"I've been playing since I was 4 years old, and I'm 9 now. Every day I practice for an hour and a half. I think piano is going to be my career when I grow up. I've already played two times at Carnegie Hall. I get kind of nervous before big competitions, but when I get on stage, I'm not nervous anymore. Music makes me feel calm and joyful."
"My favorite composer is Chopin, and my favorite performer is the pianist Lang Lang. He practices a lot to reach his goals, and he's really patient. I've never seen him live, but I've watched him on YouTube.
"I've been playing since I was 4 years old, and I'm 9 now. Every day I practice for an hour and a half. I think piano is going to be my career when I grow up. I've already played two times at Carnegie Hall. I get kind of nervous before big competitions, but when I get on stage, I'm not nervous anymore. Music makes me feel calm and joyful." “I was in a long-term relationship, but it ended and I had to start over and support myself. I found jobs, but the pay was low and it was extremely hard work. Finally I couldn’t find a job anymore. I lost two apartments, the unemployment money stopped, and the only way I could make ends meet was prostitution. I had an acquaintance who offered me money and introduced me to other men, so I slept with him in exchange for the contacts. I got to keep my money. I didn’t like it, but I had to have something to live on. I did that for 2 years.
“Finally I was able to get a job as live-in caregiver. The first person I worked for was fine, but when she was able to live on her own again, I had to find another place. A man hired me to take care of his disabled sister, but then he started coming on to me. When I refused him, he raped me and then told me to get out. I had nowhere to go, and almost no money. The man owed me $500 for the whole month, but he only gave me $50. He said that was all I was worth. “There was a convenience store where I charged my phone, and for the next two days I called every single place in Memphis, every organization, but everywhere I called, there was either a waiting list or just a ‘no.’ I remember standing on the street in a heavy rainstorm, soaking wet, with no money and no hope. “Finally, I got a call from a shelter, and they said a bed had opened up. I got there as fast as I could and stayed for 3 months. I was so grateful to have somewhere to go. Being there helped me forget for a while what I had gone through. While I was at the shelter, a woman told me about the program I’m in now. It sounded too good to be real, so it was a while before I contacted them, but she kept encouraging me, so I finally applied and got in. That was seven months ago. “Becoming homeless was the major turning point in my life. Because of that journey, I’ve learned what it is to count my blessings and to be grateful. When I get in a bad place, I remember it was by the grace of God that I found this home. I want to get on my feet, complete this program, and try to do something to help other people. That’s my dream.” "After I retired from teaching, I wanted to get involved with bringing beauty to blighted areas through children's art. I live close by and have a friend who works with the Binghampton Development Corporation, so I talked to him about the idea, and he offered us this property on Carpenter Street. We started the Carpenter Art Garden in 2012 with just an empty lot and some picnic tables, and it's grown quite a bit since then. It's right across from Lester School and near Cornerstone Prep, so we have kids coming here from both campuses, and we do art both indoors and outdoors now. The kids do mosaics, paint murals in the neighborhood, and make art with repurposed wood and other materials. Some of the art they take home, other pieces stay in the Art Garden. We were able to purchase the house next door to the original lot, but it was in such disrepair that it had to be torn down and a new one built. People in the neighborhood helped, and we painted it purple like the original house. Now we have not only the house and art garden, but a vegetable garden a couple of doors down which is open to the community. We provide the seeds and help people learn to grow their own food. We've just expanded to another empty lot across the street, so we'll be able to offer more space for gardening. We hope to grow enough vegetables to have a mobile produce stand that can be used to get fresh food to more people. There's not much access to that in this area---just corner stores. "We want to purchase another house on the street to turn into a workshop for furniture restoration and bike repair. We're very close to the Greenline, so if kids learn how to repair and maintain bikes, some of them will be prepared to apprentice in bicycle shops when they're older. In addition to these projects, we also offer tutoring after school. In the summer, there will be activities here all day every day, including tutoring, art, and field trips. I am just overwhelmed and amazed at how everything has fallen into place. We've been able to get what we've needed when we've needed it. "On Friday evening, March 27, there will be a fundraiser / art show for the Carpenter Art Garden at Flicker Street Studio (74 Flicker St.) from 5:30 to 8:00. There will be children's art for sale as well as pieces by some of the artists who have conducted classes here for both kids and adults. Melissa Dunn, Danny Broadway, and others will have work for purchase. We hope people will come out and support these kids and this community." The Carpenter Art Garden is located at 295 Carpenter Street in Binghampton.
Website: http://www.carpenterartgarden.com "The person who's had the biggest influence on my life is my dad. He's the one who taught me how to be a good husband. I grew up seeing how hard he worked to supply what the family needed. The Bible states that a man should love his wife as Christ loves the church, and my dad did just that. He taught me not to date just anybody, but to let God lead me when it came time to choose a wife. My dad is still having a big impact on me. Because of his influence and leadership, I've become a good provider, a business owner, and a good husband. I love doing little things for my wife, like surprising her with flowers and fun outings."
"My son Keith was a happy, healthy baby, but when he was two months old, the doctor told us (on the phone) that there might be something wrong. He said he was concerned and sent us to a geneticist. Six weeks is a long time to wait for the results of a chromosomal test, so I went back to our doctor and said, 'I need to know something.' He said, 'Have you ever heard of Mongolism?' That's what they called it back then. Mongolism. Then he said, 'I'm sure it's nothing, I'm sure he's okay.' They didn't want to tell us anything. They didn't want to worry us, but of course we were alarmed. "When it was confirmed that Keith had Down Syndrome and that he would have mental retardation, all the doctors told us was to just to take him home and love him. That's all they said. They didn't give us any information or any hope. We weren't told about any resources and weren't encouraged to have any expectations for him. We had no idea what to do. "Then we heard about the National Down Syndrome Congress, which had been established about the time Keith was born. Even though there was no Internet at that time, we were still able to be in touch with parents all over the U.S. That's what saved us. That's what gave us hope. We started advocating for Keith and expecting the same things for him as for any other child. "He has done well. He started working an after-school job when he was 15, and he's been working ever since. He's 42 now, owns his own home, and lives with two friends. He's part of a Medicaid program that is available in every state. He has staff to help him with transportation, to help him learn new things on the job, to help him problem-solve when he needs it, and to help cook for him. The waiting list to get these sorts of services is long though. "Things are so different now for people who have Down Syndrome. Physicians, especially pediatricians, know so much more about it and are able to make referrals to early intervention programs much sooner. Instead of being segregated from society, people who have Down Syndrome live in and are part of their communities. Society is much more inclusive. We have a long way to go to provide the support people need to be on their own and to be independent, but we're making progress. "People with Down Syndrome are just people. They have likes and dislikes, interests, feelings, and personalities. Each person is a unique individual in the same way that all of us are." March 21 is World Down Syndrome Awareness Day.
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"I started dancing at the beginning of 2001 when I was 13 years old. We do hip-hop, modern, jazz, ballet, and everything else. We had a performance last night. I don't get nervous because I love to dance. I have a lot of friends in my dance group. That's where I met my boyfriend Kenny. He's funny and he makes me smile. I'm on my iPad doing FaceTime with him every night. He makes funny faces at me sometimes and makes me laugh. "I have Down Syndrome, but I don't like talking about it all the time. I get tired of hearing the words. I'm just me. I'm Laurie." March 21 is World Down Syndrome Awareness Day.
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"Marie and I love each other. We met June 15, 1946, got engaged on July 27, and were married three months later. We’ll have our 69th anniversary this coming October. Doing something for Marie is like doing something for myself. When she cuts a grapefruit in two, she always looks carefully at each piece and then gives the larger piece to me. I try to give it back, of course, but she won’t take it. We’ve been together a long time and have always tried to do the right thing for each other. One thing that destroys a relationship---any relationship, not just a marriage---is selfishness. "You can make a marriage work if you try. I don’t see why people leave after they have a falling out. Almost everybody you meet is a human. *laughs* We all make mistakes. The next person you’re with will have faults too. When we make a mistake, we just need to correct it. "People can learn to care about each other whether they start out that way or not. When I was growing up, I was the oldest of four children. Our mother was in poor health, so her spinster sister moved in to help take care of us. She was a stenographer and looked about like what you’d expect: plain and sensible. Well, my mother passed away not long before I finished high school. After things settled down a little, my father and aunt decided it didn’t look right for her to still be living in the house and them not married. They didn't love each other---it was a marriage of convenience---but they got married anyway; it was the right thing to do. She did kind things for him, he did kind things for her, and in time the two of them fell in love. It was a beautiful thing to see. If you make up your mind to do the right thing by each other and not to be selfish, you’ll end up caring for each other." Click HERE to listen to Bryan's version of I Can't Stop Loving You, with words written especially for his beloved Marie. Marie is suffering from Alzheimer's and was unavailable for this interview.
“When we were growing up in Smyrna, Tennessee, we didn’t have a lot, but we really didn’t know it. My mom shielded us from all that. She was a single mother raising two boys and she had to do without a lot of things. When she was younger, she dreamed of becoming an actress, but when she had her first child at 17, she understood that she had to sacrifice to make a life for us. I remember her making breakfasts of pancakes and sausage for my brother and me, and her not eating anything. At Christmas we got khakis, but she got nothing. I didn’t even notice or realize how much she gave up until I was older and had to pay my own bills. Then I thought, ‘How did she do it?’ But she did. She brought us into this world and she knew it was her responsibility to take care of us. “We didn't have access to a lot of things, but we always had music. My brother, who was a few years older than me, was on his way to becoming a deejay, so he brought music home all the time. I was always listening to it and trying to put my own flavor on it. The first rap I ever wrote was terrible. I had no idea what I was doing. I was writing about things I had never experienced, but I kept at it. I knew this was what I wanted to do. I didn't know how it was going to happen, but I was determined to be successful so that future generations of my family could experience a different way of life. “I started to understand the business side of the music industry four years ago when I moved to Memphis. I have an MBA [from MTSU], but the music industry is very different from a lot of other trades. I had to dig in and learn the ins and outs of it for myself. I was still writing music all the time but also spending 3-4 hours every day doing research and finding out everything I could about the business. If there was a term or concept I didn’t know, I’d research and study it until I understood. I wanted to educate myself, to be ready. That’s when things started happening for me. “The music business is fickle though. In school, you know that if you do this, this, and this, you’ll earn your degree, but there is no if-then in the music industry. You can do everything on the checklist and still hear ‘No’ or you can do nothing and hit the lottery. But do you want to depend on hitting the lottery every day? I don’t think so. You’ve got to do your homework; you’ve got to make a plan and work the steps. You’ll hear a lot of people telling you “No” along the way, but preparing yourself increases your chances. You might prepare yourself and still not catch a break, but if you’re not ready, you sure won’t. Do your homework, know how to package your product, and put it out correctly. “My mother is ecstatic that I’m doing well. She doesn’t understand everything about the process, but she’s proud of my brother and me. She’s not looking to get anything back. That’s not why she sacrificed. She doesn’t have those kinds of expectations. She just wants us to succeed. She’s strong. She’s the reason I have energy, the reason I have hope. “Sometimes I go to dark places, but then I remember that so many of the greats in my life have been told ‘No’ over and over. The greatest person in my life, my mom, has been told ‘No’ a million times. She hasn’t had it easy. In the government housing where we lived until I was 21, even the pizza man said ‘No.’ He wouldn’t deliver there. So I don’t give up. I can’t be upset when I hit obstacles. So I don’t get to play a particular venue? That’s OK. I just say: That’s all right. This ‘No’ is getting me closer to my next ‘Yes.’” Tyke T was the winner of the first ever "Memphis Grizzlies Showcase", which gave him the opportunity for a studio session with Boo Mitchell. Listen HERE to a snippet from Shut Up and Grind, recorded in that session and powered by our own Memphis Grizzlies!
FB: http://www.facebook.com/DrivenTykeT "My wife and I moved into the Heights area because we love the people and want to be part of this community. The neighborhood's biggest asset is the people who have remained here, despite the changes the area has gone through over the years. Those people are friends of ours now, as are the new people who have come in. We love the sense of community here. It's nice to walk down the street and see people we know, have them over for dinner, and visit in each other's homes. We love it. We hope more people will move in and appreciate what's available here. I think it's important to help revitalize communities like the Heights. The reason I get up in the morning and commit myself to this neighborhood and to the transformation of my own life is Christ. That's the lens I look through." Jared Myers is the Executive Director of the Heights Community Development Corporation. Their current focus is housing.
"How old are you?"
"Two." "And what are you going to be when you grow up?" "A princess. Like Elsa." |
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March 2021
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