Showing me around her meticulously organized and overflowing art studio, I have a hard time keeping up with Xima Lee Hulings. Amidst pens and paints and textiles and even a blow torch, she talks about her life and paintings and projects in her rapid-fire, exuberant way. Inspiring and educational, she motivates me to make a…
Bruce Tyler – Give Without Expectations
I recently accompanied a friend to the hospital for a routine, albeit still unsettling, outpatient procedure. Sitting in the waiting area, I noticed a gentleman staff member, dressed in scrubs, who escorted patients to their assigned medical spaces. As he greeted and directed a constant flow of patients, I continued to watch and listen to…
Meet Mary Hance – The Tennessean’s Ms. Cheap
I have talked about my mid-life move to Nashville—no friends or family here, kids grown and gone. Arriving in town, I read everything I could get my hands on about happenings in our new city. I searched for ways to meet people and create a sense of belonging. Now it is two years later. Mary Hance agrees to…
Jade Roser – Cheekwood’s Holiday Lights
On a gloomy Monday in October, this Nashville treasure swarms with activity. Despite the misty morning, a crew works to put finishing touches on transforming the 55-acre botanical garden into a magical, holiday wonderland. As we stroll around the Cheekwood estate and grounds, built with the Maxwell House coffee fortune, Jade Roser gives me a…
Tim Halperin – Songwriter, Vocalist
If at first you don’t succeed…His first American Idol tryout was a bust. A few years later, Tim Halperin borrowed a buddy’s laptop, pulled up a seat, and sang a cappella for a webcam audition. This time around, he ended up in Los Angeles on a wild, musical ride. As we discuss Tim’s 2011 American…