Blog Archives

Darryl

12/31/2014

"I grew up in church, but one thing led to another, and I got off track. I spent time in the penitentiary, but then I gave my life to the Lord three years ago. I did get high once or twice when I first got out of prison, but no more. Life is better now."
"Who do you have to encourage you?"
"Nobody. I don't have any family. I'm on my own."
"What do you want your life to look like 5 or 10 years from now?'
"I just want to make it. And I want to fall deeper in love with the Lord."

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Geno

12/30/2014

"Memphis has always been about the people and the music, and not necessarily in that order. B.B. King, Elvis, Muddy Waters, Steve Ray Vaughan, Clyde Hopkins, and a whole lot more. Everybody came here. People always said, 'If you haven't played Memphis, you haven't played', so musicians from everywhere would come to Beale Street. I remember when I was a kid and they'd be lined up all along here, sitting on Coca-Cola cases with their tip buckets in front of them, just to say they'd played Memphis. I was shining shoes right across the street, and I saw and heard them all."

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Andy

12/30/2014

"When you grow up in Memphis, you have a desire to play and sing, like so many others from here. I started out 35 years ago, performing at Libertyland, an amusement park Memphis used to have. I live in Nashville now, but I'm back here a lot. To those who are just breaking into the music business, I'd say: 'Do it because you love it, not because you expect to make a lot of money. And remember, you're not doing it just for yourself. There's a lot of give and take.'"

Andy Childs ---
Website: http://andychilds.com/Home.html
FB: http://www.facebook.com/andy.childs.62?fref=ts
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/andychilds

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Craig

12/29/2014

"I'm into music---songwriting, singing, playing guitar for parties---and people always ask me, 'Why aren't you doing more with your music?' I want to, but my daughter was born when I was 22 years old, and being a young parent is hard. I'm still trying to find out what I'm meant to do in life, while at the same time trying to bring up my child."

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Terry

12/29/2014

"From the time I was a child all the way up through my teens, I went down to my grandfather's farm in Byhalia, Mississippi, anytime school was out. Our family lived in Memphis, and every year I looked forward to being on that farm with him. Sometimes I took the bus down, and other times he'd come up and get me. We'd hunt rabbits, cut firewood, and take care of everything. He raised mostly vegetables, but he had chickens and a few cows too. My grandmother would give me and my sister a lard bucket with just a little water in it---about this much---and we would soften up the cows' teats with that water and then we'd milk them. We'd bring the full bucket back to my grandmother, and we'd churn it and scrape the butter off the top. Once we got the butter off, we could drink the milk.

"I loved my grandfather. I remember riding in the back of his old Chevrolet truck, his farm workers singing old country songs and me just looking up at the sky. He was a mentor to me, and I looked to him for guidance. He took me places a grandfather ought to take his grandson. I miss him. I wish he was still here, but he died when I was in my twenties.

"I wish I could relive those days with him. I know I can't, but I wish I could. I just hope I can be an inspiration to my grandkids like he was to me."

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Kayden

12/28/2014

"I go into elementary schools and give presentations on how to cope with bullying, how to deal with it if you’re being bullied, how to put a stop to it, and the types of bullying, which are physical, verbal, and cyber. I also do a mini-concert at the end. I have a song called What If, and the first verse is about an 11-year-old girl named Jasmine McClain who was being bullied and hung herself because of it. The second verse is about a teenage boy who had a similar problem. He was being bullied, but when he fought back, the bully decided to get him back by getting a girl to go online and talk to him and act like she liked him. Then everything that he told her was used against him, and he eventually killed himself. These are true stories; they were in the news. My dad came across them while he was browsing the web, and we decided that since they were so tragic and they can’t tell their own stories, we would tell the stories for them.

"If I could say one thing to kids who are being bullied, it would be: 'Be strong. Even if it’s hard, tell a teacher or another adult.' If you’re a parent and your child is being bullied, go to the school. Make an appointment with the principal and insist that he or she meet with the bully’s parents to work it out. Also, if your child is being bullied, comfort him and let him know that you understand he is going through a hard time."

Kayden Bowie is a 2014 recipient of the SPARK Award for his outstanding anti-bullying work in the schools. He is available for 60-90 minute school / community group performances. These performances are geared for elementary age children and include videos, quizzes, activities, and a mini-concert. His presentation addresses the following:

What is bullying?
What can you do if you are being bullied?
What can you do to help someone who is being bullied?

Website & contact info: http://www.epresskitz.com/kayden
FB: http://www.facebook.com/kaydenmusic
Twitter: @kaydenmusic
YouTube: What If (video footage from the short film Ronan's Escape is used by permission of Smooth Motion Productions)
Article from Just My Memphis: http://justmymemphis.com/kayden-wins-big/

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Lloyd

12/27/2014

"I'm 62 years old, and I need help. I'm hungry, I'm sick, and I don't have nowhere to stay. You got to have money to go to a shelter. I stay on the street at night and do the best I can. I don't have enough money to live on, so I have to steal, then I get arrested and go to jail. I pray, but don't nothing change. I don't know why God don't answer my prayers."

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Katie & Karen

12/27/2014

Katie: "My big sister is fun. We both like the same things, and she cares about me."

Karen: "She's never boring to be around. She's always with me when I go out, so I always have company. We can laugh and joke together. We have the same sense of humor."

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Adrianna

12/26/2014

Mama: "Santa brought her a car this year. She was jumping up and down, she was so excited."

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Ty

12/26/2014

"I started smoking weed when I was 12 years old, then progressed to pills, and was on heroin by the time I was 15. I did that for 8 years, but recently the light came on for me; I guess you could say I got to a point where I was ready to pay the light bill. I've been clean one month and two days. That may not sound like a long time, but before that, I couldn't tell you when I'd been clean for 2 hours. I can joke about it some, but I don't glorify it; I remember the hardships. I've found a higher power, and I'm turning my life over to her. I call it a 'her' because the world is so beautiful, it must be a 'her' who designed it. I'm growing spiritually. I meditate and pray. I talk to my higher power a lot."

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