VENDOR WRITING
My Home
IN MEMORIAM: CHARLIE AVINGER SEPTEMBER 14, 1966 - APRIL 27, 2020
BY MARY B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR For two years I bounced from place to place, just to maintain a safe and warm place to sleep. In March of 2019 Ms. Linda Bailey hooked me up with Open Table Nashville. Open Table is a nonprofit org that helps the homeless. In the winter months, they go to tent cities to check in on homeless people and to make sure they have blankets, food, etc. And in the summer months they check on them as well. Open Table pushes to get the homeless off the streets and into housing. At Open Table they have outreach workers, I guess you would call them, and they are assigned to so many homeless people. My outreach worker was Ms. Susan and she was awesome. She would pick me up and take me to fill out applications for apartments and Open Table would pay for all the application fees. Well, time after time I was turned down because I didn’t make three times the rent. But that didn’t stop us from looking for me a place to live. Ms. Susan even told me she
had never seen someone like myself that would get out there and look for housing. Ms. Susan is so used to doing it on her own. It was sometime in Oct.2019 when I got a text from Ms. Susan saying any day I would be filling out my paperwork at Madison Towers for my apartment. I can’t even begin to explain how they made me feel. My emotions were going crazy. The day had come for me to do my paperwork for my apartment. Here I was sitting in the office at Madison Towers going over my paperwork with Ms. Brianna, when she told me she was going to try and have me in my apartment by my birthday on Nov. 11. I was excited. In less than a month I would be in my very own apartment. As the days were passing, getting closer to my birthday, I couldn’t sleep. I guess it was the thought of me having a place to call my own. The day had come, November 11, and no phone call. I kept replaying in my head, she said I would be in my apartment by Nov. 11.
When I didn’t hear from Ms. Brianna at Madison Towers, I called Ms. Susan. She assured me that I have an apartment. I have just got to wait for them to get one ready. On Dec. 11, 2019 I got the call I had been waiting for. I signed my lease on Dec. 18, 2019. The time had come. I finally get my own place to live — a home. So on the 18th I took what few things I gathered up and my little friend Jake from Bellevue loaded my stuff in his truck and off to my apartment we went. I met Ms. Susan there. Ms. Susan asked Ms. Brianna if I could go ahead and take my things up to my apartment because Jake had to go to work. At first, she hesitated. Then she said, “I’ve never had nobody take their stuff up before signing their lease.” I’ve been in my apartment for going on four months. It feels so good to have a home to call my own. Thanks to Open Table for paying my deposit.
T H E M E : ACROSS 1. “A Visit from St. Nicholas” beginning 5. Clock std. 8. U-____ 12. *Webber’s “Evita” collaborator 13. Away from wind 14. Boy Scout rank 15. Picnic invaders 16. Digestive aid 17. Change, as in the Constitution 18. *Like Tony Awards 2020 20. Entry document 21. Fill with spirits 22. 10 decibels 23. *”Kiss Me, Kate” composer/lyricist 26. Sound of leaves in wind 29. Before, archaic 30. Admirer 33. “My bad” 35. Garments 37. Barbie’s beau 38. Annoy a bedfellow 39. Result of too many drinks 40. Type of tunic 42. F in FWIW 43. Brown’s beagle 45. *M in “M. Butterfly” 47. Bar association 48. “Mack the ____” 50. *Tony winner David
Contributor vendor, Charlie Avinger, Jr. passed away on April 27. Charlie began selling The Contributor in 2017 and sold newspapers at 14th and Charlotte Pk. and at 14th and Church St. Charlie was a respectful vendor and will be missed by Contributor staff and volunteers. According to his friends and family, Charlie loved cooking, rapping, dancing, playing cards, playing bingo, fishing and making people laugh.
FUN TIME WITH THE CATS BY JAMIE W., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR These cats are like my babies. When they run up and down the hallway they sound like they are running for the national roller derby. Lucy likes that song “Love Hurts.” Pressley loves anything dangly. Lucy and Lilly love chasing the laser lights. Sometimes Lucy will just sit and stare at the wall. She’s waiting on the laser show to start. Lucy is now around here. I got her for a Christmas gift. She loves treats and to be brushed and loves everything and everyone. She gets along great with Lilly and Pressley and Lilly will lay on her back for hours. These cats are my babies and I love every one of them. Lucy loves those toy mice and she loves catnip. They are fascinated by anything and they love my husband Tommy. I know that they are grateful for me and my husband Tommy. They love bags and boxes. Pressley is the oldest. Pressley turned six on April 6, Lilly turned five on February 9 and Lucy will be two on Dec. 16. They are good girls.
T O N Y
____ Pierce 52. *Musical with the most wins, with The 56. *Jellicles’ cries 57. Vietnam’s neighbor 58. Flu symptom 59. Pond buildup 60. Sunrise point 61. “Just ____ ____” 62. *4-time winner Tom Stoppard’s output 63. Tap choice 64. Tallest volcano in Europe DOWN 1. Catch-22, e.g. 2. Brown bagger 3. *Before and after intermission 4. Final six lines of a sonnet 5. Sparkle 6. More than a scuffle 7. Like a ball ready for a drive 8. *Musical with most nominations 9. *Tony nominee, “Rock of ____” 10. Longer forearm bone 11. Bulb type 13. “All ____!” 14. Roof overhang 19. Humble requests 22. Pesky, clingy plant
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W I N N E R S
23. Cribbage pieces 24. Un-written exams 25. Old episode 26. *”La BohËme,” reimagined 27. Shower accessory 28. Erasable programmable read only memory 31. Thumbs-up 32. Gridiron official, for short 34. Blood fluids 36. *Coveted destination 38. Mix-up 40. Typically has April 15th as deadline
41. In the thick of 44. Falstaffian in body 46. Base of the decimal system 48. Cattle enclosure in African village 49. Pirate’s “necklace” 50. *Setting of Tony winner ‘Hadestown’ 51. Vinyasa workout 52. #19 Down, sing. 53. *The Grand Slam of showbusiness, acr. 54. The Colosseum, today 55. Pura ____, or pure silk 56. Atlas page
