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Volu m e 14

| Number 18 | August 19 - September 2, 2020

HOME WORK How MNPS teachers, parents and students are handling a virtual back-to-school

2020

L a N ticia www.hispanicpaper.com

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

Año 18 - No. 312

Nashville, Tennessee

Bolivia: El Engaño a su Pueblo, la lucha es común

¿Que es lo que está pasando en Bolivia y por que nadie habla de ello?; Pero sobretodo, ¿Por qué necesitamos saber de lo que pasa en Bolivia si estamos en Estados Unidos?

y re-poseer la tierra que les fue despojada. A la pregunta cuál es el camino más eficiente para el movimiento indígena en el reconocimiento de su soberaneidad, él respondió que depende de cada país pero es natural que en Bolivia al ser la mayoría indígena este camino sea a través de la vía democrática de participación política y en las elecciones presidenciales.

“Las Elites de los Karina García Estados Unidos y el PorContribuidora gobierno están tan metidos en los asuntos de otros países que como ciudadanos estadounidenses es necesario estar informados para pararnos delante del gobierno cuando sea necesario.” Así lo dijo Jane Hussain, secretaria del comité de eventos de la organización sin fines del lucro Centro para la Paz y Justicia de Nashville NPJC. Así mismo lo están haciendo los ciudadanos Bolivianos; su derecho al voto para elecciones democráticas ha sido suspendido desde la salida de Evo Morales. Originalmente programadas para mayo, fueron suspendidas hasta el 6 de septiembre y después hasta el 18 de octubre. ¿Será el Covid-19 una excusa válida? Lo cierto es que el pueblo Boliviano está molesto y se siente traicionado. De ahí el titulo de la reunión que motivó este artículo. Bolivia : El engaño a sus Pueblos Indígenas, así se tituló el foro de discusión que el Centro para la Paz y Justicia de Nashville acogió vía zoom y con transmisión en vivo en Facebook este pasado 11 de agosto a las 7pm. El título fue también inspirado en el libro Calle Soberana: haciendo revolución en Bolivia Urbana de el antropólogo en Vanderbilt Carwill Bjork-James quien documentó cómo los movimientos de masas liderados por indígenas reconfiguraron la política y el orden racial de Bolivia de 1999 a 2011. Sin duda, el 2020 está siendo también un año de inflexión para el futuro de Bolivia y el movimiento indígena en Latinoamérica.

Álvaro Segovia nos explica el significado de la palabra quechua Yananqui que en español significa complementariedad de opuestos. Durante la entrevista dijo: “nos invitaron a jugar futbol, creían que vendríamos en conflicto pero jugamos su partida y les ganamos en la cancha.” Pero para Segovia, no se trata de una competencia mas lo contrario, de una conjunción de fuerzas, la incorporación de un modelo de democracia comunal a la democracia liberal. Respetando e incorporando los principios de representatividad y redistribución ancestrales a las instituciones políticas y económicas del País. Segovia nos habla de un modelo de Economía plural o mixta que incorpora el trabajo comunitario y los recursos compartidos, una fuente más estable que la economía liberal desde su punto de vista. Y que además se encuentra en peligro ya que Jeanine Añez desde que ascendió al poder el 10 de noviembre del 2019 ha llevado propuestas de privatización que amenazan los derechos colectivos.

IN THE ISSUE 4

Sobre el engaño a su propia población, los panelistas estaban de acuerdo en que

The Bolivian Workers' Center (COB) and the Unity Pact (PU) announce protests so that the date of elections is not changed. In July, the electoral body announced that the new date for the elections is October 18. The MAS legislative bench considers that moving the voting day is a provocation.

Para Jorge Mendoza, artista y autor del mural patrimonio “Juana Azurduy la guerrillera del pueblo” y quien además tuvo que huir de la dictadura para sobrevivir en 1979; “Evo Morales y otros líderes que se proclaman así mismos “indígenas” no lo son realmente pues tienen orígenes privilegiados en la sociedad y están asociados al narcotráfico que tanto afecta al campesinado.” En su opinión, Mendoza indica que los intereses indígenas se ven manipulados por otros intereses económicos de los representantes. Sin embargo, Álvaro Segovia, agrónomo y sociólogo quien además es docente de la primera univer-

Albert Bender, activista de la Nación Cherokee, historiador y reportero político para el periódico en línea PeoplesWorld fue quien tuvo la idea de hacer esta conversación de mesa redonda. El expresa su solidaridad con los pueblos indígenas en Bolivia y afirma que la lucha es común. Pueblos indígenas en todo el Hemisferio luchan para reclamar

La Misión del NPJC es de crear coalición entre individuos y organizaciones para trabajar por la equidad y paz. Por ello motivan la discusión y el pensamiento crítico. Usted puede revisar el video de la discusión en la página de Facebook de NPJC y unirsea la si-guiente conferencia. Karina García es graduada de Estudios de Gobierno y Política y estudiante del Máster en Manejo Internacional Público del la Escuela en Paris de Asuntos Internacionales PSIA.

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)

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.

w w w . j u a n e s e . c o m

Tom Wills, Chair Cathy Jennings, Bruce Doeg, Demetria Kalodimos, Ann Bourland, Kerry Graham, Peter Macdonald, Amber DuVentre, Jerome Moore, Erik Flynn

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Pierre T., shares his life insights including, “Anything worth doing is going to take some trial and error.”

People Loving Nashville finds ways to continue serving people expereincing homelessness throughout the pandemic.

In this issue, vendors write about God, the past, the furture, and all of the challenges of virtual learning.

La Noticia, one of the leading Spanish-language newspapers in the nation, brings Spanish content to The Contributor.

Contributors This Issue

Amanda Haggard • Linda Bailey • Hannah Herner • Bailey Basham • David S. Pineros • Alvine • Maria Caspani • Callaghan O’Hare • Joe Nolan • Mr. Myserio • Yuri Cunza • Norma B. • John H. • Cynthia P. • Jen A. • William B. • Paul A.

Contributor Volunteers Joe First • Andy Shapiro • Michael Reilly • Ann Bourland • Patti George • John Jennings • Janet Kerwood • Logan Ebel • Christine Doeg • Laura Birdsall • Nancy Kirkland • Mary Smith • Andrew Smith • Ellen Fletcher • Richard Aberdeen • Shayna Harder Wiggins • Pete MacDonald • Robert Thompson

Cathy Jennings Executive Director Tom Wills Director of Vendor Operations

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

Hannah Herner Staff Writer Jesse Call Housing Navigator Raven Lintu Housing Navigator Barbara Womack Advertising Manager

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Amanda Haggard & Linda Bailey Co-Editors Andrew Krinks Editor Emeritus 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

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V E N D O R S P O T L I G H T : P I E R R E T.

‘Anything worth doing is going to take some trial and error’ IMAGES AND STORY BY HANNAH HERNER When Pierre T. came to Nashville in December 2019, he had a job set up as a tile installer, a trade he learned at 15 years old. He worked the first two weeks on that job and never got paid. That was enough to put him on the streets. Since then, he’s been in and out of hotels, and got onto the waitlist for affordable housing. He can’t afford to wait two weeks to get paid right now, so he relies on day labor and The Contributor. With no single selling spot, Pierre uses his outgoing personality to establish rapport in any neighborhood he sells in. He says the racist remarks he hears almost made him leave, but one thing that’s evident about Pierre is that he doesn’t quit easily. How did you get started at The Contributor? I’ll never forget, I saw a guy who was selling The Contributor. I gave him two dollars for the paper and I read it. I remember being overwhelmed with the info about the homeless community in Nashville and America. I was drawn to these facts. Being homeless myself, I could relate. I saw the man again and bought another paper. I asked him how I could become a vendor. He told me where to go. I’ve been selling Contributors ever since.

You’ve said it’s important to you to share information with your customers. I take pride in stopping and explaining. And people tell me all the time ‘thank you, I never heard somebody explain it.’ I show them the papers, show them the statistics. A lot of people take us the wrong way of just being panhandlers. No, we’re vendors. I like to get involved. Have you always been so outgoing? Honestly, everyone I come in contact with, they leave smiling. I’ll be honest and say something like ‘y’all look good together, be nice to each other.’ And they’ll say, ‘Thank you, thank you, what’s that you got there?’ ‘Oh, this is The Contributor.’ And it goes from there. I meet a lot of friends like that. It’s beautiful, it really is — when you can mingle with people and sell your paper at the same time. A smile has more nourishment than a glass of milk. That’s an old Jewish proverb. You’d be surprised how far a smile will take you. What are some of your interests? I love music, always have. Music to me is very important in culture and our society. I’m a musician myself. I’m

a bass player and a drummer. I’ve played in bands. It’s been years, but I still got it. Plus I sing. I used to perform in New Orleans a lot. I love Louis Armstrong, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Otis Redding. Those guys — something’s wrong with you if you can’t feel something in their music. I’m a soul child. What keeps you motivated? I was complaining about no shoes until I met a man with no feet. I thank God every day that He opened my eyes and gave me an opportunity to do something. I just never have been the kind of person to just sit under the shade tree all day, just idly let my day go by. I get up and find something to do. And The Contributor really give me something to do. What do you want people to know about you? I’ve never been the type to need a lot of attention, I just want them to realize, count your blessings before you complain, before you point a finger or judge anybody else. That’s what they can learn from me. So many times, even selling

PAGE 4 | August 19 - September 2, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

this paper, there’s a lot of negativity out there. Some people are just downright racist. Other than that, I just want to tell people that we’ve got to love each other and we’ve got to learn a lot from each other. Quit judging each other and stop the hate. What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of becoming a Contributor vendor? First of all, I’d tell them, you can’t give up. Anything worth doing is going to take some trial and error. You’ll get the hang of it. Most people give up during the first couple of days. They decide this isn’t for them. But you gotta say ‘I’m going to make this work.’ Try different spots, different ways to approach people. Smile more. Draw people to you. You have to be the example. People will be in their Mercedes-Benzes all miserable, frowned up. Miserable as ever, and they got money. They see you smiling, real joy. They might say ‘something told me to stop and do this for you.’ You can’t give up. You can’t let one person discourage you. Ten cars might pass you, but there might be that one that stops. You won’t know if you give up.

NEWS

Why Johnny STILL can't read?

NEWS BRIEFS MNPD arrests homeless man in first mask mandate arrest The Metro Nashville Police Department arrested Joseph Bryant, 61, for not wearing a mask while walking on Broadway in downtown Nashville where several tourists have been photographed not wearing masks in the wears before Bryant’s arrest. Police charged Bryant with violating a board of health regulation. He was held on a $500 bond and is represented by the Metro Public Defender’s Office. MNPD spokesperson Don Aaron told The Tennessean that Bryant “was warned to put a mask on, but he walked away without doing so.” “He was placed into custody and a physical arrest made due to the belief that his defiant behavior would continue if only cited a second time,” Aaron said. Nashville Financial Empowerment Center offers free, virtual one-onone financial counseling The Financial Empowerment Center is expanding to meet the growing financial needs of Davidson County residents as a part of Nashville’s coordinated COVID-19 response. The Financial Empowerment Center now offers services entirely virtually and is adding additional staff to meet demand, made possible by a grant from the Cities for Financial Empowerment — a national organization that helps cities across the U.S. embed financial empowerment programs within their local governments. A partnership between United Way of Greater Nashville and the Mayor’s Office since 2013, the Financial Empowerment Center has offered free, one-on-one professional financial counseling to help clients manage bills,

work through debt, establish and improve credit, create a budget, open a bank account and save for the future — available via phone or video. “You may have been hit hard by the economic fallout of COVID-19. You may have chronic financial issues. Or, you may just want to know you are on the right track,” said Samantha Williams, Financial Empowerment Center manager. “No matter your income level or financial situation, the FEC is here for you. It isn’t always easy, but our professionally trained counselors are here to help you find the way forward.” Over the last seven years, 8,000 Nashville clients have decreased their debt by $15.3 million dollars and increased their savings by $3 million. To schedule a free virtual financial counseling session, visit fec.nashville. gov or call 615-748-3620. The FEC does not provide direct financial assistance. For help with basic needs, such as food, shelter and emergency aid, call United Way’s 211 Helpline. U.S. Government Accountability Office says homelessness increased in the US three years in a row The Department of Housing and Urban Development found homelessness in the United States grew three years in a row from 2017 through 2019, according to a report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office on Aug. 13. Rising homelessness in metropolitan areas drove the increases, they said. The U.S. Government Accountability says HUD’s count likely underestimated the homeless population. “Organizations across the U.S. provide data for this inherently difficult count,” the release says. “HUD could improve its instructions to them, which in turn could improve data quality.” In addition, U.S. GAO’s statistical

analysis found median rent increases of $100 a month were associated with a 9% increase in homelessness in the areas they examined. The GAO took on the study because lawmakers have raised concerns about the extent to which recent increases in homelessness are associated with the availability of affordable housing, and because people experiencing homelessness can be difficult for agencies to track. The report examined efforts to measure homelessness and HUD’s oversight of these efforts and factors associated with recent changes in homelessness. TN Legislature votes to make camping at the Capitol a felony The Tennessee legislature approved a bill in a special session in mid-August that could be used to punish protestors for camping out at the Capitol. For the past two months, people at the Capitol have spent the night on the grounds protesting against police brutality and demanding a meeting with Gov. Bill Lee. “The individuals camping out across the street from this building are still there, because our governor refuses to meet with them and have a conversation,” Democtratic State Rep. John Ray Clemmons said in a release. “I have personally sent the governor two letters asking him to invite them into his office and listen. This is what he was elected to do — not hide in his office behind a wall of state troopers, for which Tennessee taxpayers continue to be billed.” Republicans in the legislature argue that increasing penalties, and charging people with a felony for camping on Capitol grounds, is not a measure that restricts First Amendment rights, while others argue the new law is unconstitutional.

August 19 - September 2, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 5

3 out of 4 children in Tennessee cannot read at grade level. Find out why at N2Reading. com or check out N2Reading on Facebook.

The New Christian Year Selected by Charles Williams

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

11th Wednesday after Trinity

The Feast of St. Bartholomew

12th Friday after Trinity

I CAN find no simile more appropriate than water by which to explain spiritual things, as I am very ignorant and have poor wits to help me. Besides I love this element so much that I have studied it more attentively than other things. God, Who is so great, so wise, has doubtless hidden secrets in all things He created, which we should greatly benefit by knowing, as those say who understand such matters. St Teresa: The Interior Castle.

NATURAL religion, if you understand it rightly, is a most excellent thing, it is a right sentiment of heart, it is so much goodness in the heart, it is its sensibility both of its separation from its relation to God; and therefore it shows itself in nothing but in a penitential sentiment of the weight of its sins, and in an humble recourse by faith to the mercy of God. Call but this the religion of nature and then the more you esteem it, the better; for you cannot wish well to it without bringing it to the Gospel state of perfection. For the religion of the Gospel is this religion of penitence and faith in the mercy of God, brought forth into its full perfection. For the Gospel calls you to nothing but to know and understand and practise a full and real penitence, and to know by faith such heights and depths of the divine mercy towards you, as the religion of nature had only some little uncertain glimmerings of. William Law: A Demonstration.

WHILE thou still wishest better to thine own person than to that man whom thou hast never seen thou art beside the mark, nor hast thou even for an instant seen into this simple ground. Eckhart: Sermons and Collations.

11th Thursday after Trinity LIGHT is all things, and no thing. It is no thing because it is supernatural; it is all things because every good power and perfection of everything is from it. No joy or rejoicing in any creature but from the power and joy of light. No meekness, benevolence, or goodness, in angel, man, or any creature, but where light is the lord of its life. Life itself begins no sooner, rises no higher, has no other glory than as the light begins it and leads it on. Sounds have no softness, flowers and gums have no sweetness, plants and fruits have no growth but as the mystery of light opens itself in them. Whatever is delightful and ravishing, sublime and glorious, in spirits, minds, or bodies, either in heaven or on earth, is from the power of the supernatural light opening its endless wonders in them. William Law: The Spirit of Love.

11th Friday after Trinity

READING is good, hearing is good, conversation and meditation are good; but then, they are only good at times and occasions, in a certain degree, and must be used and governed with such caution as we eat and drink and refresh ourselves, or they will bring forth in us the fruits of intemperance. But the spirit of prayer is for all times and all occasions, it is a lamp that is to be always burning, a light to be ever shining; everything calls for it, everything is to be done in it and governed by it, because it is and means and wills noting else but the whole totality of the soul, not doing this or that, but wholly incessantly given up to God to be where and what and how He pleases. William Law: Letters.

11th Saturday after Trinity FOR all other creatures and their works—yea, and the works of God himself—may a man through grace have fullness of knowing, and well can he think of them; but of God himself can no man think. And therefore I would leave all that thing that I can think, and choose to my love that thing I cannot think. For why, he may well be loved but not thought. By love may he be gotten and holden; but by thought never. The Cloud of Unknowing. ALTHOUGH it be good to think upon the kindness of God, and to love him and praise him for it: yet it is far better to think upon the naked being of him, and to love him and praise him for himself. The Cloud of Unknowing.

Eleventh Sunday after Trinity EVERY thing that works in nature and creature, except sin, is the working of God in nature and creature. The creature has nothing else in its power but the free use of its will; and its free will has no other power but that of concurring with or resisting the working of God in nature. The creature with its free will can bring nothing into being nor make any alteration in the working of nature, it can only change its own state or place in the working of nature, and so feel and find something in its state that it did not feel or find before. William Law: The Spirit of Love.

12th Monday after Trinity VIRTUE is nought else but an ordered and a measured affection, plainly directed unto God for himself. For why, he in himself is the clean cause of all virtues: insomuch, that if any man be stirred to any virtue by any other cause mingled with him—yea, though he be the chief—yet that virtue is then imperfect. As thus for example, may be seen in one virtue or two instead of all the other; and well may these two virtues be meekness and charity. For whoso might get these two clearly, he needeth no more: for why, he hath all. The Cloud of Unknowing.

A HOLY man once bethought himself how painful it must have been to God to have been seen by his enemies when he was taken prisoner. Our Lord answered him: "My enemies appeared unto Me in my presence as friends, who wished to help me in carrying out the sweetest and most desirable work that I ever worked in my life." Tauler: Sermons.

12th Saturday after Trinity WE pray God that his, "will be done on earth," in us, "as it is in heaven," in God himself. A man of this sort is so one, so one-willed with God that he wills exactly what God wills and in the way God wills it. Eckhart: The Book of Benedictus. NO knowledge, therefore, and no conceptions in this mortal life can serve as proximate means of this high union of the love of God. All that the understanding can comprehend; all that the will may be satisfied with; and all that the imagination may conceive, is most unlike unto God, and most disproportionate to Him. St John of the Cross: Ascent of Mount Carmel.

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

12th Tuesday after Trinity

OUR souls may lose their peace and even disturb other people's if we are always criticising trivial actions which often are not real defects at all, but we construe them wrongly through ignorance of their motives. St Teresa: The Interior Castle.

LOVE is a grace that loves God for Himself, and our neighbors for God. The consideration of God's goodness and bounty, the experience of those profitable and excellent emanations from Him, may be and most commonly are, the first motive of our love; but when we are once entered, and have tasted the goodness of God, we loved the spring for its own excellency, passing from passion to reason, from thanksgiving to adoring, from sense to spirit, from considering ourselves to an union with God: and this is the image and little representation of heaven; it is beatitude in picture, or rather the infancy and beginnings of glory. Jeremy Taylor: Holy Living.

12th Wednesday after Trinity

13th Monday after Trinity

EVEN one unruly desire, though not a mortal sin, sullies and deforms the soul, and indisposes it for the perfect union with God, until it be cast away. St John of the Cross: Ascent of Mount Carmel.

ABBA Agathon used to say to himself, whensoever he saw any act or anything which his thought wished to judge or condemn, "Do not commit the thing thyself," and in this manner he quieted his mind, and held his peace. The Paradise of the Fathers. VEX not yourselves with trivialities; ye were not made for things, and the glory of the world is but a travesty of truth, only a heresy of happiness. Eckhart: Sayings.

I LIVE in Meshech which they say signifies Prolonging, in Kedar which signifies Blackness; yet the Lord forsaketh me not. Though he do prolong, yet he will, I trust, bring me to his tabernacle, his resting-place. My soul is with the congregation of the first-born, my body rests in hope, and if here I may honour my God, either by doing or suffering, I shall be most glad. Oliver Cromwell: Letters. WE naturalize ourselves, to the employment of eternity. Benjamin Whichcote: Aphorisms.

13th Tuesday after Trinity

12th Thursday after Trinity WE repeat the Scriptures with our mouth, and we go though the Psalms of David in our service, but that which God requireth, and which is necessary, we have not, that is to say, a good word for each other. The Paradise of the Fathers. DO not despise or think lightly of him that standeth before thee, for thou knowest not whether the Spirit of God is in thee or in him, though thou callest him who standeth before thee him that ministereth unto thee. The Paradise of the Fathers.

DIDST thou ever decry a glorious eternity in a winged moment of Time? Didst thou ever see a bright Infinite in the narrow point of an Object? Then thou knowest what Spirit means—that spire-top whither all things ascend harmoniously, where they meet and sit connected in an unfathomed Depth of Life. Peter Sterry: Rise, Race, and Royalty of the Kingdom of God. GOD giveth a man the opportunity to repent as long as he wisheth to do, and in proportion as he wisheth. The Paradise of the Fathers.

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August 19 - September 2, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 7

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

IMAGE FROM PEOPLELOVINGNASHVILLE.COM

People Loving Nashville finds ways to continue serving throughout the pandemic BY BAILEY BASHAM Colleen Lampa hangs a grocery bag on the doorknob, knocks and steps back about six feet. She waits for an answer at the door, but she must not have knocked loud enough. Inside the bag is a cheeseburger, a bag of chips and a bottle of water. Lampa says she would much prefer to sit down with the apartment’s resident, share a meal and catch up on life, but in the era of COVID-19, the safest way to remind people that she and her team at People Loving Nashville are still around is to from a distance. “We’re still here. We may not be able to hang out, but we’re here,” she says. “We give a phone number out for anyone that wants to talk. We don’t do as much Zoom and FaceTime as we should but a lot of it is phone calls, emails, texts. Sometimes we’ll drop by and stay at a distance. Once things started opening a little more, people started coming back. The one-on-one stuff has been really important.” Lampa and her siblings started People Loving Nashville in 2008 after sit-

ting back, tummies full of Thanksgiving turkey and dressing, and realizing how much they still had left. That abundance seemed stark in comparison to the need of so many in the city. “We saw this need, and we thought, ‘Why not help?’ It’s part of the DNA of who we are, and more than that, God told us to. He’s very clear on this one. If we look where he is looking, it’s to the people on the streets, those lonely in their apartments, the women in prison — so that’s what we run after,” she says. “You don’t have to believe in God to come with us because at its core, this is just about caring for other people. We’re just handing a meal to someone who is hungry, but it’s humbling and miraculous and beautiful. I am constantly in awe of the things that people have survived and carry every day, but still they show up. They’re still moving.” People Loving Nashville is a 501(c)3 nonprofit aimed at meeting some of the basic needs of the people of Nashville,

such as providing warm meals, distributing clothing and handing out hygiene products. “The thing we’ve been doing the longest is the Monday night meal. Since that Thanksgiving in 2008, we’ve been packing up hot meals to share with anyone we found surviving the streets of downtown Nashville. It’s been every Monday since January of 2009 — we’ve never missed a Monday, which is really crazy to think about. The flood and tornadoes, snow storms, now the pandemic, we’ve been here through it all. Things have changed a lot, and we have to kind of just go with it,” Lampa says. “Now that we are bigger and more established, we do about 300 to 400 meals every Monday night.” Over the years, Lampa says other organizations like Shower Up, the Nashville Street Barbers and The Street Dog Coalition have joined the effort. “For the last few weeks, we’ve been doing a help desk as well. Somebody brings a laptop and helps folks fill out

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applications and anything they need to do online since the library is closed. A lot of it is helping people file for unemployment, but whatever people need, we’re doing everything we can to help in any way.” Lampa says she and her siblings have had to reevaluate the way they connect with and serve people, but regardless of what happens next, they have no plans to miss a Monday. “I moved here in 2008, and I’ve known a lot of people on the streets longer than anyone in Nashville. In my hard days, they’ve been there for me, and it’s me going to talk to my friends because I need some support. Maybe they have a home, maybe they don’t. It doesn’t matter when it comes to relationships,” she says. “Jesus told us to feed hungry people, so let’s do it. He told us to love other people, so let’s do it.” For more information about People Loving Nashville or to support their work, visit peoplelovingnashville.com.

COVER STORY

HOME WORK How MNPS teachers, parents and students are handling a virtual back-to-school BY HANNAH HERNER AND AMANDA HAGGARD

bout a month before the first day of school, Metro Nashville Public Schools made an announcement it had never had to make before in history: The district would start off the school year online. In June, options were presented for in-person classes, given a minimal spread of COVID-19 in Nashville, but as numbers picked up and as Nashville remains in Phase 2 of reopening,

schools will be totally remote. This plan is to continue until at least through the Labor Day holiday with no set in-person start date announced yet. MNPS urged that it would be different than in the spring, when school abruptly stopped meeting in person on March 12 and moved to a more relaxed online curriculum. This fall, students attend a full day of school via their laptops (many of them school-issued with accompanying hotspots) with some live classes and some independently-led learning. Assignments will be graded, tests will be given, and attendance is

required. It’s a system that many know will be tough for low-income people, for workers that do not work in their home and rely on school to be able to go to work and for teachers who are learning to make the most of a situation that’s not ideal. Parents, teachers and students all seem to realize that while virtual school is necessary to help slow the spread of COVID-19 that it’s a unique challenge — one most of them hope will be temporary. CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

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COVER STORY

THE STUDENTS Camya Thompson, a fifth grader at East End Prep, catches up with her friends via Instagram. Her friends say they really like virtual school. She thinks this is because they get to stay at home in their beds. That’s the part she especially doesn’t like. “We’re just sitting at home being lazy! We’re not doing nothing [in person] at school. And I want to meet my teachers in person,” Camya says of having to do schoolwork from home. Camira Thompson, a sixth grader who is a bit more shy than her sister, says she likes doing her work from home, though it can be hard to pay attention. Her favorite class this year is math. That’s the only class where they get to work in small groups. She misses being able to have side conversations with friends. “On the computer you can see their faces, but you can’t really chat with them,” she says. The sisters already had the

laptops and hotspots they needed from the spring, though the internet connection lags a lot. When their grandmother Darlene comes home from working the third shift in the morning, they’re already up and getting ready for school. She sits back and lets them take charge — they know a lot more about technology than she does.

THE TEACHERS At Warner Arts Magnet Elementary, which has one of the highest levels of economically disadvantaged students in the district, they’re working with parents to get them used to using the new technology. It’s one of the larger hurdles to getting students ready to learn online — particularly for students who are English Language Learners. “Their parents don’t have the English to understand how to even get on the computer, let alone, get on Zoom or teams and then get onto Schoology, which is the program

where all their work is,” says Victoria Howard, who teaches several ELL students in various grades throughout the school. “So last Wednesday, I went to homes, with my mask of course, and kind of walked families through it one-on-one.” Like Howard, many of the other teachers at the magnet school in East Nashville are working with families to get them accustomed to the programs their kids need to use to go to school every day. Teachers are also working through the glitches and kinks that often happen with deploying such a change. While students aren’t physically in class, teachers are likely putting in more hours than they were before to ensure that things are going as smoothly as possible for families. “We are putting in as much, if not more, work and energy and effort to make sure that we are on top of it,” says Warner fourth grade teacher Dr. Nikki Hughes. “We are prepared and we are teaching like our hair’s on fire.” The school district is also navigating getting meals to students to make sure no kids are going hungry while taking virtual classes. All Warner students receive free lunch

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from the school and their parents can still access those meals — buses deliver meals to bus stops near lunchtime and meals are available for pickup at schools. Being forced to do school virtually, though, has had somewhat of a positive unintended consequence. Educators at Warner — from fourth grade teacher Angela Moore, who’s taught for 30 years, to younger teachers like first grade teacher Kavon Seay and kindergarten teacher Julia Milano — say they’re getting to have more direct contact with parents than ever before. “Of tentimes it happens with schools that serve high economically disadvantaged populations that people think that we have no parent engagement, which is not true,” says Warner Principal Dr. Ricki Gibbs. “It’s almost a thought process that you have low parent engagement because families are economically disadvantaged and they’re working and things of that nature. And there’s some truth to that normally. But I will say in this virtual setting, I’ve seen more parent engagement than I’ve seen in years.” Teachers say it’s been an interesting experience — they’re learning

COVER STORY

“We are putting in as much, if not more, work and energy and effort to make sure that we are on top of it,” says Warner teacher Dr. Nikki Hughes. “We are prepared and we are teaching like our hair’s on fire.”

about their students in new ways and parents are getting to see teachers in action. “That part, it’s really great,” says Nicole Glaze, who teaches third grade at Warner Elementary. “It’s also allowing us as educators to create different activities as they’re learning virtua lly to construct meaning and make it relevant to them in their daily lives. They’re in their home. They’re able to go find resources at their home to use for learning — I just think that’s really real. And I’m enjoying teaching and building the relationship in that way.”

THE PARENTS Technology has been a big hurdle for Contributor vendor Camalita Brown. Even with the school-issued hotspot and laptop, they didn’t have any success logging on to her son Charlie’s kindergarten class for the first entire week of school. After not hearing back from technical support, she took the bus to his school in-person and finally got things in working order by dealing directly with the school. As an only child, Charlie loves

to go to school and be around other kids. “He really misses his friends,” Brown says. Since school let out early in March, Camalita hasn’t been able to work selling papers for The Contributor. Not having that income has caused a financial strain on the family, but they’ve made it work, Brown says. She doesn’t have any childcare support for Charlie, so she takes him everywhere she goes.

TEACHING WHILE PARENTING When Katrina Horton’s daughter Adrianna, who’s in eighth grade at Isaac Litton Middle Prep, starts homeroom, teachers ask a series of questions to check in and see what kind of headspace the kids are in. A lot of them, including Adrianna, say they feel stressed. “My daughter put her response and she was like ‘I don’t like it. It’s very frustrating, stressful,’” Horton says. “I looked through the discussion board and everybody that had posted on that, all the kids are saying is ‘I don’t like it. I’m ready to come

to school in person.’” Horton is encouraged by the attention to mental health. “They’re keeping them really engaged to try and figure out what their mental state is,” she says. The Horton household has three work stations, mom in the living room and daughter in the kitchen and two-year-old younger brother K’saun at the miniature desk. They all work simultaneously, especially now that K’saun’s daycare had an outbreak and Horton has opted to keep him home while she works from home. Horton works as a paraprofessional at Metro Nashville Public Schools, providing individual support for kids with disabilities. Like she does with her students, she’s taking a hands-on approach to making sure Adrianna stays on task. “My child has a hard time focusing even in the classroom sometimes. Now with virtual, just within the first two days, I’m seeing that I’m going to have to stay on her myself to make sure she’s paying attention in class.” Adriana has ADHD and is on an Individualized Education Plan because of it. In a classroom setting, she would get pulled out of class for individual help. Horton is most worried about her getting the kind of social support she needs. She’s encouraged by the fact that her online classes are smaller than usual, and

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those classmates have IEPs too. She just would have liked to see Metro get more of a head start, and offer parents test runs to adapt to virtual schooling. “I’m not faulting them,” Horton says. “I just feel like they could have been better prepared. I want to hold them accountable just like I’m going to be held accountable for my daughter. I’m holding the school board more accountable than the teachers themselves, because they can only do what the school board ordered.” School got off to a rough start for the Horton family. On the first day, Metro’s system crashed and Adriana’s computer glitched. The only class she made it to was the last class of the day, physical education. It got smoother as days went by. Throughout the time leading up to and after school started back, Horton has been active on facebook. She’s found support from other moms there. One called to talk her through setting up a hotspot. Other parents who have children with ADHD and the like chimed in on her posts. With virtual school continuing for the foreseeable future, parents, teachers and students will need to lean on each others’ strengths. “We all gotta support each other,” Horton says.

LOCAL ACTIVISM

Over 60 days of peaceful protest and occupation of Ida B. Wells Plaza for systemic racism and police violence culminates with a powerful final demonstration and act of civil disobedience. Where 16 civil rights activists handcuffed themselves to the Capitol to protest the bill HB8005 being passed by the state legislature and Gov. Bill Lee. This bill further penalizes nonviolent means of protest, making sit-ins like this a felony, punishable up to six years in prison and privation of voting rights. “These bills were written in direct response to our occupation and in reaction to the momentum our movement has gained,” says activist Emily Radigan. The activists remained handcuffed for 7 hours, until 11 p.m. when state troopers came out of the Capitol to arrest them. Leaving close to 190 arrests of peaceful protestors during this two-month sit-in. BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOS BY DAVID PIÑEROS | COLOR PHOTOS BY ALVINE

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INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF STREET PAPERS

TOP LEFT: Dr. Joseph Varon, 58, the chief medical officer at United Memorial Medical Center, hugs Christina Mathers, 43, a nurse from his team who became infected with COVID-19, at United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC), during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Houston, Texas, U.S., July 25, 2020. Mathers was told she tested positive for COVID-19 after she reported feeling ill during one of her shifts. “That’s the hardest thing to ever hear... It messes with you,” said Mathers, who has been working every other day since April 29. “But I wouldn’t go anywhere else but here.” TOP RIGHT: Dr. Joseph Varon, 58, the chief medical officer at United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC), goes over the files of patients infected with COVID-19, at a daily meeting with his team of healthcare workers, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at UMMC, in Houston, Texas, U.S., July 17, 2020. “I’m afraid that at some point in time I’m going have to make some very serious decisions,” Varon said. “I’m starting to get the idea that I cannot save everybody.” BOTTOM LEFT:SENSITIVE MATERIAL. THIS IMAGE MAY OFFEND OR DISTURB The body of a patient, who died during an intubation procedure, is prepared by nurses to be transported to a morgue, at United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC), during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Houston, Texas, U.S., July 17, 2020. BOTTOM RIGHT: 3: A death note written by Dr. Joseph Varon, the chief medical officer at United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC), about a COVID-19 patient who died while being intubated, is pictured at UMMC, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Houston, Texas, U.S., July 17, 2020. REUTERS/CALLAGHAN O’HARE

‘I cannot save everybody’: Houston doctor fights newest COVID-19 surge BY MARIA CASPANI The scene inside United Memorial Medical Center in Houston has become all too familiar: Overwhelmed medical staff fighting to curb the wave of COVID-19 patients that come through the hospital’s doors every day. While in earlier pandemic hot spots like New York the medical emergency has subsided, Texas is among the many US states battling a resurgence of the virus that is straining their healthcare systems. Dr Joseph Varon, the chief medical officer of United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC), said he is afraid he will soon face a dilemma many doctors elsewhere said they confronted earlier in the pandemic: Deciding who to save. “I’m afraid that at some point in time I’m going have to make some very serious decisions,” he said in an interview. “I’m starting to get the idea that I cannot save everybody.” Varon, 58, is overseeing the hos-

pital’s unit dedicated to COVID-19 patients, where he said he tends to an average of 40 people a day. He said he signed more death certificates in the last week than at any point in his career. Earlier this month, the lung and critical care specialist was followed on a shift as he hurried through the hallways — a small cohort of nurses and medical students in tow — pausing to inspect X-rays or medical charts and check on patients, at times offering them words of comfort or reaching out to hold their hand. Many of those in Varon’s COVID-19 unit needed nasal tubes to help them breathe, some required intubation. In the afternoon, the physician and his team rushed to resuscitate a patient, performing CPR on the man who was later pronounced dead. Medical personnel covered his body in white sheets and wrapped it in a

biohazard bag. As the coronavirus pandemic that has gripped the nation for months showed little signs of abating, healthcare workers on the frontlines often fall prey to the virus that has killed over 150,000 people in the United States. Varon’s team is no exception. Christina Mathers, a 43-year-old nurse at UMMC, was told she tested positive for COVID-19 after she reported feeling ill during her shift. “That’s the hardest thing to ever hear... it messes with you,” said Mathers, who has been working every other day since 29 April. “But I wouldn’t go anywhere else but here.” Varon, who was a hospital intern when a huge quake struck Mexico City in 1985, said dealing with the virus has been incredibly challenging for medical professionals. “Throughout my life, I have been in major disasters,” he said. “Nothing has been as difficult to deal with (as)

COVID.” Riley Harrison, 67, said he started feeling out of breath at work and that he struggled to get enough air in his lungs to call his wife, who also contracted the virus. Now, they are both hospitalised at UMMC. “I couldn’t breathe,” Riley said in a whisper as oxygen flowed through tubes in his nose. Medical experts and officials have been sounding the alarm on the growing number of young people who are falling ill with COVID-19, warning they should not discount it as a virus dangerous for elderly people alone. Eighteen-year-old Larissa Raudales had trouble breathing and said her lungs hurt when she was taken to UMMC. With medication, she was starting to feel better. “I was terrified... I thought I couldn’t breathe anymore,” she said. “I just thought I was going to practically die right there.”

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Texas, along with California and Florida, has emerged as one of the new national hot spots. In July, the state more than doubled its cases to over 400,000 total. Deaths rose by 32 per cent, or over 1,000 lives lost, [in the last week alone as of publication]. But lately the number of new cases has slowed and hospitalised COVID-19 patients are down from record highs. Dr David Persse, the health authority for the Houston Health Department, said hospitals in the area were “struggling” as they dealt with a shortage of personnel to tackle a crisis that has been dragging out for months. “The people who work in hospitals are exhausted... It takes a physical and an emotional toll on you,” he said. “It’s not always been pretty but it’s been functional, and this is why we call it a disaster.” Courtesy of Reuters / INSP.ngo

MOVING PICTURES

Portrait of an Eccentric Savant A NEW SHORT FILM COMING TO NETFLIX IS COSMICALLY DOWN TO EARTH BY JOE NOLAN, FILM CRITIC The global pandemic sent the whole world to their living room couches where most of us have spent some of our downtime watching films and catching up on streaming series. Movie watching — more than any of the cultural activities that have been disrupted by the various global lockdowns — has made the most-seamless pivot to digital. Of course films regularly stream to home screens following theatrical runs so the movie industry didn’t pivot so much as hop to an already established strategy near the end of a reliable distribution chain. That said, this period has changed the way we look at movies. One of the most interesting developments is the spotlight short films have received as film festivals have gone virtual and short films aren’t programmed against features in competing time slots. “John Was Trying to Contact Aliens” is a new stand-alone short film coming to Netflix this Thursday, Aug. 20. The movie is a portrait of an eccentric electronics savant living in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. John Shepard spent decades marrying this natural facilities with wires and transmitters to his twin passions: music and contacting extraterrestrial aliens. This short picturing of Shepard’s life and work is a melancholy tale about a broken home and an isolated existence, but it’s also a story about perseverance, romantic optimism, and the meaning-making power of a creative life. Director Matthew Killip begins Shepard’s story with his unexpected birth to a young mother and father. Shepard’s dad abandoned the little family, and his mother was unprepared for the responsibilities of raising a child.

Luckily for Shepard, his mother’s parents, his grandparents, stepped in. Shepard never developed a bond with his mother, but his grandparents legally adopted him and provided him with a loving and supportive home to grow up in. As a young man John became obsessed with music and evolved into a dedicated audiophile with sophisticated and far-reaching taste: Shepard shows off selections from his vinyl collection including albums by electronic music bands Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream and Harmonia; Brazillian guitarist Bola Sete and Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti; reggae records by Big Youth, and a selection of Eastern music ranging from Indian ragas to Indonesian Gamelan music. This little film about aliens and alienation features lots of unexpected needle drops, and this short will appeal to Nashville music heads as well as New Age true believers. Shepard’s natural technical skills reach their zenith in the construction of a two-stories-high radio tower in his grandparents’ front yard. Much of the rest of the house is taken-over by primitive computers, technical monitors, and shining panels festooned with blinking lights, plugs, switches and wires. Killip uses lots of vintage photos and footage of young John playing cosmic deejay, sending his musical message buzzing — literally — beyond the moon. The images and footage are married with interviews of Shepard in the present day, recalling his project and his coming of age in rural Northern Michigan. Shepard was obviously an eccentric young man, but by the time he was a preteen he also realized that

he was gay. And the film’s central theme is about being an alien — whether a monster from another world or a person who doesn’t fit into the prescribed behaviors and beliefs of a small isolated community right here on Earth. Killip folds these two ideas together with a deft eye and a delicate hand that lets all of the fascinating facets of his subject’s personality emerge naturally. The result is a portrait of an artist of a kind who has to reach out for another world before he finds his footing in his own shoes.

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“John Was Trying to Contact Aliens” comes to Netflix on Thursday, Aug. 20 Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.

FUN

HOBOSCOPES LEO

What’s your greatest fear, Leo? Mine’s plesiosaurs. You know, those giant, long-necked aquatic reptiles that lived millions of years ago? Anytime I go to a beach or a lake or, honestly, a swimming pool, I have at least some moment where I’m afraid a giant dinosaur head is about to crane-up out of the water and start chomping on my friends and loved ones. So, this is obviously very unlikely, but it’s a fear. It’s valid to have a fear even if the thing you’re afraid of is just about impossible. So what do we do with our fears, Leo? We feel them, and then we let them go. Acknowledge it and then let it swim out to sea, like so many plesiosaurs.

VIRGO

If you happen to be in New York, Virgo, and if you want to get a letter to San Francisco, and if the year happens to be 1861 (I realize this is highly unlikely) then you might try sending your letter by the Pony Express. Their roughand-ready team of able-bodied horsemen guarantee delivery in as little as 10 days for just $1! Of course, if it isn’t 1861, you’re out of luck, because the Pony Express went out of business after 18 months of operation. It reminds me, Virgo, that timing really is everything. Take advantage of the opportunities in front of you today. Tomorrow, it might be 1861 (though, again, this seems highly unlikely).

LIBRA

If you’ve never had a kidney stone, Liba, you really aren’t missing much. People talk about the pain, and, yes, there is pain. What you don’t hear about so much is the waiting. Passing a stone takes time. Sure, eventually it will happen. And yes, things will get better after it does. But there’s not much you can do right now but stay hydrated and wait. And wait. And drink some more water. And wait. This too shall pass.

SCORPIO

If you remember your Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, Scorpio, then you know that it was always a highlight to receive a visit from Mr. McFeeley. “Speedy delivery! Speedy delivery!” was his welcome call each time he arrived with a box or an envelope that was sure to contain some exciting new curiosity. Mr. Rogers, of course, was always interested in the contents of the package, but also always slowed down for a conversation with the delivery man. I was thinking, Scorpio, that you’ve got a lot of curiosity too. Take the time to ask questions and look closely. Not every delivery has to be so speedy.

SAGITTA R IUS

“Underpromise and overdeliver.” That’s what my dad used to tell me, Sagittarius. He’s good at that. He never commits to more than he can take on and he always comes through with more than was expected. I’m less good at that. Right now I’m just working on the part where I deliver at all. You might relate, Sagittarius. It’s a tough time to get anything done. Maybe today you can just finish something you already started. Even if it’s just the leftover ravioli in the fridge.

CAPRICORN

Herodotus, the ancient Greek who is considered by many to be the first historian, was fascinated by the Persian system of mail delivery. Stations were placed throughout the region where men and horses would wait, passing a package from one to the other and riding at top speed until they reached the next station and passed it on. Herodotus observed that the riders were “stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed.” Sometimes you need to pass the mission to the next rider, Capricorn. You’ll know when.

ARIES

You know what they say, Aries, “give a man a fish.” And the more I think about it, the more I think that’s a great idea. Fish are high in protein, vitamin D, omega 3s, riboflavin. Oh! They also make great pets! Watching fish swim can reduce stress and kids can learn a lot about responsibility by caring for one. I could go on. I mean, if you’ve got a fish to give, really, why not, Aries? I mean, what were you gonna do with all those fish anyway?

TAURUS

If you’ve read Thomas Pynchon’s debut novella “The Crying of Lot 49” you might remember the acronym “W.A.S.T.E.” This of course stands for “We Await Silent Tristero’s Empire” and it refers to an 18th century feud between two opposing european postal carriers. When the protagonist of Pynchon’s book becomes aware of this obscure bit of history, she begins seeing clues everywhere that make her believe it’s crucially significant. But is it? Sometimes, Taurus, information is just information. Sometimes the less convoluted story is the real story.

AQUA RIUS

I’m spending too much time on social media these days, Aquarius. I’m pretty much caught up on the political views of every person I ever went to school with, worked a shift with, or attended amateur astrology conferences with. Turns out, I agree with some of those people some of the time. Turns out, I disagree with some of those people some of the time, too. But why does it matter, Aquarius? None of these people are actually in my life. They’re just little pictures on a screen. This week, Aquarius, have a conversation with somebody about something you both care about. Talk and listen. Not for the crowd, for each other

PISCES

When I was a teenager, all my friends wanted fast cars. Short cars with spoilers and curves and glossy bright paint. All I wanted was a Grunman LLV. If you’re not familiar, the Grunman Long Life Vehicle (LLV) is the most common truck used by the United States Postal Service. You’ve seen them. It’s boxy and slow and the steering wheel is on the wrong side so you can drive while you reach out to mailboxes. I liked the Grunman because it was built to last upwards of 20 years. This week, Pisces, ask yourself if your decisions should be made for speed or made for longevity.

GEMINI

I signed up for one of those services that sends you a box of produce every week that was rejected by grocery stores for being the wrong shape or size or color. Like, they sent me a bunch of tiny, yellow tomatoes that are kind of pointy but they’re delicious. It reminded me of you, Gemini. Because, of course, you are exactly the right fit, the perfect companion, the ideal candidate. But I know you’ve been turned down sometimes, too. I just want you to remember that those grocery stores didn’t deserve you.

CANCER

It’s hot out there, Cancer, and the days are long. But for some reason I’ve been thinking about the 1947 classic holiday film Miracle on 34th Street. You know the part where they put Santa Claus on trial and threaten to lock him up for believing that he’s Santa Claus but then the postal service delivers hundreds of letters to the courtroom that are addressed to Santa Claus, thus proving that he must really be Santa Claus? Sometimes, Cancer, you tell people who you are and they don’t believe you. Sometimes you have to prove it.

Mr. Mysterio is not a licensed astrologer, an verified affidavit, or a registered Santa Claus. 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

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VENDOR WRITING

The Challenges of Virtual Learning BY NORMA B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

THEME: FOOTBA LL ACROSS 1. It may be fixed or blank 6. Sometimes appears between dogs 9. Wild West card game 13. Deprived of a limb 14. Go wrong 15. ____ and tattooed 16. Tsar’s edict 17. Waikiki garland 18. Propelled like Argo 19. *Last year’s Super Bowl MVP 21. *Recipient of this year’s first pick 23. Madame Tussauds’ medium 24. Jack’s legume 25. Communications regulator, acr. 28. Dry as dust 30. Echo 35. Yours and mine 37. Cold War enemies, slang 39. Common candle shape 40. Home of the Utes 41. Shinbone

43. Scotia preceder 44. Furiously angry 46. Like watching paint dry 47. Gulf War missile 48. Oozed 50. Clump 52. Yo 53. Common allergens 55. Not color but ____ 57. *The goal 61. *Primary football unit 65. Boy Scout’s ____ badge 66. Pod dweller 68. Word of mouth 69. All worked up 70. Poetic “ever” 71. Home to largest mammal 72. Threads 73. *Defensive ____ 74. Locomotes DOWN 1. Millionaire’s turf, according to 2009 Oscar-winner 2. Bangladeshi currency

3. Wet nurse 4. Plant again 5. Swellings 6. Elvers 7. ‘re 8. Human social group 9. *Yellow and unwanted 10. Saint’s “headdress” 11. Movie spool 12. *Vegas numbers 15. Laura Ingalls’ hat 20. Make an effort 22. Organ of balance 24. Sleep disrupters 25. *Encroachment and false start, e.g. 26. Type of mandarin 27. Have a hankering 29. *2020 Super Bowl winning coach 31. VSCO girl’s favorite shoe brand 32. Geologic period 33. Variety show 34. *Patriot no more 36. Pinta or Santa Maria, e.g. 38. Perfect houseplant spot 42. *____ Bowl, college game 1982-2000 45. Indicate 49. What Dundee and Dunedin have in common 51. *Last year’s Heisman winner 54. Conical dwelling 56. Draw a conclusion 57. Do like exhaust pipe 58. Evil Roman emperor 59. What oxen do to plows 60. Acne symptoms 61. *One of ten needed for first down 62. Church echo 63. Provoke or annoy 64. European sea eagles 67. Poetic “even”

On Aug. 3, my home like so many others in our area was turned into a classroom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. My granddaughter, who is somewhat of a tech wiz, seems to be adapting to “the new norm,” but even she admits it’s hard. She’s in a new school this year. She had a difficult time at DuPont Tyler last year, so I applied to Strive Collegiate Academy and thankfully she was accepted. They provided a Chromebook for her to do her schoolwork. She has a totally different schedule than last year. Her school day goes from 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. with two breaks: One in the morning and one in the afternoon for lunch, Monday through Thursday. Each class has its own Zoom ID and passcode and the students are expected to join at specified times just as if they were in a literal classroom. You can monitor your child’s progress through an app. On Friday’s they have “asynchronous learning,” where they study on their own, and their assignments are posted on Google classroom, and are due by 4 p.m. The teachers maintain office hours to help students if needed. I’m a little concerned about this one, because she’s not exactly self-motivated to do it on her own. I’m always having to remind her to do her work. I feel like a broken record, and this is only the first week — she was off last Friday for a teacher planning day. On Fridays parents also receive a corner ticket with detailed information about how your student is doing, including comments from the teachers. A couple of them have recognized her as a “rockstar” because of the way she participates in class. (It’s nice that they recognize what I’ve known for years.) Each week the student receives a “paycheck” based on their level of participation in each of their classes. (I’m not quite sure how that part works just yet.) A new school, a new schedule, and a new way

of learning due to the Coronavirus would’ve each been stressful on their own, but to happen all at once? That’s a lot for anyone to handle, much less an 11 year old child! During her breaks we’ve been having a Home Economics / FFA / crafts class of sorts where we cook lunch — tacos, stroganoff, spaghetti, etc. She’s done some gardening with her mom — she’s most proud of her tomatoes (even though she doesn’t eat them), and she loves to paint! As for me, how am I holding up in all this? I must admit I’ve enjoyed hearing her actively participate in her classes, but I’m NOT tech savvy. More like tech challenged, so it’s been a lot to take in. For starters, it took me four tries to submit her registration paperwork! After the school year started they sent me a similar packet, and that one only took me two tries to submit. I suppose that’s progress. With all those apps and other “stuff ” necessary for virtual learning I’ve often found myself wondering, just who is in school here? From 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Monday - Thursday I do my best to make sure she’s where she needs to be “virtually.” (Honesty, that’s about ALL I can do for her with the advent of Common Core and “New Math.”) Friday is a work in progress, which means I’m NOT selling papers. I’m considering going out after 3:30 p.m. a few days a week at least until daylight savings time ends on Nov. 1, but I’m not sure. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. For now, it looks like I’ll be limited to Saturday and Sunday and I rarely do two days in a row because it’s hard for me, but her needs have to come first. I understand why schools have delayed the start of in-person classes for the health and safety of children and educators, but I do hope that one day soon they can have hybrid classes, so that our lives can resume some normalcy for parents and children.

Keeping Your Eye on the Lord JOHN H., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR Just the other day, I got on the bus and after paying fare this guy I saw which I’ve seen quite a few times stared as he smiled as always. He congratulated me on my smile. I sit, and he went on to tell me that, “I see he’s a part of you too!” At the time I was kinna shocked because I didn’t know what exactly he meant. Then he got up and took off his necklace which had a cross on it and smiled. I immediately pulled the string to get off ‘cause I felt tears about to come down. After exiting, tears of joy took over as I sit on the bus bench. A lady in a Range Rover saw me and pulled in the lot to park. She asked if I was OK and I went on to tell her what happened. Afterward, I guess then it was two of us sitting in tears. Amazing how sometimes we feel kinna down

PAGE 16 | August 19 - September 2, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

or maybe just don’t feel like going to work and God picks you up with delightedness and puts on your heart such great joy. I was in not such a good move because one of my hating roommates broke my sunglasses and punched a hole in my water jug and that kinna spoiled my morning. Upon taking steps to my corner, a customer pulled up and handed me two ice cold cokes. The next customer pulled up and had purchased me a watermelon and handed me twenty bucks. It just goes to show when you do good, good follows. I spent another couple hours on the corner and decided to leave because of the heat. Walking to the bus stop, one of my best customers stopped and gave me a ride, plus a six pack of Sprite. Now that’s what I called a great day. Not hesitating a bit to keep my eye on the Lord.

VENDOR WRITING

LOCATED IN SPACE ADRIFT IN TIME JEN A.

The chair Found by the side of the road Hauled through time On the strong frame of a bicycle To a room I sit My mind travels Zigging and zagging Through the past At the speed of light Until confronted at the Fluttering dark, uncertain curtain Of the future

Things Change WILLIAM B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR I’m coming to you to try to tell you how much things have changed over the years. I remember when I was a child, I used to play kick the bucket, hide the handkerchief, red rover. Things have changed so much, you just don’t hear those games anymore that we used to play back when we were young. When I was young in school, we got those weekly readers. The future things I saw back in those days, they’re here. Microwaves, cell phones — those were in those weekly readers back in the ’60s. I said, ‘oh

no,l... this will never happen.’ I remember when I was a child, I was born into church because my mom and dad were both members of a church. It was my daddy’s brother’s church. Uncle Koger was his name. When my oldest brother got murdered that changed my mother and my dad’s point on the Lord Jesus Christ. They couldn’t understand why they took their son, my brother. He was 15 years old when he got murdered. This really hurt the family. It took a year, actually, before it hit me and when it did it

hit me very hard. Caused me to be locked up in a mental institution for 10 years, from age 7 to 17. Over the years some things have been so good to me, some things have been so bad. I’ve had more bad than good. It seems like it should have evened out but I don’t think it will now. I’m 71 years old now. I’m doing what I always wanted to do, playing music. I still sing a little bit. I got me a wonderful church called Ethos. I love them all to death. Of course I miss them because of this Corona thing going on.

I don’t know what to do, because I don’t want to lose my church family, and I’m so afraid this Corona could take us all out. I’m thinking what we all really need to do is get down on our knees and pray the Lord Jesus Christ does away with this here Corona. One of the good things in my life is this Contributor newspaper. Now that I’m with The Contributor, I love it. I love meeting people from all over the United States and some other countries. Some of them do interviews with me and ask, “what’s

my story?” And I tell them my story and they’re amazed. I’m in the process of writing a book based on my life story. I can’t remember the things going on in my life today, but I can remember a lot of things from my past because I have a lot of post-traumatic stress in my life. Those things I want to forget, but I can’t. I’m not going to quit. I would be happy if I just died on the streets playing music, or in the church. With the Lord Jesus Christ in my heart, things will change.

get constraints. The mayor has said it time and time again. He had to raise taxes. He didn’t want to, but he had to raise taxes. You lose a lot of houses, and you’re going to have to raise taxes again because you’re losing your tax base. I’d like to see the city do more. They have vacant buildings, vacant land. If they’re big enough, convert it into apartments. You don’t have to charge a lot of rent, but you could take some of that money and put it back into the city. There were 2,016 homeless

counted (in this year’s Point-In-Time count). I don’t think they counted them right. I think there’s more. I think you’re going to see more and more homeless camps. I understand the coronavirus. I understand the mayor talking about it twice a week, and giving the statistics on that. The news, they put out numbers every day. We need to find out how many are homeless, that are newly homeless. We need to find out what the statistics are, because I think it’s going up and up.

Start Thinking About Evictions PAUL A., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR How many people are going to be evicted that have mortgages or rent to pay? And they’re not working. They say homelessness is a paycheck away. That was told to me last year, and that stuck in my head. I do believe it. If I didn’t have what I got coming in each month, I could be a check away from homelessness again. There could be families affected, people with kids! And then we’re going to have a pandemic in this city and in this state with homelessness.

It’ll be widespread like the virus. It’s going to add to the pandemic we already got. Crime is going to go up. These people are not going to know what to do. The resources for the people who are homeless right now are dried up, pretty much. Somewhere in the back of my head, I can see it coming. It’s coming faster than a lot of people think. And a lot of people aren’t thinking about it. I’ve been there. I don’t want to see anybody go through it. Especially people with kids, because the state’s

going to step in and take these kids. I see it coming. They need to figure out what they’re going to do. You’ve got nonprofits involved, but they only get their funding once a year, and their funding is going to run out quick. They don’t have enough money, I don’t think, to cover everything that’s coming. So what are we going to do? I want to know what the city, and the state, and the county are going to do to help. I know they have bud-

August 19 - September 2, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 17

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...

L a N ticia 2020

GRATIS

Agosto#2

Escanee esta imagen para ver La Noticia newspaper edición bilingüe digital

www.hispanicpaper.com

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

Año 18 - No. 312

Nashville, Tennessee

Bolivia: El Engaño a su Pueblo, la lucha es común

¿Que es lo que está pasando en Bolivia y por que nadie habla de ello?; Pero sobretodo, ¿Por qué necesitamos saber de lo que pasa en Bolivia si estamos en Estados Unidos?

Sobre el engaño a su propia población, los panelistas estaban de acuerdo en que

las calles reflejan las resquebraduras sociales que existen en Bolivia. La pelea entre dos Bolivias: una atada aún a los valores coloniales apoyando el gobierno de Jeanine Áñez, y otra progresista o en representación de la Indigeneidad y la lucha por su soberanía protestando por realizar las elecciones en la fecha más pronta. Pero en lo que no estaban de acuerdo los panelistas es si esta parte de la población que protesta está representada por Evo Morales y el partido el MAS. Para Jorge Mendoza, artista y autor del mural patrimonio “Juana Azurduy la guerrillera del pueblo” y quien además tuvo que huir de la dictadura para sobrevivir en 1979; “Evo Morales y otros líderes que se proclaman así mismos “indígenas” no lo son realmente pues tienen orígenes privilegiados en la sociedad y están asociados al narcotráfico que tanto afecta al campesinado.” En su opinión, Mendoza indica que los intereses indígenas se ven manipulados por otros intereses económicos de los representantes. Sin embargo, Álvaro Segovia, agrónomo y sociólogo quien además es docente de la primera univer-

sidad Indígena en Bolivia piensa de manera muy diferente: para él los años del MAS con Evo Morales representaron grandes avances en la restauración del poder de los pueblos indígenas en Bolivia. Sin precedentes, líderes indígenas ahora ocupan cargos públicos que antes eran inimaginables, “incluso los ministerios han sido ocupados por criterios de representación de las bases de las organizaciones indígenas”-asegura él. Bolivianos(as) o no , usted puede ejercer su pensamiento crítico y tomar su propia posición y así como lo dijo Jorge Mendoza, “llevar su lucha desde su trinchera , desde lo que uno haga mejor, puede dedicarle unas horas, unos días, unos meses o años pero apoyando a la causa” que usted crea justa. Albert Bender, activista de la Nación Cherokee, historiador y reportero político para el periódico en línea PeoplesWorld fue quien tuvo la idea de hacer esta conversación de mesa redonda. El expresa su solidaridad con los pueblos indígenas en Bolivia y afirma que la lucha es común. Pueblos indígenas en todo el Hemisferio luchan para reclamar

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

w w w . j u a n e s e . c o m

PAGE 18 | August 19 - September 2, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

Summer 2020, Pivoting through the COVID Cascading Crisis. By Major Ethan Frizzell, The Salvation Army - 615.933.9305

We have all moved from a New Normal, Now Normal, and planning for the Next Normal. We have all struggled together through this cascading crisis...a health pandemic, economic pandemic, and now a family toxic stress challenge in the midst of the education pandemic. Many now wonder when they might just feel normal again. Within every pandemic is another round of pain, frustration and brokenness. However, within every round of pandemic, there are also public heroes that live as Servants of Hope. Thank you to those who face uncertainty and pain with courage and hope. In April of 1891, a year after The Salvation Army came to Nashville, Professor Ely of John Hopkins University reviewed the popularity of The Salvation Army. While his review was extensive, his conclusion was simple. The Salvation Army lives out what they believe in and for the public. I believe this is also the strength of our Volunteer State. There is a social expectation to live out our shared values and goals. Professor Ely challenged our country during these difficult years, “Self-sacrifice, enjoined by true Christianity is the neglected social force that solves social problems.” While this was noted as an attribute of The Salvation Army and is a continued whisper of history, it can be found throughout our community. Might self-sacrifice, volunteering, speaking, and wearing hope, be the social force that can solve today’s social problems? Each of these actions is courageous and contagious. Let’s be clear, we are all contagious. We can spread the toxic stress of the cascading crisis or the hope that inspires self-sacrifice that can solve today’s social problems. Please Tennesseans, volunteer to spread HOPE.

August 19 - September 2, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 19

The Contributor: Aug. 19, 2020

Articles inside

Vendor Art & Writing

Vendor Writing

HOBOSCOPES

Portrait of an Eccentric Savant

‘I cannot save everybody’: Houston doctor fights newest COVID-19 surge

Nonprofit Spotlight

NEWS BRIEFS

Vendor Spotlight

HOME WORK