The Big Green Bus at Black Seeds Urban Farms (Photo: Abigail Morici)
This past Saturday, April 20th, Black Seeds Urban Farms welcomed the Big Green Bus Tour to their community farmers market — the goal of the day: to bring the community together over the power of growing food.
The Big Green Bus Tour, an initiative of the Denver-based nonprofit Big Green, traveled to Burnet, Texas, and San Antonio before making its way to Memphis, with plans to stop in Atlanta, Savannah, and Minneapolis in the coming weeks. The bus serves a mobile education center with a working kitchen, seed library, podcast recording area, and more.
“We’ve never gone on tour,” says Parker Rechsteiner, assistant director of events for Big Green. “And the conversation on our team was, there’s all these incredible stories and incredible partners we’re working with, wouldn’t it be cool to go visit them and be able to share some of those stories and have celebrations like this and get more gardens out in the world?”
Inside the bus (Photos: Courtesy Big Green)
Black Seeds Urban Farm is one such partner, a part of the Big Green DAO, which offers grants to organizations like Black Seeds. “They saw our passions,” says Bobby Rich, owner of Black Seeds. “They saw what we were already doing in the community, and they just wanted to help fund and push that. So it could be bigger.”
For both Big Green and Black Seeds, the mantra, “Growing food changes lives,” is at the core of their missions, says Derravia Rich, co-owner of Black Seeds. “We [Big Green and organizations like Black Seeds] have a passion to grow food in areas that sometimes are intentionally disinvested because grocery stores get to choose where they set their shop up at,” Bobby adds. “They usually pick the average, medium income [area] that kind of helps them out.”
Because of this, Rechsteiner says, “We know that a lot of communities in the United States don’t have fresh food readily available. Organizations like Black Seeds Urban Farms are closing that gap and saying we’re not going to wait for something to change. We’re going to be the change and start a garden and get people in the garden and get people growing healthier, more sustainable food.
(Photos: Courtesy Big Green)
“We believe growing food changes lives and we say that for a lot of different reasons. It gets people outside; it gets them closer to nature; it gets them closer to their food supply,” Rechsteiner continues. “It gives them a healthier, more sustainable source of food that they have ownership over and that they can control. It gets you closer to the impacts of climate change in your community, and it also brings people together in the garden. So all of those factors, when someone takes the step to plant their first seed and start their garden, it’s kind of opening up a world that the possibilities are kind of limitless.”
Events like Saturday’s community farmers market and the Big Green Bus Tour can spark that first step. For the day, several local farmers, groups, and makers set up tables around the community garden, hoping to share sparks of their own — Green Leaf Learning Farm, Ounce of Hope, Black MajesTEA, Groovy Gratitude, and Halls of Ivy Academy to name a few. There were also culinary lessons, a live nutrition podcast, and free grow bags with soil and seeds for basil, radishes, and bunching onions.
Already, though, Black Seeds, Derravia says, is “expanding because we truly need the space. It is not just Greenlaw Community members who come here for fresh food or to use this as an enjoyable space, but local Memphians. And so because of that, the need has increased tremendously. The secret’s out.”
The Rich family (Photo: Courtesy Big Green)
Their original lot that Black Seeds stands on now — the lot that was host to a bustling farmers market on Saturday with families, chickens, music, bubbles, and so much greenery — Bobby describes as once being three acres of blight. “It was just weeds everywhere, car parts,” he says. “This was a shortcut to get back and forth from the store. And it just kind of fell into disrepair. Once we got a hold of it and just long story short, we just knew it was right. We knew this is where we wanted to be. … It was just calling out to us. And so we can feel like it was life here before.”
And, clearly, life has been resuscitated back into the space. “We are very close to all of our neighbors,” Derravia says. “We have older neighbors who come and use our space to exercise. They come to read books, lay out in our hammocks. And not to mention that our garden space is also used for events. We’ve had pretty much any event you can think of from birthday parties to weddings. … This is ‘God’s purpose’ work.”
Black Seeds Urban Farms is at 580 North 4th Street. Follow them on Instagram (@blackseedsurbanfarms). Visit their website here.
That’s the buzz growing around the MEMernet and the Mid-South-er-net this morning. The news of the gas station/restaurant/store/jerky bar/clean-bathroom haven/not a truck stop/roadside phenomenon busted out Wednesday morning from the Facebook page of state Sen. Page Walley (R-Savannah).
“BUC-EE’S-WELCOME TO FAYETTE COUNTY!!!” Walley exclaimed in his post that had been shared 50 times in its first three hours of existence. “Another great economic and commercial achievement for our District! *beaver emoji* *handclap emoji*”
That post carried an image of a flyer detailing the Bucc-ee’s planned location at I-40 exit 28 in Galloway, Tennessee. It also had some interesting stats about the company and the typical Bucc-ee’s store.
Credit: Sen. Page Walley via Facebook
• first opened in 1982
• 46 stores
• 28 travel centers
• starting wage of around $17-$19 per hour
• 120 gas pumps
• 71 clean bathrooms
• typical number of full-time employees (175-200)
• typical annual payroll $9 million
• $60 million expenditure per location
• $50 million typical gross sales per location (not counting fuel)
Protesters stage a "die-in" on the rotunda floor outside of the House chamber at the Tennessee State Capitol on April 23, 2024, after lawmakers passed a bill to let certain teachers and school staff carry handguns in schools. (Photo: Marta W. Aldrich / Chalkbeat)
Protesters screamed “blood on your hands!”, then lay down on the floor of the Tennessee State Capitol as if they were victims of gun violence, after lawmakers passed legislation Tuesday to let some teachers and staff carry guns at school.
In between, House Speaker Cameron Sexton paused business in the House of Representatives and ordered state troopers to clear the spectator gallery of protesters.
The 68-28 vote came one year after an intruder shot and killed three children and three adults at a Nashville school, prompting mass protests by gun control advocates and ongoing calls for tighter gun laws.
But instead of restricting gun access in one of America’s most gun-friendly states, the GOP-controlled legislature is sending Republican Gov. Bill Lee a bill that would expand it.
Gun control advocates were angry.
“They’re going in the wrong direction,” said Marley Mello, a 15-year-old Nashville student. “Guns are the problem, not the solution.”
Lisa Bruce, a retired Tennessee principal, called it a “Band-Aid to cover a gaping wound.”
“I could maybe get on board with it if we were already doing common sense measures to reduce gun violence in our state,” she said. “But this feels like a huge leap.”
The bill’s Republican sponsors have said the legislation is needed to provide an armed presence on every Tennessee school campus, especially in rural areas. Nearly a third of the state’s 1,800-plus public schools don’t have a school resource officer, despite an influx of state money to pay for them, due to a shortage in the profession.
On the House floor, Rep. Ryan Williams, of Cookeville, emphasized that carrying a gun would be voluntary and allowed only if the local school district and law enforcement agencies agree to the policy. The school employee carrying the gun would have to have an enhanced permit, complete 40 hours of certified training in school policing at their own expense, and pass a mental health evaluation and FBI background check.
Republican lawmakers voting for the measure liked that local officials ultimately could decide whether the policy works for their community.
“I trust my local law enforcement. I trust my director of schools. I trust my teacher,” said Rep. Brock Martin, of Huntingdon.
But Democrats said the effort was misguided, shortsighted, and dangerous.
“We’re going to give somebody a little pop gun to go against a weapon of war. It does not work, folks,” said Rep. Bo Mitchell, of Nashville.
Tennesseans would be better served, Democrats argued, if the legislature passed laws requiring safe storage of firearms and background checks, as well as to temporarily remove guns from any person who is an imminent risk to themselves or others — all proposals that have been defeated by Republicans in charge.
The vote came after an hour of debate in which Democrats tried unsuccessfully to change the bill to exclude their counties, ensure parents are notified when their child’s teacher is armed, or remove a clause that shields districts and law enforcement agencies from civil lawsuits over how a school employee uses, or doesn’t use, a gun.
“While we all want safe schools and an end to gun violence, arming teachers with guns is not the way,” wrote Sarah Shoop Neumann, whose 5-year-old son was enrolled in Covenant’s preschool.
Another Covenant parent, Mary Joyce, called the bill “ludicrous.”
“Had my daughter’s teacher left the classroom to pursue the shooter, a classroom of 9-year-olds would have been left to protect themselves,” Joyce said.
Jeff Bledsoe, the executive director of the Tennessee Sheriffs’ Association, told Chalkbeat he expects few teachers to carry a gun if the bill becomes law. More likely candidates, he said, are school staff members who have a military or law enforcement background.
His organization opposed the legislation in 2019 when Williams sponsored a similar bill. However, it is neutral on the current bill after working with the sponsors to add more requirements before a person can carry a weapon at school.
Two weeks earlier, the bill easily cleared the Senate, where spectators also were ejected from the gallery after defying warnings from Lt. Gov. Randy McNally to stay quiet.
The governor has signaled he likely will sign the measure into law.
“I’ve said for many years that I’m open to the idea, but the particulars are important,” he told reporters last week.
An advocate for parental rights, the governor declined to comment on the bill’s intent to block a parent from being notified if their child’s teacher is carrying a gun.
Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
Anderson Goin has made some ugly art. It’s okay, though. He knows this to be true himself. For Goin, “ugly” isn’t some big, off-putting word. If it were, the contemporary abstract painter wouldn’t have named his gallery, opening this Saturday, the Ugly Art Company.
And, hey, “ugly” is in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it? That’s what Goin discovered for himself at one of his first shows. “My friend and her mother — I was standing behind them and they did not know that — the mom looked to my friend and she goes, ‘His work is just so ugly,’” he says of what he now describes as a funny moment. “I heard that obviously, and thankfully that piece ended up selling. Naturally, it hurt my feelings a little bit, but … that’s kind of how I’ve always had a special place in my heart for the word ‘ugly’ and how people use it. I just decided to embrace it and make it something beautiful.”
If anything, Goin reflects now, sometimes artists need to first create something “ugly” to unearth artistic beauty. It’s part of the artistic process. “Looking back on a lot of my younger, my older stuff, there’s a special place that I keep for some of my older work, but,” he says, “a lot of times like, oh gosh, that was not great. And those critiques are the ones that hopefully have helped me along the way. But, yeah, that probably was a little ugly, but hey, we love that.”
“If you’re not getting good feedback,” Goin adds, “you’re gonna keep making the same mistakes.”
That innate need for feedback, it turns out, drove Goin to start Ugly in 2021, not as a gallery space but as a collective. He’d recently graduated from the Memphis College of Art, and without the structure of critiques built into his classes, he was lost. “My ultimate goal was to create a group of like-minded artists so that we could share our work, have critiques together, and then also I would share their work through our social media channels,” Goin says. “At the time, I was trying to build a website for us, so people could just have another way to promote their work and to sell their work. And it kind of just grew from there.”
The collective, which now consists of some 14 artists of many disciplines, has worked without a physical hub for the past few years, exhibiting in shows at places like the Medicine Factory, having virtual critiques with the very issues you’d expect from any virtual meeting. But this new gallery space, designed by cnct. design, will allow for consistent shows and critiques, much more conducive to the group’s needs. “We can do everything that we had wanted to.”
(Photo: Courtesy Ugly Art Company)
Ugly has taken over the old Spectrum night club downstairs space in the Edge District, and Goin aims to make it “refined and sophisticated.” But, he adds, “one of our whole tenets is that we want people to have fun, and we want our space to be welcoming to everybody, whether you have an MFA and you’ve studied art your whole life or if you’ve really never looked at a piece of art critically ever. We want people to have fun.”
Goin and his fellow Ugly artists want to break down any anxieties people may have about coming into a gallery space. Part of that will be through education — “talking to them about our art and the artists in our group,” Goin says. “The people in Ugly are super approachable, super friendly. And that was a big deal for us: We wanted to create a group of people that are hungry to not only get better themselves, but to help people along the way.
“That’s kind of our common ground — that we care deeply about the arts. We care deeply about Memphis and so that’s kind of what has threaded us together — that love of art and of community.”
The collective also plans to “open the doors up to as many possibilities as we can get to as many different kids of people as we can get in the doors.” Movie nights, ballet performances, open critiques, and workshops are just some of the ideas that have been floated.
“We want to cultivate a space that encourages all art forms, whether it be dance or music or cooking,” Goin adds. “We hope to incorporate all of that into meaningful experiences that people can walk away from feeling really good about whenever they leave our space. We want to give love and have people feeling full when they leave our space.
Etowah Hunt Club hosted a dinner at the gallery in February. (Photo: Courtesy Ugly Art Company)
“We’re really hopeful that this is going to be super beneficial not only for the patrons and the Edge District and everyone that comes to see the space and enjoy it, but for us to grow together and to help each other, get to the next stages of our careers.”
For Goin, he never could’ve imagined opening a space like this before he founded Ugly. “I think most artists will probably tell you, it’s harder to sell your own work sometimes, but I really enjoy talking about the artists in Ugly. I enjoy talking about their work. And because I believe in them, and I believe in how talented they are, it kind of came naturally and fell into place.”
As such, Goin says, Ugly as a gallery will always be artist-friendly and artist-first. “We have really cut our commission down really low,” he says. “We don’t have any kind of exclusivity things going on. We want to create opportunities and not take away opportunities. And so, hopefully the more ugly grows, this gives people opportunities to meet other people, meet other collectors — if somebody can take a big step, then we feel like we’ve done our job.”
For the gallery’s Saturday opening, all of Ugly’s artists will be on display. Amy LaVere will be playing, and Ballet Memphis will pay homage to all art forms with a short dance performance.
The members of the Ugly Art Company are Anderson Goin, Genevieve Farr, Zack Orsborn, Hank Smith, Jojo Brame, Heather Howle, Ivy-Jade Edwards, Will Ferguson, Olivia Malone, Sarah Schulman, Sam Reeves Hill, Plastik Olives (Paige Ellens), Rodney Ellis, and Logan Daws.
Follow the Ugly Art Company on Instagram (@theuglyartco). Visit their website here.
Ugly Art Company Grand Opening, 635 Madison Avenue, April 27, 6 p.m.
“The reality is companies have choices when it comes to where to invest and bring jobs and opportunity. We have worked tirelessly on behalf of our constituents to bring good-paying jobs to our states. These jobs have become part of the fabric of the automotive manufacturing industry. Unionization would certainly put our states’ jobs in jeopardy.”
Sounds just like the kind of statement a well-paid automaker CEO would make when faced with the prospect of his company’s lowly worker bees forming a union. Except in the preceding case, it’s the kind of statement six Southern Republican governors would — and did — make at the prospect of the United Auto Workers unionizing a car-manufacturing plant in their state.
The governors — of Alabama, Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and, of course, Tennessee — were getting the vapors over the notion that factory workers would dare to organize for better working conditions. “Lawsy mercy,” said Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, in a statement. “We cain’t have no communist unions moving into our bidness-lovin’ Land o’ Cotton™. Old times here are not forgotten! Next thing you know, these uppity workin’ folks will be wantin’ gummit healthcare and decent public schools and gun reform.” Okay, ol’ Voucher Bill didn’t really say that, but he sure as hell thought it. And to be fair, he wasn’t the first Lee to get his butt kicked by a union.
Here’s another gem from the governors’ statement: “We want to keep good paying jobs and continue to grow the American auto manufacturing sector here. A successful unionization drive will stop this growth in its tracks, to the detriment of American workers.” Right, because you clowns are always all about the “workers.”
The scare tactics didn’t work. Employees at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga voted by a three-to-one margin to join the United Auto Workers last Friday, making their factory the first in the South to unionize since the 1940s.
It’s no wonder the governors were scared. The GOP economic model is to keep workers underpaid and uneducated, grateful for any crumbs their corporate overlords deem them worthy to receive. In return, the politicians get fat corporate “contributions” and corporations get sweet tax breaks to move into the states of the old Confederacy. When it comes to workers’ rights, the mantra for those at the top of this pyramid scheme is, “Look away, Dixieland.”
Another vital part of the GOP’s strategy has been to keep working-class Americans fighting amongst themselves, mostly by exploiting racial division. Gotta make sure the MAGA whites stay mad at the African Americans and the Latinos. And vice versa. The GOP knows that if all those folks ever organized to challenge the game being played on them, well, it could get ugly for their overlords.
That’s why it was so edifying to see videos of the Volkswagen plant workers — white, Black, and brown — celebrating their successful union vote with fireworks, chants, and cheers. They were celebrating getting a voice in their workplace, including better healthcare and retirement benefits, and more paid time off. They were celebrating getting some skin in the game.
Current wages for workers in Chattanooga range from $23 to $32, according to Volkswagen. The UAW noted that following their strikes last year against Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, wages for the highest-paid production workers at those plants rose to more than $40 an hour, plus improved benefits. Fireworks, indeed.
Interestingly, Volkswagen said it respects its workers’ right to determine who should represent their interests. “We fully support an NLRB vote so every team member has a chance to vote in privacy in this important decision,” the company said. It’s almost like the state governors were fear-mongering or something. Or maybe the company actually respects its workers. What a concept.
Next up for the UAW — which says it plans to try to unionize a dozen Southern automaker facilities — are two Mercedes-Benz plants in Alabama, where a vote on unionization will take place in mid-May. The UAW says a majority of workers at those plants have already signed authorization cards supporting union membership.
The results of the Volkswagen vote, could have far-reaching consequences for the labor movement in the region, said Stephen Silvia, a professor at American University who was quoted in a recent Washington Post article: “If the UAW can prevail,” he said, “it means that the Volkswagen victory isn’t an anomaly and we’re really seeing a turnaround in attitudes in workers in the South.”
If so, it’s kudos to Tennessee’s auto workers for standing up to the governors and for leading the turnaround in attitudes toward workers’ rights. And here’s hoping Alabama can keep the momentum going. Roll Tide.
Genma Holmes, Ms. Santa (Photo: Courtesy Genma Holmes)
Hope you’ve been good so far this year. Because it’s not just that Santa Claus is coming to town, but that hundreds of Santas are already streaming into Memphis. While they already know who’s been naughty and who’s been nice, you might catch a break this week since they’re busy attending the International Santa Celebration (ISC) April 25th through 28th at the Renasant Convention Center.
That’s a lot of whiskers. And ho-hos. And twinkly eyes, all of which will be taking in Memphis for days of workshops, conferences, baseball, a river tour, a parade on Beale Street, and a hall full of vendors.
The ISC happens every two years and is open to all types of Christmas performers. Don’t expect all of them to embrace the traditional in their roles, although you can expect them to all share a love of children, a message of kindness, a belief in giving, and an affinity for wearing red.
The Santa Parade is a highlight of the ISC. (Photo: Courtesy Genma Holmes)
Yes, there will be mostly old guys with white hair and beards, but there’s room for Mrs. Clauses and elves. If you’re really lucky, you’ll get to meet Genma Holmes, who is Ms. Claus and devoted to the role.
For Holmes, it started when she was a child growing up in Fayette, Mississippi. “My grandparents were my Mr. and Mrs. Claus,” she says. “So I learned the heart of serving others through watching my grandparents be that example. They did it for their grandchildren, and they taught us to serve other people and give back in our communities.”
It was a perfect fit for her, blending not only the joy of the season, but the culture of the South, particularly one where civil rights leaders set the tone. “Nobody was a stranger,” she says. “Everyone got fed, everybody got a hug no matter who you were — that whole spirit that embodied serving others and taking care of your community.”
Holmes, outgoing by nature, carried it even further: “I wasn’t a Mrs. Claus; I wasn’t an elf. I just said I’m going to be everything my grandfather could be. Except I’m not a male. But I didn’t want to get into anything other than just being Santa, so I took on the persona of Ms. Santa — and the rest is history.”
That’s been 27 years of taking the spirit of Santa all over the country. Holmes calls herself a serial entrepreneur, and her list of accomplishments prove it. She’s based in Nashville and runs a pest control company; she has a media consulting firm, edits publications, and is a media influencer. As Ms. Santa, she is deeply involved in promoting the Yule spirit and is on the board of directors of International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas, better known as IBRBS, which is the primary sponsor of the ISC.
Stephen Arnold, Fabled Santa (Photo: Olivia Marino)
The president and CEO of IBRBS is Stephen Arnold, a Memphian and member of the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame. Arnold is a longtime member of the local MidSouthern Santa Society and astute observer of the Santa industry who you’ve almost certainly seen around town at the major Christmas events. Known as Fabled Santa, he’s been interviewed in The New York Times and knows as much about the business of being the jolly old elf as anyone in or out of the North Pole.
Arnold ran the Only Kids specialty toy shop for 22 years, a store familiar to many Memphians for its location at the Regalia Shopping Center. Having a toy store was his entrée to being Santa, although it wasn’t his goal. There were times during the holiday season when the Santa he hired wouldn’t show up, so the hefty Arnold would don a suit and entertain the youngsters. It wasn’t something he could do or wanted to do on a regular basis since, after all, he had a toy store to run at the busiest time of year. Eventually, though, he closed the store in 2002 and found his calling as a Santa Claus who got into it in a big way.
He’s been wrangling the details in putting on the ISC, and the lineup will have plenty for anyone in the Christmas entertainment sector. “The conference itself is primarily an educational opportunity,” he says. “We will be offering 48 classes on various topics pertaining to the Christmas community at any one time.”
As happens with conferences, there are often sessions that overlap, but the schedule mixes them in a way that allows for choices. There are classes, for example, for Mrs. Clauses. There are meetings aimed at Santas who have real beards, and then those who wear fake beards, more elegantly described as Designer Bearded Santas. Although the IBRBS is for real-bearded Santas, the ISC is open to anyone, no matter the status of their chin whiskers. There will be elves, reindeer handlers, and more.
“The advantage to this conference versus attending a specialized Santa school,” Arnold says, “is that every school has the master who’s developed the curriculum and they obviously teach what they’re most familiar with. There are guest speakers they may have during the usually two-day events. This is a three-day event with 42 talented, experienced speakers. As an attendee, you can choose the curriculum that you want to choose, so you have a big selection. At a school, every attendee will attend every class — there’s no choice except what’s decided upon by the owners of the school.”
Then there is the networking. “There’s the camaraderie, the sharing of experiences, the meeting of people that you may have only met on Facebook or heard about through something else,” Arnold says. “The attendees are coming from France, England, the Netherlands, Israel, Australia, Canada, and almost every state, so there’s real opportunity to meet people that you wouldn’t ordinarily meet.”
It wouldn’t be much of a convention if there weren’t vendors. It’ll be something like a huge toy store, but for Santas.
“If you’re looking for a new suit, we’re going to have three, I think four people who specialize in suits,” Arnold says. “We’ve got four vendors that are going to be purveying leather goods. We’ve got two, three beard maintenance, beard oils and bombs. We’ve got several of them for other accessories like the belt buckles and pins and bells, things like that.”
Does this sound tempting? Well, you’re in luck since the vendor area is open to the public. It’s especially useful for those Santas who can’t make the entire event. “There are a lot of Santas who can’t attend because of timing or a commitment with work or money,” Arnold says. “We know that there are quite a few coming from Arkansas and some from Mississippi who are just coming up for a day to shop. And we expect that there will be some interested people in the community, maybe even some prospective Santas who may have been thinking, ‘Boy, I think I’d like to do that.’ They can come in and see all of the goods.”
But what about the programming of the convention? What’s on the wish list? There is a variety of offerings that will appeal to the novice elf or the seasoned Santa. Here’s a sampling:
• Mrs. Claus Flying Solo
• Ho Ho How to Market Your Santa Business
• The Enduring Magic of the Classic “Twas the Night Before Christmas”
• The Santa Clause: What to Include in Your Booking Agreements
• American Sign Language — Practical Use for Santa and Mrs. Claus
• The Art of Projecting Your Voice
• Setting Up a Virtual Workshop
• How to Stay Cool in Your Costume
• Santa and His Pipe
• Working With Children With Special Needs
• Miracle on Diversity Street
• How to Create Magical Home Visits
• Reading to Children
• Developing Your Christmas Brand
• Developing Your Christmas Wardrobe
• Surviving the Season
And that’s just a partial listing. But every one of those topics means something to Christmas performers. It’s fun to be with kids and amuse them, but there are scads of details for a successful Santa to tend to and there are lots of ways things can go wrong. And that’s not the impression anyone wants to leave.
Arnold says the workshops and sessions are geared to being a successful Santa. “Let’s talk about the business of being a Christmas performer,” he says of the program lineup. “So many of them see themselves as Santa and try to learn how to portray the role, but so many don’t know anything about being in the business of being Santa, how to take care of your receipts, what’s deductible, what’s not, how to be a professional in the industry.”
For all the tradition that seems to be part of the Santa mythos, change is very much a factor in what Santas do, how they present, and what they can bring to keep the holiday spirit alive.
Social media has changed so much of how Christmas entertainers interact with the public. And of course the pandemic really did a number on the idea of a child sitting on a lap and whispering what she wants to Santa. In 2020, the business of doing Zoom encounters or taping videos got a big boost. It kept the Santa connection alive, but is it really a good move in the long run?
Santa convention in Atlanta two years ago (Photo: Courtesy ISC)
The state of being Santa today is vastly different than just a few years ago. “There was a lot of trepidation about what was going to happen because of Covid, what the residual effect would be, and would Santa in person ever recover,” Arnold says. “And the answer is that the state of the Santa business is good. People have not withdrawn from having Santa, wanting to either visit with Santa in mall situations or big box stores or in person at events or their own events. I was never busier than last year. I had to turn down so many people for home visits and things.”
He mentions Steve Dodd, a local Santa who does a lot of work in the community. Arnold says that Dodd is just about booked up for the rest of the year. And Arnold himself is quickly filling up his calendar. “Last year I tried to cut back and I still did I think 75 appearances and probably have that many this year. I’m going to deliberately try to move more of my business into video visits so that I don’t have to physically go out and meet with people. I’ll try to still do the big events like Graceland, the Christmas parade, and maybe the St. Jude tree and the LeBonheur tree. I got some pretty good gigs, but I think I’m going to have to do less of the other things.”
Still, there’s plenty of new talent coming onto the scene and it’s adapting to changing times. “The prices have gone up to cover the expenses that have happened in both the accessories and suits that we have to buy, but also obviously transportation,” Arnold says. “But the community seems to accept the fact that it costs a reasonable amount of money to have a true professional come and visit. And more people started picking up home visits because they realized that they didn’t have to wait in line for an hour or two and get a picture from somebody who wasn’t a professional. They realized they could actually hire a photographer or a good friend to come and take pictures in their home and have a different kind of experience.”
While the scene is improving for the Santa industry, there have been lots of changes.
Holmes, as Ms. Santa, has seen it all go down. “A lot of the newest Santas are competing with each other,” she says, “literally on social media, versus becoming their own Santa.” No, she says, it shouldn’t be that way. “We should grow our own. We see children who were babies when I used to go to their schools as Ms. Santa. They are adults with children, and that customer base is built right in.”
While it’s perfectly sensible for a Santa to do some traveling wherever the business takes him, there is a caution, Holmes says. “Like I say to the younger folks coming in, you’re spending a lot of money, and yet you haven’t bloomed in your own backyard. I believe in starting where you are, bloom where you’re planted, bloom right there. Then watch yourself grow and grow and grow. Become a household name right in your own community.”
It’s a classic case of changing with the times while trying to preserve long-held traditions.
“Social media has changed everything,” Holmes says. “And sometimes I wonder if we are trying to be a social media Claus versus the heart of Santa. Those are two different titles, and we see that. I’m not knocking it, but there’s a dynamic of social media. I’m into social media. I actually work for companies that use social media. I handle their business, their communications and everything. I totally understand that. But I also know that sometimes we have to, in order to become bigger, we must become smaller.”
Related to that, Holmes also cautions against aiming too high. She once used the Nextdoor networking app where she’d established a presence. “Are you looking for Santa photos?” she asked. The result? “It was 72,000 people coming at me at one time.”
But with all the changes going on in the industry, she finds a great deal of satisfaction in working with other Santas, which is what prompted her to get involved with IBRBS and the ISC. “I wanted to go deeper in my relationships with other Clauses to help sharpen them, whether I’m being sharpened or they’re being sharpened. We can get the big head because we wear the suit in red and we can lose that humility that is so vital to being a Claus. I was seeing a lot of things online. You’re behind the screen and you could just type anything out, and then you wonder why your business is the way it is.”
Holmes remembers when some students had come in to help her with a project, and they were all watching these people online who listed their names as Santa. “They were making comments and saying, ‘I don’t think I would want my child to be engaged with Santa Claus because these Santas are really mean.’ We don’t realize how we look or sound to the rest of the world until the rest of the world tells us this is what we sound like.”
So, she feels it’s important to keep the communication among Santas open and share the success stories. “We have achieved our goals, and we also have watched some of the things that are concerning to us about the Claus community get addressed, not just by us, but by others as well,” she says. “I believe in that community of getting together and really having someone to be your partner in sharpening you. Iron sharpens iron, and that has been one of the most beautiful things. I have since found several Ms. Clauses who were single, solo Ms. Clauses and they have done the same thing. They wanted to have someone not tell them how to be a Ms. Claus, but to help them be a better person. I say, if we’re going to help each other be a better person, then you’re going to naturally be a better Ms. Claus.”
Even as the ISC is bringing together Christmas entertainers from all over the globe, Holmes finds in that expanding world a powerful way to carry on the message of good will. “Santa World comes in all shades, colors, hues, shapes, sizes, different backgrounds, different nationalities,” she says. “When I travel to other places, I meet people from all different places, a microcosm of the real world. And when I go, I see people from all backgrounds. But here’s one thing — they’re all unified around the love of the holidays. No matter what their beliefs are, when they see me show up with toys, they’re like, ‘Baby, get in line!’”
For Holmes, there is a purpose to being Ms. Claus, and to work with individuals and organizations to raise the Christmas spirit, and to perpetuate joy. “My goal is to show that the happiness that we can bring to the world, we can be that to the world,” she says. And then she laughs: “Because sometimes Santas are just grumpy old men! I want us to be the happiness that we show. We can be that too. And then we can represent that no matter what background that we are from.”
That happiness should, she believes, rise above the everyday. “It doesn’t have to get into a race conversation or a female-versus-male conversation. It’s like, no, just be the happy you. That’s what people are going to love and gravitate to.”
And for all holiday entertainers, whether versions of Santas or elves or reindeer impersonators, she holds forth with this sentiment about the ISC: “We hope that this attracts new members, and for members who have stepped out for a minute to say, ‘Hey, let me catch my breath,’ please come back. We can’t do this without you. We need each and every one of us to be the best that we can be by helping each other.”
Josh and Emily Mutchnick (Photos: Michael Donahue)
Josh and Emily Mutchnick have arrived.
“It’s been a long road,” he says. “This is my dream becoming fulfilled.”
The dream is JEM, a dream of a restaurant that opens April 25th in the Edge District. Josh and his wife, Emily, are owners of the roughly 3,500-square-foot restaurant at 644 Madison Avenue. “She’s doing the back-end paperwork and all the fun stuff. Every aspect of it. And I’m doing the cheffy stuff,” Josh says.
“JEM” stands for “Josh (and) Emily Mutchnick.” It also stands for “Just Enjoy the Moment.”
“This is our restaurant and this is our food. This is our personality. This is it.”
Mutchnick, 37, was in the sixth grade in Mobile, Alabama, when he realized he wanted to be a chef.
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Mutchnick worked at several prestigious restaurants, including Chicago’s Michelin-starred EL Ideas, where he was chef de cuisine.
When they decided to relocate in 2020, Josh and Emily ended up in Memphis, where his sister had gone to Rhodes College.
Josh was doing his monthly JEM Dining Supper Club dinners at the James Lee House in Victorian Village when he and Emily decided the time was right to “jump full in” and open their restaurant. “In the middle of 2022 was when I had my business plan and talked with the real estate broker and bank.”
His broker “found this gem in the Edge District.”
Josh kept the ball rolling. “I met with a lot of restaurant-style business owners. They gave me a lot of advice.”
John Halford and Patrick Brown with cnct. design, pllc, designed the space for the Mutchnicks. The ceiling features exposed beams and rusty tin. They kept the original concrete floor, which they covered with a clear seal. The “cracks and paint spots add a lot of personality and texture to the place.”
“This is an old building and we want to keep some of the personality,” he says.
But the old is juxtaposed with “some modern lighting, a lot of wood finishes, and a lot of warm colors that are going to add depth to it.”
“You come in and you want to snuggle up in the space with all this wood and rusty color and beauty.”
He adds, “It’s a completely open kitchen. You come in and see all the action. We have a kitchen counter, but every seat you get to see the kitchen in action. And, if you want, you can come up and talk to us.
“I think the main goal of this restaurant is to have an experience that is welcoming and shows hospitality through the food, physically through the space, but also through the service.”
They want JEM to be a place “where people come in and have exciting, delicious food, but feel welcome and relaxed.”
“We’re surrounded by a passionate staff that feels like we do. We want to show you a great time and make you feel right at home while serving you the best food and cocktails and wine that we can.”
So, what will Josh be cooking in that open kitchen? “Short answer is: modern American with global influences.
“Long answer: I’ve been cooking and working towards this my whole life. And I’ve always expressed myself through food. I know I can make the best food when I’m excited about the techniques and can put new and different things on the menu.”
Whether that’s “Asian, European, or American influences,” Josh says, “it’s going to be delicious.”
Describing one of his dishes, Josh says, “I’m taking traditional Italian arancini, but using Korean flavors by adding kimchi, scallions, and cilantro to it. Then serving it with charred scallion tofu aioli and pickled daikon radish.”
And, he says, “One of the coolest things is, it’s completely vegan.”
All their desserts are homemade. One was inspired by Waffle House pecan waffles, Josh says. It’s a “decadent waffle mousse with a maple gel, candied pecans, and a pecan cake base.”
He and Emily believe JEM is in the right spot. “Moving to Memphis, from day one we had our eye on the Edge District,” Josh says, adding, “It’s an up-and-coming neighborhood. We’re just out of Downtown. I think the location is perfect. Near Downtown and near Midtown.”
All the business owners in the neighborhood are trying to “build up this community,” he says. “And we want to be part of that energy and that action.”
Their neighbors include the new Rock’n Dough Pizza & Brewery as well as Inkwell and Sun Studio. “This community is about to explode. I love it.”
An enormous flash, a mushroom cloud, multi-thousands of human beings dead. We win!
Nuclear weapons won’t go away, the cynics — the souls in despair — tell us. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. You can’t, as Gen. James E. Cartwright, former head of U.S. Strategic Command, once put it, “un-invent nuclear weapons.” So apparently we’re stuck with them until the “big oops” happens and humanity becomes extinct. Until then: modernize, modernize, modernize. Threaten, threaten, threaten.
David Barash and Ward Wilson make the case that this is completely false. We’re not “stuck” with nuclear weapons any more than we’re stuck with obsolete and ineffective technology of any sort, bluntly pointing out: “Crappy ideas don’t have to be forgotten in order to be abandoned. Useless, dangerous, or outmoded technology needn’t be forced out of existence. Once a thing is no longer useful, it unceremoniously and deservedly gets ignored.”
This is a valid and significant challenge to the cynicism of so many people, which is an easy trap to get caught in. Nuclear weapons will eventually go the way of the penny-farthing (huge front-wheeled) bicycle, according to the authors. Humanity is capable of simply moving beyond this valueless technology — and eventually it will. The genie has no power to stop this. Praise the Lord.
Transcending cynicism is the first step in envisioning change — but envisioning change isn’t the same thing as creating it. The next step in the process is hardly a matter of “better technology” — i.e., a better (less radioactive?) means of killing the enemy. The next step involves a change in humanity’s collective consciousness. As far as I can tell, we’re caught — horrifically caged — in the psychology of a border-drawn, divided planet. Social scientist Charles Tilly once put it with stunning simplicity: “War made the state and the state made war.”
The human race cuddles with the concept of “state sovereignty.” It’s the basic right of the 193 national entities that have claimed their specific slices of Planet Earth — and I certainly understand the “sovereignty” part. Who doesn’t want to make his or her own life decisions? But the “state” part? It’s full of paradox and contradiction, not to mention a dark permission to behave at one’s worst. The militarism that worships the nuclear genie couldn’t exist without state sovereignty.
To me the question in crucial need of being asked right now is this: What is our alternative to nationalism, which currently claims free rein (and reign) on the planet? And nationalism strides with a lethal swagger — especially nuclear-armed nationalism. For instance, as the AP recently reported, “President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty or independence is threatened, issuing another blunt warning to the West just days before an election in which he’s all but certain to secure another six-year term.”
Or here’s the Times of Israel: “Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said Sunday that one of Israel’s options in the war against Hamas could be to drop a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip …”
Plunk! Finish the job!
And then, of course, there’s the global good guy — USA! USA! — leading the charge to bring peace to the world wherever and however it can: for instance, by claiming “sovereignty” (you might say) over the national interests of South Korea and declaring, as Simone Chun puts it at Truthout, a “new Cold War with China” and implementing a “massive expansion of the provocative U.S.-led military exercises in the Korean Peninsula.”
Wow, a new Cold War! More than 300,000 South Korean troops and 10,000 American troops, in a series of war games known as “Freedom Shield 2024,” have conducted numerous field maneuvers, including bombing runs, at the North Korean border.
Chun writes: “The combined United States Forces Korea (USFK) and South Korean forces far overshadow those of North Korea, whose entire military budget is $1.47 billion compared to that of South Korea at $43.1 billion, not to mention that of the U.S. at $816.7 billion …
“The U.S. is using North Korea as a pretext for its new Cold War against China,” she goes on, “and, with its control of 40 percent of the world’s nuclear stockpile, is even willing to risk nuclear war to further its geopolitical aims.”
And she quotes Noam Chomsky who, addressing the country’s blatant indifference to this risk, points out that “the United States always plays with fire.”
How do we get it to stop? We live in a self-declared democracy but we, the people, are not the ones with real authority here. Those who run the show seem essentially blind to the consequences of militarism, war and, for God’s sake, nukes. Having power means having the ability to threaten — and, if necessary, cause — harm … beyond their divinely sanctioned borders, of course (not counting the likely consequences that know no borders).
If Tilly is right — if “war made the state and the state made war” — then the state, as currently perceived, at least by those besotted with military power, is the problem. Knowing this is the beginning … but of what? Survival means finding an answer.
Robert Koehler (koehlercw@gmail.com), syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a Chicago award-winning journalist and editor. He is the author of Courage Grows Strong at the Wound, and his newly released album of recorded poetry and art work, Soul Fragments.
• At the Goodwill store in DuBois, Pennsylvania, workers found a treasure in a box of old LEGO pieces, United Press International reported on March 12: a 14-karat gold Kanohi Hau mask from LEGO’s Bionicle collection. Originally priced at Goodwill at $14.95, the piece eventually sold for $18,100 to an anonymous collector. “We didn’t know it was worth anything until people started asking if they could buy it for $1,000,” said Chad Smith, vice president of e-commerce and technology for Goodwill. Lego created only 30 pieces in gold in 2001. [UPI, 3/12/2024]
• LAD Bible reported on March 5 about two unacquainted Brits who were headed to a holiday in Bangkok, Thailand. At the airport, Mark Garland, 58, of Wiltshire, tried to check in, but gate staff told him he already had. After some sleuthing, they realized there was another Mark Garland (62, from Bristol) on the flight — and the look-alikes were seated next to each other. As it happens, they live only about 15 miles apart and sometimes ride the same bus. They even have a friend in common. “We were so shocked by how strange it was,” said the younger Garland. “It was crazy — I have never known anything like it,” said the older. “I’ve made a friend for life.” [LAD Bible, 3/5/2024]
Bright Idea
Amber Denae Wright of Cape Town, South Africa, has shared a marriage tip on TikTok that other wives may want to adopt, People reported on March 9. A video on the social media site shows her husband, Nick, talking when Amber plays orchestra music from her phone. When Nick asks, “What is that? What are you playing?” Amber says, “It’s Oscars music. You know, when the speeches are too long …” Nick’s taking it well, though: “She’s been doing this the whole week. Every time I tell a story! Is this gonna be the rest of my life?” One TikTok commenter suggested, “I should use this at work when guys mansplain.” [People, 3/9/2024]
Field Report
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told city council members on March 13 that rats had infested the department’s building so thoroughly that they made their way into the evidence room and were eating confiscated marijuana. “They’re all high,” she said, according to the Associated Press. “The uncleanliness is off the charts.” She elaborated, saying the building is full of mold and cockroaches, and staff suffer broken air-conditioning and elevators. [AP, 3/13/2024]
That’s Disappointing
The Pittsburgh Penguins planned to provide prized playthings to their passionate patrons on the evening of March 14, ESPN reported. (Okay, that’s enough of that.) NHL legend Jaromír Jágr bobbleheads were promised for the game against the San Jose Sharks — but the cargo was stolen during transit. Penguins president of business operations Kevin Acklin said the team is looking forward to “resolving this theft and delivering the prized Jagr bobbleheads to their rightful homes, with our fans.” The hockey great commented, “The legend of Jágr continues.” [ESPN, 3/14/2024]
The Passing Parade
On March 5 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a 42-year-old man was charged with battery and disorderly conduct with a weapon after his daughter called 911, saying her dad was naked and had a gun. The Smoking Gun reported the story — and the much more compelling backstory about Deez-Nuts Lee Kroll, the defendant. In 2011, Derrick Lee Kroll, then 29, petitioned the court and paid $164.50 for a name change. On the form, Kroll, who seems to be spelling-challenged, wrote his preferred name: Dez-Nuts Lee Kroll, and said his reason for the change was that “I with out a dout [sic] HATE MY NAME.” Six years later, it occurred to Dez-Nuts that he had spelled the name wrong, and he went to court to change his name again. At his recent run-in with the law, officers noted that he appeared to be intoxicated but cooperated with them. He was released on $2,000 bond. [The Smoking Gun, 3/13/2024]
Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Have you ever gotten your mind, heart, and soul in sweet alignment with the spiritual beauty of money? An opportunity to do that is available. During the next four weeks, you can cultivate an almost mystical communion with the archetype of well-earned wealth. What does that mean? Well, you could be the beneficiary of novel insights and hot tips about how best to conduct your finances. You might get intuitions about actions you could take to bring more riches into your life. Be alert for help from unexpected sources. You may notice that the more generous you are, the more the world’s generosity will flow your way.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Bordering the Pacific Ocean for a thousand miles, Chile’s Atacama Desert is a place of stark and startling beauty. Unfortunately, its pristine landscape is also a dumping ground for vast amounts of discarded clothes that people bought cheaply, wore out quickly, and didn’t want anymore. Is there any other place on earth that more poignantly symbolizes the overlap of sacred and profane? In the coming weeks, Taurus, you will possess a special aptitude for succeeding in situations with metaphorical resemblances to the Atacama. You will have an enhanced power to inject ingenious changes wherever messiness is mixed with elegance, wherever blemished beauty requires redemption, and wherever lyrical truths need to be rescued from careless duplicity or pretense.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): My Gemini friend Alicia thrives on having a quick, acute, whirling-dervish-like intelligence. It’s one of her strong points now, but it wasn’t always. She says she used to be hyperactive. She thought of serenity as boring — “like some wan, bland floral tea.” But after years of therapy, she is joyous to have discovered “a kind of serenity that’s like sweet, frothy hot chocolate spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg.” I’m guessing that many of you Geminis have been evolving in a similar direction in recent months — and will climax this excellent period of relaxing growth in the coming weeks.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): All Cancerians who read this oracle are automatically included on the Primal Prayer Power List. During the next 13 days, my team of 13 Prayer Warriors and I will sing incantations to nurture your vigor, sovereignty, and clarity of purpose. We will envision your dormant potentials ripening. We will call on both human and divine allies to guide you in receiving and bestowing the love that gives your life supreme meaning. How should you prepare for this flood of blessings? Start by having a long talk with yourself in which you describe exactly why you deserve these gifts.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): A meme on Instagram said, “The day I stopped worrying about what other people think of me was the day I became free.” This sentiment provokes mixed feelings in me. I agree it’s liberating not to be obsessed with what people think of us. On the other hand, I believe we should indeed care about how we affect others. We are wise to learn from them about how we can be our best selves. Our “freedom” includes the discernment to know which ideas people have about us are worth paying attention to and which are best forgotten and ignored. In my opinion, Leo, these are important themes for you to ruminate on right now.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia is a holy place for Islam. Jerusalem is the equivalent for Judaism, and the Vatican is for Catholicism. Other spiritual traditions regard natural areas as numinous and exalting. For instance, the Yoruba people of Nigeria cherish Osun-Osogbo, a sacred grove of trees along the Osun River. I’d love it if there were equivalent sanctuaries for you, Virgo — where you could go to heal and recharge whenever you need to. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to identify power spots like these. If there are no such havens for you, find or create some.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In my astrological opinion, you are entering a period when you can turn any potential breakdown into a breakthrough. If a spiritual emergency arises, I predict you will use it to rouse wisdom that sparks your emergence from numbness and apathy. Darkness will be your ally because it will be the best place to access hidden strength and untapped resources. And here’s the best news of all: Unripe and wounded parts of your psyche will get healing upgrades as you navigate your way through the intriguing mysteries.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): According to my astrological perspective, you are entering a phase when you could dramatically refine how relationships function in your life. To capitalize on the potential, you must figure out how to have fun while doing the hard work that such an effort will take. Here are three questions to get you started: 1 What can you do to foster a graceful balance between being too self-centered and giving too much of yourself? 2. Are there any stale patterns in your deep psyche that tend to undermine your love life? If so, how could you transform or dissolve them? 3. Given the fact that any close relationship inevitably provokes the dark sides of both allies, how can you cultivate healthy ways to deal with that?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I feel sad when I see my friends tangling with mediocre problems. The uninspiring dilemmas aren’t very interesting and don’t provoke much personal growth. They use up psychic energy that could be better allocated. Thankfully, I don’t expect you to suffer this bland fate in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. You will entertain high-quality quandaries. They will call forth the best in you. They will stimulate your creativity and make you smarter and kinder and wilder. Congratulations on working diligently to drum up such rich challenges!
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In 1894, a modest Agave ferox plant began its life at a botanical garden in Oxford, England. By 1994, 100 years later, it had grown to be six feet tall but had never bloomed. Then one December day, the greenhouse temperature accidentally climbed above 68 degrees Fahrenheit. During the next two weeks, the plant grew twice as tall. Six months later, it bloomed bright yellow flowers for the first time. I suspect metaphorically comparable events will soon occur for you, Capricorn. They may already be underway.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Have you felt a longing to be nurtured? Have you fantasized about asking for support and encouragement and mentoring? If so, wonderful! Your intuition is working well! My astrological analysis suggests you would dramatically benefit from basking in the care and influence of people who can elevate and champion you, who can cherish and exalt you, who can feed and inspire you. My advice is to pursue the blessings of such helpers without inhibition or apology. You need and deserve to be treated like a vibrant treasure.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In his book Attention Deficit Disorder: A Different Perception, Thom Hartmann theorizes that distractibility may have been an asset for our ancestors. Having a short attention span meant they were ever alert for possible dangers and opportunities in their environment. If they were out walking at night, being lost in thought could prevent them from tuning into warning signals from the bushes. Likewise, while hunting, they would benefit from being ultra-receptive to fleeting phenomena and ready to make snap decisions. I encourage you to be like a hunter in the coming weeks, Pisces. Not for wild animals, but for wild clues, wild signs, and wild help.
