The Contributor: December 19, 2018

5

Moving Pictures

IN THE ISSUE

10

We Remember

Nashvillians gathered to remembered the 127 members of the homeless community who passed in 2018.

11

22

Family Reunion

Contributor vendor, "Blind" Mike reconnects with his daughter after 14 years apart. and thinking he may never get to see her again.

Power of Love

A Big Issue Australia vendor wedding brings joy, hope, love and tears to the bride, groom, and all in attendance.

Contributors This Issue

Amanda Haggard • Linda Bailey • Joe Nolan • Michael “Smiley” G. • Ron D. • Bronson H. • Dale L. • Ken J. • Gary E

• John H. • Candy L. • John B. • Harold B. • Anthony “The Nailer” G. • Dwayne B. • Mary B. • William B. • Norma B. • Merrill B. • Vicky B. • Blind Mike • Amy Hetherington • Alvine • Hans-Albrecht Lusznat • Mr. Mysterio

Contributor Volunteers

Cathy Jennings

• Tom Wills • Joe First

• Andy Shapiro • Ann Bourland • Linda Miller • Patti George • Michael Reilly • John Jennings • Barbara Womack • Amanda Haggard • Linda Bailey • Colleen Kelly • Janet Kerwood • Logan Ebel • Bruce Doeg

• Demetria Kalodimos, Christine Doeg • Laura Birdsall • Vanessa Perez • Nancy Kirkland

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

Mailng Address

The Contributor P.O. Box 332023, Nashville, TN 37203 Editor’s Office: 615.499.6826 Vendor Office: 615.829.6829

Proud Member of:

Printed at:

Follow The Contributor:

Copyright © 2018 The Contributor, Inc. All rights reserved.

Andrew Krinks Editor Emeritus

Dennis Hopper's bizarre The Last Movie has been gorgeously restored and released in a deluxe Blu-ray edition.

HAPPY TO CONTRIBUTE HOW YOU CAN HELP

KEEP BUYING THE PAPER. Every paper counts. Every issue you purchase, take and read is a part of their success story.

VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME. Our vendor office is a great place to get to know vendors. We have no employees and we're entirely managed and distributed by volunteers, Go to thecontributor.org/volunteer to find out how to volunteer.

CHAMPION. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Share your stories about interacting with vendors on social media.

GIVE. Our newspaper and vendor services program depends on the community — on you — committing to our vendors. Go to thecontributor.org/donation to pledge your support.

PHOTOS BY JOHN JENNINGS

BY INSP NEWS SERVICE

Hus Forbi vendor Jette went bankrupt and left everything behind after as a result of a violent relationship. Now she, and many of her friends, are homeless and street paper vendors. In the summer, they go to marketplaces around Denmark. She used to be a teacher, and plays piano and accordion. She mentions two favorite pieces of music. “‘Tango Jalousie’, by the Danish composer Jacob Gade, is a wonderful piece of music to play on the piano,” she says.

“Another is ‘Barcelona’, as performed by Queen frontman Freddie Mercury and opera singer Montserrat Caballé. It is just a beautiful song, and they perform it perfectly.”

Ion and Mariana Vasi are husband and wife. They came to Denmark to work in the service sector, while their

families in Romania take care of their children. Mariana was blighted by a life-changing illness and they lost their jobs. Now they live in an old car and have been the selling Hus Forbi as their primary source of income in Aarhus. They are both descended from musicians. Mariana is actually a good singer and Ion plays accordion brilliantly. However, they sense that Danes do not like street musicians, so they prefer to be vendors. “If not for music I could not live,” Ion says. “My favorite piece of music is ‘La Paloma’ (or ‘No More’, as performed by Elvis Presley). I love to play it. Music is an international language — it is everybody’s mother tongue.” Maria used to sing at weddings as a child. She still sings while Ion plays the accor-

dion. Her favorite song is ‘Besame mucho’ by Diana Krall. Ravn became homeless as 17 year old and has been on and off the streets ever since. Ravn’s guitar is the ultimate street guitar. Ravn was travelling in Spain with his partner, Andy. They got the guitar from a man on the street. Then Andy decorated the guitar. ‘’We are all eternal children. As an adult, you get stuck, and you just have to be in a certain way. I’ve played the guitar since I was 13. I played the guitar with my left hand but changed to the right.” When asked what music means to him, Ravn says: “It means therapy — play without boundaries and creativity.

My favourite artist is David Bowie. Right now, it’s ‘Fill Your Heart’ from the album Hunky Dory, which I like best.”

LEFT: 'HUS FORBI' VENDOR MARIANA VASI; MIDDLE: 'HUS FORBI' VENDOR RAVN; RIGHT: 'HUS FORBI' VENDOR ION VASI

‘The Last Movie’

BY JOE NOLAN Film Critic

In 1983, Dennis Hopper drew a crowd at the Big H Speedway in Houston, Texas, where he sat down on six sticks of dynamite, covered himself in a cardboard box, and blew himself up. Hopper emerged from a massive cloud of smoke and debris a little confused, but otherwise unscathed. The “Russian Dynamite Death Chair” act was just one of the bizarre events in the filmmaker’s decades-long, self-destructive swan dive after his directorial debut, Easy Rider, ignited the greatest period in American film.

You might say all the trouble began when Hopper got the chance to make his dream project, The Last Movie, which has just been gorgeously restored and released in a deluxe Blu-ray edition by Arbelos Films. Hopper and a handful of his movie and music pals rode his post-Easy Rider wave of success clear down to Peru where they created a wild and strange western that deconstructed the genre along with Hopper’s career and his psyche.

While watching The Last Movie, it’s important to remember that Hopper cut his teeth as a young actor in the 1950s and 1960s appearing alongside James Dean in both Rebel Without a Cause and Giant, but also being cast in cowboy classics like The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and The Sons of Katie Elder Hopper had a hand in making some of the best westerns of all time and understood the genre inside out, and the high strangeness of The Last Movie is due to Hopper’s deliberate subversion of cowboy cinema conventions.

Hopper plays Kansas, a horse-wrangler

working on a Hollywood western that’s being shot in Peru. This movie-within-the-movie is directed by Samuel Fuller, the actual Hollywood director whose film debut was the Western I Shot Jesse James. This meta layering of intertwining facts and fictions gives The Last Movie a palpable lack of balance that most filmmakers might want to avoid, but Hopper embraces it and seems to delight confusing viewers by using a fractured editing style that exaggerates the frenzied shifting of focus from the movie in his

film’s story, and the movie that’s actually on the screen. Kansas stays in Peru after the film wraps, and when the Peruvian villagers start emulating the western action they’ve witnessed using real bullets, Hopper’s disorienting approach pays off in a surreal skewering of cinema violence.

Of course, most audiences interested in seeing an American western film don’t expect to be confused by the artsy antics of cocaine-fueled madman — Hopper himself described this production as “one long sex-and-drugs orgy.”

The movie won a Critics Prize at the Venice Film Festival before it bombed at the box office, got crushed by the critics, and kept Hopper out of the director’s chair until 1980’s Out of the Blue

The Last Movie is certainly challenging, sometimes monotonous, and often self-indulgent. That said, I love this film’s gorgeous imagery — Hopper and cinematographer Lászlo Kóvács do for the Peruvian Andes what John Ford did for Monument Valley. I also find Hopper’s audacious approach to his traditional genre to be totally exhilarating, and it’s not exaggerating to say that other

groundbreaking experimental westerns like McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid might’ve never been made if not for Hopper and his bizarre and beautiful film.

This new Blu-ray restoration looks incredible, and this music-filled movie — from Peruvian flute songs to Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee” — has never sounded better. The package includes a great little booklet brimming with essays, critical analysis, behind the scenes photos, and film stills. The disc is packed with bonus materials including vintage interviews with Hopper, and a 45-minute documentary about the film featuring The Last Movie’s cast and crew looking back on the making of the film.

Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.

‘THE LAST MOVIE’ IS BEAUTIFUL AND BIZARRE ON BLU-RAY

MEMOIRS OF AN INCONVENIENT

MICHAEL "SMILEY" G.

Agonizingly, old wounds

Re-opened Nights of mindless blanks Waste basket full of broken sentences Type ribbon, hanging like ornaments From its overflowing sides Where did imagination go? A complete white out Like a blizzard of snow A thousand pens run out of ink So many words that found no link Oh the plague that seems not to stop I disdain writer’s block

STREETS

DALE L.

Being on the streets, you must be aware Eventually God will show somewhere to go. Life is tough on the street, sleeping and walkin’ the beat. Be safe and put your faith in God.

WHY CHRISTMAS

MICHAEL "SMILEY" G.

Why Christmas, why do the bells toll with such delight Why Christmas, why does Bethelehem's star shine so bright Why Christmas, why do believers believe with all their might Have you heard, have you seen, have you felt the joyous scene Children laugh, with hearts of joy every girl and every boy Why Christmas? Because today our Savior was born.

GIVING TO OTHERS

RON D.

The holiday season is a happy time Feelings of love and friendship are felt toward mankind With feasting and gifts to the ones we hold dear Laughter and singing and holiday cheer Giving to those less fortunate with glee So other parents can have gifts under their tree Loving and giving is what the season is about The homeless and elderly are in need that’s no doubt Of your kindness and gifts and holiday cheer. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

WINTER TIME

BRONSON H.

Summer is almost over And winter is not far away. It’s fixing to get cold, So get prepared for the day.

Winter can be fun, But it’s also really cold. I can’t wait to see white glistening snow.

FALL RETURNS

GARY E.

NO SHOES

KEN J.

No shoes

Sing the blues Another year Scoff I say Be it as it may We try to hold As the numbers toll Shreds for clothes Bags to be towed Fight off the freeze Wish for a warm breeze And a new pair of shoes Happy New year.

YOU’LL PAY

JOHN H.

Back in the day, I wasted plenty lead As I grow older, I’ve got another chance to clear my head. I try so hard to listen, many times I walk away Like many white cops, they take you for granted, that ends today!!!

Killing in cold blood is just hard to ignore Soon, Jesus just may send a plague to settle the score Like many, they think they’ve gotten away May feel good to you right now, but the day will come you’ll pay.

Fall is here

And summer is gone, Trees lose their green But not for long. Winter is right after And the snow begins I love the cold I wish it would never end.

FINDING YOUR WAY

CANDY L.

Finding your way not an easy task Which path to take What decisions to make The people you choose to have in your life

Take baby steps when necessary Take big steps when you know you can

Don’t let people control the decisions You make when you are on your Right path

Stay strong Keep your faith Believe in yourself

Find your path with determination Don’t give up Remember you are beautiful.

DANCE WITH THE ONE THAT BRUNG YOU

ANTHONY "THE NAILER" G.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. Leave it the same. You don't need to change the game.

From paper to magazine to paper again It's only been two issues and I'm starting to win. I'm able to pay by bills again. Thanks to the staff and volunteers, too. We are glad you are back because we could not make it if it were not for you. Thank you.

WANTED

DWAYNE B.

Vendors who write!

Let’s form a writer’s group. We can meet monthly to read and compare work. Give each other encouragement and criticism. Interested writers contact me through our helpful and friendly staff and volunteers or at dwayne.boggs@gmail.com. Or better yet friend me on facebook.

AGAIN

HAROLD B.

It's that time of the year for us to go in something about what's going on that brings a big grin

Glad to see everybody said it to women and men watch out for ol' St. Nick Merry Xmas... Again

“WAVES AND A SMILE”

BRONSON H.

My waves and smiles are simply free, but my newspapers have a small little fee. Although my customers sometimes disagree, they still get my waves and smiles which are simply free! So to all my customers whether you buy or don’t, I pray my waves and smiles, make you day full of joy and give you peace, love, and happiness with a sense of hope!

ANOTHER DAY

JOHN H.

Sometimes you feel like crying Other times you may feel like lying If you stop and think maybe start to call on Jesus, See what he will say.

Open your eyes, do the right thing hold on till tomorrow, creating a new scene

Be sure talk to God all through the day Slow your roll so you can hear what God says Many times he talks, most the time we don’t listen

So many times we’re too busy to hear we get confused cause some words are missing Anyway don’t stop trying Start to pray He’ll make sure you understand another day

MERRY CHRISTMAS

HAROLD B.

Just like before We’re all here again As we noticed More Smiles than its been.

One thing is sure Nobody will shed a tear Merry Christmas And...A Happy New Year.

WINTER

MARY B.

The Skies are a damp gray The days are getting shorter The trees have almost lost all their color Start to pray He’ll make sure you understand another day

ART BY JOHN B.

Serenaded on the Sidewalk

BY NORMA B. Formerly Homeless Vendor

One day, I was out trying to sell the magazine and I was feeling kind of blah. I was still smiling and waving, but my heart just wasn’t in it. Then, a truck came along, rolled down the window and a young man inside said, “Girl you ain’t never gonna make any money lookin’ like that.”

I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about — I was smiling and waving as usual. He said, “Yeah you’re smiling with your mouth, but your eyes are telling a different story.”

I said, “Haven’t you ever had an off day or a bad week?”

He said, “A week? Oh no! That just ain’t gonna do. I can see that this is going to require an intervention!” As he pulled into the parking lot behind me, I couldn’t help but wonder what he had in mind.

First, he told me to turn off my music. I said, “I thought you wanted me to be happy.” He said, “You’re just gonna have to trust me.” Reluctantly, I did what he asked.

Then he began to sing the song “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction. “Baby you light up [our] world like nobody else,” I giggled. He stopped and said, “What?” I told him those weren’t exactly the words. He interrupted me and said, “Oh like you never change the words in a song?”

I must admit, I do it all the time! Seemingly undeterred, he continued, “The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed.” But then he suddenly stopped again.

I asked him “What’s the matter? Did you forget the words?” He said no and went on to inform me that I wasn’t doing my part.

I replied, “Dude, I’m listening to you. I thought that was my part.” He went on to explain how I needed to do it like when I’m in my chair just listening to my music on a break, or when I’m at the light and I’m trying to get my second wind. Confused and unsure of exactly what he wanted, he finally just blurted out, “You didn’t flip your hair!”

As he began to sing again, I got a nod of approval when I flipped my hair at just the right time as he sang. He continued, “When you smile at the ground it ain’t hard to tell you don’t know, you don’t know you’re beautiful, and that’s what makes you beautiful.”

I gotta tell ya, by now I was smiling at the ground, at him, at well, EVERYTHING. And if I’m honest, probably blushing a little bit too! When he finished, I commended him

for performing a cappella. He quickly responded, “I don’t do any of that fancy stuff.”

Still smiling, I said, “All that means is that you sang without any musical accompaniment.”

Now rather pleased with himself he said, “I guess I did do that, didn’t I?” He then proceeded to get his money out for a magazine “ ‘cuz [he] knew I hadn’t sold any lookin’ like that.” And he was right.

He left me one last bit of instruction, “Now go make that money girl!” I can say I did just that. This time with a genuine smile!

I asked him for his name, but he said I talked to SO many people every day I probably wouldn’t remember. Sadly, that may be true, but one thing’s for sure: I’ll ALWAYS remember being serenaded on the sidewalk!

The Beginning of William B.’s Life

BY WILLIAM B. Homeless Vendor

You can say I was young and into drugs and alcohol. There was bottles of beer and cigarette butts all over my house. I was raised around drugs and alcohol, half bottles of beer and cigarette butts everywhere. I use to just help myself. I did not know any better. I was around my mother and I thought it was the right thing to do. My mother did it so I did it too.

I remember at the age of 3 my mother took me to sing for my neighbors. That was a bright spot in my tough childhood. When I was 6 years old my brother got murdered in Jordonya. He had a voice of an angel. On that very same day, I broke my arm in three places on the way to see what had happened to my brother. I think out of all my sisters and brothers, I took it the hardest.

It took a year before it hit me, and when I was 7 years old I had a nervous breakdown.

Singing has always been important to me and my family. My momma was also a singer and there was a few other people in my immediate family who could sing. I started when I was 3 and started playing the spoons when I was 8. I try to feel my music and if it’s a song I can really get into, I play from the heart and I sing from the heart. I love singing. I sing in church sometimes and just out of the blue. I love meeting people and I love expressing the talents my Lord has given me. I’m a pretty good joker and I’m also becoming a little bit of a writer.

In my younger years I was a workaholic and was proud to work then. I sold peas and

corn and term papers and I also was shining shoes. Nowadays I sell The Contributor, which I consider as a blessing.  The Contributor has been known to help people to get off of the streets. Not only do I sell the Contributor, but I sing as well.  It isn’t about the money, it’s all about doing what I love, which is meeting people from all over the world.

When a friend told me about The Contributor, I said, “Are you kidding me!? They got a place that will give you a chance to make some money and better your life? I’m gonna give it a whirl!” I went down in the next 2 or 3 days and I’ve met some of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life.

Father Charlie Strobel is the first one I met here. He’s like a big brother to me. You

know, the Room In The Inn has saved my life twice. The first time was in 2005 when I was homeless and on crack cocaine. The second time was 2013, I think it was April, when I got out of prison they took me in again.

The Contributor is part of my family now. I get to meet people coming from all over the world. When I sold downtown I met people from Australia, sold them a paper and taught them how to play spoons! I’ve had people from Germany, Japan and Cuba!

I feel really blessed to have done this. Some people have said they moved here because of my spoon playing! I’ve got a life I never dreamed I could have because of The Contributor. I’m playing my music and that helps pull the people in down in Berry Hill.

Veteran Respect

BY MERRILL B. Homeless Vendor

I’m a veteran of the Vietnam Era. I didn’t see combat, but I was in the Army from 1975-

1981. When I sell The Contributor, I always put my VA card in front of my papers so that people know I’m a veteran. Some people don’t do that. Some people say they are veterans to get money even when they aren’t veterans.

Nashville has a law that makes that illegal, and I think it’s going to stop these guys from flying signs downtown and getting money from people who want to be supporting veterans. I really support

this law, because I feel like they need to be in prison for doing what they’re doing. You can’t just wear the infantry badge, you have to earn that infantry badge.

People respect us. I have moms come up crying because I’m a homeless vet. They say, “my son’s in the service. My daughter’s in the service.” When non vets show up, they cry over them and it makes me mad because they didn’t serve no time in the

services and they’re doing not what they’re supposed to be doing. If they’re not a veteran, they shouldn’t be holding a sign that says that. That means something to me.

It’s disrespectful to veterans and to our men and women in uniform today. They are going through hell oversees. I’ve had veterans cry in my arms and that tears me up inside. I feel a whole lot better knowing that finally they’ve got a law here.

PAUL ALEXANDER

STEVE ALLEN

MIKE ANDERSON

JACQUELINE BARRETT

RALPH BEACH

EDWARD BEATY

DALE BILLINGS

JAMES BINKLEY

DEWAYNE BONE

STEVEN BONNIVILLE

SAAMIA BOYCE

GRADY BOYD

HOLLY BRAMBLETT

TIMOTHY BRITO

STANLEY BROWER

JOHN BUCK

DOUGLAS BUMSTEAD

ANGELIA BURKE

JAMES “JIM” CAMPBELL

TIM CANTRELL

ROBERT CARR

BILLY CHARVIS*

FRANK CLEMENTS

HOWARD “ROWDY” CLIMER

RONALD CLINGER

GLEN WAYNE COUCH, JR.

CURTIS CREECH

CHRISTOPHER CRITES

HENRY DAVIS

SHANNON DENNING

GREGORY DICKEY

MIKE DIETZLER*

JIMMY DOAKS

LEE OSCAR EWING

TERRY FAIR

JAMES FELTS

ETHAN FRANCIS

DANIEL FURLOUGH

CHARLES FUSSELL*

LOGAN GARDNER

HAROLD GEORGE*

JACKIE GEORGE

JAMES GEORGE

ORA GOLDMAN

ZACHARY VINCENT

“WILDCAT” GRAHAM

RAY GREEN

NATHANIEL GREER

BARBARA GRIFFIN

TONY HAMNER

KRIS HANSEN

DONALD HARVILLE

BENNY HAYES

JOSEPH HAYES

JENNIFER LEE HAYWARD

ANDREW HENRY*

NICHOLAS HENDRICKS

CHRIS HILL

VANESSA HOARD

JEFFREY HUDSON*

RICHARD HUNNEWELL*

JANICE JAMES

ALFRED JENKINS

BERNITA JENKINS

KENNETH JESTER

TAMICA “MIMI” JOHNSON

JOSHUA JONES

SHAY L. JONES*

ZACHARY KIRKLAND

DAVID KUNICH

JENNIE LANGFORD

WAYNE LAUBER

JONATHAN LEE

CARL LILLARD*

RONALD LINDLEY*

KENNETH LITCHFORD*

RICHARD LONG

DONALD LORICK

FRAZIER BERNARD LUMPKINS

DAVID MAIOLO

ROBERT MANGAS

CARL MANGELS

RAYMOND MANNING*

FRANKLIN MASSEY

JENNIFER MATHENEY

ALLEN LEE MAXEY*

THOMAS MEARA

ALLEN MENDENHALL

JOHN MCBEE

FRANK MCCOY

WALTER MCFARLAND

WILLIAM MINER

JOHN MOORE

ROY MORRIS

BILLY NETHERTON*

MARTIN OLLENBERGER

CURTIS PACE

TONYA MICHELLE PACK

FAYE PARKER

JENNIFER PASTERNAK*

HENRY “RED” PITTS

KELVIN POSEY

CARL PROCTOR

JOHNNIE ROBINSON

DARYL ROWE

ROYCE RUSH

DONNA SATTLER*

IZORA SCOTT

BETTY SHELTON

CECIL SHEPHERD

JACK SLOAN*

JOSHUA STRONG

ROY TAYLOR

CHARLES TERPSTRA

TERESA TRENOFF

RANDY TRESLER

MICHAEL ANTHONY TURNER

THERESA UNTINEN

CATHERINE VINCENT* JC WEBB

WAYNE WHITFIELD

ROBERT WILLIS

WILLIAM WOLFE*

BOBBY WOODEN

SHEWANNA YOUNG

JAMES JENNIFER TODD

PHOTO BY LINDA BAILEY

Feeding Music City

BY VICKY B. Formerly Homeless Vendor

Feeding Music City is a group of everyday citizens helping people with meals on the streets of Nashville. They are a community-based group and are funded 100 percent by donations who just want to love and help those in need.

The community group started about four years ago when Sarah Ann Paschal and her family decided there was more that could be done to help people who are homeless or less fortunate.

Paschal started cooking about 25 meals and delivering them out to the people she knew were homeless in her area. She says she made Feeding Music City a family project so that her “kids could see how others live and appreciate what they had. The kids are learning not to be afraid of the homeless. I love how they run right up with sack lunches and meals.” Sarah goes on to say they've made some wonderful friends from volunteers and people who are homeless.

Paschal's parents had experienced homelessness for about a year so; helping the homeless is very dear to her heart. They met John Descamp, who not only works full time, but also is a founding member of Feeding Music City, through their church. John personally experienced homelessness for a period of time and knows how much a hot meal means when you're on the streets and cold.

“Just knowing that someone cares can make a difference,” Paschal adds.

Randy M., a Contributor Vendor, says when he receives a hot meal from Feeding Music City: “It means so much to me just knowing that someone cares enough about me.”

I myself have received a hot meal from Feeding Music City and it brought tears to my eyes that indeed someone cares that much about the homeless.

Today they serve hot meals to 175-200 homeless individuals a month with the help of Edgeville Baptist Church downtown, who have let them use their kitchen for cooking and storing of donations.

Along with 20 or so volunteers each month that cook, and put together the containers and make the sack lunches, Paschal

says it's a great way to help the community and make some great friends. Recently they've also started taking donations of blankets, hats, scarves, coats and clothing.

“We get a lot of 'I want to help' and then nobody shows up, but we manage to get it done each month,” Paschal says. Sarah and her family as well as John Descamp, Sarah Christopher and Christy Wilson make up the core of Feeding Music City.

“We do everything on donations and volunteers,” Sarah explains. “This past Thanksgiving we cooked and delivered 230 hot meals. We even had more homeless come in the back door of the church and ask for food. With so many food banks around having a hot meal just takes it up a level.”

They make regular stops at the Nashville Public Library downtown, various tent cities, the Nashville Rescue Mission and anywhere there are homeless. Feeding Music City can be found on Facebook. Donations can be dropped off at Edgefield Baptist Church.

Paschal expressed the hope that within the next five years they have a food truck with the ability to cook and deliver even more meals to the homeless and nutritionally challenged living on the streets of Nashville. Feeding Music City brings hope and love to hundreds of the homeless with the simple words John shouts out the window: “Are you hungry?”

MY SWEET LITTLE GIRL

BLIND MIKE

Mike recently reconnected with his daughter after 15 years of being apart. His daughter, Krystal, who lives in Louisiana found Mike in Nashville and the two were able to spend a year together in Louisiana. The following poem is written by Mike about the experience.

She found me here in Nashville I have not seen her since she was a little girl She saved my life twice. She got me off the streets the second time I got hit by a car! She save my life again! My love for Krystal Sheree can never die!

SARAH ANN PASCHAL AND HER FAMILY COOK AND DELIVER ABOUT 25 MEALS A WEEK TO PEOPLE EXPEREINCING HOMELESSNESS IN THEIR AREA. PHOTO PROVIDED BY VICKY B.

PHOTO BY LINDA BAILEY

CHURCH STREET

CHURCH STREET SANDBOX

In early December, as developer Tony Giarratana stands in front of his project and the tallest residential building in downtown Nashville — called 505 Nashville — he points out some of his company’s other nearby projects: Cumberland on Church, Viridian Tower, Bennie Dillon. He motions toward the ones a little further away: Encore and The SoBro. When he calls Church Street his sandbox — as he has several times — he says so completely free of irony. He sees the area as incomplete, and sees himself as the person who needs to make it whole. There are several parcels he’d like to develop along Church Street.

But there’s one piece of property that’s become a personal conquest for him: Church Street Park, the tiny quarter-of-an-acre piece of green space across from the Nashville Public Library.

Earlier this year, the plan for a land swap between Metro and Giarratana came out: In exchange for the park, Giarratana was to

BY AMANDA HAGGARD

build at least 100 permanent supportive housing units (a term he said he didn’t know before the potential land swap) and a Downtown Homeless Service Center at 301 James Robertson Parkway.

Where Church Street Park sits now, Giarratana wants to build his tallest high-rise yet, a building he’ll call Paramount Tower. He says he’ll call it Paramount — to mean “above all.”

There’s just one problem, though, the people most acquainted with the park are people experiencing homelessness and the people attempting to walk with them in their struggles.

When asked about the backlash for the land swap, Giarratana is keen to point out that the swap has support from Mayor David Briley, District 19 Councilman Freddie O’Connell, the Nashville Downtown Partnership, the Metro Public Library Board, the Metro Parks Board and more.

But there are plenty of people who’d like to see the space remain a park — whether to keep green space at the core of the city or to avoid displacing a group of people who congregate there for essential services.

“Because our city lacks adequate affordable housing and a downtown service providing hub, the Church Street Park has served as an important site for people experiencing homelessness over the years,” Lindsey Krinks, Open Table’s director of street chaplaincy and education, told The Contributor earlier this year. “Nashville has no shortage of parks, and Riverfront Park, Bicentennial Mall and the Greenway are all accessible for people in the downtown area.”

As it stands now, Giarratana would give $2 million to alter the property at James Robertson into a replacement park. And he’d forgo development fees to help the city develop into the Homeless Services Center. The project would cost about $25 million and offer 100 units. Giarratana has also promised $5 million for a complete re-envisioning of Anne Dallas Dudley Boulevard.

A Downtown Homeless Service Center is much-needed, but it could be asked that with the funds used to build the other one at James Robertson, why the city wouldn’t just build it where Church Street Park is.

Why couldn’t the city just meet people where they are?

It’s clear Giarratana sees groups like Open Table Nashville, a nonprofit who works with many people who frequent the park, as a “small but vocal” opposition — though it’s also clear that this land swap has pushed him more in the direction of helping more vulnerable citizens of Nashville.

Giarratana says that while he’s always had his eye on Church Street Park — he wants the people living nearby in his other high-rise residential units to enjoy the park as well — acquiring the park became personal about a year and a half ago. The daughter of a dear friend and colleague of his was the project manager for 505. As she stood outside overseeing the construction, he says she was struck in the face by a person experiencing homelessness who had come from the park. The same person, he says, threw hot coffee on another colleague.

“It’s just an unfortunate thing all around,” Giarratana says. “That person deserves more than being left in the park, and the neighborhood deserves more than to suffer assaults and other damage.”

As debate over the park continues — the Nashville Civic Design Center just released the second in a series of three articles outlining more plans for what a redesign might look like. The NCDC has renderings for almost every possible use of the space: skate park, amphitheatre, playground, projection movie theater. It’s also outlined what reactivating and using the space around Anne Dallas Dudley Boulevard could look like: bleacher seating, sidewalk cafe, a pay zone and more.

“Civic spaces give cities meaning,” the NCDC writes. “They are the physical manifestation and reflection of a city’s past and present, its collective identity and values. At the same time they challenge us to look towards the future and boldly set forth our collective aspirations. Successful public spaces elevate the city as a whole. Through thoughtful consideration, Church Street Park and Anne Dallas Dudley Boulevard can become one of Nashville’s defining civic spaces — one that enhances the city around it, reflects our exceptional identity, and welcomes

all into the process of navigating our future together.”

Giarratana sees the land swap as a way to set a precedent for other business owners and says he’s beginning the process of engaging other developers and business owners in using their money and resources to help contribute more effectively to issues like homelessness and poverty. But he argues that after 20 years, the time for redesigning the park has come to an end.

“The time for more discussion to make a difference at this site is over,” Giarratana says. “The least likely way we are going to see meaningful change is to revert conversation back to awareness of the challenges, instead of the opportunity to do something about it in front of us.”

But what that something is all depends on whom you ask. As much as some might like the conversation to be over, the debate over what space belongs to who and why in Nashville is just beginning. As the city continues to grow and change, these conversations will shape the city’s future. And, hopefully, we all get to play in the sandbox.

NASHVILLE CIVIC DESIGN CENTER

ON DEC. 11, THE PEOPLE’S ALLIANCE FOR TRANSIT, HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT MARCHED TO DEMAND THAT MAYOR DAVID BRILEY AND METRO COUNCIL PUT “PEOPLE’S NEEDS FIRST AND FUND AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO REDUCE THE HARM THAT THE FORTHCOMING AMAZON PROJECT WILL BRING TO THE CITY,” ACCORDING TO A RELEASE FROM PATHE. THEY SAY THAT BEFORE “GIVING AWAY $15 MILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY TO AMAZON, PATHE WILL URGE CITY LEADERS TO TAKE CARE OF THE MAJORITY OF NASHVILLIANS WHO ARE BEING LEFT BEHIND.”

out of Amazon PATHE

PHOTOS BY ALVINE

OCCUPIED 2018

ON DEC. 15, ACTIVISTS GATHERED DOWNTOWN TO STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND DEMAND SUPPORT FOR EMERGENCY HOUSING. ORGANIZER JAY WEAVER SAID, "OUR ONLY DEMAND IS FOR EMERGENCY HOUSING. NOT ANOTHER EMERGENCY SHELTER, NOT ANOTHER EMERGENCY RESCUE MISSION, BUT EMERGENCY HOUSING. EMERGENCY MEANS URGENT. THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO PLAN TO DO 5 YEARS FROM NOW, IT'S SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN RIGHT AWAY. PRONTO. AS FAST AS IT CAN POSSIBLY HAPPEN.... WE KNOW THAT A STABLE ENVIRONMENT WILL HELP STABILIZE A PERSON. SO THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT."

PHOTOS BY ALVINE

BISS: The documentary

BY HANS-ALBRECHT LUSZNAT, BISS

A colleague once compared producing a documentary to building a house. Just imagine that you are all by yourself somewhere in nature, far away from any housing, without a supplier of materials and pre-made parts. You have one simple rule only: You are only allowed to use the materials that you have gathered yourself from your surroundings. Plastics, for example, are not allowed.

The production of a documentary is pretty similar. In our example, the director is the architect, who has something in mind regarding the purpose and the size of the building that needs to be approved by the homeowner. I, as a cameraman, am some kind of technical realization manager who organizes the materials and stacks them in storage. The structural engineer, who builds the house from its different parts, is the equivalent of the editor.

Movie making is never a slow process: it is always a head over heels rush and real-life doesn’t show any consideration for the process. For example, it is 26 May 2015 and Dalibor has a dentist appointment. As of late, Dalibor has been a permanently employed BISS vendor and his pitch is in the central station, in the mezzanine connecting the underground with commuter trains. Thousands of people pass by on their daily journey from the suburbs to the city of Munich. Dalibor is well organized, with his trolley and his plastic folding chair. He places his stack of BISS magazines on the trolley, propped up by its telescopic handle. We meet him in the district of Bogenhausen, as this is where there is a dentist who offers BISS vendors an excellent standard of care. Dalibor’s mouth looks like a battlefield: he previously neglected his teeth, which is pretty typical for people facing social difficulties. A difficult life often leaves marks on an individual’s teeth and those in the surrounding environment notice that fact, if only subconsciously. Successful people have bright white teeth.

Dalibor is one of four new BISS vendors that the film will accompany over the course of three years. The film is supposed to show the changes that permanent employment brings, while also providing some insights into the daily life of BISS vendors by capturing their needs and worries and documenting their attempts to get out of their current situation.

Dan travelled from Romania to Germany: he speaks broken German only and is difficult to understand. Germany seemed to offer great promise after the collapse of his marriage and after his small family – he has a son – broke down in his Romanian hometown. Dan used to sleep rough until a fellow countryman gave him the tip to join BISS. He is now a very successful vendor who has been selling more than 400 copies a month over the last couple of months. Although this volume of sales qualifies him for a permanent position, he is still living on the streets.

On Saturday morning, at 7a.m., on Sept. 19 2015, we are standing with our camera at the corner of Tal- and Westenriederstraße opposite the Isartor. Dan shows us where he sleeps, between the showcases of the arcades and the shop front of an optometrist. He needs some materials if he is to survive a September night outdoors unharmed: two layers of cardboard, a blanket and a sleeping bag at the very minimum. Now that it is morning, Dan packs up his belongings. He wants to be gone before 8am, as there is an unspoken agreement between the shop owners and the tenants. He packs his sleeping bag into the cart that he uses to lug his stuff around in the daytime. There is a thick stick taken from one of the surrounding trees placed under his blanket: the homeless people in the city are never safe from aggression. Dan hides the

cardboard somewhere nearby, then grabs his cart and his bags and takes off for his pitch at the Münchener Freiheit, where the Oktoberfest-innkeepers start their festival procession through the city.

Dan speaks broken German and so our conversation moves slowly, in fragments. Wolle, the director from Berlin Neukölln, who usually has a quick tongue, struggles. How are you supposed to discuss the struggles of daily life on the streets in depth when you have so many difficulties in understanding each other? It is impossible. Should the film’s sequences be subtitled, with Dan talking in Romanian and with the help of a translator? The question remains unsolved for the moment, but Dan continues to participate in the weekly language classes that BISS offers to non-German speakers. Dan’s group of friends are all Romanian and, nice as it is to have a piece of home in the foreign country, this doesn’t make it easier for him to learn the language of his new home country. Although Dan and his friends speak Romanian with each other, we do notice that the communication between us improves from one meeting to the next.

Zuheir has language problems too. He is from Bagdad and lost his right hand in the second Gulf War in Kuwait. In Iraq, he was a member of the middle class. He managed to escape to Germany before the beginning of the refugee crisis. Without his right hand, he has no opportunity to work as a mechanic, which was his profession. Since he started selling BISS, Zuheir has started to feel good again and his open-minded approach to life has made him successful in the role.

Unfortunately, Zuheir also lacks language skills. Learning German is vital for him, as he has to pass a language test if he is to get a German passport. He has failed the test three times, but Zuheir won’t give up. He attends German classes for foreigners at a community college in the city center where a Chinese teacher teaches the class, which is proof of the fact that it’s possible to master the language. Zuheir’s usual pitch is in the mezzanine of the commuter train station Rosenheimer Platz, although he sometimes sells the magazine on the go.

Andrea is another protagonist in our film. An unfortunate series of events made her slip into poverty, but she now has a small apartment between Ramersdorf und Perlach. She started selling BISS magazine as a freelancer and she is highly motivated. Her pitches are in the underground stations at Poccistraße and Goetheplatz. She also sells the 400 copies per month that are the pre-requisite for permanent employment. In August 2015, while we are sitting in the BISS sales office with our camera, we watch as Andrea receives her work contract from Johannes Denninger. Our society still regards a job as being the main key to participate in life in society: a person who has nothing can’t get anywhere without a job.

Some people make a fortune out of your poor fellow citizens. You only need a more or less run-down building that you can divide

into single rooms, equip it with bunk beds and wardrobes and put a poster up on the front: residential hostel, 100 euros a week, 400 euros a month. Dalibor lives in one of these hostels, where he shares a room with two others that he can only reach by going through a walk-through-room that is home to two people. It costs 1,200 euros for a room that is roughly 16 square metres, which means a gross of up to a few thousand euros per month for the entire building. The room that Dalibor lives in is sparse — it reminds me of a room in a military barracks — and it has a basin, three wardrobes, a table and three chairs. One of the roommates has a TV.

Dalibor has been living in these circumstances for three years, but permanent employment with BISS has opened up new opportunities for him. He will soon get his own small apartment in the north of Munich from the Wogeno eG, a new housing cooperative, which was approved by the Department of Housing and Immigration. In November 2015, Dalibor gets the keys and visits his new place close to the Frankfurter Ring for the first time.

Close connections also come to exist among those selling the magazine: many vendors are not all by themselves when standing at their pitches. We meet Andrea and Heinz at the Auer Dult. Heinz is an old hand and has been selling the magazine for years. He says that Andrea is doing well: she engages her customers in a conversation and enjoys her work.

The first year of filming comes to an end. Director Wolfgang Ettlich and I have collected many gigabytes of material for our film. Let’s return to the opening image of this article; the construction of the house. So far, we have collected lots of material and stacked bricks, but we still cannot tell how the single parts will connect in order to make a single whole. So far, we feel that our idea of the film and the things happening in front of the camera in reality are starting to come together, but we still don’t know where our path will lead us.

The New Year starts pleasantly, at least for Dan. It is extremely cold outside. That’s why he moves into a sleeping hall at the Bavaria Casern every evening. In the morning, he has to pack up his trolley and his bags and leave again. He suffers from headaches. In March, everything gets worse. Dan suffers a brain aneurysm and has to undergo surgery at the Pasinger Hospital. One thing becomes obvious: without BISS and his permanent job with the magazine, he would probably not have survived the winter. 50 percent of people with a burst blood vessel die. But Dan was lucky. As a result of his medical situation, the Department of Housing and Immigration organizes a room in a guesthouse for him.

The room is only as wide as the mattress on the floor and there is just enough space in front of it to open the door. A small fridge stands in an alcove, there is a chair, some space to put his things, and that’s it. I kneel with a wide-angle lens on the camera in front

of the mattress and try to get a panning shot from the fridge over Dan, who is lying on the mattress, to the chair and, finally, to the hanger on the back of the door. This shot captures the room that I had to sneak into by avoiding the communal kitchen so that the landlord didn’t notice me. He is sitting in the kitchen, watching everything like a hawk. Dan is happy about his tiny new home and is scared of losing this permanent place that he can call his own. In the basement, people from different countries are living in drywall-installation shacks, where they crouch over open cans at dinnertime. You could film quite unbearable images here! But nobody wants that: not those sitting there and certainly not those responsible for it

We go to meet Zuheir and we are allowed to film inside his apartment. His wife is working, and she doesn’t want to be filmed. Their living room is beautifully furnished with a lounge suite, table, chairs and a big flat screen TV. He is content.

We can understand why when we hear some of the news from Iraq. Zuheir is still learning German for his language test. BISS has helped him to get an electric tricycle with a lockable box on top of the back axle and the Dynamo Bicycle Workshop has adapted a standard model to meet his needs. With only one hand, he is less flexible than the average Munich cyclist and the tricycle helps him enormously.

Dalibor has also moved into his own place and has furnished his one bedroom-kitchen-bath flat nicely. This successful phase that he finds himself in has been threatened by the pain that he experienced when walking: as a result, he is selling fewer copies of the magazine and is becoming frustrated.

There has been a lot of talk in the media about the relationships between movie producers and their protagonists, which range from clichés to accusations of slave-driving. These critics are right when it comes to many TV formats, especially when it comes to pay TV, as these productions are often a demanding process that often have a cynical way of dealing with people in front of the camera. In my opinion, documentary filming is different to this: it is a process of paying the maximum amount of attention, which is accompanied by a certain kind of affection for the protagonists and an understanding of their opinions, even if they don’t match your own. Us documentary filmmakers give the subjects of our

films our undivided attention and gain real insights about their lives. Filming often reminds me of therapy: the camera lens looks unflinchingly at reality, underlining the sincerity of the moment and recording something that the protagonists want to preserve.

The third year of filming begins. Dalibor left BISS after he didn’t manage to sell the 400 copies a month necessary to remain an employee. If he manages to find another adequate job and keep his apartment, one cannot call that a failure; instead, it’s a story of the success that can come of being employed by BISS. Andrea has become more confident, has changed her appearance step by step and has found her own place. Zuheir is as active as ever; he is flexible thanks to his tricycle and is constantly on the move. Given his zest for life, it is just a question of time as to when he will hold the German passport in his left hand. Dan also still has his dream. He wants to bring his son to Germany and improve his living conditions. In order to achieve this, he is constantly found standing at his pitch at the Münchener Freiheit, or at the Englischen Garten if the weather is nice. Going back to Romania is not an option–which possibility is not even one that he will consider.

Johannes Denninger is head of sales at BISS. He signs work contracts and takes care of the organisation’s employees. Originally, he was a social worker and the skills that he learned in that line of work are exactly what is often needed in his role. What’s needed is a distanced but firm intervention when things go wrong, a certain type of optimism and a portion of indifference if you don’t want to go mad in the face of adversity. He now has 20 years of experience, during which time almost 1,000 vendors have worked for BISS. Many have left or died, while others remain among the 100 or so vendors that are employed at any one time. Johannes knows the difficulties that vendors face and can comment on many things and put them into perspective. BISS Director Wolfgang Ettlich has also built up his experience of helping vendors over the years.

In the film, we often use Johannes’s statements to link important aspects within the context of the movie. One key phrase delighted me; namely, “social space exploration”. Why did we travel with five successful BISS vendors to the Homeless World Cup in Glasgow? We went along because

Andrea was one of the five BISS vendors who took part. She was tense as soon as we got into the plane and she clung to the armrest during takeoff. Andrea had never flown before.

Many of the less fortunate in our society miss out on such opportunities and experiences. In addition to not being able to afford to fly, BISS vendors also can’t afford to eat out somewhere nice. In Glasgow, over a dinner eaten among friends, they learn how these social interactions work, such as learning how to order, which glass to use for which drink and how to use the various types of cutlery next to their plate. This kind of learning happens easily, through the course of mutual conversation and interactions, and when we leave the restaurant, everyone has had a great experience.

Let’s return back to the starting point of this article for one last time. After three years of filming, the construction side of things is now packed with materials that we have gathered from our surroundings. Now the time has come to start the actual construction process. Our editor, Monika Abspacher, gets an overview of the material and starts to assemble the sequences. It becomes clear that the story is guided by the passing of time and that the documentary should focus on the experiences of the four protagonists. Ultimately, we want to see the improvements in their lives over the course of the film.

A film is a complex thing. Once it’s finished, you think that the finished film will be the same every time that you screen it. After all, it’s a sequence of digital data that doesn’t change in itself: it remains the same, with its volume of 4,000 million bites. At least, this is how our film is, in digital terms. However, despite this, the film changes every single time it is screened: it might seem too long or too short, to serious or too humorous, both because the audience changes and because the audience changes the movie when they watch it.

It sounds strange, but it is the truth. I have participated in many film tours and I’ve seen it for myself: every evening, the same movie reel is placed into the projector and every evening, a different film is shown, thanks to the impact that it has on the audience.

Translated from German by Jessica Michaels

HANS-ALBRECHT LUSZNET

Hoboscopes

SAGITTARIUS

I feel like the little drummer boy gets kind of a bad rap lately. Yes, I realize he shows up in the middle of the night when a newborn baby is finally sleeping and the only thing he can think to do is play a drum solo. I guess when the only tool you have is a drumstick everything looks like a snare. Maybe his timing is terrible, but he I think he knows something you could learn from, Sagittarius. There is something you do better than anybody else and I think you should do it more often.

CAPRICORN

Santa Claus wasn’t the first supernatural sprite to make his way down the chimney. In Scotland, there was the brownie, an elf that came to help clean the house. Slovenia had the skrat, a fairy who might bring your family some money. And Italy hoped for a visit from Befana, the benevolent broom-riding Christmas-witch who was always covered in soot. But Santa didn’t freeze up just because the chimney thing had been done before, he saw an entrance and he took it. You may not have an invite through the front door, Capricorn, but I think you can find a way in. Don’t you?

AQUARIUS

The nights seem so long lately, Aquarius. It’s dark when I wake up and it’s dark again before I get home from work. It’s dark when I check my social feed and it’s dark when I catch a glimpse of a TV running a 24-hour news network. There’s a little more darkness than I know what to do with right now, Aquarius. And there doesn’t seem to be a lot I can do about it. I can’t speed up the cycle. I

can’t change the earth’s relative position to the sun. All I can really do is light a candle. And maybe offer to light yours.

PISCES

I’ve heard it said that every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings. Of course, I have no way of knowing whether that’s true. I mean there would be a lot of details to work out. What counts as a bell? Does a doorbell do it? How about a ringtone? All I know is Pisces, that the guy out there ringing that bell next to the donation box looks pretty chilly and whether he’s out there feathering an army of heavenly forces or just working up some scratch for a burger, this is probably a good day to drop the guy a dollar or two.

ARIES

All I want for Christmas is the feeling of warmth and joy I receive knowing that you, Aries, are loved and taken care of by those around you. Also, a new smartwatch would be nice. But really, all I want is for you to truly understand that you have a value deeper than anything you can affect or alter through your behavior or thinking. But if you do get me a watch, I like the one with the magnetic band. But mostly, I just want you to acknowledge and believe in your own intrinsic worth.

TAURUS

Christmas stories seem to rely pretty heavily on time travel. Ebenezer Scrooge won’t change until he can skip ahead to see his own lonely grave. George Bailey wants to give up until he sees an alternate timeline where he never existed. James Cole is transformed when, as a

child, he is a witness to his own untimely death. What, you’re not a big 12 Monkeys fan? It’s an important holiday staple around the Mysterio house, Taurus. I think Christmas needs time travel because it’s so often about remembering what came before. This year, remember.

GEMINI

What did you get me for Christmas, Gemini? I’m kidding, of course. You aren’t expected to get your amateur astrologer gifts. In fact, I just read an article in the latest Soft Aspects Quarterly in which Dr. Wayne Conundra argues that it’s never ethical for an astrologer to accept gifts from any recipients of their cosmic insight. So, that should at least free up some of your resources to get something for somebody who’s not expecting anything.

CANCER

There are so many versions of every Christmas song. How can I possibly create the greatest and most comprehensive holiday playlist of all time? Don’t let your perfectionism stop you from finishing your project, Cancer. I’ve heard them say that ”good is the greatest enemy of great.” But I would say that obsession with greatness is the goodest enemy of getting any good thing done at all.

LEO

We’re coming up on an ending, Leo. This year is about to wrap up. And then it’s gonna start all over again. Once all the wrapping paper and empty boxes go out to the trash, we’re pretty much through. As long as the trash is going out, I think there are a few more

things you could stand to put in there. Maybe some of the unrealistic expectations you’ve had for yourself and the people around you. Go ahead and put those in the bag. It’ll help to start clean, without all that extra packaging.

VIRGO

You’d better watch out. You’d better not cry. You’d better not pout. That’s what they say. I used to think like that too, Virgo. Always trying to control how I was feeling. But nowadays I do things differently. When I feel the fears or the tears or the anger welling up in me, I take a breath and acknowledge that this is just a feeling. And I go ahead and feel it. You can.

LIBRA

I know how it feels, Libra. It's like that time you got everything you wanted for Christmas and then when you sat down to put it all together the instructions were in Japanese and half the pieces seemed to be missing. It's a strange turn from having everything you hoped for to knowing you've got a lot more work ahead of you. The good news is that the same people who helped you get this far can help you get to the next part too. Start by finding out if any of them can read Japanese.

SCORPIO

The presents aren’t even wrapped yet, Scorpio, but you’re already trying to decide when we should take the lights off the house and haul the tree out to the curb. It seems like you’re always living a few weeks into the future. This is a good week to give that a break. Be present. Focus on what’s going on right now. It can be hard. It can even be painful. But be here for this.

Mr. Mysterio is not a licensed astrologer, a Rudolph understudy, or a prize turkey. Mr. Mysterio is, however, a budding intermediate podcaster! Check out The Mr. Mysterio Podcast . Season 2 is now playing at mrmysterio.com

The Power of Love: A Big Issue Australia vendor wedding

BY AMY HETHERINGTON, THE BIG ISSUE AUSTRALIA

It’s the first of July in a backyard in western Sydney. A few friends have gathered on this winter’s day to witness a wedding ceremony, organized in haste. And heartache. The courtyard is dappled in sunshine, and the fence has been decorated with two small signs: “love” and “hope.”

As a Celine Dion love song starts up, our bride, Kelly, begins her way down the aisle, traversing the long driveway, through the garage, and down the path. There’s a special green carpet laid out for her arrival, bordered by pebbles and pot plants. Kelly is wearing a new blue dress, and carrying a posy of roses, baby-pink, red and yellow; a gift from her parents in Queensland.

The groom, Greg, is at the end of the carpet, waiting. He’s grinning, crying. “With a beautiful bride coming down the pathway, I felt amazing,” says Greg later. “I had tears, I did.”

A gold sign reading ‘Mr. and Mrs. Standen’ glints behind his head, waving from a washing line transformed into a backdrop with purple sheets for this special moment.

“Going down the aisle was the best feeling of my life,” says Kelly, “because I already knew we were destined to be together. When I said ‘I do’ I was over the moon! I couldn’t stop smiling. I still can’t stop smiling.”

It’s not every day that a wedding is organized in 48 hours. But that’s what Big Issue vendors Greg and Kelly had to do, bringing forward their original plans on doctor’s orders.

“We’ve both got spina bifida,” explains Greg. “I was very independent as a child. I was encouraged to do everything. I did the athletics carnivals, swimming carnivals. Then, at 25, my balance became very un-

steady.” After a series of operations, Greg collapsed and “they basically said get used to life in a chair”. That was 20-odd years ago.

For Kelly, it’s even more complicated. From a young age, her mobility was compromised. Then seven years ago, at the age of 30, she was diagnosed with syringomyelia, a build-up of fluid on her spinal cord. “My brain is herniating: it’s sucking my brain stem into my spine, and it’s crushing every internal organ in my body.” It’s left her with a host of health issues, including depression, anxiety and breathing difficulties.

She says matter of factly: “I am in pain 24/7…and things are just getting worse for me day by day, to the point where eventually it’s going to kill me.”

Remember those small signs: Love. Hope.

Kelly and Greg had originally planned

a big white wedding for October 2019. Their celebrant, Lou Szymkow, was booked to marry them in front of 120 guests in Auburn Botanic Gardens’ sunken rose gardens. The bride was to arrive in a horse-drawn carriage. She’d picked out her dream dress. And they’d planned a honeymoon cruise around Australia. Kelly, being Kelly, wanted to go on a cruise ship to help her get over her fear of heights — and water.

But during her monthly appointment with the spina bifida clinic, Kelly was advised to expedite their ceremony. “I told my doctor all the plans for the wedding…and he said, ‘If I was you, I would push your wedding as far forward as possible, because in my opinion you won’t be around in October next year,’” she recalls.

They called Lou, and their two witnesses: Kelly’s matron of honor Heather, a former career;

'BIG ISSUE AUSTRAILIA' VENDORS GREG AND KELLY. PHOTO BY AUTUMN MOONEY.

and best man Flavio, who used to work with Greg in his marketing business. The big white wedding quickly became a simple, intimate ceremony. And it was still overflowing with love.

“They are very loving to each other,” says Lou. “Greg is completely and utterly infatuated with Kelly; he’s constantly looking out for her.

“The wedding was a very beautiful moment. The sheer joy in her face as they made the announcement, it was very heart-warming. I think they were both overwhelmed… I can feel my own tears welling up now.”

They celebrated over lunch at their local bowling club, Dooleys Regents Park Sports Club, who surprised the newlyweds by decorating the table with flowers and a white tablecloth, also providing them with their own personal waiter for the afternoon.

While their wedding plans were hatched in an instant, the love story of Kelly and Greg has been 15-and-a-half years in the making. They met playing mixed wheelchair football. “One of my friends – she’s a quadriplegic – was on my team as well. One day I told her I like Greg, but not to tell him,” says Kelly.

Laughs Greg, “And she tormented me for weeks, ‘I know someone who likes you! I know someone who likes you!’”

The fates were listening. Greg moved into a villa in the same independent living community as Kelly, just around the corner.

“I was so excited,” Kelly says. “I was single. I had not had much good luck with men before.”

Adds Greg, “I was internet dating at the time. Then, we were hanging out one day and one thing led to another…”

“…It was the best thing that’d ever happened to me,” says Kelly, beaming at her new husband. That was 19 December 2002, and they’ve been together since.  “I love her smiley face, the fact that she’s so caring,” says Greg.

Adds Kelly, “He’s always funny, he’s always there for me – he knows when to pick me up when I’m down.”

Greg and Kelly have been married almost two months when we all catch up again, after their photo shoot in Circular Quay, the site of their improvised honeymoon celebrations.

“I thought, ‘how can I recreate the cruise without leaving Sydney?’” tells Greg. “We got on a ferry to Taronga Zoo to see the tigers – Kelly loves tigers – and I took her up to Centrepoint Tower’s 360 restaurant for dinner. We had a great day.”

They’re back in their wedding finery, recreating their big day, as there was no official photographer on hand.

Greg is still wearing a red-and-gold ribbon on his ring finger — a memento of the special handfasting ceremony that bound them together as one during their vows. “Red is the color of love, of courage,” Lou told them. “Gold is a symbol of all that is precious.”

Kelly’s proudly replaced her ribbon with her heart-shaped engagement ring. She is recovering from the flu; there’s a deep relief that it didn’t develop into pneumonia. There is still that hope, that love, driving them to have the big wedding they’d originally planned.

“It’s just a matter of when we can afford it,” says Greg, who was introduced to selling The Big Issue by Kelly, a long-time vendor. “What we’ve done already wouldn’t have been possible if we weren’t selling The Big Issue,” says Greg. “We’re both in government housing, both on disability pensions, and it just would not have been possible without that little bit of extra income.”

“Greg is the love of my life,” adds Kelly. “I’ve always wanted to marry him, since the day we met.”

Greg reaches out to take her hand, “Love you wifey.”

“Love you hubby,” she says right back.

Kelly and Greg sell The Big Issue in Parramatta, Sydney, Australia.

Harding Academy students dream big dreams and brave new challenges, nurtured by parents, faculty, and peers who encourage their curiosity and creativity.

Here, their confidence soars as a lifetime love of learning begins.

the love of it.

'BIG ISSUE AUSTRAILIA' VENDORS GREG AND KELLY. PHOTO BY AUTUMN MOONEY.