There is nothing beautiful about a neighborhood razed and left for kudzu and vines to swallow trees whole, while grass begins forming veins in the cracks of the abandoned streets. There is nothing beautiful about a lot tended only enough to keep back tall grasses. So when I say I love the patch of abandoned land called Westwood Gardens, I get that it’s kind of weird.
Read MoreThe crowd was larger this year than any crowd the past seven. The Carl Grant Events Center at Union University was filled with tables surrounded by people of all kinds, ages, colors, and worlds held together by the sad reality that someone they loved has been murdered—some of them fifty years ago and some five months ago. The reality that no one truly understands this grief is echoed in the camaraderie across the room.
Read MoreMemorial Day is more than an extra day off of work, a long weekend at the river, flags in a lawn, or parades. It is not designed as a day to honor those that are serving but a day designed to remember those that have died while serving this country and protecting the freedom of its citizens. For this reason, it is a bittersweet holiday. It is bitter in the sense that those we love are no longer with us; it is sweet because we get to remember them. We get to smile and feel their presence.
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