VENDOR WRITING
Hadley Park Part 2 BY VICK Y B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR
THEME: THE 1970S ACROSS 1. Muscular contraction 6. D.C. mover and shaker 9. “That was close!” 13. Blood circulation organ 14. FEMA provisions, e.g. 15. Not bob, to a boxer 16. Like a whistle? 17. UN labor org. 18. Speck in the ocean 19. *Fallen South Vietnamese capital 21. *War movie and Oscar-winner 23. Once around 24. Hippocrates’ promise 25. Ribonucleic acid 28. Bakery unit 30. Foliage vein 35. In fine fettle 37. Scoop or skinny 39. Nephew’s sister 40. “Metamorphoses” poet 41. *ABBA’s genre 43. Thailand money 44. Temporarily ban 46. Way to fry
47. Jamie Fraser of “Outlander” 48. *”The Gods Themselves” author 50. Romanov ruler 52. Give it a go 53. It prevents objectivity 55. Brewed beverage 57. *First U.S. space station 60. *Mr. Jefferson 63. Nest for an eagle 64. Between Fla. and Miss. 66. Cold cream brand 68. Does like some coffee makers 69. Tasseled hat 70. Not snail mail 71. Back talk 72. *Nicklaus’ peg 73. Smartly dressed DOWN 1. Anatomical pouch 2. Plural of #6 Across 3. ____ 51, Nevada 4. *”____way to Heaven” 5. Feed beet
6. Some have a high tolerance for it 7. *1973 ____ crisis 8. *Oliver Sacks’ “Awakenings” drug 9. Boll weevil, e.g. 10. Saintly sign 11. Like never-losing Steven 12. Kind of nurse 15. Not outside 20. Egg-shaped 22. Cash dispenser 24. Compensating equivalents 25. *”The Mary Tyler Moore Show” spin-off 26. Center of a church, pl. 27. Defendant’s excuse 29. Black tropical cuckoo 31. “I call first ____!” 32. Undergo a chemical reaction 33. Blood of the Greek gods 34. *First Lady, familiarly 36. Dutch export 38. South American wood sorrels 42. Talk like Demosthenes 45. Paso ____, CA 49. By means of 51. Go back into business 54. Behind a stern 56. Pleasant odor 57. Serum, pl. 58. *Cheryl Ladd on “Charlie’s Angels” 59. Golfer’s dread 60. Fixed look 61. Flying biter 62. Blue pencil mark 63. Internet pop-ups 65. *”Enter the Dragon” star 67. *”Rocky” star’s nickname
It’s been wonderful, during the last two weeks, to see all the maintenance staff cleaning every nook and cranny of Hadley Park. From the elevators right down to each floor being mopped daily. What I assume are temps have come in and cleaned up the grounds of empty beer bottles, trash and misc items. I was even shocked to see the f loors getting buffed out one afternoon. The office had been opened each and every day as well, giving the presence of management in the building. Maybe my previous article was good for the community, or so I thought. Early this morning while waiting for the elevator, a resident got off and spewed the most vulgar profanity at me saying that I, “needed to go.” My first thought was, “OK, she’s off her meds.” It turned out to be much more. About an hour later a friend had told me the article I wrote had been taped up in the elevator with the words, “Vicky Batcher needs to go,” and posted my apartment number. Feeling threatened and intimidated, I told the office lady what happened. She copied the top portion of the article and said she’d give it to the manager, with an I don’t care type of attitude. My friend followed up with the office lady and she said that there was nothing really wrong with what was written on it and that it was freedom of speech. She went on to say that, “Anyone at any time can post whatever they like, it’s called freedom of speech.” When my friend told me, I was horrified. By posting it in the elevator, this was at the very least
intimidation and bullying. After speaking with MNPD on the phone, they have said that this doesn’t fall in the parameters of “intimidation” or “bullying,” however they could do something if I was assaulted. What a comfort. What a feeling of safety and security that MNPD gives citizens — tax paying citizens. I think I’ll have my son look around for some pepper spray for my protection. A fellow writer once said that we live in the looney bin. I’m believing it now more than ever.
Observations about being homeless during COVID-19 BY MAURICE B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR If there has ever been a time in a person’s life that they have been voracious towards different circumstances and situations, well, these are those times again. Times of being packed up on one another and “eating greedy.” The gimme, gimme, gimme, push, push, push, take, take, take. (As the famous — but late may he R.I.P. — Tupac Shakur once proclaimed.) The scheme of it all is that the rich individuals shall find the means to continue to stay and keep getting rich as all the other individuals will continue to struggle or begin to struggle. As homelessness and death counts rise all over the world, some rich individuals are in well off positions. In their debates of the well being of many individual’s lives, they define what “well-being” is and decide if they should assist those that aren’t established as they are to keep things in what they believe is a substantial way to give help or better yet manage only a certain class of human creation. For so many years we’ve seen people face the true epidemic of poverty, and there hasn’t been any major solutions except the actions of moving individuals around, or on top of one another, which brings about more and more corrupt mindsets and actions.The homeless are now living during today’s COVID-19
PAGE 16 | October 28 - November 11, 2020 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
epidemic, which kills off the weak and less fortunate. Yes, the epidemic will hit and take a toll on a small percentage of those that are or were seemed to be in good standards, but that is only to show that it wasn’t predigested to color nor age. The homeless still struggle to find ways to survive, but because they had to live a rugged means before and some on a multiple of occasions the ole saying will remain in many individuals’ minds, “if it doesn’t kill’em it will only make us stronger.” The way homeless people have survived and lived before and after other epidemics in their lives is the way homeless people strive to live through this one. One moment, one hour, one day at a time. When times get too rough most homeless individuals will step things up another notch or degree. See, that’s the hard part for those that are willing to assist because that’s when the aim or target becomes them. That’s all a part of the dog eat dog world where the rich already know that individuals sit outside their offices waiting for scraps, but would actually gnaw their hands off because of the ways they treat them. So by the rich individuals playing the control game of when and if there is going to be relief, the homeless have to ponder over if they must act fast with deep survival tactics?
