Vendor Writing

The Little Park That Could

By Jen A.

How long has it been? Time hasn't seemed real to me for as far back as I can remember. One day seems pretty much like the day before, and exactly how the day after will be, and the day after that, and the day after that. I've learned how to be alone suspended in time.

Once every two weeks I journey to town along the same route to buy papers and drop off or pick up books at the library. On the way home, if I feel particularly lucky, I stop to buy groceries. That has been my life week, after week, after monotonous week. I've seen few other people and have spent a lot of time in my room.

Today I walked up town to pick up and drop off a book at the main library. I expected I would take the same dull, gray walk up John Lewis past shuttered stores and vacant restaurants then turn right at Church Street to the library. It had become such a rote exercise that I really wasn't paying much attention to anything around me.

It wasn't until I had taken care of my errands inside the library, having come in the same door I was about to go out, that I finally noticed that there was something VERY different about this day. I passed my hand in front of the blue light of the automatic door opener and the heavy brass doors slowly swung open onto a scene that I will never forget as long as I live.

Do you remember the first time you saw The Wizard of Oz? Dorothy opens the door and suddenly the image changes from the bleak black and white of Kansas to the vibrant color of Oz. In the park across from the library, The Church Street Park, what I saw was every bit as awe inspiring as Dorothy's first sight of Oz.

There were carts and colorful umbrellas, canopies, beautiful flowers placed just so, and cafe tables and chairs all along the walkways. There were people playing games and sitting together having animated conversions, and OMG there was my favorite of all time puzzle mural. But best of all, there was laughter and music.

I walked over and sat taking it all in until it overwhelmed me. To the familiar melody of, “Here, There, and Everywhere,” tears streamed down my cheeks uncontrollably. THIS is what had been missing from my life, our lives, all this time. I missed the warmth and closeness of our community.

Of course it might take me a minute to learn how to be a member of our Nashville community again. The Church Street Park people are doing all they can to help. They have scheduled activities to interest just about everyone; all free of charge. There are even movie nights planned. Check out all that is planned at: churchstreetpark.org

Come join with our community at Church Street Park. And if you see a woman with a wide smile on her face and tears rolling down her cheeks, that would be me. Stop by and say hey. I'd be so happy to know you.

The New Story of William Boyd

BY WILLIAM B.

On May 18, 2007 I took my clean time. On May 17, I was high and made them lock me up in jail — that’s how bad I wanted off of drugs. I got so desperate that I made them lock me up. I actually broke into the same place three times in one day to get caught. (The last time I did it, I didn’t wear a hat.) That’s why I’m proud to say that I’m 14 years clean on May 18.

We just passed the, I guess you’d call it the anniversary of, the tornado here. Well my sister was in that tornado. Her and the grandkids were lucky they got out alive. Tore the place all to pieces. Didn’t hurt her car because it was on the other side of the building. But she is still suffering from the loss of all the kids' items and her items. So from that tornado, my sister don’t live in Nashville anymore and I miss her a lot. She’s my rock.

One more thing. I had the Corona for two weeks when it first come out. I’ve now had both my vaccines. I’m asking everybody out there — if they don’t love theirself, at least they got someone in their life they love — to get that shot. Whether it’ll help them or not, it’ll give them the chance to save somebody else. Because the life that they could save could be a child. Not just an elderly person, but a child. A child is gonna be our president, our doctors, our leaders of the world! And to me, I think if they don’t think about themselves, surely they got someone that they love in their life who they should get that shot to protect.

I am going downhill with my health, but my best medicine is going out and selling my papers and playing my music. I’ve even told the doctors that and they kinda agree with me. So even when I’m sick I go out if I can. It depends on how bad I’m sick. I’m out in Berry Hill. The police watch me and take care of me — they make sure no one messes me or I have no problems out there. They protect me. Right now I’m paying quite a bit on my papers because I’ve got a map badge and I know if I don’t meet my quota I don’t get to keep my map badge. So it’s not just the money I make - cause the money don’t mean nothing. You know what means something to me? Meeting people, telling ’em my life story. Doing my music is more important than anything in my life. I have cousins that were entertainers. Brenda Lee’s one of them. Craig Wayne Boyd, he was with The Voice here six or seven years ago, and he was one of the winners. He is my cousin. Little Jimmy Dickens, who is dead, is my cousin. If you’d look at Jimmy Dickens and then look at my face, you’d see him in me. And my mom was a singer — not a well known singer, but she sang. So I got the gift from her.

One more thing, I noticed bus drivers keep passing me up on the road. And some of ‘em stop and say, “we’re scared of you.” I don’t understand that. When I got pinned under a bus two years ago I took it to the media and brought it to The Contributor’s attention. I’m thinking they used that against me. They said they are frightened of me and they don’t wanna stop. It used to be that I would go off like big time for something like this, but I’ve learned to calm down over the years.

But I’m coming up on that 14 years clean. And I’m asking everybody out there: if you’ve got problems with drugs and alcohol, seek help. Because if it’s not affecting you yet, it will affect your health in many ways in the future.

I’m telling you when I got off of drugs, it changed me so much that I didn’t realize I could do the things I could do now. I never dreamed I could be a writer and I have written quite a few stories for The Contributor. I wrote a jingle for The Contributor! It was a couple of years ago and based on the Beverly Hillbillies theme song. And it was published in the newspaper and it was also played at one of the fundraisers. So you may say I’m a little bit of an entertainer. I’m a little bit of everything — I’m a comic, I could be an actor, I could do anything, all I gotta do is set my mind to it. I’m more talented than I thought I was because drugs clouded up my mind and clouded it up bad.

Like I said, what I done was real drastic to get off of it. Only thing I regret on that is while I was locked up, my mom and my brother died. I didn’t get to say goodbye. And that is the only thing I regret about bein locked up to get off of drugs. Other than that I’m so proud of myself that I could kick myself in the butt everyday about what I went through to get off of it. And what I felt like when I was using anybody and everybody to get it — it wasn’t worth it to me, having to keep hurting my family and my friends. So I said, “self, it’s time to make that change. No one’s gonna do it for you, you gotta do it yourself.” And that’ll be the story of William Boyd. And let’s title it that! “The NEW Story of William Boyd.”

I am, right now, fixin to go out and sell some papers. I feel good today.