Cramming art into an elevator
Happy Friday, friends! This is Tennessean storytelling columnist Brad Schmitt.
Quick question: How many of you are getting less work done now that we're back in the office?
So far today, my esteemed reporter colleagues and I, in side convos, have tackled topics such as the dangers of bouncy houses, really big sandwiches and how physical therapy really hurts because they keep working the part that's sore.
The amount of actual work done? Meh.
I love being back in the office!
Anyhoo, here are this week's Good News stories. 😁
Dude, get your colon checked!
Auto repair shop owner Travis Brown counts himself among old-school guys who tend to ignore pain. You get hurt? Dust yourself off and move along.
About six years ago, Travis felt a pain in his lower left side and completely ignored it. The pain grew and got so bad that he essentially stopped eating. Travis finally went to the doctor and, well, surgeons eventually pulled a cancerous one-pound mass out of his guts.
Now, Travis, 51, is five years cancer-free, and he has jumped into Lemons car racing — cars worth no more than $500 — with his adult sons.
Travis painted cancer screening messages on the car — "Beat cancer," "Get Checked," "Dinosaurs Didn't Get Checked and Now They're Extinct". (Gotta have a little fun.)
"I'm trying to say, 'Don’t be an idiot like me,'" Travis told me. "'Let’s get out there and get tested.'"
Travis also has encouraged folks on social media and customers at his shops, Quality Tire in Murfreesboro and Smyrna, to get cancer screenings.
"If one person hears my message and gets tested and it saves their life, it’s all worth it," he said.
Good on ya, Travis. Wishes for continued good health — and continued fun slogans on your race car.
The Frist Art Museum's latest exhibit is going up — and down
It's called a micro exhibition for a reason, I guess.
The Frist is putting up its latest display in an elevator. And the curator who put it together, TSU student Jonathan Diggs, calls it "moving." Clever, ain't it?
Jonathan collaborated with artist and TSU alum Elise Kendrick to put together Salon Noir, which "explores and pays homage to the beauty of African American women, their unique hairstyles, and the Black salon experience," the museum says.
"I originally struggled with the idea of the exhibition being small," Jonathan told me via email.
"However, my confidence grew as I continued working on the exhibition and engaging with the staff. They have all been extremely excited for this project to be completed....
"Ultimately, me seeing the installation process happen and seeing the months of hard work come to fruition left me speechless. Seeing the designs created in full size was amazing and [I] am so happy."
The exhibition opens today. Congrats, Jonathan and Elise! Psyched to see it. I'm sure my experience with your exhibit will have its ups and downs. 😂
She loves her old foster kids soooo much that ...
Spring Hill City Administrator Pam Caskie has a big, big heart. She and her late hubby, Myles, cared for 75 foster kids. Yep, 75 of 'em!
And Pam did a great job of keeping in touch with her fosters after they aged out of the system. In fact, she got so close with four of them that Pam adopted those "kids" — now ages 38 to 41 — in July.
Isn't that amazing?
Check out the whole beautiful story — written by my colleague Melonee Hurt — right here.
Tell Me Something Good
Each week, I like to ask YOU to tell me something wonderful that's happened recently in your life (in two sentences, please 😊). Please email me at brad@tennessean.com to tell me something good.
Here are your answers for this past week.
► A very sweet birthday indeed
"I ate wonderful fruits and vegetables from my grandparents' farm in Kentucky while I was there for my birthday. And my coworkers bought me birthday pizza!"
— Hannah King, (newly) 24, inside sales, Smyrna
► That's my boy!
"My son is starting his junior year at Lipscomb University on the honor roll. He's majoring in sports media and headed toward his dream job in broadcasting!"
— Wendell "Bizz" Bigsby, 63, frontman/singer/songwriter, West Nashville
► A delicious move back to Music City
"I moved back to Nashville from Knoxville, and I'm so happy to be back in this city! I also got to see one of my good friends and catch up with some pizza from NY Pie 🍕."
— Michael Brock, 21, restaurant worker, West Nashville
► New job, new outlook
"I had kind of a crisis of faith wondering if I was on the right career path and then got downsized. I did some soul searching and made a minor adjustment in the type of facilities I choose to work for, and now, I am greatly fulfilled again."
— Orlando Andrews, 49, recovery navigator, Antioch
Let's start spreading the Good News 📣
Thanks so much for reading the first two months of The Good News with Brad Schmitt. I really love spreading your good news around the Nashville area and beyond.
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Dig into more good news stories below. And please reach out to me at brad@tennessean.com with any good news you'd like to share.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Cramming art into an elevator
