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Smyrna takes first step to approve new city council wards

Everyday Heroes: Shelli Howard and Arlene McClean

Published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for Inspire Atlanta

Link to article:

https://www.ajc.com/inspire/everyday-heroes-shelli-howard-and-arlene-mclane/CWLS6JB5IZDTBNE2MTL57PPHIM/

Waffle

The Grand Opera House hosts double feature for Women’s History Month

Downtown Business Owner Balances Family and Work

This I Believe

How Well Do You Speak Southern?

Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them

Top 5: The Book was Better

The Sounds of the Cherry Blossom Festival

Tiny Tour: The Cannonball House

Second Chances

From veteran news reporter, to overcoming addiction, and helping others on their path to recovery!

“I saw a guy who knew he was going to jail

for at least five years’ probation.

And because he had been through this program for a year, the judge dropped all those charges.

He went onto truck driving school, and he’s doing well today.

Now that’s the extreme. But I’ve seen that happen!”

Starting over isn’t easy. Spires spent 25 years as a news reporter, but after spending four months in New Beginnings in Christ — a men’s recovery home — he found a new calling. Everything he’s learned in life, helps him as an Intake Manager for the recovery home. He was in a military environment for most of his previous career. So, there were a lot of disciplined individuals; veterans, engineers, and those who have dealt with things that could literally kill someone. That, along with his own addiction issues, and experience in the program, gives him empathy and the ability to relate to the men who come through the program.

As an Intake Manager, Spires oversees the day to day operations. He is a part of the decision-making team that looks through applicants and does interviews. He keeps an eye on the residents and administers random drug tests, as needed, to see if they turn up dirty for 13 different types of drugs; mostly cocaine, amphetamines, alcohol, etcetera. When he was in the program, he fell back onto his education and experience in the news businesses. He wrote letters, drafted forms, and helped make NBIC more efficient. Today, he writes business correspondences, stories for their Facebook page, and teaches men how to write. He feels that’s good for them, because they can take that skill when they leave.

“That’s very rewarding, to know that you take a guy who has nothing to look forward to, and you know he’s blessed being in this program”

Shelby Spires

Ups and Downs

Once a month, they have graduations, and Spires gets to see the men from beginning to end. Some of them you don’t even recognize when they’re done. The people who apply themselves, and do what they’re supposed to, get a new beginning. Their families will start reconnecting with them, and seeing that is what Spires loves most about what he does.

Most days it’s very rewarding for Spires, but not everyone comes out with a happy ending. Whenever someone fails out of the program, he feels responsible. He knows that there’s not always something he can do. However, he always thinks about the ‘what-ifs,’ and wishes there was some way he could have helped them.

Benefits

“I literally have no bills. They feed me here. I’m provided with a salary. Other than helping people, and the lack of bills, Spires also enjoys spending time with the stay dogs that come around the property.”

Shelby Spires

NBIC

NBIC has grown from just 5 men in 2004 to over 90 today.

It started 23 years ago, when Donald Atkinson, a fully recovered alcoholic, had a vision to help others in situations like himself. He wanted to give people a no-cost alternative compared to a traditional recovery home.  New Beginnings in Christ is a non-profit charity that doesn’t receive state or federal funding. They operate on the generosity of donors.

Advice from Shelby!

“I was impatient to get in the news business.”

“You’ll get rewarded. I mean, it’s easier to say that for me now, since I’m 52, but I look back, and it’s just be patient. That’s what I tell guys every day. That’s what I told myself when I was here, and I was rewarded for it. So may not happen today, it may happen two months from now, but you’ll get what you want.”

Shelby Spires

Fiction has an impact on all that read and watch it. Below you’ll find a few examples in the form of an infographic. I researched extensively to find the hard data I needed, so I could educate others on how important fiction can be. Each bullet point and visual component is connected to that overarching story.

Work Cited

JETUBHAI, K. B., & GHOSAL, M. (2019). Literature for building an inclusive society: Ungendered narrative and its impact on the daily life of queer individuals. Moderna Sprak, 113(2), 108–123.

Loftis, S. F. (2015). Imagining Autism : Fiction and Stereotypes on the Spectrum. Indiana University Press

Poerio, G., & Totterdell, P. (2020). The Effect of Fiction on the Well-Being of Older Adults: A  Longitudinal RCT Intervention Study Using Audiobooks. Psychosocial  Intervention, 29(1), 29–38.

Vanzant, K. (2019). Problems with Narrative in the U.S. Survey and How Fiction can Help. History Teacher, 52(4), 677–696.

Hoewe, J., & Sherrill, L. A. (2019). The influence of female lead characters in political TV shows: links to political engagement. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic   Media, 63(1), 59–76.

Angel Kitty Rescue in Kennesaw is where I bought my lovely Castiel; it’s located inside a PetSmart. He was seven months old at the time. When I walked in, there was a row of cages stacked on top of each other. Little meows filled the air, and I looked at each cat eagerly. I knew I was looking for a boy, preferably not one too young, seeing as I was in college full-time and working. They each had names, genders, and ages posted to their little doors. One, in particular, stood out to me. A small ebony thing rubbed himself against the bars. He was trying harder to get my attention than the others – some of which didn’t so much as twitch in their beds. I walked closer to where he was in the far corner. He had the cutest little white tips on his paws. It made him look like he had toes. He looked at me, so eager and excited, and I couldn’t help but pet him despite the sign that said not to reach in the cages. Anytime I tried to walk away, he’d howl in protest. There were a lot of cats and kittens there, but only one chose me. I knew I would be taking him home, but I wasn’t going to keep the name the rescue gave him. Bocephus? No, he was Castiel, my little angel. 

I spent more money on things for him than I spent on actually purchasing my cat. I got the food and litter box, of course, but I also got toys and stuff for him to scratch and climb. I wanted to make sure he was as happy as possible, seeing as I would be gone for hours at a time. As I was filling out the paperwork, the lady told me that cats could take a few days to adjust and get comfortable. If he avoided me for the first day or two, don’t get discouraged. Castiel took to me right away, though. From the first day home, he’d follow me around and show me endless affection. He is such a sweetie. Every day I’m grateful he chose me. People have a lot of misconceptions about cats. They think you can’t bond with them as you do with dogs, but I have first-hand experience to prove that wrong.

Every time I come home, it doesn’t matter from where or how long I’ve been gone, Castiel comes to the door to greet me. He always meows and rubs against my leg before laying on his back to demand that I pet him. If I get changed first, he stays on his back and wiggles around as if to say, “Don’t you see how cute I’m being over here? Come pet me!”

When I wake up in the morning, there are usually several toys in the bed where he brought them to me in the night, wanting to play. He loves playing fetch, and I didn’t teach him that. The day I got him home, I threw his favorite mouse, and he brought it back to me. We play it daily now. He’s so playful and full of personality. I can’t see how people think cats are incapable of feeling or getting attached. If other people come over, he’s timid and keeps his distance until he’s deemed them okay for himself, which means he’s not just acting loving towards me because I’m the only person in his vicinity.  

Castiel is incredibly intelligent, and sometimes that gets him into trouble. He went through a phase of opening all the drawers in the bathroom and bedroom so that he could get behind them. The drawers of my dresser don’t come out. I had to take everything out and coax him from behind the drawer. It wasn’t fun. He knocked all my medicine out of the cabinet a few times. I had to train him not to do that. Yes, I know. Cats can be trained? What? Despite what most non-cat owners think, you don’t have to suffer from your cat being wild and tearing everything up.  All you need to do is put in the time to teach them what’s okay and what’s not.

Training your cat isn’t all doom and gloom. You can teach them fun things too! For instance, I taught Castiel to play dead. It took a few days, but it was worth it. I called him to me and put one hand on his back, and my other hand was used as the “gun.” Next, I said, “bang” and gently pressed down on his back, until he was stretched out on the floor. We repeated that a few times a day, and I’d give him a treat every time he was down. After the first day, he would fall over as soon as I touched his back; it took a few more days for him to wait for the cue. It’s so adorable now, and I want to teach him how to high-five next.

If you want to learn a little more about popular cat myths that are untrue, click here to be taken to the infographic I created about the subject. Below you’ll find the video of Castiel playing dead like the smart baby he is.

Cats can also be a person’s best friend! Dogs aren’t the only ones capable of gives us love and companionship. There are so many stereotypes about cats. Below you’ll find an infographic on the subject and how they’re untrue.

First Watch Café is open daily except for Thanksgiving and Christmas. A “first watch” is a nautical term for the first shift of the day, and since they only serve breakfast, brunch, and lunch, that’s where they got the name for the restaurant. They don’t offer catering, but the website invites you to ask the general manager of your location about those needs if you have them. First Watch doesn’t allow you to make reservations in a traditional sense, but most places will let you check wait times get on the waitlist before you arrive through the First Watch App.

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience in their Kennesaw location. The parking lot was almost full when I arrived, so I was wary of how long the wait would be, but I was seated within 15 minutes. My waitress was there immediately to ask what I wanted to drink. All of the staff that I could see had masks on, and when the customers weren’t eating, they wore theirs as well. The fact that they enforce masks was a point in their favor in my book! Mostly since their customers wore them. I’ve been in restaurants packed in like sardines without a cover in sight. The décor was modern rustic, and the tables were spaced a reasonable distance apart. I don’t know if it was always like that, or if they rearranged after Covid, but it was appreciated.  The flooring is a vinyl plank product from Karndean. According to their website, it’s custom-made for their cafés only and isn’t available for retail.

The menu was vegetarian friendly with vegan and gluten free options. I always check for gluten free options when I’m at a restaurant, out of habit, because my sister is allergic. I like that First Watch made their menu with their customers’ needs in mind. I ordered the Eggs Benedict, which had two poached cage-free eggs atop toasted ciabatta with smoked ham, and a side of seasoned potatoes. My waitress gave me a little cup of salt and pepper packets, which I used for the Eggs Benedict. Cutting into it caused the yolk to run and soak the bread. I’ve always loved my eggs that way, and this was no exception. It was delicious, and I’ll get it again. The seasoned potatoes were amazing as well, and I was given ketchup in a small silver cup. I usually prefer ranch, but that was good as well.

First Watch Café is very involved in all of the communities where they operate. You can even fill out a form on the Contact Us page if you have a cause you’d like for them to donate to. They’ve also set goals to achieve by 2024 for animal welfare, which include the following:

• Using broiler breeds approved by Global Animal Partnership (GAP) as having higher welfare outcomes;
• Providing birds more space and stocking density in barns in accordance with GAP Standards;
• Enhancing the birds’ living environments, including improved litter, lighting, and enrichment, per GAP standards;
• Ensuring birds are rendered unconscious using multi-step controlled atmospheric stunning.

Overall, I give them 5 out of 5 stars for their delicious food, positive atmosphere, and good service. One of those stars is for their involvement in the community and their efforts to accommodate allergies and diets in their menu.

When Writing Becomes Content, Lisa Dush: Full Article.

Does writing becoming content suggest growth? Or perhaps writing has transitioned into content over time. In this article, Lisa Dush defines content, while respecting the different forms it comes in, regarding all different types of writing professions. She also goes into detail about the four characteristics of content: conditional, computable, networked, and commodified.

In regards to content being computable,

“as Pullman and Gu describe, content exists as digital assets that are full of potential, characterized not by being finished or published, but rather by their availability for repurposing, mining, and other future uses.”

(Dush, Pg.176)

They believe content is merely data you are accessing on a computer. While some people might think that the writer must control the content, in order to make it adaptable to the platform, Dush argues that we have little control over which direction the content takes us. I agree with that, as a writer I know inspiration can take your work to places you didn’t plan for it to go, but that’s not a bad thing. Words flow and you start making connections you didn’t previously see. It’s a part of being a writer. The conditional and computable aspects of writing go hand in hand with the content being networked. There can be all sorts of networks, person and work related. What Dush means by “content will be commodified,” is the value it has when it a work of writing is in circulation.

People may think of writing as “idiosyncratic” while content is “standardized” as if they are opposite ends of a spectrum. “Might content, with its machines and its standardization, simply threaten the idiosyncratic and human work of writing?” (PG. 182) Can they not work together? Even in works of fiction, you can find valuable content. You can see things from other people’s perspectives, or even gain an understanding about a period in history in a way that’s more engaging. Yes, of course, case and research studies are valuable as well, but I have found that you can learn just as much from a well written work of fiction.

Dush does an amazing job articulation her point, and quotes are either in a different font all together or in bold so they stand out. However, one quote she uses from Johnson-Eilola about “marketable chunks” suggests that pulling material from other sources takes away form the original work. For example, “chapters extracted from a book for republication in a “permissions-paid” coursepack, or individual songs sold in isolation from the albums on which they originally appeared.” (PG.178) She believes it becomes less about communicating useful information, and instead becomes something to generate clicks and retweets. She contradicts herself by using quotes from other sources throughout her entire article to enhance her point, just like she criticized others for doing. Does that mean Dush is only doing so to “generate likes and retweets.” I don’t think so. I believe that quoting others is good to do in your work, if used sparingly and given proper credit. She clearly does as well, as you can see by all the quotes in her article.