emailed to: editorial@thecontributor.org Requests to volunteer, donate, or purchase subscriptions can be emailed to: info@thecontributor.org Please email advertising requests to: advertising@thecontributor.org

The Contributor P.O. Box 332023, Nashville, TN 37203 Vendor Office: 615.829.6829

Proud Member of: Printed at:

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PAGE 2 | January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE ONLINE TO THE CONTRIBUTOR FOR JUST $99 A YEAR OR $30 FOR 3 MONTHS. DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION AVAILABLE OR YOUR ISSUES WILL BE MAILED MONTHLY AND YOU CAN DESIGNATE A VENDOR TO RECEIVE THE PROFITS — AND EVEN LEAVE A TIP FOR YOUR VENDOR! SIGN UP AT: WWW.THECONTRIBUTOR.ORG

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January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 3

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

PHOTO BY HANNAH HERNER

KENNETH TURNS IMPOSSIBILITIES TO OPPORTUNITIES BY HANNAH HERNER It’s clear that Contributor vendor Kenneth L. has experience preaching. Like a preacher does from biblical stories, Kenneth seeks to draw meaning from his life experiences as he shares them. And the cadence with which he tells these stories grabs the listener’s attention. Kenneth came back to The Contributor for the second time about a month ago. He was on staff at Nashville Cowboy Church, and when its pastor died and the ministry folded, he found himself in need of some extra income to cover his expenses. “God has just blessed me and enriched me. I've met a lot of wonderful people that

I call customers, they become friends,” he says. “God has given me great opportunities every day brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” It’s no surprise that Kenneth has found success selling the paper. He used to sell pay phones in the ‘80s and was successful in selling fashion jewelry at trade shows around the country after that. He attended Bible college and he and a friend even started a homeless ministry in Houston, Texas. They started taking people in, and helping them get the resources they needed. Soon the city offered them an old public housing complex to expand the program, which

they called Footprints in the Sand. “We got to noticing that 90 percent of the people living on the street in Houston had mental issues. And they weren't alcoholics or drug addicts, but they had serious mental problems,” Kenneth says. Born in Arkansas and raised in North Texas, Kenneth suffered abuse as a child from the man he was raised by, and didn’t get to meet his biological father until he was an adult. As an effect of the abuse, he spent time incarcerated and dealt with bipolar disorder. Being abused by a man who resented raising another man’s child, Kenneth went out of his

way to help raise children that weren’t his. He was active in Billy Graham’s Youth for Christ and fostered youth who crossed his path. “I studied metaphysics. And metaphysics teaches that, if we change the way we look at things, the things we look at will change. And it's true. It's really all in our perspective,” he says. “When it comes to human behavior, how we respond to things is the important thing. The content of our lives is not important. What matters is how we feel about it.” At 66, he said his most proud accomplishments are his biblical research and relationship with Jesus.

PAGE 4 | January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

“If we look for the good in people, we’ll find it, or I learned that if I look for the bad, I'll find it. So when Jesus said, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. I was dumbfounded at first because I was thinking, how can you see an invisible God? Well, it depends on your perspective. Because today I find God in almost everything in my life.” Kenneth stays in Hendersonville with a friend these days. “People say I have an attractive smile, so I say I’m selling smiles, not just papers,” he says. As a child, his dog was his best friend. His hopes for the future are to get a mobile home and raise a puppy.

January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 5

NASHVILLE HISTORY CORNER

NASHVILLE’S FIRST WATER SYSTEM BY RIDLEY WILLS II The site of the present City of Nashville was chosen by the city’s co-founder, James Robertson. He chose a site on the southern bank of the Cumberland River because of the availability of pure water in a spring at the foot of today’s Church Street. There, the first settlers built Fort Nashboro which may have enclosed the spring. Consequently, when Indians surrounded the fort and it was unsafe to go outside, there was plenty of water to meet the settlers’ needs either inside the fort, or close by. Nashville’s first attempt to estab-

lish a public water supply was a failure. In 1823, the city entered a contract with Samuel Stacker to build a pumping station at his saw and grist mill at the Fort Nashboro spring. Water mains of bored locust and cedar logs were laid to the city’s reservoir, which the city had already erected at the rear of the Masonic Lodge on Spring Street between Cherry and Sumner streets. Another water line was to be extended from the reservoir to the public square. A section of this wooden, water pipe was unearthed, I think in 1945, by

Nashville Gas Company workers who were putting in new lines on Fourth Avenue North. Stacker worked for two years trying to build the water system. He succeeded only in moving water into the reservoir on an experimental basis. The city rescinded his contract and purchased the unfinished works for $2,500. The firm of Avery and Ward began where Stacker left off and finished his project Aug. 19, 1826. On that day,when the plant was placed in operation, the city celebrated calling the new water

PAGE 6 | January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

system a great success. In truth, Avery and Ward had only limited success. They were able to fill the cisterns on the public square, which were used for supplying water to the horse-drawn fire engines in the fire station on the square. The pumping station burned down in 1929, after three years of limited service. So, once again, Nashville was without a water system and reliant on the Fort Nashboro spring. A deliveryman would furnish spring water in two 25-gallon barrels for 25 cents.

VENDOR WRITING

A NEW PAIR OF SHOES CARL D.

Oh, how I hate these shoes! I wish I could just throw them away I hate that they’re the only pair I’ve got.

Oh, how I hate these shoes!

They remind me of when my father turned me away,

This walk is taking forever,

Said I was no longer welcome.

Damn these shoes, they hurt!

As he held his chest, complaining of the pain

They’re too big and the souls are worn out,

And pointed in the other direction,

The strings are tied together and they don’t clean up anymore.

I’ll never forget, I can still hear his voice,

Oh, how I hate these shoes!

Saying my son is dead. Don’t you ever come back,

Oh, how I hate these shoes!

I wish I had a new pair.

You’re killing us.

Some time has passed.

Then I watched them turn and take me step by step away.

Several months have gone by,

Oh, how I hate these shoes!

And I am still wearing the same worn out shoes.

Why do I even look at them?

Oh how I hate these shoes!

Yes they remind me of where I’ve been

Why do I hang my head and,

When I recall my children asking me,

But I’m not as mad as I once was.

Why do they bother me so much?

Daddy, where are you going?

I can’t deny where they’ve taken me,

Oh, how I hate these shoes!

Please don’t go, why are you taking our things?

And I don’t stare down at them as much anymore.

Because every time I look at them

Oh, how I hate these shoe!

I remember where they’ve taken me,

I hear my wife saying, honey, what’s wrong?

You see, although I still walk around in them every day,

And I hate all the places I’ve been lately.

Why won’t you talk to me?

I am looking at things differently.

Up and down this road,

Why are you doing this?

I even tried to clean them up a bit.

Back and forth through the dope area.

Don’t you love me anymore?

Today they take me in and out of a classroom

The children and I are scared of you,

And occasionally walk around a mop or a broom.

Then, away I’d go.

I’m even grateful sometimes I have them to wear,

Oh how I hate these shoes! They remind me of when my wife shut the door in my face

And I don’t hate them as much as I used to.

When she said I was no longer welcome

Oh, how I hate these shoes!

I wanted so much to throw them away,

That I could no longer be a part of the family,

A pair of tires beats a pair of shoes any day.

But I think now, I’ll keep them to remind me.

And watched them carry me away.

But I gave up the car.

Of where I’ve been, and where I came back from.

I can no longer read the newspaper I used to cover me Oh, how I hate these shoes!

The rain has smudged the print.

Today, I am free and I go where I please,

They remind me of the times my mother cried out,

I walked away from the house and the comfort of a bed.

I don’t wander around lost anymore.

Why? What’s wrong with you?

I try every day to forget,

The choices I make are different

How could you do this to me?

But as I hang my head,

And so are the places that I want to go.

All I can do is stare down at them,

Those damn shoes always bring back the memories

Today, I’m making my own way.

Looking for an answer.

Back to the reality of where they have led me.

Taking responsibility for my own life

And where my life is today.

And the quality in which I live. Today I am happy, just to be.

Oh how I hate these shoes!

I am at peace with myself, comfortable alone.

Slowly I walked up to this place for treatment. Here I face day by day,

I don’t know yet where I’ll end up

All the mess my life is in.

Or how exactly I’ll get there,

Here I stand with no place left to go,

But I’m heade there anyway.

And have to admit I created all the problems in my life.

Faith will be my guide.

I am just too tired to walk away anymore.

I know it sounds funny,

So again, I hang my head and there they are,

They’re still the same shoes

Those damn shoes.

But my sprit has changed And I have changed direction, prayerfully and committedly Making good progress along the path. Life again is a marvelous journey And it feels like I am wearing a new pair of shoes.

January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 7

Tennessee’s

gift to you.

Free Admission. This, and Every Season. Free Parking, Too.

Rosa L. Parks Blvd (at Jefferson St.) 615.741.2692 | TNMuseum.org

PAGE 8 | January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS

A new start for the residents of Hinz&Kunzt-Haus BY SYBILLE ARENDT Dennis has to laugh at himself. “I didn’t know how to wind in the cable from the vacuum cleaner,” he chuckles. “It’s such a long time since I did the hoovering!” After the first few nights in his new shared apartment, the 46-year-old is getting around to thinking about doing the housework. On top of that, he’s finally had a few decent nights’ sleep. “That did me good,” he grins. Dennis really does look well – as if he’s just been on holiday. He’s even gone and got a new hair cut: the “man bun” with shaved sides suits him. Dennis got involved with Hinz&Kunzt as far back as 1996. He’d only just turned 20 back then, and his drug habit was making him ill. His mother had died when he was just 14; a heavy burden for him to bear. “I took drugs to forget,” he says. Dennis lived on the streets for a long time, even after deciding to undergo substitution treatment for his addiction. He often looked and felt terrible. Now, though, he says, “I feel like I’ve won the jackpot.” Another thing that makes Dennis and his flatmates happy in their new home is the provision of certain everyday living aids, which make life a bit easier for them. “We’ve even got a dishwasher. It’s so cool,” he says. “I never thought I’d ever have one of those.” Sharing a flat is an ideal set-up for Dennis, who tells me that he wouldn’t be able to cope on his own. He wonders how communal living will work out and has already accepted that he and his flatmates will have to make compromises. But it will all work out – he’s sure of that. “We’re a family.” “I got so tired of living.” Marc’s son died when he was just a few months old. He was severely disabled and spent his last days in a hospice. That was ten years ago. “I got so tired, tired of living,” says Marco, who now sells copies of Hinz&Kunzt. “I went downhill. Drugs and alcohol.” Marc works hard, both in the warehouse and by helping the production team. He wants to work his cares away. “I’d got

cheeriness is remarkable when you look at his feet, which are clad in orthopaedic shoes. After an accident at work, Marcel had to have eight operations – since then, he’s been in constant pain. The 53-year-old Hinz&Kunzt vendor uses a wheelchair on a daily basis. He’s thrilled to bits about his new room in the shared apartment. “Unbelievable. I can’t tell you how great it is,” he says. “My German’s not good enough, anyway.” Marcel comes from Romania, although he hasn’t been back there for 20 years. In Hamburg, he had been living at “Pik As”, the emergency accommodation provided by the city authorities, and sometimes in a hostel. He approached Hinz&Kunzt in December 2020. Social worker Jonas Gengnagel suggested that he might be interested in living in the shared apartment. Marcel is very happy with it. “It’s incredible,” he smiles. “At last! A room to myself!” The room is somewhere where Marcel can prepare for his German-language exams, watch films or just enjoy communal living with the others. Is there anything else he’d like? “Flowers in my room,” he smiles.

PHOTO BY MAURICIO BUSTAMANTE

to the point that I just couldn’t carry on,” he says. Marco left Lübeck for Hamburg, where he was born 45 years ago. “I walked for days along the Elbe-Lübeck Canal. I had no money, but I didn’t want to try to get away without paying for the train.” Things didn’t get any better in Hamburg. Due to severe depression brought on by alcohol and drugs, he ended up in the Emergency Room at Hamburg’s University Medical Center in Eppendorf, and then a hostel in the Burgwedel district. “We were two to a room,” he tells me. “That wasn’t good. Everything fell apart again, I completely let myself go.” Marco alternated between being in psychiatric care and sleeping rough. In 2018 he was back on the streets, sleeping rough in Mümmelmannsberg. Then he made the decision to get off drugs. “I’ve been clean since then,” he says. “But I carry my past with me. I make no secret of that.”

A Hinz&Kunzt vendor tipped him off about selling the magazine. “I liked that idea better than scrounging all the time,” says Marco. Through this he got to know Hinz&Kunzt social worker Jonas Gengnagel, who got him into a hostel and then found him a room in Farmsen, on the outskirts of Hamburg. “When Jonas asked me if I wanted to move into this shared apartment, I was dead keen straight away. I don’t really like living on my own.” Marco has now spent two nights in his own room in the apartment. He smiles shyly to himself. “The apartment’s a bit overwhelming,” he admits. “The bed’s really great, I’ve got a television and my own bathroom. That means I can get myself ready in peace.”

Additional Information: The Hinz&Kunzt-Haus is home to 24 people who are living in shared apartments. A family apartment is part of the set-up, too. Some of the new tenants had, through Hinz&Kunzt, been put up in rooms out in Farmsen, to get them off the streets. A conscious decision was made to spend money equipping and furnishing the apartments, so that people who had spent years being homeless, sofa-surfing at friends’ places or living in homeless accommodation could have a freshly made bed of their own. All of the new tenants have their own bedrooms but share the living room and kitchen. They were chosen by the team of social workers at Hinz&Kunzt, and the tenancy agreements are indefinite.

“At last! A room all to myself!” Marcel is a cheerful sort of guy: he has a broad smile and looks quite self-assured. His

Courtesy of Hinz&Kunzt / International Network of Street Papers. Translated from German by Peter Bone

Thank you to all supporters and providers for serving our friends in the community who are experiencing temporary homelessness. Open Table Nashville, People Loving Nashville, ShowerUp, Project Return, Park Center, The Contributor, Mental Health Cooperative, Room in the Inn, West End United Methodist, Councilman Sean Parker, Clencliff Village *Paid for by Friends to ReElect Lynda Jones, Cathy Werthan, treasurer

January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 9

Q&A

Q&A: Deon Trotter:

Metro Homeless Impact Division

Finding landlords to work with people transitioning out of homelessness

BY HANNAH HERNER t’s probably not news to hear that there is a lack of affordable housing in Nashville. Through Nashville’s Low Barrier Housing Collective, landlords are given an opportunity to address that head on. It’s Deon Trotter’s job to explain the benefits for landlords to offer units to those transitioning out of homelessness. He’s the housing security coordinator at Metro Homeless Impact Division. The collective offers funds to fall back on if tenants leave without warning, or if security deposits don’t cover damage, as well as case management for tenants adjusting to their new reality, and mediation for any conflicts that may arise between the tenants and landlords. A more recent addition is a signing bonus for landlords. It’s all meant to incentivize accepting tenants with difficult backgrounds. Many of these tenants will also be bringing a government housing choice voucher to the table, which will pay their rent up to a certain amount, which is typically less than market rate, especially in Nashville. Because of this, there’s a backlog of those with vouchers looking for a landlord to accept it, certainly in the hundreds, Trotter says. On top of that, the vouchers typically expire within 120 days if no lease is found.

PAGE 10 | January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

Recruiting more landlords can help close these gaps — and Trotter and the Low Barrier Housing Collective seek to do that. What does low barrier mean in this context? It can range from a lot of different things. Lowered barriers, meaning lowering some of the housing criteria that a lot of landlords place on tenants, whether it's income guidelines or income restrictions, criminal background, credit reporting, or eviction history. So a lot of these barriers may limit the individuals to where there's nowhere that they would actually qualify. So in this context, it's mainly talking about previous evictions, the income and criminal history. Those are the three things we focus on the most. What types of members do you need more of in the collective? We're always in need of more landlords, especially the smaller landlords. Those are the ones that typically we'll get lowered barriers from them. They have more flexibility versus a larger complex that you may have to go to a corporate office or board or their compliance and legal team. They're not as lenient on changing some of those.

Q&A

and it's not a lot of affordable housing, that gap is just growing more and more each year.

V ISI T LOWBA RRIE RH O US ING CO LLEC TIV E .O RG FO R INFO RM AT I O N

What is the incentive for landlords to join? We have different kinds of incentives that we attempt to push like right now our office, along with some agencies, we pay for moving costs, which covers their first month's rent, prorated rent, utility deposits. We also have a fund for damages up to a certain amount over the security deposit up to $1,000 over the security deposit. It covers kind of a rent bridge if the tenant leaves and does not pay the rent. We also offer mediation where we can go out and make sure we can talk to different clients and the property managers.

What we try to do is utilize all the tools that we have in our office, which are the financial incentives. We know that we need a lot more financial incentives — that's kind of what we're asking for — because in order for a landlord to, in their mind, lower some of the barriers or take a chance on some of the clients, there's got to be some type of financial incentive that they can utilize. How does the amount of money compare for landlords accepting a voucher versus market rate rent? It's gonna depend on the area of town, but as you know, Nashville has

one of the highest growth rates in rent. I think I saw a study that the average rent for Nashville was $1,500 or more. Section Eight [housing voucher] does not come close to a lot of the market rate rents that we're seeing so property owners, not only do they have to make sure they follow the housing quality standards and make sure all the repairs are made, but they also can get a larger amount by going through market rate. So it is a gap and then it depends on certain zip codes, it's going to be a larger gap. When you have a high growth city like Nashville with a lot of financial resources and individuals moving here,

January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 11

How much of a backlog do you have of people that are ready to go and still looking for a landlord? There's a huge backlog. We constantly have to apply for extensions on the vouchers we need to reapply individuals but I would say there is a large backlog of A. people waiting to get the vouchers and B. once they do receive them those that are looking to lease. I would say it's well into the hundreds. You talked a little bit about kind of like the head side things, like calculating the money benefits or the mediation benefits, but what do you say to kind of appeal to the heart side of things? These are our neighbors. I mean, they're people too. So our goal is to house as many individuals as we can. So if you've got a lot of complaints of, well, there's an issue with homelessness in our city, we just say, help us with that issue. Help us to house people. You're still going to face the same risk but at least you have some support behind the people that we're bringing to you.

2022 COVER STORY

110 0 W WAY AY SS TT O O G G II V V EE B BA AC CK K II N N 220 022 22 It’s official. We didn’t solve all of the world’s problems in 2021. And we probably won’t in 2022. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try. Or, at the very least, try to make a difference for the folks closest to us. Here are a few ideas for how to make things a little better in the New Year.

JOIN THE LOW-BARRIER HOUSING COLLECTIVE

2 3 4

Probably the most direct way to help end homelessness is to provide housing! By joining

the low-barrier housing collective, you’ll team up with area service providers and community members that’ll help ensure success for someone being given a second chance in housing, as well as financial stability for landlords. Read more about it on Pg. 10 | HANNAH HERNER

HELP OUT AT SENIOR RIDE Help older adults with one of their biggest unmet needs — door-to-door transportation. Through Senior Ride, you can get matched with rides that fit your schedule (though it must be during weekdays). You’d directly serve your older neighbors by taking them on important errands, while having an excuse to learn their story on the drive. Visit seniorridenashville.org | HANNAH HERNER

WRITE LETTERS TO THOSE IN NURSING HOMES

The Greater Nashville Regional Council has a sprawling mission and volunteer opportunities, but my personal favorite is its letter writing campaigns for seniors in area nursing homes. Fun snail mail is a no-fail way to brighten someone’s day. Getting to unplug and flex your creative muscles will brighten yours, too. Visit gnrc.galaxydigital.com | HANNAH HERNER

FOLLOW OPEN TABLE NASHVILLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Open Table is a good place to start getting more hands-on with helping our neighbors who live on the

streets. Keep an eye out for requests for supplies to protect neighbors from extreme weather, help them make their new home comfortable, and show you care about their interests at city-wide events. I’m always learning something about what hurts people, and what could help. | HANNAH HERNER

PAGE 12 | January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

5 6 7 8 9 10

COVER STORY

BUY AND READ THE CONTRIBUTOR

Our new shirts say “Buy The Contributor, change a life. Read The Contributor, change your life.” That’s it. Taking the paper supports a vendor’s own micro-business, and you can open it to read more deeply about their stories and the challenges they face in this city. Lived experience of homelessness is central in a way that’s really special — if we do say so ourselves. | HANNAH HERNER

HELP AT DRIVE-THRU COVID-19 TESTING SITE We feel a little sad suggesting this, but volunteer help is still needed at COVID-19 testing sites. Head over to the Hands On Nashville site (hon.org) and check for new opportunities there. And while you’re at it, have you gotten a vaccine yet? Might be about time. | AMANDA HAGGARD

VOLUNTEER WITH NASHVILLE CAT RESCUE

Nashville Cat Rescue depends on a network of foster homes to take care of cats who are looking for longterm homes. There are many ways to help, though, if you cannot foster for long periods of time. A shorter program called Cage Breakers where folks can help out for shorter periods of time or you can help clean cages or donate cold, hard cash. | AMANDA HAGGARD

BECOME A TNACHIEVES MENTOR

More than 9,000 people signed up in 2021 to be 2022 mentors for tnAchieves, a program that matches mentors with students to provide community support. Students in the program are taking advantage of the state’s TN Promise program, which provides free tuition to community colleges in the state. While several in the state are signed up, several counties have many unfilled slots for mentors. | AMANDA HAGGARD

MAKE WINTER OR SUMMER KITS TO HAND OUT AT STOP LIGHTS

Do you ever pull up to someone panhandling at a stop light and wish you knew what to do to be helpful? One quick thing that you can put together to keep in your car is a small bag of essentials. They don’t take up a lot of space, and they aren’t expensive to put together. Consider the following items put in a gallon plastic bag: protein bars, gift cards to fast food restaurants, hand warmers in the winter, bottles of water, trail mix or other high protein snacks, hand sanitizer, a face mask and a slip of paper with local resources listed on it. | AMANDA HAGGARD

ASK FOR HELP IF YOU NEED IT

You know that whole thing about putting the oxygen mask on yourself before you help anyone else? It can be really hard to remember when you see so many people around you suffering, but it’s more than necessary in such a hellish era. You might not be suffering as much as you see someone else suffering, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask for help if you need it. You’re a human being, deserving of love, help and the chance to fight another day. | AMANDA HAGGARD

January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 13

INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS

The WMO has warned that the ability of land ecosystems and oceans to act as sinks may become less effective in the future. Laudat, Dominica. CREDIT: ALISON KENTISH/IPS

Another unenviable annual record for global greenhouse gas emissions BY ALISON KENTISH As the international community gathered for COP26, widely considered the most important climate conference since the 2015 gathering which resulted in the Paris Climate Agreement, the World Meteorological Organization reported that despite global hits in trade and travel by the COVID-19 pandemic, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new high in 2020. The United Nations Agency issued its annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin the same week. It is the seventeenth bulletin, and it concluded that from 1990 to 2020, heating of the earth by greenhouse gases spiked by 47 percent, with carbon dioxide responsible for almost 80 per cent of this hike. “Concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2), the most important greenhouse gas, reached 413.2 parts per million in 2020 and is 149 per cent of the pre-industrial level,” the report stated, adding that “the economic slowdown from COVID-19 did not have any discernible impact on the atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases and their growth rates, although there was a temporary decline in new emissions.”

“Roughly half of the CO2 emitted by human activities today remains in the atmosphere. The other half is taken up by oceans and land ecosystems,” it added, warning that “the ability of land ecosystems and oceans to act as “sinks” may become less effective in future, thus reducing their ability to absorb carbon dioxide and act as a buffer against larger temperature increase.” The statistics were crucial ahead of the following week’s climate talks where countries were being urged to commit to increasingly ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. “It is clear from the science that the concentration of greenhouse gases is driving climate change and if we are able to mitigate those emissions and phase out the negative trend in climate, that should be our aim,” said Petteri Taalas. “Some features will continue for hundreds of years like the melting of glaciers and sea-level rise as we already have such a high concentration of carbon dioxide and this problem will not go away soon……..we have to start dealing with emissions in this decade. We cannot wait, otherwise, we will lose the Paris targets. The progress has been

too slow,” Taalas added. The WMO’s chief of atmospheric and environment research division Oksana Tarasova says climate commitments by nations must translate into action. “There is no way around it. We need to reduce emissions as fast as possible. When countries are making commitments to be carbon neutral, the atmosphere gives us a very clear signal that our commitments should be converted into something that we can see in the atmosphere. If we do not see at least a decrease in the growth rate of the major greenhouse gases, we cannot declare success in the climate agenda,” she said. The WMO greenhouse gas bulletin coincided with the release of the United Nations Climate Office’s updated findings on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which are countries’ climate action plans, including goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They concluded that the world is ‘nowhere near’ where it needs to be to tackle the climate crisis. Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Patricia Espinosa called for an ‘urgent redoubling

PAGE 14 | January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

of climate efforts’ to ensure that global temperatures do not soar past the goals of the Paris Agreement. “Overshooting the temperature goals will lead to a destabilized world and endless suffering, especially among those who have contributed the least to the GHG emissions in the atmosphere,” she said. “This updated report, unfortunately, confirms the trend already indicated in the full Synthesis Report, which is that we are nowhere near where science says we should be.” For WMO officials, a timely, ‘stark scientific message’ is being sent to the world. “At the current rate of increase in greenhouse gas concentrations, we will see a temperature increase by the end of this century far in excess of the Paris Agreement targets of 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels,” WMO Secretary-General Taalas said. “We are way off track.” Courtesy of Inter Press Service / International Network of Street Papers

LA NOTICIA “The Contributor” está trabajando con uno de los principales periódicos en español La Noticia para llevar contenido a más lectores en Middle Tennessee. Nuestros vendedores de periódicos han pedido durante mucho tiempo que nuestra publicación incluya contenido que apele al interés de residentes de habla hispana en nuestra comunidad.

“The Contributor” is working with one of the leading Spanish-language newspapers La Noticia to bring content to more readers in Middle Tennessee. Our newspaper vendors have long requested that our publication include content that appeals to the interest of Spanish-speaking residents in our community.

LOCALES - POLÍTICA - INMIGRACIÓN - TRABAJOS - SALUD - ESPECTÁCULOS - DEPORTES Y MÁS...

GRATIS

Enero

2022 Año 20 - No. 341

L a N ticia

Escanee esta imagen para ver La Noticia newspaper edición bilingüe digital

www.hispanicpaper.com

“DONDE OCURREN LOS HECHOS QUE IMPORTAN, SIEMPRE PRIMERO... ANTES”

Predicciones de Baba Vanga y Nostradamus para el 2022

Nashville, Tennessee

Por Yuri Cunza

Las nefastas profecías de Nostradamus y Baba Vanga para el 2022

haber dado comienzo con el Brexit y que podría poner su punto y final en 2022. Por último, pronostica que una gran ciudad será asediada. “Alrededor de la Gran Ciudad, habrá soldados alojados en campos y suburbios” escribió. Como candidatas están Londres y París, ya sea por una actividad terrorista o a causa de la pandemia contra la covid-19. Por otro lado, Vangelia Pandeva Dimitrova, más conocida como Baba Vanga, fue una vidente Bulgara, cuyas profecías aún interesan, incluso 25 años después de su muerte, en 1996. Se señala que predijo eventos como el hundimiento del submarino nuclear ruso Kursk, el tsunami del 2004, la elección de Barack Obama como presidente de los Estados Unidos, los atentados del 11 de septiembre y el virus del Covid-19. Su primera profecía para el año 2022 es bastante desalentadora también, investi-

Conoce tus derechos: ¿Que hacer en caso de una redada? 1. Mantenerse callado 2. Sólo dar nombre y apellido 3. No mentir 4. Nunca acepte/lleve documentos falsos 5. No revelar su situación migratoria 6. No llevar documentación de otro país 7. En caso de ser arrestado, mostrarla Tarjeta Miranda (llámenos si necesita una)

por

www.juanese.com juaneseUSA@gmail.com

January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 15

gadores descubrirán un virus letal congelado en Siberia, a causa de los efectos del calentamiento global y el derretimiento de glaciares. “Incluso quienes escapen de los desastres naturales morirán de una enfermedad horrible”, dijo Baba Vanga. Segun la vidente, si no se trata del Covid19, puede haber una nueva pandemia provocada por otro virus, similar a la predicción de Bill Gates sobre una posible nueva amenaza de pandemia causada por el bioterrorismo. Según Vanga, un nuevo virus nos tomará por sorpresa. Otra de las predicciones de Vanga pronostica sequía en la India y temperaturas de hasta 50° centígrados, razón por la cual plagas de langostas atacarán los cultivos. Según la pitonisa, en el 2022 habrá grandes catástrofes naturales: fuertes terremotos y tsunamis. La búlgara supuestamente visualizó que varios países asiáticos y Australia serán afectados por grandes inundaciones. Esta predicción es similar al vaticinio de 2004 de Vanga sobre un tsunami en Indonesia. Escasez de agua potable. Según la vidente, el mundo se verá afectado por la escasez de agua potable que grandes urbes tendran que afrontar. “La contaminación de los ríos hará que se tenga que luchar por la hidratación”, resalta el medio sobre la infortunada predicción. Dominará la realidad virtual. Una última predicción de la pitonisa sobre lo que veremos en el 2022 será una amplia adicción a las pantallas y a la tecnología en general. ¿Será que en el año nuevo pasaremos más tiempo que nunca frente a los dispositivos? La pandemia nos obligó a utilizar cada vez más la virtualidad, pero nunca se sabe si las cosas pueden empeorar. Con información de El Confidencial y El Tiempo. Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com

PAGE 16 | January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

VENDOR WRITING

TIPPING THE SCALE OF POVERTY IN A POSITIVE WAY — PERMANENTLY BY NORMA B. even in less than ideal circumstances.

As this season of giving comes to an end, I feel it’s important to remind you of some VERY important truths that are often overlooked or simply forgotten once the holidays are over. 1.) The importance of tipping. (No, I’m NOT saying this for my benefit.) I must admit, even I didn’t understand the full importance of tipping, or even who you should tip until I was an adult — just ask my former hairdresser Karen who fixed my hair once or twice a year for several years. Then I read an article that listed those you should tip, and I went to see her at the Fountain of Youth beauty salon with a check for $50. When Karen asked, “What are you having done today, hon?” I said nothing, I just never realized you’re supposed to tip your hairdresser, and Karen being a classy lady who always did such a good job on my hair never said a thing. The real inspiration for this story is my mom who was a single mother of a special needs child, worked primarily in various service industries that relied heavily on tipping to provide for me. Let’s face it, raising ANY child is expensive these days, but if you’re ‘not normal’ there are often expenses that a typical family doesn’t have. I remember one occasion when my mom worked at Drivers Bakery in Lebanon, Tenn. (now J. Clayborn’s Bakery — which I recently learned served its last sweet treat on Dec. 24, 2021) and waited on a table of 12-15 people. I watched as she worked hard to serve up hot coffee and pastries diligently catering their every whim, all while taking care of others in

This panting of former Contributor vendor, Denise, titled, "The Lovely Denise" was painted by Ryan Wagner in 2015 as part of an exhibit he created from several paintings he did of Contributor vendors.

the bakery too, including me. When they were finished the man at the head of the table (who was the pastor at one of the large churches in town) stood up dug deep into his pocket to get her tip. You could hear all the change jingling. He then placed a single penny in her hand! I felt SO bad for her, I wanted to cry, but my mom didn’t get mad or if she did she never showed it, she never said anything bad, instead she handled it like a pro! She politely thanked him for his tip, and then she put the penny back in his hand, and told him, “put that in the collection plate for me on Sunday.” Way to go mom! I was SO proud of her in that moment. Meanwhile, others at the table (many were his parishioners and regulars at the bakery who REALLY liked my mom)

looked on embarrassed. Many of them began reaching into their own pockets to ensure my mom got a REAL tip for ALL her hard work! Good for them! Now I know many of you are probably thinking what if I got REALLY bad service? That may be true, but did you ever stop to wonder why? Maybe they’re new to the job, or maybe they didn’t get the proper training, or maybe they’ve just had a really bad day. We’ve ALL been there, right? Why not give them the benefit of the doubt? Wouldn’t you want someone to do that for you? I’m sure the recipient of your generosity will be grateful especially since these industries has been so adversely affected by COVID-19, and even if they don’t appreciate it, you’ll have the ultimate satisfaction of knowing you did the right thing

2.) While special emphasis is placed on caring for those in need of food, clothing and shelter around the holidays, please remember that these same basic needs must be met the rest of the year as well. Keeping this in the forefront of our minds and hearts year round is the ONLY way we can make a real difference, and thus bring about lasting change not just a temporary one good only for the holiday season for those individuals who are chronically in need. Again, I know many of you may be thinking why don’t these people get a regular job? There are plenty of them out there. Please be aware that many of the individuals who sell The Contributor have significant barriers to traditional employment, some like mine are clearly visible for ALL to see. I have cerebral palsy. Others may not be seen with the naked eye, but they’re just as real. Case in point: the woman who taught me to sell the paper, Ms. Denise, had HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and had frequent bouts of intense sickness making it virtually impossible to hold down a “regular job.” Though you’d never know it to look at her— especially when she flashed the 1,000 watt smile she was known for at the Starbucks on 29th and West End. Please take that possibility into account as you pass by these individuals on the street remembering as you do there’s ALWAYS more to their story than what you see with your eyes. Thank you for your time and attention to this vital issue that affects so many not only in our area, but world-wide.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE MICHIGAN SCHOOL SHOOTING BY PAUL A. The parents should be made to pay for the funerals for the kids that got killed, pay the hospital bills of the kids that are in the hospital. And also they should be charged with the amount of time that the court gives the the kid that did it. I do believe that would stop a lot of the gun violence with the kids, because if the parents were held responsible, as well as the kid,

then you'd see some changes. Because these kids are unsupervised. They're getting away with too much since they took away the discipline from the parents and took away the discipline from the schools. Something has to be done. And I believe that that would be the best deterrent possible. When I was 8, 9, 10, it was knowing there was guns in the

house. I knew where they were. Any kid that pulls a gun and shoots somebody over something stupid should be able to be disciplined in and out of court. The parents are letting the kids get away with too much. But there's a lot of parents that don't care what their kids do. They let them run wild. The day that they find out they're going to have have a child, that's when the

parenting classes should start. So they can be better parents, instead of running round around getting high and getting drunk. If they're going to give people purchasing permits for guns, they should go through psychological testing. Think that would deter a lot too. A pistol, you're not allowed to get one until you're 21 years of age. And any parent that sus-

January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 17

pects their kid of having a gun, any normal parent would take the gun and take it in a police station and have it destroyed. They need to put a stop to this some kind of way. These judges are too easy going on these kids. If you don't know right from wrong by the time you're 8,9,10 years old, then you'll never know right from wrong.

VENDOR WRITING

MY GARDEN CARL D.

See once there was a child His parents very proud He only planted seed That we must sow They grew up very fast His dreams, his hopes at last His hard work and devotion Start to show Now garden though it grows With daily chores and woes Still finds the love he needs In mother’s arms A bud stands eagerly A flower soon to be A fragrance soft and bright Like moonlite glow And garden though alone Still sounds a cheerful tone A hand-made vase and loving family Alas he will remember Though nights cold in December His blanket warm with love Will always be

THEME: Y EA R IN R EV IEW ACROSS 1. Coalition of countries 5. King trump-er, sometimes 8. Cuckoo bird 11. ____ weevil 12. Smelting waste 13. Kitchen-wear 15. Coke or Pepsi 16. Check-in via text, email, etc. 17. Settler transport 18. *2021 Super Bowl winner, two words 20. Before long, to Shakespeare 21. Jeopardy 22. Auction action 23. Puts down 26. Coroner's performance 30. Band booking 31. Snicket of "A Series of Unfortunate Events" 34. Stravinsky's "The ____ of Spring" 35. Mine passages 37. *Build Back Better ____

38. Eucharist plate 39. Table hill 40. Good review 42. "Tit for ____" 43. Buck feature, pl. 45. *First female VP 47. Evergreen creeper 48. It goes with gin, according to Snoop Dogg 50. Mongolian desert 52. *COVID-19, e.g. 55. Poison ivy or Poison oak 56. International Civil Aviation Org. 57. Distinctive smell 59. House coat 60. Asian cuisine food thickener 61. Pelvic parts 62. Gallery display 63. Self-proclaimed greatest boxer 64. Count on DOWN 1. "Monty Python" broadcaster

2. Rioter's take 3. Cantina pot 4. Fasteners or holders 5. Cover story 6. *Suez ____, too tight for Ever Given 7. Like custard 8. Mythological ship 9. "High" time 10. Wayside stop 12. Thinly spread 13. Look forward to 14. *____ Papers, leaked offshore account information 19. Banana refuse, pl. 22. Exchange for money 23. Old World lizard 24. *January 20th honoree 25. Anti-elderly one 26. Those not in favor 27. Pita, alt. sp. 28. Take without asking 29. Gossiper, Yiddish 32. *Perseverance landing spot 33. Edible tuber 36. *Kabul's organization in power 38. *The Nobel ____ Prize was awarded to Ressa and Muratov 40. Snoop around 41. Snowmobile brand 44. Give the boot 46. *"Stronger" by Cindy McCain, e.g. 48. Southwestern hut 49. Sushi restaurant staple 50. ____ gum, food additive 51. Leave out 52. Home to the Leaning Tower 53. Not in use 54. One in mattress 55. Spot for a facial 58. *Actor Liotta, star in "The Many Saints of Newark"

My garden long ago And weeds though they may grow Remembres when he was that only seed When started he did grow A garden don’t you know Is a place that you can go To rest in peace The flower wilts The pedals lie In gardens soil bed Moistened so New seed might grew The dream alive not dead You too can have a garden But figure in the cost Hard work Good tools And cover it Protect it from the frost Thought things I say are simple

PAGE 18 | January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

You must remember this A song unsung A word unsaid… Is lost

FUN

HOBOSCOPES CAPRICORN

Sometimes I start telling you a story and I immediately realize that I’ve already told you this at least twice before. Like the one about the hardboiled egg that rolled under the sofa and everybody thought there was a gas leak so we called the fire department but they just contacted the apartment manager who spent 45 minutes berating us for how filthy the living room was. I know, Capricorn, you’ve heard it all before, but thanks for letting me tell it again. It reminds me who I am and that you accept me, even with an egg under the sofa.

In just a few weeks, the most powerful telescope that humanity has ever created will arrive at its orbital point a million miles from earth. Then, the James Webb Space Telescope will point its lens at the dimmest stars we can detect and begin searching for the oldest light in the universe. As an astrologer, I’ve got to say I’m a little jealous. It may not predict the future, but it will see into the past. Where did it all start for you, Taurus? Stare at that faint point of light for a while and try to remember where you came from.

VIRGO

What happens to the characters in the movie after the credits roll, Virgo? I mean, sometimes they get a sequel, but usually we’re just left with a singular story. And it’s not just the main characters I worry about. What about the uptight best friend and the eccentric cab driver? Was it really a happy ending if they aren’t all happy? I’m sorry, Virgo, I just get stressed about endings. Luckily, we aren’t there yet. I guess it’s a good day to bring as much good into the story as we can before those words start crawling up the screen.

LIBRA

AQUA RIUS

Just got a call from my financial advisor and he says things are looking pretty grim. Don’t worry, it’s not because of the stock market or international trade laws or real estate prices. He said that the Chuck E. Cheese gift card that I tried to pay him with only had 84 cents left on it and he needs me to come by and cover the bill for three large pepperonis and six rounds of skeeball. Sometimes your numbers take a dip, Aquarius. Luckily friendship is still free.

PISCES

Tie a string around your wrist, Pisces, to remind you of what you already know. Tie a knot for who you’ve been. Tie a knot for who you are. Tie a knot for who you’re always trying to be. And when you look down at your wrist, Pisces, you’ll see that it ties you to yourself, and that you aren’t afraid to tell the truth. You aren’t afraid to be imperfect. You aren’t afraid to hope for more. Tie a string around your wrist, Pisces.

ARIES

TAURUS

I was driving down the highway at dusk, just a couple hundred miles from here, Aries, and in the empty fallow fields I saw something moving. Tens of thousands of white tufts all swaying together. At first, I thought they were just heads of cotton blowing in the wind, but then they started taking off. They were snow geese, Aries, migrating south. And I’ve never seen so many of anything all together and I thought of you. You’ve got somewhere to go this year. Try not to go alone.

GEMINI

The bumper sticker on the car in front of me is a white paw-shape with black text that says “who rescued who?” I think I understand the sentiment, Gemini, but it got me thinking. Do I worry too much about who I can rescue? Am I too afraid I won’t be rescued myself? If you’re heading out there today trying to save the world, take a breath. You rescued you, Gemini. That’s enough.

CANCER

We got to a new year, Cancer. But I’m afraid that little ball is still spinning in the middle of the screen. Sometimes the new just doesn’t want to get going. It might need a restart. Try counting down to midnight again tonight. That should get you back to factory settings and you can start your year first thing tomorrow.

That’s a nice, promising future you got there, Libra, it’d be a shame if anything…happened to it. Of course, The Stars aren’t in the business of making astrological threats, Libra. But as your amateur astrologer it comes to my attention that you’re putting a lot of hope in your future unfolding in a very particular way. And as a human being, it comes to my attention that sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. The future is as bright as your willingness to accept what’s coming, Libra. If that seems scary, just remember, I’m going too.

SCORPIO

This seems like a great time for turning over a new leaf, Scorpio! But all the leaves in my yard look pretty beat up. This one’s broken. This one’s half buried in the mud. This one’s just brown on one side and brown on the other. Sometimes you’re ready to turn over a new leaf, but there aren’t any new leaves around. You might have to wait. Try to hang on to that desire.

SAGITTA R IUS

LEO

Who do you want to be today, Leo? Creative? Caring? Responsible? Now, what might get in the way of you being that person? Vacuuming? Emails? Grocery shopping? If the daily tasks are really in the way of you at your best, then I give you permission to take the day off. But don’t waste this golden opportunity poking on your phone. Go be the person you want to be for the rest of the day. You can buy eggs and green beans tomorrow.

200,000 years ago, there were people who looked pretty much like you, Sagittarius. They probably lived in fairly tight family groups and were nomadic hunter-gatherers. I wonder if they ever got lonely. Could they even think about themselves as “alone?” 200,000 years later, it’s a lot easier to feel separate. Here you are, your own homo sapien self. Doing the dishes and wondering if the new episode of Toddler Lawyers is out yet. But maybe tonight, in a tribute to your prehistoric ancestors, you could call someone you care about.

Mr. Mysterio is not a licensed astrologer, a registered arborist, or a practicing toddler lawyer. Mr. Mysterio is, however, a budding intermediate podcaster! Check out The Mr. Mysterio Podcast. Season 2 is now playing at mrmysterio.com. Got a question, just give Mr. M a call at 707-VHS-TAN1

January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 19

PAGE 20 | January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

Through the communities help... 279 Individuals moved from encampments to homes in 2021. Lives touched. Lives changed. Lives saved.

Visit SalvationArmyNashville.org to learn more about our LIFNAV program. January 5 - 19, 2022 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 21

The New Christian Year Selected by Charles Williams (1941)

Charles Walter Stansby Williams (1886–1945), the editor of the following selections, is today probably the third most famous of the famous Inklings literary group of Oxford, England, which existed in the middle of the 20th century, and which included among its ranks the better-known and longer-lived Oxford Dons J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis—but he was arguably the most precocious and well-read of this eminent and intellectually fertile group. He was also known to have influenced Dorothy Sayers, T. S. Eliot and W. H. Auden. Lacking a proper degree unlike his fellow Inklings, this genius Cockney-speaking author, editor, critic, and playwright was eminently well-versed in both philosophical and theological writings of the remote past as of the present day (the mid-20th century) and used this familiarity to good effect in his poetry, supernatural fiction and his lesser-known devotional selections designed for the spiritual benefit of the faithful in the Church of England. This series of profound quotations, encompassing all walks of life, follows the sequence of the themes and Bible readings anciently appointed for contemplation throughout the church's year, beginning with Advent (i.e., December) and ending in November, and reaches far beyond the pale of the philosophical and theological discussions of his day. It was under his hand, for instance, that some of the first translations of Kierkegaard were made available to the wider public. It is hoped that the readings reproduced here will prove beneficial for any who read them, whatever their place in life's journey. — Matthew Carver

2ND WEDNESDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

RELIGION is no religion, and virtue is no act of choice, and reward comes by chance and without condition, if we are only religious when we cannot choose; if we part with our money when we cannot keep it; with out lust when we cannot act it; with our desires when they have left us. Death is a certain mortifier; but that mortification is deadly, not useful to the purposes of a spiritual life. When we are compelled to depart from our evil customs and leave to live, that we may begin to live, then we die to die; that life is the prologue to death, and thenceforth we die eternally. Jeremy Taylor: Holy Dying.

THE EPIPHANY THIS was the fulness of time, when Christ Jesus did come, that the Messiah should come. It was so to the Jews, and it was so to the Gentiles too . . . Christ hath excommunicated no nation, no shire, no house, no man: he gives none of his ministers leave to say to any man, thou art not redeemed; he gives no wounded nor afflicted conscience leave to say to itself, I am not redeemed. Donne: Sermons. THE lights of faith and of nature are subordinate John Babtists. Donne: Sermons.

1ST THURSDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY

of God in men, and freedom of no other kind. Free in God, ye are imprisoned in Him. Barth: Epistle to the Romans. THE grateful heart By owing owes not, but still pays, at once indebted and discharged. Milton: Paradise Lost.

FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY SEE the mysteries which lie hid in that miracle of our Lord. It was necessary that all things should be fulfilled in Christ which were written of Him: those scriptures were the water. He made the water wine when He opened unto them the meaning of these things, and expounded the Scriptures; for thus that came to have a taste which before had none, and that inebriated, which did not inebriate before. St Augustine, quoted in St Thomas: Catena Aurea.

1ST MONDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY CHRIST is the object of faith to all; but the Church is as it were the outward form of justice, she is the common right of all. For all in common she prays, for all in common she works, in the temptations of all she is tried. St Ambrose: Duties of the Clergy. [OF a persecutor] When he beheld the truth he grew loving. George Fox: Journal.

WHEN you have read and learnt much, you will have ever to revert to the one First Principle. I am the One Who teaches men knowledge, and I impart to little ones a clearer knowledge than can be taught by man . . . I teach without the sound of words, without the strife of opinions, without ambition of honour, without the contention of controversy. Thomas à Kempis: Imitation.

1ST FRIDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY HE that would live in cleanness of conscience and without defiling of his soul, him behoveth to abstain him both from the making and also from the using of such vain curiosities and to flee therefrom as a venomous serpent. Nevertheless by this aforsaid reproof of curiosity we shall not understand generally forbidden to make fair works and honest apparel: for that is lawful so that it keep a good face, and namely in those things and works that belong to God's service. In the which it is needful to be aware and to eschew all corrupt intent of vain joy or glory, and all false affections and foul likings of the world's vanity: so that the virtuous face of sufficient honesty pass not in to the excess of vicious curiosity. The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ, tr. by Nicholas Love.

1ST SATURDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY TO the man under grace, righteousness is not a possibility, but a necessity; not a disposition subject to change, but the inexorable meaning in life; not a condition possessing varying degrees of healthiness, but the condition by which existence is itself determined; not that which he possesses, but that which possesses him. The freedom of the man under grace is founded upon the good pleasure of God, and has no other foundation; it is the freedom of the will

1ST TUESDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY GOD gives us many things in which He has Himself no part: being Himself self-existent, He gives us a beginning of existence; being Himself exempt from want, He gives us nourishment; Himself always the same, He gives us growth; Himself immortal and exempt from old age, He gives us a happy old age, and a happy death. St Clement: Stromata. SINCE everything is knowable according as it is actual, God, who is pure act without any admixture of potentiality, is in Himself supremely knowable. Aquinas: Summa Theologica.

1ST WEDNESDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY SIN is a robbing of God: a robbery which becomes apparent in our arrogant endeavour to cross the line of death by which we are bounded (i. 18, 19); in our drunken blurring of the distance which separates us from God; in our forgetfulness of His invisibility; in our investing of men with the form of God, and of God with the form of man; and in our devotion to some romantic infinity, some 'No-God' of this world, which we have created for ourselves. Barth: The Epistle to the Romans.

2ND THURSDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY O LORD, shew me this matter; one fleeth from the world for Thy Name's sake, and another receiveth and is gracious for Thy Name's sake. The Paradise of the Fathers.

2ND FRIDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY THY Kingdom come . . . Christ Himself may be the kingdom of God, whom we day by day desire to come, whose advent we crave to be quickly manifested to us. For since he is himself is the resurrection, since in him we rise again, so also the kingdom of God may be understood to be himself. St Cyprian: On the Lord's Prayer.

2ND SATURDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY OUR accesses to his presence are but his descents into us; and when we get anything by prayer, he gave us beforehand the thing and the petition. Donne: Letters. MEEKNESS hath three degrees. The first degree is: a man to be subject and lowered to his sovereign and not preferred or raised above him that is equal with him in estate. The second is: to be subject to his equal like in estate and not to be raised or preferred above his underling. The third and sovereign degree of meekness is: to be subject and lowered to his underling, that is, he that is less in estate than he. The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ, tr. by Nicholas Love.

SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY I KNOW a man who, when he saw a woman of unusual beauty, praised the Creator for her. The sight of her lit within him the love of God . . . It was marvellous to see how what would have been the undoing of another became for him supernaturally a crown of victory. If such a man is always and in all cases capable of such feelings and such conduct, he has already partaken of incorruptibility even before the general resurrection. St John Climacus.

2ND MONDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY FRANCIS beheld in each creature the goodness of God perfectly, and therefore he was moved by a particular and heartfelt delight and love for all creatures. Speculum Perfectionis. YOU see, beloved, how great and wonderful a thing love is, and how unspeakable its perfection. St Clement: Epistles.

2ND TUESDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY ALL men by nature hate each other. They use their lusts as far as they can for the public good, but it is only a feint and false image of love, for at bottom there is nothing but hate. Pascal: Pensées. TO make rapid progress and to reach the mansions we wish to enter, it is not so essential to think much as to love much: therefore you must practise whatever most excites you to this. Saint Teresa: The Interior Castle.

A MAN will always be tripped up by that thing which he will not cut off from himself. The Paradise of the Fathers.

The Contributor: Jan. 5, 2022

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